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LINKS
Joe Barker (information source)
Rocky
Mountain (Bike parts and gear)
Rally
Track (mandatory GPS trackers)
Daniel Allford racing the 298x Honda XR400 in this year's Baja 500!
This year
we decided to race the Baja 500. In the end I made it to mile 310 (out of
420) and retired due to the combined effects of fatigue, darkness and a
feeble 35 watt headlight. The following Blog is intended to help anyone
who is considering racing in Baja. One DNF certainly does not make us
experts, but along the way we were fortunate to get great support and information
from a number of competent people. So it is their advice and our
experiences I am sharing with you today. I am big on preparation. Before
we reached Baja, I commented that I knew that there was some kind of
unforeseen surprise waiting for me. As it happened, the surprise was how
technical the track was, which caused me to have to race slower, which
caused me to have to race in the dark, which caused me to retire from the
race. My notes are presented here to amuse and more importantly to reduce
the number of surprises you have in your race.
I am
including some links to various products and vendors which worked for me.
They certainly don’t sponsor us, so my referrals are all in good faith.
I hope some of you readers will make comments, corrections and submit
recommended links to me at arcsp@wt.net
. I will try to incorporate these comments and any other recommended links
you submit.
Joe
Barker (the source of a LOT of my information)
SCORE
(the good people who put this thing on)
Rocky
Mountain (Bike parts and riding gear)
Rally Track (mandatory GPS trackers)
At age 49, I have been
riding and racing motorcycles since I was 15; motocross at first, followed
by trials and road racing. Except for the trials, all the competition was
many years ago. In 2003, I crashed a Formula Car into the wall at turn 1
at Texas Motor Speedway at 110mph. My HANS device allowed me to walk away
from a totaled car. It seemed like a good time to retire from Formula Car
racing. To help fill the void I purchased a ’01 Honda XR400R with a Baja
kit and a license plate. My brother Phil and several of his firefighting
buddies were desert riding in the Big Bend area of Texas near the Mexican
border. I made a couple of trips with them and had a lot of fun. They went
on to ride in Baja in 2006. They happen to arrive in Ensenada during the
2006 Baja 500 event. They got wrapped up in the whole extravaganza and
decided to come back and race it in 2007. Some where around then, they
conned me into joining the team. Thus was born the Desert Division of
Redshift Racing
Since I had never even
seen Baja, I started researching the race. I could not find reliable
information on the web. But, from another life, I happen to know a
manager for a large team. Joe Barker was immensely helpful and wasted a
lot of time on the phone with me. THANKS JOE. I
took MOST of his advice, and had I taken all of it, I would at least have
a finishers pin. The other person who helped us was Carlos from Baja Pits.
I recommend that you use Baja Pits and that you listen to Carlos.
Joe said: “the
KLR 650 is NOT recommended” something Phil already knew, but he never
was one to do it the easy way. After Phil saw how tough the course was, he
began to see Joes point, but he raced until the connecting rod let loose
at mile 180.
My XR400 was a
tolerable choice, but next year I will have a CRF450X or
a KTM 524EXC. The suspension on the XR, even with modifications is
less than desirable on all the whoops (30% of the course).
Most of the bikes
seemed to be either KTM or Honda. I have been racing Hondas since the
Elsinore CR125 came out in the 70s, so I still had some loyalty.
This is the big one,
in terms of money, time and effect on your speed and ability to finish.
To satisfy the tech
inspectors you need a tail light, and cable ties on your spokes (an out of
date rule but one of the few things they seem to look for). I used the
small Baja Designs light, but I didn’t like the bulb socket. So I
soldered a couple of wires directly on a LED automotive tail light bulb,
works great, never burns out, and wont shake out of the socket. I didn’t
notice when the Loco Mocos added their sticker. The plate on the top of
the fender is a Rally Track mount. You buy the mount and rent the tracker,
no more stub cans! http://www.rallytrack.com/
Suspension
is the biggest factor and is very
different compared to stock bike set-ups. Suspension
should be tuned for Baja Race conditions and your style. I only managed to
change the springs, valves, oil and clamp height of my front end. The
front end worked well and I regret not doing the shock. I will rebuild the
shock before next year, and I will only be using the XR as a prerunner!
In Formula Car racing, they won’t let
you on the track without mirrors so I have grown used to them.
I didn’t see many mirrors in Baja, but I like to know what is behind me,
and it is quicker and safer to glance in a mirror than it is to turn you
head.
Speedometer, but you can eliminate this if
you are using a GPS with a speed display. I liked the redundancy. I
gotta work on that average speed.
