2014 Mexican 1000
Race Day 2
It
was an early start this morning (well they all are). Up by about 4:30am
to get ready for a 6:00am start. By virtue of my 4th place finish the
previous day, I would be starting 4th today (so at about 6:04am). The
bike had been prepped well by my crew the night before. The day would
start with a 68 mile liaison (almost to Catavina) before the starting
the first of two racing Specials for the day (the first would be about
128 miles).
Cory drove one
of the trucks towards the end of the liasion (or start of the Special)
to top me off with gas when I arrived, while Joel and Robbie followed
me to the start of the liaison. I wasn't planning on it being so cold
this morning. So before the start, Robbie gave me his fleece to wear on
the liaison.
Getting ready at the Start...
The pics above
have been adjusted for the light, but it was still pretty dark at the
start. The liaison would climb in elevation and it got pretty cold, so
I was thankful for Robbie's fleece.
Here I am pulling into the end of the liaison stage...
Cory got me
gassed up, and I changed from Robbie's fleece to a racing jacket that
my brother Keith had worn during his Baja 1000 race in 1976. While I
was getting ready for the Special, Joel and Robbie arrived. The next
time I would see my crew would be at the end of the 128 mile Special.
Getting ready for the start of the racing Special...
The course would
head from just north of Catavina west towards the coast; and about the first
35 or so miles of the course was absolutely beautiful, and really fun
riding. Just before the course reached the coast, it got pretty rocky
and would remain quite rocky for quite a while. NORRA had arranged for
a gas pit near Punta Blanco, and although I probably had enough
fuel to make it to the end of the Special, I decided to get about a
gallon of gas just to make sure.
Unfortunately
a
few miles after the gas pit, and while still in the rocks I got a flat
front tire. I knew I had about 10 miles of rocky terrain before the
road became relatively flat (and fast dirt). Without a stand to
help in changing out the tube, I decided to keep running on the flat
front. I actually managed to keep a pretty good pace in the rough
(since it was slow goings anyway), but
when I hit the fast dirt road, I could only ride about 25mph while the
others were running probably 50 or 60 mph, and got passed by several of
the other racers. I probably rode about 40 miles total on the flat
front tire before finally
pulling into the end of the Special and to my pit crew.
The pit crew relaxing before I show up...
And here I finally pull into the finish of the Special with the flat front tire...
Despite the flat, I still managed to finish 8th overall for the stage and 1st again in the +50 class.
I pull up to the
truck, and the crew works to swap out my front wheel, and get me gassed
up for the liaison to the start of the next Special...
The second
liaison for the day was 42 miles to just past Villa Jesus Maria. The
next Special would be a fast 71 mile leg east to El Arco and then south
to Vizcaino.
Here I am coming into the finish of the second Special...
I finished the second Special in 6th overall, and 1st in the +50 class.
Then it was time to get gas once more, and complete the final 52 mile liaison into San Ignacio...
The finish for the liaison and the day was directly in front of the San Igancio Mission...
The locals come out for the finish, and love to receive stickers from the racers...
Even the local police want stickers...
After handing
out stickers and hanging around the plaza for awhile, it was time to
get to the hotel for the night and let my pit crew get the bike ready
for the next day...
My crew did a
great job again in getting the bike ready for the next day. The we
grabbed some dinner, and it was time to get some rest and be ready for
Race Day 3.
Due to the flat
front tire, I was now in 7th place overall, but still 1st in the +50
class with almost an hour lead on 2nd place. I was really looking
forward to the next day's racing!
Race Day 1 Race Day 2 Race Day 3 My Post-Race