REVERUP
Gold Level Site Supporter
I woke up at 2am Sunday morning. Got ready, grabbed a quick bite to eat loaded the gear and bike. Away I go around 3AM headed for North bend Washington to meet my friend Brent by 4AM who offered to come along and help me pit at the biggest desert race in Washington. The Desert 100, put on by the Stumpjumpers M/C. My goal, a top 50 overall finish to surpass my 72nd overall a couple years ago on this 41st anual event.
This is a Hare and hound style format with a Bomb run start that may the largest of it's kind. Sometimes more than a 1000 racers will compete to be top desert dog. It's very rocky and silty here with sage brush dotting the landscape.
Once in North Bend it's another 3 hours + to the race site at 75mph. This was gonna be a long day but worth it. Certainly a day to be remembered as every Desert 100 attended is.
There it is! A small city popped up in the middle of the desert, a sea of motor homes, trailers, and camps in the distance.
After the long drive Brent and I arrive around 730AM Riders meeting at 830AM and the start was scheduled for 930AM. Its windy, 10 to 20 MPH from the South West, dark clouds loom in the same direction. Wind picking up the silty soil and displacing it to the north east. It's gonna be a dusty one but that is the norm here.
We stop and pick up my entry and then head to the pits. I find a spot down toward the entrance to pit row perfect. Get suited up and take care of all the pre race set up routines and head back on bike to the sign up area for the riders meeting. I learn this years course will have a 49 mile loop with quite a bit of new single track added.
We then follow a pilot car as nearly 1000 bikes paraded to the bomb run start line. 6th tenths of a mile to the north lies a small hill. Between us and the hill is a slightly lower but mostly flat valley floor of scrub and sage brush and rock. On the hill are 2 flag poles the entire field must funnel through to the marked course. Off to the right is the cannon. We were told at the riders meeting you will see the smoke approximately 3.5 seconds before you hear the boom. You may run once you see the smoke. Ya see this is a Le mans style start where we are all lined up about 150 feet behind our bikes.
Where my bike is lined up I have 4 foot sage between me and it so the most direct route is to go around the brush to the left slightly. We get warning about 1 min. till the bomb. People around me still chatting and talking with nervous energy. I'm now focused watching for smoke. With in 15 seconds there it is, my brain registers! I get 3 steps BOOOM!!!I got the jump on everyone around me as they weren?t quite expecting it yet.
I get to my bike, throw my leg over, go to put my foot down theres nothing there, I tip over. PANIC! Now as the guy next to me is getting to his bike I exclaim I'm sorry as mine is laying right next to his, he worms his way on and away he goes. Now I have enough room to step around and lift the bike. I get on fires right up with the e start and away I go across the desert floor through a blinding and choking dust screen of bikes looking forward to the hill and flag poles.
First lap would be a test of my determination not getting the start I envisioned. Coming from behind meant I would need to ride smart and optimize line selection all while dodging other riders, who sometimes were auguring hard and careening out of control in an attempt to gain an advantage. I picked off gobs or contestants at a time in the corners just by looking ahead and seeing the inside of the corner and letting the Gas Gas do what it does carve. Then explode onto the 300s power band putting up a dust screen of my own to seal the deal. I would come into the pits approximately 47th overall. Lap one in the books the Gas Gas easily doing the 49 miles on the stock tank in real world desert race conditions. Brent ready, a quick and efficient stop for Gas, Goggles and hit it.
Back out for the second lap to bring it home, top 50 overall goal in reach. Clear sky's in front for a bit but then I'm seeing dust, a pack of guys batting, I catch em make the pass. This would continue on with several other packs until I spared with a couple other guys back and forth trading positions with me finally getting by. You talk about fun, but so tiring, my hands starting to hurt as they were getting some hot spots from the abuse.
Now out alone again, clear sky's, second wind, feeling pretty good, railing... I'm DOWN!
UGHuuumph that second wind now leaving me as I get it knocked out of me on impact with the ground. Landing on my right shoulder I jump up in shock mount my bike. Push the button fires right up. There goes 2 of the guys I had just worked so hard to pass, dust trail behind. Hand guard tweaked down, I start riding gaining my wind back and trying to get back up to race pace as the pain subsides, or will it. I press on, it dulls and I go on to battle with the same guys and a few more, riding pretty smooth and good up until the finish.
I roll in at 31st overall out of over what I heard was at least 930 racers this year. I was 8th in the oldtimers 40-49 class which had 134 finishers and like 30 DNFs. It was a huge class as usual. One things for sure, it's a tough class... seems some of the fastest desert riders are older guys as almost a third of the top thirty were entered in that oldtimers class.
Waited for awards to get a nice trophy, a free suspension service certificate, and a quart of Spectro gear oil, the brand I use. Oh and I almost forgot that elusive desert 100 finisher T shirt I failed to get last year.