Get a good head light, such as the Baja
Designs Diablo. https://www.bajadesigns.com/NET/mainframe2.aspx?content=
My XR400 would not power the HID light without rewinding the stator. So I
was limited to a 35 watt headlight. This is adequate for poking along on a
trail, but I found that in the silt and sand, I could not ride fast enough
to stay on top of the soft stuff. The fast guys won’t need a light in
the 500. You do the math and decide of you will finish in the daylight.
You will need either a clear or wire guard over your headlight to protect
it from the roost. My wire guard let the lens get dirty and prevented me
from cleaning it too. I plan to hinge it next year, so I can clean it.
Steering Dampeners are highly recommended.
I didn’t buy one, and think that contributed to the worst crash I
experienced. Baja is all about bouncing off all sorts of rocks, ruts and
ledges and generally keeping the bike pointed in the race direction. Next
year I will have the Scott dampener, there goes another $500. http://www.scottsperformance.com/damperinfo.php
Safety wire your brake caliper bolts, particularly
the front. High speed endos are seldom fun.
Another trick is to safety wire your brake
pads so they don’t fall out when you change wheels. I didn’t bother,
because I didn’t plan to change wheels, but it sounded like a good idea.
The pros can change wheels in under 20 seconds, and this is one of their
tricks, along with power tools and lots of practice.
Folding shifter and rear brake pedal are a
must. Install some weed guard wires (running from the shifter and brake to
the frame) will keep out the weeds if you go off course.
Use a light weight skid pad, drill 1”
holes for cooling. You will use it. I bent a foot peg mount during the
race, and I don’t even remember which impact did it.
Set the forks low in the triple clamps,
this will increase your rake, which improves high speed straight line
stability. This will sacrifice some cornering, but that is less important.
Safety wire your drain plugs. Loosing a
drain plug is a stupid and costly way to end a race.
Some kind of hand guards are needed over
the levers. I just ran plastic, but I saw plenty of the aluminum type.
Since I was running the stock 2.6 gallon
tank, I made a storage rack for an auxiliary fuel bottle. During the race
I used the storage tube for my jacket. The fuel jug is a 1 liter camping
fuel jug from MSR, which I bought at REI. I bored a piece of
PVC, notched it to fit the frame and secured it with 2 hose clamps. The
clamps compress the PVC enough to hold the fuel jug.
Leave enough room for a couple of SCORE
sticker, which they will give you at tech inspection.
Do whatever it takes to waterproof the
bike. Three of the creek crossings were so deep that my exhaust went under
water (almost 3 foot!). The XR coughed once, but kept running.
I like the grips with knurl pattern on the
top where your palm contacts and grid pattern on the bottom where your
fingers grip.
From trials, I have taken to positioning
my levers so that I can use one finger for the clutch and front brake. I
ride with my index finger on the brake all the time. If you move the lever
perch inboard, you can achieve enough pressure with one finger to lock the
front wheel. I leave one finger on the clutch too. Particularly on the
slow stuff where I may have to slip the clutch. When the going gets
fast and rough, then I just shift without the clutch.
On the XR400s engine, I did the mods you
see on the net. I ground out the welds on the inside of the headers which
hold the pipe to the flange. I drilled several ¼” holes around the
stinger to reduce back pressure. I swapped the air filter to a Uni model
and removed the snorkel from the top of the air box. Then I rejetted it to
155 main and 55 pilot with stock needle setting. This made a worthwhile
improvement. I tried to leave the snorkel on and the bike ran poorly. But
while I was running through the water, I thought about the fact that the
snorkel would have kept out the water a bit better. I bought a thin foam
lawn mower prefilter with metal screen backing. This I installed over the
inlet of the air box as a pre filter. It worked well. In a pinch, I was
planning to pull it out through the air box if it had gotten too dirty. I
mention the engine mods because in stock form, it is hard to wheelie the
XR400. And you need to be able to float the front wheel over the
obstacles. Make sure your bike can wheelie with out a lot of jerking on
the bars. The power of the XR was perfect, it pulls like a tractor with a
huge powerband. You can miss a down shift and it simply chugs up the hill.
A peaky MX motor would have worn me out and probably caused a few stalls.
And you should prep 2 bikes. A prerunner
is a very good idea, save the race bike for the race. My first year, I ran
just one bike. But now that I’m hooked, I am planning to just use the XR
for pre running and set up a race bike for the race.
