If you have seen "Dust To Glory" you probably know that A.J Foyt once said, "The Baja 1000 is like a 24 hour plane crash." That was our race.
It began about 6:45 am Friday as I spun off the line in Ensenada. I handed itto our Gun Chris in first and he rode off. Our Tracker failed at 50 miles so the rest of the day communication and info was slow and poor. When Chris handed the bike to Malcolm we were in 2nd and our main competition for the season was in 5th which would give us the Championship.
At 220 miles Chris took back over but somewhere before 300 miles on the high speed dry lake Laguna Salada the rear tire insert exploded and Chris went down at about 90 mph suffering a concussion. He rode it back to the last pit and they put on a tire with tube which was all that was there. Chris crippled dizzily to the next rider Steve but for some reason our pit crew did not change back to our spare inserted wheel which would haunt us later. Steve rode his 120 miles 50 of which were constant whoops. At the end of his section he crashed and busted a hole in the case. At the pit we JB welded it and put in oil. We were now in 3rd and the Champiopnship was slipping away. Chris was too dinged to do his next 100 miles so Steve rode another 100 miles into the dark in a section he had not seen. Somewhere part way through he flatted the tubed wheel and tried to ride it to me on the rim but broke the rim. He wobbled it back to the highway and we trucked another tubed wheel to him because by now the spare good one was too far away.
He finally got it back to me about midnight and we were fifth with only finishing now our goal. I headed into the Pacific section where the fog was so bad sometimes you could only see 3 feet. The first part had terrible silt because by this point trophy trucks were coming up my rear every 15-20 minutes. They would roar up on you with the light of the sun burning through the fog and then the dust would make a world of Cepia all around you. It was like being in a brown dirt closet. When they would pass you would just have to sit for several minutes and watch the particles of dust float to the ground in reflection off our HID light till you finally could see enough to continue.
There were thousands of people on the beaches that had been drinking and partying all day with bonfires blazing. Between the whooping, the hollering, and the fire flickering in the night and fog it was like riding through a David Lynch movie. At one point a group tried to stop me and take the bike away. I plowed one of them gassing it and escaped.
We had been told that out of one of the fishing villages in the sand was a huge boobytrap and I was watching for it. A Yamaha riding in front and to my left suddenly disappeared into a 6-7 foot pit that was dug in the sand. When I came by he was trying to spin out to no avail. My dirt road sections were littered with rocks of all sizes the trucks and buggies had ripped out. It was like riding on huge marbles in the dark with a little fog thrown in.
I finally got it to the last guy Craig, about 3 am. We put the good spare on and I watched him ride off into the night. He brought it back into Ensenada a little after 6 am. 23 hours and 30 minutes. This was the hardest most complicated thing I have ever had to do in 41 years of racing. I feel like Jake LaMotta when Sugar Ray Robinson pummeled him. At the end of the fight Robinson yelled at LaMotta, "I beat you. I beat you." LaMotta responded, "Yeah, but you didn't knock me down."
We finished fifth and our season competitors rode a safe race taking 4th and we lost the Championship by 11 points. Close but no cigar. The Baja Monkey Team will likely never forget that night and we go away from the experience knowing if nothing else we are not quitters.
Thank you guys for the space to tell our journey and the POG members that helped support us in thought, prayer, and dollars. We also would like to thank Honda, Pro Circuit, and Precision Concepts.
Anybody interested in a slightly used race bike? It has only been raced three times.:D
Larry P
Larry....great job. I think it's safe to say that all of POG is proud of you.
It remined me of a line from the football movie "The Replacements"
"Pain heals....Chicks dig scars....Glory lasts forever"
Steve Minor
Wilmington, NC
Larry, It is great to hear that you are safe!! Ya'll did a GREAT job!!!
Thomas Carmichael
1970 125 Six Day
1976 250 Hare Scrambler
Great Job Larry! Relieved to hear your safe and you certainly have my respect to complete such a feat!
Tom Flores
Great story and you had a trip of a lifetime. At least you pitted with the Winners and did something people only talk about doing.
Ron Carbaugh
Great job Larry!
Rod
Larry,
Doing the Baja is like going to the Six Days. You are a brother in a special fraternity that the rest of us wanna-be's look on with admiration and envy! Win, lose or draw, it's an experience that no one can take away from you and one that many can only dream of. Well done!!!
Jeff DeBell
Glad to hear you made it Larry!I can't believe it's been 31 years since i rode the 1000-time flies!Even though bad luck kept you from a championship you can at least say you did it and no one can take that away from you.Good Job!
Ric
p.s.-after losing my lites at night on the way back into ensenada,then getting lost at the ojos negros junction(someone had re ribboned the turn)it still felt great to cross the finish line and have Sal hand me my finisher pin.Oh yeah,our time was 23hours and change too!finshed at the break of day.
ric emmal
Great story Larry, well done! No one can ever take those memories from you and it is something you will remember vividly the rest of your life. I can't wait to hear more when we next meet!
Phil Ketchum
Great ride and great story... way to go bro....I had no idea you were such a ironman, but I should have known.
Thom Green,Still crazy after all these years!
76' 250 MC5 (orginal owner)74'
250 hare scrambler (project bike)
72'sixday (project bike)
Cycle News (//www.cyclenews.com) reports that NBC will broadcast a one hour special on the Baja on Sunday, Dec 14 at 1300 Eastern 1000 Pacific. I'll have to make sure the tv is set up to record it. Maybe we'll see Larry hauling some desert butt!
Jeff DeBell
Probably not Jeff, but you never know. I saw them filming when I was waiting to start. Don't know out on the course as then I was busy handling the bike and talking to God. LOL! Keep an eye out for the 151X bike, though.
More likely you will see those that does it best, Johnny and Robby on the Honda 1X bike. Now that is hauling butt. Johnny Campbell by the way broke the Baja record winning it Overall for the 11th time. Quite a career!
You will also most likely see the Baja Ladies of Anna Cody Racing at the finish as they make history as the first Pro Women's team to win a title and steal our chance at making history in becoming the first team from a non-desert state to win a Pro title. On the Internet our fight was called the battle of the Hicks verses the Chicks.
Of course as always there will be a lot of coverage of 800 horsepower Trophy Trucks and such. However, there is no comparison to one of those coming up your tail "live and in person".
No matter who you see it will give you guys a hint at the flavor and thrill of racing down there in Mexico. I will watch and remember.
Larry P