Lone Star National

[BrentMartell]

I am surprised no one from this forum posted on the national enduro in Texas Sunday. Anyway..... long story short, I saw quite a few Gas Gas bikes, which was pleasantly surprising. It was typical Orange and lots of Green mixed in. I am not sure how the gg group did overall but it was nice to see the bikes on the course throughout the day. I personally did not do well in the overall standings. I got 3rd 40A and qualified for the US ISDE team with a 2nd in the E3 LOI class. It was too hot for me and I was suffering from the start. Our guage showed 99 degrees. I have no clue how I wound up on the podium and on the team quite frankly. It was extremely hot, dusty, dry slick, and way tighter than I had imagined it would be. I think about half the field of riders DNF'd. I had to just back off and trail ride.

I do know I was super happy to be on my gas gas vs my ktm, even my 125 ktm. The gas gas turns so well and handles so well I could ride like a squid and still pull through the terrain. The motor and tranny were awesome as well. A few times I thought I would like to have the steering stops removed but incredibly the bike would still twist around and stay on the main line in the tight stuff. One thing I probably would do different is pull the forks up to the line in the triple clamps. I have been running them flush for better high speed stability. Bike was awesome, I was not. : )

 

[blitz11]

I got 3rd 40A and qualified for the US ISDE team with a 2nd in the E3 LOI class. It was too hot for me and I was suffering from the start.

Wow! Congratulations. 1/2 of life is showing up, and the other 1/2 is sticking it out. You did both, and were a rousing success. Congrats on qualifying for the ISDE. That is an impressive achievement, and you should be proud of your accomplishment.

blitz

 

[HuskyDude]

Ya...I'd say...Congrats on qualifying for the ISDE.

Keep us posted.

 

[BrentMartell]

Thanks. It was quite the day, just when I started to figure out how to deal with the heat and lack of traction issue's my body refused to co-operate. It's like standing in front of a vending machine in the middle of nowhere, you put your money in, the product starts to fall, and then it hangs up. You have no more money... all you can do is stand there and drool at what that ding dong would taste like if only you could get to it.

 

[webmaster]

Hi Brent,

Nice analogy - and why am I checking my pockets for change and drooling now!

Congrats - I tried to qualify one year and failed.

Its an accomplishment that most of us can only dream about.

I/We supported another ISDE rider in the past here by selling GasGasRider.org logo stuff - fender stickers, etc.

What's everybody think?

GasGasRider.org coffee mugs? GasGasRider.org front fender decals again? T-Shirts? All profits go to support Brent....

It's not an inexpensive affair - finland this year?

jeff

 

[REVERUP]

Way to go Brent! That's the way to qualify, in brutal conditions like that. Its prepping you for six days. you know the old saying......What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Jeff I really liked the Gas Gas riders club fender stickers that you had made and sold for Steve Shannon's ISDE benefit and would certainly be down with donating something to Brent's cause.

T shirts, mugs, hats, stickers all would be the icing on top of just helping to make the huge expense of a six days endeavor a little less painful for a guy who worked hard toward a goal and obtained it. It's a mere dream for most.

Roscoe

 

[trailridernut]

Well Done! I have always been amazed at anybody who can do the 6 days!
West Texas is VERY warm/fast, it broke me from running the TSCEC circuit.

 

[coopernicus]

Congrats, Brent! I was very interested to see the results after I saw a thread started in another area on this site mentioning encouraging results. I saw your finish and I smiled as I've been following your posts with interest. Gas Gas was very well represented with what looks like a tie with Honda for number of entries at 23...Yes, there were as many GGs as Hondas: Who would have thought that? Only KTM and Yamaha had more bikes entered...My, how times have changed! Brent Martell: 46th overall, 3rd in class. Cole Kirkpatrick: 5th overall. Haydn Franklin 11th overall, 1st AA. Brent: I hope let us in on setup tips and effective mods as you find them! Roscoe/Jeff: Figure something out to help the ISDE bound folks and I will chip in the first $100 (I sold some vintage dirtbikes lately!)

Eric

 

[lankydoug]

Hi Brent,

Nice analogy - and why am I checking my pockets for change and drooling now!

Congrats - I tried to qualify one year and failed.

Its an accomplishment that most of us can only dream about.

I/We supported another ISDE rider in the past here by selling GasGasRider.org logo stuff - fender stickers, etc.

What's everybody think?

GasGasRider.org coffee mugs? GasGasRider.org front fender decals again? T-Shirts? All profits go to support Brent....