Then we were off, homeward bound. Got home by 11PM. By the time I got to bed I had been up for about 22 hours. I sure am feeling it today. Ya know I'm pretty banged up as I write this but I won't hesitate to be a part of this special event in 2012.
Ill add some photos later.
Roscoe
87V
This is a Hare and hound style format with a Bomb run start that may the largest of it's kind. Sometimes more than a 1000 racers will compete to be top desert dog. It's very rocky and silty here with sage brush dotting the landscape.
Once in North Bend it's another 3 hours + to the race site at 75mph. This was gonna be a long day but worth it. Certainly a day to be remembered as every Desert 100 attended is.
There it is! A small city popped up in the middle of the desert, a sea of motor homes, trailers, and camps in the distance.
After the long drive Brent and I arrive around 730AM Riders meeting at 830AM and the start was scheduled for 930AM. Its windy, 10 to 20 MPH from the South West, dark clouds loom in the same direction. Wind picking up the silty soil and displacing it to the north east. It's gonna be a dusty one but that is the norm here.
We stop and pick up my entry and then head to the pits. I find a spot down toward the entrance to pit row perfect. Get suited up and take care of all the pre race set up routines and head back on bike to the sign up area for the riders meeting. I learn this years course will have a 49 mile loop with quite a bit of new single track added.
We then follow a pilot car as nearly 1000 bikes paraded to the bomb run start line. 6th tenths of a mile to the north lies a small hill. Between us and the hill is a slightly lower but mostly flat valley floor of scrub and sage brush and rock. On the hill are 2 flag poles the entire field must funnel through to the marked course. Off to the right is the cannon. We were told at the riders meeting you will see the smoke approximately 3.5 seconds before you hear the boom. You may run once you see the smoke. Ya see this is a Le mans style start where we are all lined up about 150 feet behind our bikes.
Where my bike is lined up I have 4 foot sage between me and it so the most direct route is to go around the brush to the left slightly. We get warning about 1 min. till the bomb. People around me still chatting and talking with nervous energy. I'm now focused watching for smoke. With in 15 seconds there it is, my brain registers! I get 3 steps BOOOM!!!I got the jump on everyone around me as they weren?t quite expecting it yet.
I get to my bike, throw my leg over, go to put my foot down theres nothing there, I tip over. PANIC! Now as the guy next to me is getting to his bike I exclaim I'm sorry as mine is laying right next to his, he worms his way on and away he goes. Now I have enough room to step around and lift the bike. I get on fires right up with the e start and away I go across the desert floor through a blinding and choking dust screen of bikes looking forward to the hill and flag poles.
First lap would be a test of my determination not getting the start I envisioned. Coming from behind meant I would need to ride smart and optimize line selection all while dodging other riders, who sometimes were auguring hard and careening out of control in an attempt to gain an advantage. I picked off gobs or contestants at a time in the corners just by looking ahead and seeing the inside of the corner and letting the Gas Gas do what it does carve. Then explode onto the 300s power band putting up a dust screen of my own to seal the deal. I would come into the pits approximately 47th overall. Lap one in the books the Gas Gas easily doing the 49 miles on the stock tank in real world desert race conditions. Brent ready, a quick and efficient stop for Gas, Goggles and hit it.
Back out for the second lap to bring it home, top 50 overall goal in reach. Clear sky's in front for a bit but then I'm seeing dust, a pack of guys batting, I catch em make the pass. This would continue on with several other packs until I spared with a couple other guys back and forth trading positions with me finally getting by. You talk about fun, but so tiring, my hands starting to hurt as they were getting some hot spots from the abuse.
Now out alone again, clear sky's, second wind, feeling pretty good, railing... I'm DOWN!
UGHuuumph that second wind now leaving me as I get it knocked out of me on impact with the ground. Landing on my right shoulder I jump up in shock mount my bike. Push the button fires right up. There goes 2 of the guys I had just worked so hard to pass, dust trail behind. Hand guard tweaked down, I start riding gaining my wind back and trying to get back up to race pace as the pain subsides, or will it. I press on, it dulls and I go on to battle with the same guys and a few more, riding pretty smooth and good up until the finish.
I roll in at 31st overall out of over what I heard was at least 930 racers this year. I was 8th in the oldtimers 40-49 class which had 134 finishers and like 30 DNFs. It was a huge class as usual. One things for sure, it's a tough class... seems some of the fastest desert riders are older guys as almost a third of the top thirty were entered in that oldtimers class.
Waited for awards to get a nice trophy, a free suspension service certificate, and a quart of Spectro gear oil, the brand I use. Oh and I almost forgot that elusive desert 100 finisher T shirt I failed to get last year.
Then we were off, homeward bound. Got home by 11PM. By the time I got to bed I had been up for about 22 hours. I sure am feeling it today. Ya know I'm pretty banged up as I write this but I won't hesitate to be a part of this special event in 2012.
Ill add some photos later.
Roscoe
87V
Last edited:
Hmm. can one of you guys adopt me? 