Before the race, do all the normal
preparation. Check bolts, chain tension, air filter, new tires, check the
sprockets, the cables, brake fluid, coolant and change the oil. You have
invested too much time and money to get this far and have a mechanical
failure.
For the front tire wiser people than
I recommended the Pirelli MT18 and it worked well. http://www.rockymountainatv.com/productDetail.do?navType=type&priceRange=allPrices&webTypeId=139&navTitle=Tires+and+Wheels&webCatId=8&vehicleType=&pageLinkUri=&brandId=204&prodFamilyId=3521
The front tube wasn’t a tube at all. I
ran a Michelin bib mousse foam tube NO AIR! NO FLATS! In theory, they have
a limited lifespan. The fast guys break them down in a 500 mile race I’m
told. As the break down the apparent pressure drops, I have 1000
miles on mine with no sign of deterioration. They are tough to
install, it required 1 hour and 1 ½ beers for me to install the tire over
the Bib. But the huge advantage not worrying about front flats made
it a great deal. http://www.rockymountainatv.com/productDetail.do?navType=type&navTitle=Tires+and+Wheels&webTypeId=144&webCatId=8&vehicleType=&pageLinkUri=&prodFamilyId=3342
Rear tire use Bridgestone ED78 Desert good
traction and heavy enough sidewalls to ride flat. I know you can run flat,
because I did. I finished a section while prerunnning which had a lot of
sand. The rear tire felt a bit soft, but I just thought it was the sand.
It was not until I stopped that I noticed I had a flat. I was running
a rim lock which kept the tire from spinning and saved the tube so I could
patch it. http://www.rockymountainatv.com/productDetail.do?navType=type&navTitle=Tires+and+Wheels&webTypeId=139&webCatId=8&vehicleType=&pageLinkUri=&prodFamilyId=286
Rear tube: Bridgestone ultra heavy duty.
Inflate to 16 psi. This thing is very heavy and tough, I think that the
added bulk helped me to run flat. I didn’t run a Bib Mousse in the rear
because the fast guys tend to destroy them (the heat generated by the back
tire turns them to dust and chunks. I may run one next year, I
suspect they would last 500 miles for us mortals. http://www.rockymountainatv.com/productDetail.do?navType=type&navTitle=Tires+and+Wheels&webTypeId=144&webCatId=8&vehicleType=&pageLinkUri=&prodFamilyId=311
On the bike I cable tie spare front brake
and clutch lever.
In
my tool belt I carry:
Cable
ties
Spare
fuse
Spare
bulb
Spare
fuel filter
Duct
tape
Safety
wire
Cable
ties
Chem
light
Helmet
light (doubles as a flashlight)
AA
batteries (for GPS)
AAA
batteries (for my speedometer)
10
12 13 14 open end wrenches
T
handle wrench with sockets
5mm
allen wrench
Gerber
multi tool
Axle
wrench
CO2
inflator for tire
Tire
Irons
Screw
driver
Patch
kit
During
the race I removed the inflator and tire irons to save weight, with a Bib
in the front and the Bridgestone in the back with rim locks, I wasn’t
going to stop and fix any flats.
In
my camelback I carry:
Satellite
phone, with dialing instructions (it isn’t like a cell) and a contact
list with phone numbers
Passport
Wallet
with drivers license
First
Aid kit
In
the truck:
Sprockets
and chain
Rear
tube
Rear
tire
Handle
bars
Grips
Over my life, I have
been survived a 110mph impact against a concrete wall thanks to a safety
gear (6 point racecar seat belt and a HANS). I have also cracked
motorcycle, and bicycle helmets in various misadventures. I
believe in the importance of good safety gear. Starting at the top,
get a good, light helmet. As an ex race car driver, I know that the added
mass of the helmet can strain your neck in interesting ways. Lighter
helmets reduce this issue. I will be watching the development of the
new collars being tested to protect your cervical vertebra. On the back of
your helmet, put your name, age, blood type, medical conditions, and contact
info. I also list the fact that I have a sat phone in my pack along with
important phone numbers. Make sure your helmet has a current sticker
inside, SCORE tech will check.
I don’t think the
old style neck collars are of much value. They may save a collar
bone, and some times I wear one, because they are cheap.
I use a Fox chest
protector with shoulder cups. This is one thing required by SCORE. I also
use Fox elbow guards and highly recommend them. When you fall in
Baja, you have a high chance of landing on rock. Buy good gloves and build
up good calluses, or tape your hands.
