DAY 2
The boys are doing great and are in very good spirits after 2 days. Everybody keeps warning about Day 3, and at the team meeting tonight, they indicated that tomorrow's times will be tighter and they are going to start "weeding people out" and the race is now beginning.
Day 2 of the ISDE (Tuesday, November 2nd).
With one day under our belts, today didn't seem to be met with as much anticipation. Everyone knew what to expect and a lot of the nerves were gone and everybody was focused, but also a little more relaxed.
We ended up going straight to the first special test in hopes of catching some glimpses of the US Trophy Riders. We caught a few, and watched Destry and Nathan Woods in the "Pepsi Test". We watched pretty much every other US rider come through. Shawn, Cory, and Jake are all in the C3 class which is the Club riders in the Open Class. Unfortunately, despite their great results, the C3 class goes last. Each day, their start times are adjusted based on their performance of the previous day. Fortunately this means they're riding at the front of the pack in the C3 class, but they're basically behind 300 other riders.
Imagine a 75 mile course ridden twice in the same day with 350+ riders all riding at world-class speed hammering the course. Cory said it was "brutal" and so chewed up, it was unimaginable. The Special Test up in the farmers field that I posted pics of from Saturday, has turned into some bike-eating ruts. Unfortunately, Shawn fell victim to the ruts today in that special test and he lost about a minute getting his bike out. Even some of the Trophy Riders were victims of it.
With the course so chewed up, dust is an issue. With Rich Black here now, he and I Josh chased all three of our riders around the first special test. We were literally sprinting from one corner to the next as the ribbon wound up through the trees, hoping to catch our riders at the different corners. I know from personal experience at the Idaho City grass track, that coming around a corner and having your friends or family screaming for you gives you an adrenaline boost so we were hoping to give them every little edge. It was so fun to watch them again and they all looked great and got through the test without issue.
Cory said that he didn't go down once today and for all of you who race, you know how much energy can be sapped by crashing. It drains you mentally and physically. Riding smart is soooo important in this event, and so far they're all riding smart.
Cory also wanted to give props to "Idaho Joe" from Boise who hooked him up with the Rekluse clutch. He said that today he literally didn't even use the manual clutch once. It's really proving to be a serious aide with his hand and could potentially be the difference between him finishing or not. He's adjusted his riding and the way he holds the bike and is adapting to the brace he's wearing. He's doing amazingly well for riding with a broken hand,
After the special test we cruised back to the paddock to help get some more things setup and wait for all the US Team riders to come through their first loop. Everything seemed a little bit more uneventful today through this first opportunity to see the riders (for both the Trophy teams and the Club riders). I think it was a combination of us in the pits having a day under our belts to know what to expect, and the riders doing the same. I believe all US riders came in with time to spare, but I think Kerrie on the women's team had some trouble that put her back.
Everyone headed out for another 75 miles of fun and we had a little downtime waiting for them to come back through again. When they started arriving again late in the afternoon, all the chaos ensued again. Caselli and Brown were within seconds of one another. Caselli completely rocked his tire changes and was done with two tires and mousse bibs, off and on the bike in about 8 minutes. He had time to wipe his bike down really good, and leave for impound. Brown is like a bull in a china closet but gets the job done. However, on the course, he's proving to be a serious threat and I believe is top American right now. He's a serious asset to the team.
After the first few trophy guys come in, it starts to get more chaotic. As described previously, there are about 12 stations, all setup with a complete set of tools and tire changers. Nobody is allocated a specific spot and they roll in the order they come into the pits. By the time the Club riders start overlapping, it's pure chaos. When everything is said and done, there are tire irons, hammers, vice grips, and tires laying all over the place. We then have to go back and try and piece together complete sets of all the appropriate tools and get them in their right spot for the next day.
I love watching the Trophy Riders, but I'm seriously impressed with the Club riders as well. Some of these guys have it down to a science and are very efficient, while others have obviously practiced, but when something goes wrong, it can really mess up their day (for example, if you change a rear, and then have time left for a front and you decide to change it, you are committed once you start into the process because you have to get the tire on the bike and get it to impound before the 15 minutes is up).
Nicole Bradford and her husband are total class acts. Nicole is always upbeat and happy and her performance on the course is great. Compared to the men, she's a tiny gal and just doesn't have the strength to use the same techniques for tire changes. Her husband has built her a lot of custom tools and they have a system down that works for them. Ben, her husband, does an awesome job coaching her through the process and remaining calm. Unfortunately, tonight she got into the same situation I described above. She started her front tire with 7 1/2 minutes to go and ran into some challenges and ended up losing 2 minutes on her time by the time she was done. This dropped her from 3rd overall Woman to 4th, but she's still got several days left.
