Here is what I learned about the race:
Enjoy the days before...
Wednesday in Ensenada was awesome. Because our bike was a spectacle, Rigid Industries allowed us to park it at their display tent on the main parade route the day before the race.
Like anything, the stress can get to you. DON'T LET IT. The real experience starts the day before the race.
#TEAMHARDOCORE CEO JJ Kelly would soil his dockers at how seriously people were taking us. We signed autographs and laughed about how ridiculous it was that anyone cared. We took pictures with hundreds of kids on the bike. A local handicapped guy wanted to sit on the bike for a picture, so we lifted him up on it. He grabbed the bars and smiled ear-to-ear. His happiness was infectious - I was lucky to be a part of that.
I bought a 5 gallon bucket and the beer in it from a street vendor.
Jeremy McGrath randomly stopped by and chatted about the bike (days before he announced his new role at Kawasaki).
This race has a special way of making everyone approachable.
As an amateur, this race can be done with a single chase vehicle. It's all about planning. We had our plan dialed; rider swaps, meeting points, gas stops and approximate times were documented for each section of the ride. Closeup map printouts marked the meeting points and were taped on the walls of the bus. Times were marked and edited along the way.
Make sure you have a good crew not riding. My good friends Mike Moyers and Nick Smith pulled some long hours driving and kept focus to make sure the bike was fresh, and the bus met the bike at the planned pickup points. Without these two stellar humans, we wouldn't have had a chance.
The Lead Up...
Everyone wants to be associated with this magical race. Solicit companies to help you. We successfully got support from Green Trails Mobil, Rigid Industries, Lucas Oils, Motion Pro, Route 15 Cycles, JH2, Fly Racing, Top Secret Designs, Warp9, Gold Metal Welding, #TEAMHARDCORE and Allied Precision Arms. Not to mention the friends and relatives who chipped in for gas.
You will spend some money, but it's worth it - In the end, money is fake, be rich in experiences.
Mental Rider Preparation...
It's not easy to tell if somebody can't do it. Only you know when the doubt sets in. I'd stress that you need to have a serious talk with your riders and make sure they know to throw in the towel if they aren't feeling like they can get the bike to the next checkpoint.
So what happened to 236x?
Here is the breakdown:
- Mile 1 to 163 In my typical style, I ,"Krash" Williams, rode with a few minor crashes. Luckily youtube videos have surfaced to prove I am an idiot! With a little luck, I was ahead of schedule and mid-pack when I handed to bike off.
- Mile 163-200 Ray Connolly rode and it turned out to be a gnarly rocky section. Ray rode perfectly, kept it on 2 wheels and handed it off ahead of schedule.
- Mile 200-264 Larry Curik took the seat. Larry ran out of gas around mile 230. We found him, gassed up and he was on his way. He ran out of gas again around mile 260. We found him and switched riders early.
- Mile 260-301 Gary Kuklinski took over. At this time, it was night and trophy trucks caught us - the ride got a little intimidating. Gary handled it like a true veteran and got the bike to the next checkpoint.
- Mile 301-345 Joe Steltenpohl took the bars. This was Joe's FIRST RACE EVER! We got to watch him blast through a silt section in front of us that was giving buggies serious problems. Joe got to the checkpoint a few minutes before the bus. The kid can ride!
- Mile 345-431 I got to ride again. Night riding is gnarly, and the desert is a crazy place. At 4am, in the middle of no-where, there will be a group of locals partying around a bonfire cheering you on. The moon is only there to confuse you - every time I turned, it was in front of me, totally throwing me off my game. Baja Pits had a pit support vehicle breakdown and it threw off a gas stop. I ran out of gas ONE MILE BEFORE THE SWITCHPOINT! I loaded up on a local dude's trailer and took the ride of shame for a mile.
- Mile 431-495 Larry Curik took the controls again. He was fatigued and had a defeated look about him. We found a spot around mile 470 and agreed that we could meet to check on him. He started into the darkness. Larry got to mile 460 and started encountering rough terrain. He had trouble getting the bike through and his body started cramping up. With back spasms and a charlie horse, he threw in the towel. Being out of communication range, we spent a few hours trying to find him via radio. We discovered that he hadn't hit the emergency medical button, and decided that we would wait for daylight for a rescue mission. Nick Smith and myself hiked from Mile 470 to 460 for 4.5 hours to find Larry slowly moving down the trail. I bummed some gas and rode the bike back to the meeting point, wearing a helmet, Vans slip-ons, jeans and a t-shirt. Don't ever ride in the desert in a t-shirt unless you want arm-rash! At this point checkpoints were closing and pits were closing down. We were basically timed-out.
- Mile 470-495 Ray Connolly needed more ride time. He took the bars and ripped a final ride to get his money's worth. This is the act of a badass.
- Mile 495... We realized our race was over. I was a sad moment and a hard one to stomach. Over a year of preparation and piles of money and research were invested to go less than half of the distance. It's a hard pill to swallow.
I realize that 495 miles is more than 99% of the population will ever attempt, and I will be back. It might be a few years, but I will be back.
As a wrap-up, we had incredible support from our Family and Friends. An infectious excitement built in the months leading up to the trip. I need to roll credits and mention key people who contributed to the stoke:
Jenny, Roger, Kaye, Lona, Mason and Kris Payne. Debbie, Frank, Andy, Gwen, Joe & Janet Williams. Shelly, Eli and Eric Reichert. Ray, Pat, Lori & Viola Connolly. Cris, Courtney, Cali & Laurie Kuklinski. Justin, Blake, Alex and Anna Hauss. Cadence, Gideon and Adam Luechtefeld. Chris Banks. Jimmy Hogenmiller. Jen Moyers. Liz Ludwig. Sid Turpin. Steve Kuehl. Jo Wottowa. Brigham Fisher. Kevin Passmore. Doug Scronce. Lisa Moncayo. Timmy Borko. Jay Dart. JJ Kelly. Terry Meyer. John Pretti. Scott Peipert. Robb Dove. Mike Urban. Paul Schroeder. Matt Grayson. Al Schuck... and so on.
If I missed you, or misspelled your name, no hard feelings, you know who you are and what you did!
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| Nick Smith. Drinking a beer in DooDoo Canyon |
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| Ray in show-mode waiting for tech support. |
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| #teamhardcore at the Rigid Industries tent |
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| Posing at the Mexican Cultural Center |
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| Me and the King, Jeremy McGrath |
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| Good times captured |
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| The happiest dude in Ensenada. From his wheelchair to the bike like a pro. |
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| Nick in desert mode. |
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| Mike Moyers getting publicity and making sure the rider finds the bus. |
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| A KX500AF that went 495 miles. |
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| Late night pit stop. |
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| Stopping to smell the cacti. |
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| I know a good campground near Ensenada. I might tell you where it is, but probably not. |
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| Gary Kuklinski - 63 and ready to rule the world. |