I use Asterisk Knee braces. They are
pricey at $500 but I don’t have a year to spend healing up from knee
surgery. They stop all the rocks that get roosted at you. These
things look like braces your orthopedic surgeon would prescribe. Like all
your other gear, it takes a bit of getting used to. You feel bow legged at
first since they move your knees 2 inches away from the tank. https://www.asterisk.com/secured.php
look at the Cell model. The Asterisk braces must be worn over long
underwear, or the leg coverings Asterisk provides. I went for the full
length riding underwear with the crotch pad.
I used Fox MX pants, which fit over the
Asterisk braces without any problem. These pants have built in hip pads,
which you will need.
I used Scott goggles with clear lens. I
picked the desert model which has very dense foam for vents. I had run
some Scott MX goggles, but the dust went right through the thin foam
vents. I am a big fan of tear offs, but they just don’t help in Baja so
don’t bother with them.
Don’t forget a jacket, if you plan on
riding after dark, it will get cold, just when you are least able to cope
with it.
I used a camel back,
it is almost essential. I put the minimum amount of stuff in the pockets,
just the Sat phone, wallet and little else. I secured my spare air filter
on the camel back in a plastic bag since that didn’t add any weight. You
don’t want any more weight hanging on your shoulders. Instead I used a
Fox tool belt to hold my minor spares and tools.
A GPS isn’t
essential, but I recommend it. The course is fairly well marked with
ribbons, but sometimes it is nice to be able to glance at the GPS
and confirm you are on course. The other advantage would be to use it to
mark your pits, and any dangerous obstacle. Set up your display to show
speed, so you can avoid busting the 60mph speed limit while on the road
sections. A GPS is also a safety issue, if you call for help on your Sat
phone, you need to be able to tell them where you are. SCORE publishes a
GPS compatible map of the course. Take the time to down load it into your
GPS. I used a Garmin 60CSe, which worked fine, but could not hold all the
track points of SCORE map, so I had to reduce the resolution, but this did
not affect the functionality of the system. I used a bicycle mounting
cradle from Garmin, but better ones are available at:
http://www.cycoactive.com/
You should wire it into your bikes power, so you can run the display at
high brightness at all times.
The 500 is a tough as racing MX, or road
bicycles, or mountain bikes. And it goes on for a long time, depending on
your team strategy. Racing the 500 solo is referred to Iron Manning it.
And that is a good analogy. I train with a Iron Man tri athlete, and the
long miles we ride bicycles and run are perfect training for the 500, but
I still need some weight training for my upper body and arms. I started
doing multiple hour long sessions on at a local natural terrain motocross
track with just a 3 minute break in between. This helped me practice as
well as get in shape. I train pretty hard, year around, but fatigue was
still a major factor in my decision to retire from the race. My point:
your cannot gut this thing out. You need to mentally tough, but you must
to be fit.
I used the same nutritional techniques I
use for long distance bicycle racing. I learned it from my training buddy
who races Iron Man Triathlons. I know from personal experience that you
only have 1 hour of glycogen in your muscles, after that you are relying
on fat, which is a poor fuel. So you need to replenish your energy stores
while you race. Gator aid is good, but your really need an endurance drink
with protein in it too. From your camel back drink a
performance drink during the race like Revenge Pro http://www.champion-nutrition.com/champion/products/revenge_pro.php?section=endurance
and a recovery drink afterward like ProScore 100 http://www.champion-nutrition.com/champion/products/proscore.php?section=recovery
The recovery drink is very helpful, but should be consumed within 30
minutes of stopping for maximum benefit. I also eat a power bar every 50
miles. Gel packs are good too, I just don’t care for them.
You
must train to eat, because you don’t want to start a new diet on the day
of the race. Go do some 100 mile bicycle rides. This will teach you the
merit of nutrition and train you to eat on the go.
Satellite Phone
Rent a satellite
phone. We rented 5 for $1000 for a week. These proved invaluable. They
aren’t perfect, frequently the connections were poor, but there isn’t
a good alternative. We used them during pre running to allow us to hook up
with the crew truck, and to check on riders who were late. We even used
them to call home, and didn’t come close to using up our 300 minute
allowance. If you do use up the minutes, they will just bill you, so you
don’t have to worry about running out of minutes during an emergency.
Carlos recommended: Tina at All Road Communications AllRoadcommunications.com/about/contact.aspx
Toll free 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 888.884.ROAD/888.884.7623 or
619.596.4574. Tina was a big help, setting us up with spare batteries
(carry it), chargers, and magnetic mount antenna for the truck. One of the
things on my helmet, along with name, blood type etc was: Satellite Phone
in back pack. Along with the phone I put contact numbers for my crew and
the other riders. Calling directly to a sat phone can be very costly, but
All Road provides a long distance number at their shop in California, by
calling this number, you can call the sat phone and only pay your normal
long distance rates.