Jeff Fredette and Fred Hoess are just total iron men. I watched them in the first test today and if you didn't know who was under the helmet, you would think you were watching a 20 year old. They are fast, efficient, and precise. There is a reason Fred has done 21 ISDE's and Jeff is going on number 30. I love watching Jeff come in as well. He acts like he's on a coffee break. He never gets ruffled. He never raises his voice. He's just super mellow and knows how to ride a dirt bike at world-class speed.
Cory and Shawn each changed one tire a piece and did some other maintenance. The coaching they received from Jake has been absolutely priceless. Their approach when they come into the pits tonight was very different. I was focused with Cory while Brad (Shawn's Dad) was working with Shawn. They came in within a minute of one another. Tonight Cory was calm, focused, and even joking around. Mental approach has a huge impact and just one day's experience has helped them both. He completed an oil change and front tire change in plenty of time.
Cory, Shawn, and Jake were all very close on times today. Cory commented that he and Shawn rode together for a good portion of the day. How cool is that! To be able have a friend from home with you and riding through the Mexican countrywide and forests together in the ISDE. Cory also said that despite the course being completely chewed up and brutal (he said it made Idaho City look like a cake walk), that he absolutely loved it and enjoyed it even more today. Surprisingly I heard both Cory and Shawn say several times that at times they felt like they were riding Idaho City, and then the next thing they knew, they were cruising along past little Mexican Villages with guys riding burros next to the trail.
Only two days in and the attrition has already started. I've seen more than one person walking back to the paddock. On our way back from the first special test today, we saw a Japanese rider on the side of the road. He had seized his Husky 300. I feel sooo bad when I see this kind of thing happening. Riders make such huge sacrifices to come and you hate to see them DNF as a result of something mechanical or some other error. We had one of the US Club riders dq'd today for riding backwards on the course in a small section (Mike Monroe I think).
If you've been monitoring the results (those in Utah), you've probably seen that the three Utah riders are very close to one another in their test scores. It's amazing how consistent they've been in riding near one another. They gained some positions today and tomorrow they start even earlier.
Here's one other little funny thing that happened tonight. We had a team meeting and all of the US Team meets and gets prepped on some rider and course notes for tomorrow as well as other administrative items to make sure the days goes smooth. After the meeting we're walking out of the hotel and Curt Caselli comes up to Jake and says "How are you?" imitating his best Finnish accent. Apparently Jake and Curt know one another because Jake knows everybody (seriously....more on that later). They get talking and pretty soon the entire US Trophy Team is standing around Jake and they're discussing the "Finnish" method of tire changes that they all keep hearing about. Curt and Destry comment that they've never known another method, but they'd love to learn a new technique (not to attempt it here at this ISDE, but possibly in the future). It was just this really funny ad-lib moment standing outside the hotel while the entire US Trophy Team is listening to Jake as if he's their team manager. He has their respect, that's for sure and it wouldn't surprise me one bit to see Jake giving Curt Caselli or Destry Abbott a personal tire changing lesson.
Here's another Jake story related to the tire changes. On Sunday, Shawn's Dad wanted to buy one of the Metzeler style tire changes that Jake was using. He went to the Metzeler rig in the paddock area and asked to buy one. They told him that unfortunately they had completely sold out and they didn't have anymore. Brad came back and mentioned it to Jake and he said "one moment". He took him to the Metzeler tent and introduced him to "Wolfgang" one of his long-time friends from over the year and one of the main guys, and a minute later, Brad was being escorted to the "Germans" pit where they had one, and within 5 minutes, Brad had a new Metzeler tire changer.
And...here's one more. Because Jake is so connected with the Finnish team (I believe he actually sponsors the Finnish Junior Team), he's obviously still tight with them although he's riding under the US umbrella. After the race today, he and Shawn and Cory all finished within minutes of each other. Jake grabs them and escorts them to the Finnish camp and they're treated to a sit-down five-star meal by the special chef that has been flown in specifially to feed the Finnish Team. So...you have the Finnish team and the Utah boys hanging out behind closed doors eating like kings and getting properly fed......priceless. Shawn and Cory came back grinning from ear to ear. (In defense of the US Team, they have some great volunteers that have a meal prepared for the Trophy riders so they can immediately begin to fuel again as soon as they are impounded.)
I had only met Jake a few times before coming to Mexico, but he's proving to be a priceless resource and a good friend to everyone.
And the last one, and then I really have to go to bed. From a few nights ago I posted a picture of Dave Kamo giving me a thumbs up after he secretly placed a Dave Kamo sticker on Pam's (Jake's wife) back at the parade in downtown Morelia. Tonight we were sitting in the team meeting and Dave Kamo came in and sat down right in front of Pam and I. She seized the opportunity to grab a bunch of stickers that Josh has to give out to all the little Mexican kids and managed to stick them on his back without him knowing....just long enough for me to grab photographic evidence. With all the seriousness, we also have to have some fun.
