2013 Mexican 1000
April 2013
April 2013
The 2013 Mexican 1000 would be my first race since starting to ride again in 2006, approximately 30 years since my last race when I was in my 20's. The race was a 4 day navigational rally race down the entire Baja peninsula, starting in Mexicali and ending in San Jose del Cabo.
Unfortunately, about 12 miles from the start my race bike suddenly quit running. I had to wait for my chase truck, and we loaded the bike and drove to San Felipe to try and work on it, but couldn't fix the problem (it would later turn out to be a malfunctioning crankcase sensor). Late in the afternoon, we decided that I would ride my backup bike so we took off for Gonzaga Bay, where I would start the last of the 3 racing stages (known as Specials) for the day. I had to take a maximum time penalty for the first two stages. After the Special, there was a long pavement liaison to Bahia de Los Angeles, which was the first stop for the night, which I didn't reach until about 10 pm (and my crew was about another 3 hours behind me).
The next morning was an early start after just a few hours of sleep. I rode well, and pretty quick but stopped to help other riders on two occasions that cost me quite a bit of time. The first stop was for a motorcycle that had fell off the side of a pretty steep hill (luckily the rider was OK); but myself and several other riders climbed down about 40 yards, and slowly pushed and carried the motorcycle back to the top. The 2nd time I stopped was for a terrible crash by another rider. I stopped for awhile to assist, and then rode to direct race safety officials to the incident. Unfortunately, the crash proved fatal for the rider involved.
On Days 3 and 4, I rode well with 2nd and 3rd places for the racing Specials within my class (for riders 50 years or older), and well within the top ten times overall. Other than the tragedy of Day 2, it was a great experience, and got my competitive juices flowing again. I persevered to the finish, and raced competitively on speed after the mechanical problems of Day 1. I was hooked again on racing, and looking forward to the next race...
Unfortunately, about 12 miles from the start my race bike suddenly quit running. I had to wait for my chase truck, and we loaded the bike and drove to San Felipe to try and work on it, but couldn't fix the problem (it would later turn out to be a malfunctioning crankcase sensor). Late in the afternoon, we decided that I would ride my backup bike so we took off for Gonzaga Bay, where I would start the last of the 3 racing stages (known as Specials) for the day. I had to take a maximum time penalty for the first two stages. After the Special, there was a long pavement liaison to Bahia de Los Angeles, which was the first stop for the night, which I didn't reach until about 10 pm (and my crew was about another 3 hours behind me).
The next morning was an early start after just a few hours of sleep. I rode well, and pretty quick but stopped to help other riders on two occasions that cost me quite a bit of time. The first stop was for a motorcycle that had fell off the side of a pretty steep hill (luckily the rider was OK); but myself and several other riders climbed down about 40 yards, and slowly pushed and carried the motorcycle back to the top. The 2nd time I stopped was for a terrible crash by another rider. I stopped for awhile to assist, and then rode to direct race safety officials to the incident. Unfortunately, the crash proved fatal for the rider involved.
On Days 3 and 4, I rode well with 2nd and 3rd places for the racing Specials within my class (for riders 50 years or older), and well within the top ten times overall. Other than the tragedy of Day 2, it was a great experience, and got my competitive juices flowing again. I persevered to the finish, and raced competitively on speed after the mechanical problems of Day 1. I was hooked again on racing, and looking forward to the next race...
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