Cellular Phones
Cingular
phones work in Baja, and since sat phones are costly to call to directly,
a Cingular phone is great for normal calling. But it won’t replace the
sat phone when you are miles from the road and the cell towers. Some
people recommended cheap prepaid phones, but I don’t have a specific
source.
Radios
I am a big fan of
radios from car racing, but the limited range of normal 5 watt hand held
radio limits the usefulness. Score uses 2m amateur band for race control.
We used a scanner in the crew truck to monitor the “Weatherman” during
the race. But for a rider, we felt it would be too distracting and provide
very little applicable information. So we didn’t run radios on the
bikes. Baja Pits monitors 154.980. This could be useful if you wanted to
radio ahead for the pit to prepare for you, but Carlos’s crew is so
fast, I don’t see much advantage. But I saw a number of bikes with
radios, so there must be something to it.
All the Mexicans we met were friendly and
helpful. At the military roadblock, race bikes were waived through without
delay. On course I was helped by strangers. But there are always a few bad
apples. Beware thieves, stay in a secure place and watch your stuff. We
stayed out of the city in a beach house, which was secure. We heard of at
least one truck being stolen.
We bought 3 policies for
the trip. One was liability for the bike, I figured I needed it while pre
running. Another for the truck, which is essential, and a medical
extrication policy, just in case. Fortunately we didn’t use any of them
This was my biggest
mistake. To do the 500 solo is not trivial. I am in good shape, running at
least 12 miles a week and riding a bicycle at least 50, plus some weight
training. But after 10 hours, I was definitely riding slower, my average
dropped below 30mph. After 14 hours, with the added problem of poor
headlight in the dark, fatigue was the added issue which caused me to
retire. I plan to return next year with a 2 man team and ride the 1st
and 3rd hundred mile sections. This approach should allow me to
keep up my speed, drastically improve my chance to finish, be safer and
hopefully allow us to finish ahead of the trucks. Your mileage may vary,
at age 49 I am starting to feel the limitations of age.
I recommend you find a
reliable, resourceful, energetic person to be your crew chief. You can’t
have Chris Marvel, he is already taken. Chris and I have been racing
together (mostly cars on road courses) for over 15 years. Find someone you
trust and treat them well. The crew will need to support you during
prerunning by dropping you off and picking you up at various sections,
otherwise you are going to put a lot of highway miles on the bikes. The
truck needs:
The racers numbers on
both sides in 8” letters.
Fuel for pre running
Scanner to monitor
Score race control
Sat phone to keep in
touch with the racers.
Tools, spares, food
and drinks
All the cool guys have
helicopters, but it ain’t in the budget. So we relied on Chris and the
Excursion. During the race, it is hard for a single crew truck to support
both “sides” of the race. So you must decide to either support the
first half, or the second. The crew trucks tend to race around the roads,
frequently causing accidents. We decided that we would use the truck on
the first half of the race, where historically most of the problems occur.
Chris would travel from highway crossing to highway crossing waiting for
his racers to pass. In theory the crew trucks are not supposed to be on
course in the dirt sections, but there are plenty out there so watch out.
As it happened, we didn’t need any help from our crew until the 2nd
half, but it was still the right decision. You want to be able to react to
a problem early in the race. Of course the hot set up is two trucks.
There are many ways to
hurt yourself before and during this race. In my opinion, the biggest risk
is visibility both from dust and the terrain. The dust gets so dense you
can’t see 5 foot. And it is easy to run fast enough that you won’t be
able to stop. The only thing you can do about this is to pre run a lot.
You not only learn the course, but you learn Baja. You learn what to
expect based on terrain. The big teams have helicopters above watching out
for them. The helicopters warn the slower trucks and bikes that they are
being overtaken, as well as extend the vision of the racer. If a
helicopter isn’t in your budget this year, you can still benefit from
the teams which have them. I was caught by the trucks around mile 250.
When the copters flew over, I pulled over.
Trucks and buggies are
a problem. I personally only experienced reasonable drivers passing me. I
made an effort to watch behind me and try to pull off before I was passed.