It's not an inexpensive affair - finland this year?

jeff

I can always use another coffee mug

 

[mhoward]

Brent is my new hero! What he did not tell you, is that we left on Thursday and arrived Friday night at 11:30 pm. We tested on Saturday with 90 degree temp and windy. Raced on Sunday, which was up to 99 degrees in temp and very windy. Loaded up and left at 4:00 pm Sunday; to arrive back home on Monday at 12:00 am. It was a 3000 mile round trip. It was fun spending time with Brent, who is a really great guy by the way. On a side note, we took my son who is 13 yrs old, and he rode the event on a 07 YZ 125. (I know it's not a Gas Gas, but it's all we could afford) He got a 2nd and 16th over all in the C Class (his very first Enduro). I want to thank Brent for letting us go with him, and being my son's riding coach. I would love to help and donate to fund raising for Brent. T-shirts and stickers please.

 

[biggstr6]

Congrats to all you guys.

 

[BrentMartell]

WOW. You guys are awesome. When I qualified for Portugal I got a few responses from the KTMtalk crew but nothing this inspiring. I am still in shock that I made the team considering I just went on a trail ride to get to the finish line. I mean I tried to ride well but it was just not happening. I had a nasty crash at the the national hare and hound in Idaho a couple weeks earlier and was still pretty beat up. Besides all the damage to my bike I split my chin open, cracked my ribs (still hurting today), wound up with bronchitis and had to take antibiotics, and pulled my left groin pretty severely- grade 2. I did tape the groin with some stuff Matt gave me, but I still pulled it again in the first test. It is pretty weak so it doesn't take much of an incident to hurt it again.

My suggestion to anyone who has thought about the ISDE is to just go to the qualifiers and see what happens. You never know. I should have gone to Mexico last year as I was next on the call list. In fact I have been next on the call list for several years. This is my first time actually securing a spot without waiting for someone to drop out. It's kind of like like the cartoon where the bird is trying to swallow the frog, the frog is choking the bird, and the caption says to never give up.

 

[Fred1956]

WOW. You guys are awesome. When I qualified for Portugal I got a few responses from the KTMtalk crew but nothing this inspiring. I am still in shock that I made the team considering I just went on a trail ride to get to the finish line. I mean I tried to ride well but it was just not happening. I had a nasty crash at the the national hare and hound in Idaho a couple weeks earlier and was still pretty beat up. Besides all the damage to my bike I split my chin open, cracked my ribs (still hurting today), wound up with bronchitis and had to take antibiotics, and pulled my left groin pretty severely- grade 2. I did tape the groin with some stuff Matt gave me, but I still pulled it again in the first test. It is pretty weak so it doesn't take much of an incident to hurt it again.

My suggestion to anyone who has thought about the ISDE is to just go to the qualifiers and see what happens. You never know. I should have gone to Mexico last year as I was next on the call list. In fact I have been next on the call list for several years. This is my first time actually securing a spot without waiting for someone to drop out. It's kind of like like the cartoon where the bird is trying to swallow the frog, the frog is choking the bird, and the caption says to never give up.

Never quit...Good job and add me to the list of support when a program is figured out

 

[webmaster]

Congrats, Brent! I was very interested to see the results after I saw a thread started in another area on this site mentioning encouraging results. I saw your finish and I smiled as I've been following your posts with interest. Gas Gas was very well represented with what looks like a tie with Honda for number of entries at 23...Yes, there were as many GGs as Hondas: Who would have thought that? Only KTM and Yamaha had more bikes entered...My, how times have changed! Brent Martell: 46th overall, 3rd in class. Cole Kirkpatrick: 5th overall. Haydn Franklin 11th overall, 1st AA. Brent: I hope let us in on setup tips and effective mods as you find them! Roscoe/Jeff: Figure something out to help the ISDE bound folks and I will chip in the first $100 (I sold some vintage dirtbikes lately!)

Eric

I think a good way to proceed on fund-raising for brent is to pool money from folks who want to donate outright - e.g. I'll match your $100... Then we use some of that money to multiply our donations by selling gasgasrider.org goodies that hopefully many will buy - For example, The last time I did this - I pitched in $200+ and more than doubled it for Steve Shannon's ISDE efforts...

I'll get the paypal donation page back up and folks can add a comment that the donation will go to Brent's efforts if they want to direct a donation towards Brent, etc. It's also easy to add a banner ad "as a reminder" to consider helping out with Brent's efforts at the ISDE this year.


jeff

 

[mhoward]

Good idea count me in

 

[coopernicus]

I have the $100 set aside now and I will work to get more donations from local riders (even those who don't ride a GG...I'll just say you are a friend!). Anyone else who qualifies as a club rider let me know and I'll sell another old bike to help you out!

Jeff, as soon as I see the donation area open I'll pitch in some money!

Eric

 

[BrentMartell]

Yay. The results show me at 45th overall now. Beats 46th any day....and he was a KTM. LOL.

BTW- Matt's kid, David will be a top level off roader soon. Well that is if we can get him on a GG. hee hee. All joking aside he is only 13 and riding very well.