#8 Trouble

It took 3 1/2 hours to run this section. It seemed like forever. At mile 209 it was almost over – the section, and my race.

Booby traps are known by racers in Baja. What is a booby trap? It’s an unexpected man-made obstacle designed to create drama for the cameras and spectators. Specifically, it’s designed to create a crash.  

Most spectators are race fans and want you to succeed. They will assist any way they can. But some think seeing a crash is entertainment. When we see NASCAR or Olympic highlight reels, they always feature crashes and failure. Wide World of Sports – “the agony of defeat.” I guess we all find it fascinating.  

Some booby traps are obvious. A man-made jump with spectators on the left and right holding cameras and phones. When I saw one, I’d always slow down and go around, to the crowd’s disappointment. Sometimes I’d see it was a legitimate jump – shaped well that may have been fun to hit. In my native dirt bike sport of motocross, I hit 23 jumps per lap on my own track – the longest one being 90 feet. Jumps are not the problem.  

Our Baja race bikes had suspension designed to suck up the bumps, not jump off them. The biggest problem, however, was what was on the other side of these ramps. Sometimes nothing. Sometimes the pit where they got the dirt from. Sometimes worse – rocks, big bumps, or who knows what.

Ahead there was an elevation change – a rise. The course was wide there, not funneling racers to any particular spot. I was right, and slowed from fairly high speed to about 25 mph as I went up the rise because I couldn’t see what was on the other side. As I came up I could see more. It happened so fast… I remember a pit of water and it was farther than my bike would clear at that speed. The other side was fairly abrupt. I yelled out audibly as I do when I know I’m going to crash.

I pulled the front end up to my chest to try to get the front wheel to clear the pit. I thought it would not and I’d cartwheel the bike and drill myself into the ground. The front wheel hit the opposite edge of the pit hard, and my body slammed forward. My head whipped forward so far I was looking at my own headlight.  My left wrist rolled back at impact and hyper-extended the tendons from hand to forearm, and I took the GPS in the sternum. I rolled it on the front wheel not knowing if I was going over the bars, but I managed to save it. I unexpectedly went from maybe 30 mph to zero in about 12 feet. I heard audible gasps and yells from the crowd as I piled in. 

All of a sudden, things changed. I looked around at the people near the track, and started yelling at them. Something about not warning riders of the hazard so they could be entertained…even if they didn’t know English, I think they got my point.  

I had put so much effort into this quest, those people had no idea, and it would be a shame for it to be over like this. Anyway, I saved it. I thought I’d be ok. I restarted my stalled bike and rode away, not knowing the damage that was done.

I’d know it soon enough…