For this purpose, I recommend a good mirror. But several times, I would be
startled by the sound of a siren behind me. When this happens, hold your
line, don’t freak out and make unpredictable movements and look for the
first opportunity to pull off and let the truck pass. I see these passes
as a risky situation, not a good time to lay the bike down in front of a
race truck. But this is the nature of the race. You have two possible
solutions. First is simply run fast enough that the trucks don’t catch
you. There is a 3 hour separation between the last bike/atv and the
first truck. Since I got caught 160 miles before the finish, I need to go
a LOT faster. Next year, by racing with a team, I will be faster. Report
to follow after the race next year. Another recommendation is to race in
one of the Pro classes, the entry fee is a few hundred $ more, but you
start earlier and have a longer interval before the trucks start. Next
year I go Pro!
Natural terrain
is a safety issue. I fell over whoop t doos, large loose rocks, fence post
still attached to the fence with barbed wire. Going off course is a bad
idea. I managed to stay on course, and still found plenty of things to
cause me to crash. My point: maintain enough control to stay on course.
Unnatural terrain can
get you too. Everyone has heard about the booby traps that the locals
build to enhance your experience, and liven up their spectating
experience. In 2007, I only saw one booby trap. A overzealous
spectator had placed several small tree trunks across the track, dug a
trench after the trees, and used the dirt to cover most of the
trunks. I think he was trying to build a jump, but it came off more like
an 18 inch speed bump. I wheeled over it but it kicked my rear end up. If
you see groups of spectators in an area where you don’t remember any
obstacles, then watch for booby traps. Overall the spectators did much
more to help me than hurt me.
Expect to find race
bikes and trucks blocking the track, and even running counter race. More
so in pre running, but even on race day. You will also find locals driving
on the race track, just like they own it (and they probably do). You
will also encounter livestock. During prerun, you will find closed gates
(gaps really). Don’t clothes line yourself and close them after you
pass.
The bottom line on
safety is that the speeds are not terribly high. Race averages of 40
mph are typical. Granted, that is tough to maintain, but the
good news is much of the time, you are going slow enough that crashes
produce nothing more that bruises. I heard of 1 bike racer with
a bad fib/tib fracture, another who was hit by a truck, but uninjured.
Since I’m new to the sport, I don’t have enough history to gauge the
overall risk. One thing you must consider is the distance to help. Score
will copter you out, during the daylight. Night time crashes mean a truck
ride out. Then you still are in a foreign country. I recommend purchasing
the medical extrication insurance from: http://www.binationalemergency.org/
which is good for Mexico, cheap at $30/yr. I also carry an American
Express travel medical policy card, $150/yr buys you $50,000 in coverage
for medical and extrication from any country, it even pays if you are
100miles from home.
Carlos says the
biggest issue is fatigue induced crashes. When conditions and fatigue
combined to take away my margin for error, I retired from the race.
Since
I had never even seen Baja, I consulted a lot of people on the reality of
racing Baja on a bike. People like Carlos at Baja pits were very
encouraging, My friend Joe said it was doable, but had some risks. Some of
the racers were very encouraging, others bitched and moaned about the
fact that too many people were signing up for the race. My point is you
will get mixed messages. If you like mental, physical and mechanical
preparation; want to a endurance racing event which may last 20 hours and
you can overlook little problems like trucks running counter race, then
join us next year.
What
is the single issue you would stress
I
put this question to Joe and Carlos.
Joe
said: Make sure your
suspension, your vision and your tires are good. The bikes are all
similar. And be prepared to fall on rocks (see personal protective gear).
Carlos said: be physically and mentally
ready to race for 500 miles.
The fast guys pre run each section
they are going to race 4-5 times at increasing speeds. You need to
ride everything at least once. The only section I didn’t prerun, Mikes
Sky Ranch, had all the water crossings, and I didn’t realize the
magnitude of the problem (spelled depth of water) until the day of the
race. The 2nd deep one almost got me. The course will change as
the trucks run so try to get in one last run near the race date. Silt beds
will become deep holes (can cover your motor!). “Hot lines” will
develop around problem areas such as silt beds. And whoop t doos just get
worse and worse. Prerun at all times of the day to get used to light
conditions. If your average speed won’t allow you to finish before dark,
then practice racing the late sections in the dark. During prerunning,
beware counter race traffic, of all types. Remember that during prerunning,
the race trucks are out there with you. When you hear the siren or the
horn, be prepared to move over at your next opportunity. Being passed by a
Trophy truck or a buggy is something you need to practice. I found all the
trucks and buggies to be reasonable about passing, but I try return the
favor and get off line as soon as I get an opportunity.
One of the best
bargains on the planet is Baja Pits http://www.bajapits.com/.