The boys are doing great and are in very good spirits after 2 days. Everybody keeps warning about Day 3, and at the team meeting tonight, they indicated that tomorrow's times will be tighter and they are going to start "weeding people out" and the race is now beginning.
Day 2 of the ISDE (Tuesday, November 2nd).
With one day under our belts, today didn't seem to be met with as much anticipation. Everyone knew what to expect and a lot of the nerves were gone and everybody was focused, but also a little more relaxed.
We ended up going straight to the first special test in hopes of catching some glimpses of the US Trophy Riders. We caught a few, and watched Destry and Nathan Woods in the "Pepsi Test". We watched pretty much every other US rider come through. Shawn, Cory, and Jake are all in the C3 class which is the Club riders in the Open Class. Unfortunately, despite their great results, the C3 class goes last. Each day, their start times are adjusted based on their performance of the previous day. Fortunately this means they're riding at the front of the pack in the C3 class, but they're basically behind 300 other riders.
Imagine a 75 mile course ridden twice in the same day with 350+ riders all riding at world-class speed hammering the course. Cory said it was "brutal" and so chewed up, it was unimaginable. The Special Test up in the farmers field that I posted pics of from Saturday, has turned into some bike-eating ruts. Unfortunately, Shawn fell victim to the ruts today in that special test and he lost about a minute getting his bike out. Even some of the Trophy Riders were victims of it.
With the course so chewed up, dust is an issue. With Rich Black here now, he and I Josh chased all three of our riders around the first special test. We were literally sprinting from one corner to the next as the ribbon wound up through the trees, hoping to catch our riders at the different corners. I know from personal experience at the Idaho City grass track, that coming around a corner and having your friends or family screaming for you gives you an adrenaline boost so we were hoping to give them every little edge. It was so fun to watch them again and they all looked great and got through the test without issue.
Cory said that he didn't go down once today and for all of you who race, you know how much energy can be sapped by crashing. It drains you mentally and physically. Riding smart is soooo important in this event, and so far they're all riding smart.
Cory also wanted to give props to "Idaho Joe" from Boise who hooked him up with the Rekluse clutch. He said that today he literally didn't even use the manual clutch once. It's really proving to be a serious aide with his hand and could potentially be the difference between him finishing or not. He's adjusted his riding and the way he holds the bike and is adapting to the brace he's wearing. He's doing amazingly well for riding with a broken hand,
After the special test we cruised back to the paddock to help get some more things setup and wait for all the US Team riders to come through their first loop. Everything seemed a little bit more uneventful today through this first opportunity to see the riders (for both the Trophy teams and the Club riders). I think it was a combination of us in the pits having a day under our belts to know what to expect, and the riders doing the same. I believe all US riders came in with time to spare, but I think Kerrie on the women's team had some trouble that put her back.
Everyone headed out for another 75 miles of fun and we had a little downtime waiting for them to come back through again. When they started arriving again late in the afternoon, all the chaos ensued again. Caselli and Brown were within seconds of one another. Caselli completely rocked his tire changes and was done with two tires and mousse bibs, off and on the bike in about 8 minutes. He had time to wipe his bike down really good, and leave for impound. Brown is like a bull in a china closet but gets the job done. However, on the course, he's proving to be a serious threat and I believe is top American right now. He's a serious asset to the team.
After the first few trophy guys come in, it starts to get more chaotic. As described previously, there are about 12 stations, all setup with a complete set of tools and tire changers. Nobody is allocated a specific spot and they roll in the order they come into the pits. By the time the Club riders start overlapping, it's pure chaos. When everything is said and done, there are tire irons, hammers, vice grips, and tires laying all over the place. We then have to go back and try and piece together complete sets of all the appropriate tools and get them in their right spot for the next day.
I love watching the Trophy Riders, but I'm seriously impressed with the Club riders as well. Some of these guys have it down to a science and are very efficient, while others have obviously practiced, but when something goes wrong, it can really mess up their day (for example, if you change a rear, and then have time left for a front and you decide to change it, you are committed once you start into the process because you have to get the tire on the bike and get it to impound before the 15 minutes is up).
Nicole Bradford and her husband are total class acts. Nicole is always upbeat and happy and her performance on the course is great. Compared to the men, she's a tiny gal and just doesn't have the strength to use the same techniques for tire changes. Her husband has built her a lot of custom tools and they have a system down that works for them. Ben, her husband, does an awesome job coaching her through the process and remaining calm. Unfortunately, tonight she got into the same situation I described above. She started her front tire with 7 1/2 minutes to go and ran into some challenges and ended up losing 2 minutes on her time by the time she was done. This dropped her from 3rd overall Woman to 4th, but she's still got several days left.
