I hope that pic gets posted soon Home again now, sitting on the couch watching motogp with a cat on my lap. Nice to have some downtime. Tomorrow I need to go back to the real world
Got home late last night (plane had engine problems in Phoenix), just woke up, having coffee with wife and dog & cat and starting to catch up on ADV. What an adventure!!!! Meeting all of our fellow gnarly adventurers was great, you guys (and gals) rock, the event was fantastic but it was the people that put it over the top! Will write lots more later, lots of decompressing to do!
Day 1 stage two we ( bike 101 ) lost over 70 min due to Mag 7 seting up in the wrong place using GPS and not the Road book. When your the lead bike the Road book is your Bible PS. doing the Road book the night before was one of Fun parts!
Aside from my own personal attraction/fascination/history with the Baja peninsula... watching this years NORRA Mexican 1000 was particularly interesting for me... seeing that three of my old compadres from days of yore were there competing together... Now I know that this is only the (third?) running of this re-vítalized event (is it the second time it's used the roadbook/rally format? ) and I am sure there are idea's and opinions floating about in thought processes everywhere about how this event will move forward and improve... But one thing that struck me; as I flipped earlier today through a facebbok album of the Moto #101 team guys (Joe, Mark and Dana); was the low key feel and "spirit of cameraderie" that seems to flow as a central theme of this rally-cum-race. I'm sure the guys won't mind me putting these up or saying so... but so much of what these few photo's depict, sum up - what seems to me - the NORRA Mex 1K is all about! Check it out... I'm not sure if I got it 100%... but this seems like these were taken at the morning start of one of the day's competition (Day 3... from Bay of LA? ). Just look, competitors all standing together, smiling, sharing yarns about the day before... or what the day has in store... That's what it is all about, and i for one hope that it is a central part of this type of event that NORRA manages to keep alive as the event moves on. Even if it grows to encompass 100 plus riders! Dammit... looks like this could end up gettin' a bit expensive...
So stoked for everyone in the event. Congrats to the east coast guys for quite a finish. Actually, congrats to everyone. Really really nice work. Jeremy, you're quickly developing a resume for tracking. When am I going to see you in the saddle?
They have had the roadbook all three years. I think only a couple of people used it the first year, including me. I'm curious how many people used the roadbook this year, and of those people how many also had a GPS to look at while riding? I'm pushing NORRA to do more to encourage use of the roadbook and discourage use of GPS. I think they still need to allow GPS, for the old dogs that can't learn new tricks, but there should be some bonus or something for those who don't use GPS. We had a bunch of ideas a few weeks ago, but NORRA was unwilling to try any of them. Maybe next year?
Troy, yes those pics were the start of Day 3, but Loreto not Bay of L.A. Preparation for next year is already consuming all my thoughts. Been searching dealers looking for a good deal on a leftover 2011 WR450F, researching fuel tank options (need the range to be able to do without the unreliable Mag 7 next year) and just plain old daydreaming Also still kicking myself, if I had checked my spokes after Day 1 I feel like I could have finished all stages. In the end I "finished" but the bike spent 1/2 of day 2 on the back of a truck. Highlight of the week was when chatting with Mouse McCoy and Greg Tracy, I called myself a wannabe and they both immediately said I wasn't a wannabe, I was out there doing it.
Troy, That is before the Start on Day 3 just outside of Loreto. I could see this next year having 50+ bikes So I say you need to plan on flying in to LAX a week before the race next year and be ready for some fun!! Next year we are planing 5 race bikes: 2-KTM 640 rally 1-Aprilla 550 Rally 1- Berg and I hope to have a Vintage R80 Dakar ( Gaston Rally Replica) ready to race
Hey guys, Finally made it home last night. Driving out to Phoenix was a haul; hard to make good time. I thought the race was really fantastic. I really enjoyed meeting everyone, especially the bike guys. Those car guys are just another breed. Managed to get an X-ray and confirmed I broke my wrist in a couple places. I'll be going to see an ortho in the next few day but hopefully this will heal on it's own. The doc was not particularly impressed that I rode the last 80 miles of the stage with a broken wrist, but it doesn't look like anything is displaced. Like the rest of you, I'm dreaming about next year already. Not sure if I want to stick with the 350 and go faster now that we have a little experience or try to step up to something that will keep up with the big bikes on the straight stuff. Having a little more acceleration between 70 and 95 would be nice, especially in the soft stuff. I'm not sure how much of a difference the top speed made. I could run ~95 if it was hard packed and it doesn't sound like any of the bikes ran much faster than 100, 105. Hog, you did a great job with the road book. I managed to drop the GPS 10 miles into that 175 mile section and break it (trying to turn it back on because it kept shutting off), so I ran the rest of that stage road book only. Other than getting lost leaving la purisima, it didn't really cost me much time at all. Stage starts and towns were definitely the hardest places to use the road book. Too many options and there was a lot of navigation in a short amount of distance. 1/10th of a mile was not enough accuracy on the odometer to really be confident you were on the right course. I wouldn't really want to run the whole thing without a gps unless everyone was road book only, but I definitely stopped depending on it to navigate and only used it to double check I was on the right path every once in a while. It would be really nice to differentiate between hazards and navigational landmarks, though, especially for the washes and washouts. I don't want to slow down if it's just to confirm I'm on the right course and my odometer is accurate but I also don't want to get complacent and eat the far side of something steep. The only hazard I missed and got punished for was the washout on the surface road next to the highway on the run into los cabos. There was a small washout a 10th or 2 before the big one and I thought I was good to go. Just wanted to say thanks to Mark and Jay, my co-rider and our crew. Also, Mike, Chris, Octavio, I'll see you guys next year. :)
Aaron and I have a G on next years race. We never shook, but i have a feeling it's on. Im putting the bike together now with spares. V2R is on the list this year. Ill probably put off the 1k till 13.
Awesome. Let me know as your V2R plans come together. I'm not sure I'll be out there, but it's a possible.
I saw some really great photos that were being printed and sold at the awards ceremony, but I didn't get a chance to buy one. Does anyone know if these are available on the web somewhere? #36 XR