For $175 Carlos will provide around 9 pits along the race course. He
charges $6/gallon for 100 LL race gas (sorry no pump gas). You buy as much
fuel as you wish and then tell Carlos where you want it. He also had 2
front and 2 rear tires and tubes at each pit in case you need them. Plus
tools, water welding machines and a very enthusiastic and efficient crew.
You can also stage anything you wish at any pit you wish. Mounted tires,
air filters, gator aid, food, goggles and a jacket are some possible
suggestions. I opted to carry my spare air filter and my jacket with me to
insure I had it when I needed it.
Since I was riding a
XR400 with a stock fuel tank, I had marginal fuel to skip pit stops. So I
staged 2 gallons at each pit, along with gator aid to refill my camel
back. Since I was racing solo, I knew that I had to eat, or bonk. At each
pit, I got off the bike and ate a power bar while the crew fueled the bike
and cleaned my goggles. The only other thing I had the pit crew do was
straighten a foot peg I bent around mile 150. It was causing the kick
starter to jam down, making starting even less fun than usual. It took 4
men and a large pipe to bend the peg back to shape, but they did so with
speed and gusto.
The guys in the front
of the pack will need to change the rear tire during the race. I put on a
new rear before the start, and it was worn but not to the point it needed
changing at mile 310 when I retired.
Carlos also provides
fuel at a limited number of pits during some of the prerunning. This
would have been a big help to me, if we had pre run while the pits were
open. Without fuel on course, we were not able to pre run the Sky Ranch
section due to limited range.
Carlos has satellite
phones at every pit, plus he monitors and transmits on 154.980.
I have also heard good
things about the other pit services Mag 7 and Honda Pits. But I have no
regrets using Baja Pits and I will use them next year too. Carlos and his
crew are doing this for the love of the sport, it certainly isn’t for
the money. If I wasn’t racing, I would probably volunteer for Carlos.
You sign up for the
race by down loading a SCORE entry form off the www.scoreinternational.com
site. You can fax or mail it in. If you are not a member, they will bill
you a membership fee. If you pay the full fee in time, you get
preferential “express” registration. Something I skipped. I was at the
host hotel early, and registration was quick and painless. By the time I
left, there was a long line. You get a wrist band, and a tech inspection
sheet. Take the sheet with you to tech.
My most recent
experiences with tech inspection have been at SCCA road races. SCCA
“Scrutineers” are known to be very, lets say, detail oriented. So I was worried about SCORE tech. For bikes at least, there
is nothing to worry about. Bring your tech inspection sheet from your
registration package with you. Find the mile long line of trucks and
buggies being inspected, figure out where the head of the line is and just
go to it. Bikes don’t wait in line. They will check 4 things as far as I
can tell. Your tail light, (but I've heard they will accept bicycle LED
lights), your cable ties on your spokes, your first aid kit (specified in
the rule book) and the Snell sticker in your helmet. They also look for
SCORE stickers, and give them to you if you don’t have them. It is an
easy, friendly process. They don’t look at boots, gloves, chest
protector. I was worried about all the specifics in the rule book (you do
have a rule book right?) such as number sizes, but they inspectors seems
to focus on safety and not
petty details. I showed up in shorts, sandals and my helmet and zipped
through in 15 minutes. Apparently, some of the trucks or buggies must be
annually inspected including a magnetic particle inspection, but this is
just what I overheard.
This is mandatory and
fun anyway. Not much new information was given.
Be on the line on
time, or they will start you at the back of the pack and still use your
official (earlier) starting time for scoring. They grid you by marking
your number on the asphalt. Find your place, park the bike and wait until
the starter rolls your group. Sid
really does come by and shake your hand and wish you luck. Seemed like a
good guy. This year they started us on 15 sec. intervals, rather
than the normal 30 second. The process is orderly and simple. You can’t
help but get wrapped up in the enthusiasm. The crowd is huge, particularly
at the man made jump in the ditch. Try to get some air off the jump, the
crowd and the photographers expect it.
After
all the expense and preparation, it had better be fun. The good news is
that it is all worth it. I like passing, and with 500 competitors there is
plenty of opportunity. The dust makes passing a challenge, however since
this is a long race, people are not running 10/10ths all the time. So if
you catch someone, you have some speed in reserve to pass with. Remember
that they probably don’t know you are there, and the nature of the
course is you make abrupt moves to avoid the obstacles. So choose you
passing opportunities carefully.