Jeff Fredette and Fred Hoess are just total iron men. I watched them in the first test today and if you didn't know who was under the helmet, you would think you were watching a 20 year old. They are fast, efficient, and precise. There is a reason Fred has done 21 ISDE's and Jeff is going on number 30. I love watching Jeff come in as well. He acts like he's on a coffee break. He never gets ruffled. He never raises his voice. He's just super mellow and knows how to ride a dirt bike at world-class speed.
Cory and Shawn each changed one tire a piece and did some other maintenance. The coaching they received from Jake has been absolutely priceless. Their approach when they come into the pits tonight was very different. I was focused with Cory while Brad (Shawn's Dad) was working with Shawn. They came in within a minute of one another. Tonight Cory was calm, focused, and even joking around. Mental approach has a huge impact and just one day's experience has helped them both. He completed an oil change and front tire change in plenty of time.
Cory, Shawn, and Jake were all very close on times today. Cory commented that he and Shawn rode together for a good portion of the day. How cool is that! To be able have a friend from home with you and riding through the Mexican countrywide and forests together in the ISDE. Cory also said that despite the course being completely chewed up and brutal (he said it made Idaho City look like a cake walk), that he absolutely loved it and enjoyed it even more today. Surprisingly I heard both Cory and Shawn say several times that at times they felt like they were riding Idaho City, and then the next thing they knew, they were cruising along past little Mexican Villages with guys riding burros next to the trail.
Only two days in and the attrition has already started. I've seen more than one person walking back to the paddock. On our way back from the first special test today, we saw a Japanese rider on the side of the road. He had seized his Husky 300. I feel sooo bad when I see this kind of thing happening. Riders make such huge sacrifices to come and you hate to see them DNF as a result of something mechanical or some other error. We had one of the US Club riders dq'd today for riding backwards on the course in a small section (Mike Monroe I think).
If you've been monitoring the results (those in Utah), you've probably seen that the three Utah riders are very close to one another in their test scores. It's amazing how consistent they've been in riding near one another. They gained some positions today and tomorrow they start even earlier.
Here's one other little funny thing that happened tonight. We had a team meeting and all of the US Team meets and gets prepped on some rider and course notes for tomorrow as well as other administrative items to make sure the days goes smooth. After the meeting we're walking out of the hotel and Curt Caselli comes up to Jake and says "How are you?" imitating his best Finnish accent. Apparently Jake and Curt know one another because Jake knows everybody (seriously....more on that later). They get talking and pretty soon the entire US Trophy Team is standing around Jake and they're discussing the "Finnish" method of tire changes that they all keep hearing about. Curt and Destry comment that they've never known another method, but they'd love to learn a new technique (not to attempt it here at this ISDE, but possibly in the future). It was just this really funny ad-lib moment standing outside the hotel while the entire US Trophy Team is listening to Jake as if he's their team manager. He has their respect, that's for sure and it wouldn't surprise me one bit to see Jake giving Curt Caselli or Destry Abbott a personal tire changing lesson.
Here's another Jake story related to the tire changes. On Sunday, Shawn's Dad wanted to buy one of the Metzeler style tire changes that Jake was using. He went to the Metzeler rig in the paddock area and asked to buy one. They told him that unfortunately they had completely sold out and they didn't have anymore. Brad came back and mentioned it to Jake and he said "one moment". He took him to the Metzeler tent and introduced him to "Wolfgang" one of his long-time friends from over the year and one of the main guys, and a minute later, Brad was being escorted to the "Germans" pit where they had one, and within 5 minutes, Brad had a new Metzeler tire changer.
And...here's one more. Because Jake is so connected with the Finnish team (I believe he actually sponsors the Finnish Junior Team), he's obviously still tight with them although he's riding under the US umbrella. After the race today, he and Shawn and Cory all finished within minutes of each other. Jake grabs them and escorts them to the Finnish camp and they're treated to a sit-down five-star meal by the special chef that has been flown in specifially to feed the Finnish Team. So...you have the Finnish team and the Utah boys hanging out behind closed doors eating like kings and getting properly fed......priceless. Shawn and Cory came back grinning from ear to ear. (In defense of the US Team, they have some great volunteers that have a meal prepared for the Trophy riders so they can immediately begin to fuel again as soon as they are impounded.)
I had only met Jake a few times before coming to Mexico, but he's proving to be a priceless resource and a good friend to everyone.
And the last one, and then I really have to go to bed. From a few nights ago I posted a picture of Dave Kamo giving me a thumbs up after he secretly placed a Dave Kamo sticker on Pam's (Jake's wife) back at the parade in downtown Morelia. Tonight we were sitting in the team meeting and Dave Kamo came in and sat down right in front of Pam and I. She seized the opportunity to grab a bunch of stickers that Josh has to give out to all the little Mexican kids and managed to stick them on his back without him knowing....just long enough for me to grab photographic evidence. With all the seriousness, we also have to have some fun.