I
have many good memories from the race. My favorite was the water
crossings. I didn’t get a chance to prerun Mikes Sky Ranch section due
to fuel range limitations. A big mistake. All the other water crossings
were shallow and trivial. So when I got to a substantial creek, and I
noticed a large crowd of spectators (not a good sign), I slowed down and
plowed through. It kept getting deeper and deeper until my exhaust went
under. But the bike didn’t miss a stroke and I motored out the otherside,
with a bit more respect for the crossings. So the next crossing looked
deeper and there were more spectators. I shifted to first, slid back on
the seat and started through. Again the exhaust went under so the water
was 3 feet deep. Everything was going well until I hit a large submerged
rock and I was going down. I wheeled the bike and pivoted on the rear
wheel so that I could hang the front tire on the left bank before I fell.
The bike hung on the edge, thankfully with the engine out of the water,
while I fell back into the creek. Instantly there were 4 guys helping me
push the bike out. My boots were full of water and the bike would not kick
start. So I lay on my back while a helpful spectator held my feet up in
the air to drain my boots. While this was going on, I heard my motor
start. The spectators had pushed my bike up a hill and bump started it on
the way down. They pointed it in race direction and cheered as I sped off.
The
silt beds were everything I expected and more. The silt isn’t the
problem, it is the ruts and rocks hidden underneath. I can’t say I have
mastered the silt yet. Sit back, hang on, gas it and hope you don’t hit
anything significant under there. My bother started ahead of me, and I was
able to pass him when he fell in a silt bed. He said he could hear me
laughing as I rode by and roosted him with silt.
The
track gets worse with every passing vehicle. The silt and the water gets
deeper and the whoops get deeper too. But a funny thing happened in the
race. Once you are racing, and not just prerunning, the red haze sets in
and the course gets easier. At the 2nd pit, I told Chris the
crew chief “I must be off course, because it seems much flatter than it
was during prerunning”. Chris just grinned. If you love racing, I’m
sure you will experience the same thing once you put on your race face.
Just
before the Trophy truck caught me, I came upon a rider pinned under his
KTM in a silt bed on a narrow section. Every racer seems to look out for
their fellow racers. I stopped and lifted the bike off him. He was
appreciative, particularly since the trucks were bearing down on us at the
time, and lying on the course is not a good place to be.
There
was no missing the Trophy Trucks. Their helicopters circled over my head
until I moved off course. Some of the trucks would even wave in
appreciation. Talking with some of the truck and buggy drivers, they
warned me that they rely so much on their GPS that they will run fast in
thick dust which severely limits visibility. So, don’t let a truck pass
then jump in behind in the dust, you will be invisible, and you don’t
show up on the GPS. Let the dust settle a bit, then head out. Remember
most of the trucks don’t have helos so if you don’t see them, the
first time you know they are there is when you hear their sirens. Hold
your line and look for a place to pull over. Next year, we will strive to
go fast enough to not get passed. But it is not that easy.
The
check points are a simple thing, they hold out a stop sign, until they can
read your number, then they drop it. I never had to come to a full stop.
When
it got dark, I stopped at the next to last pit, filled my tank, cleaned my
goggles and headlight, ate a power bar and headed off into the darkness. I
had a weak 35 watt headlight,
and a bright but narrow beam light on my helmet. Nether one was enough.
After a couple of miles I went off course and didn’t realize it for over
a mile, until a race truck passed in the distance. This is when a back lit
GPS would have helped, because the only other track markers are bits of
colored plastic ribbons ever half mile or so. These are easy to miss in
daylight, and I never saw one in the dark. I made my way back to the track
and was making decent progress until I hit the sandy whoops. During the
day (or with a decent light) I could ride these fast enough to float on
top of the sand. At night I had to slow down to not ride beyond my light,
when I did, I sank. This sapped my energy even further, and sealed my
decision to retire. I jumped onto a road, stopped and used my sat phone to
contact the crew. Several locals stopped by to check on me, and one of
them even lead me down a unfamiliar road to get me back to the highway. My
brother had snapped a connecting rod at mile 180 and our crew was on its
way to collect him. I rode back to the main highway and met them on the
way.
We
got back to our condo around 1 am, no finishers pins, but still happy and
much wiser for the experience. I probably should have just gone down and
spectated the first time, but what fun would that be? My only regrets are
not running as a team, and not having a big light. I will be back in
’08. I hope to see you down there.
If
you have comments, corrections or links you would like for me to add,
email them to me at arcsp@wt.net
Dan
Allford #298X
July
1 2007
All Copyrights
Reserved: Redshift Racing
2007