ABOUT BAJA NOT PENTONS

[Larry Perkins]

To my interested Penton friends,

The Baja Monkeys made their debut in SCORE Baja racing this past weekend in San Felipe, Baja, Mexico.  The San Felipe 250 was 232 miles and probably 100 miles of whoops including most all of the first 30 miles.  There were 280 entries from 20 states and 6 countries.  

My section had 6 miles of the worst whoops I ever rode then about 7 miles of sand was with buried rock.  Then I got the E ticket ride with about 25 miles of dirt road 50 to 100 mph.  Baby you have not lived until you have done 100 off-road.  On this road section at about 50 I hit a boobytrap that was a cattleguard that was dug out so instead of whizzing across it you hit a 6 inch square concrete curb.  All praise to Precision Concepts Suspension.  The rim got a huge dinker and we were real glad we were running Bib Mousse inserts but I did not go down.  About wet myself thinking I would though.  I also lost the course coming out of the sandwash and had to back track.  My last task of the day was to ride the last 1.5 miles.  You can not imagine what it is like to race through a sea of humans(probably 5,000) on both sides of the dirt road screaming Andele, Pronto, Arribe all while arm waving and picture taking.  Truely a rush.  

We came in 2nd in Pro Class 20 losing by 3 minutes to the best(talent & funding) Women's desert team ever assembled.  If they hug you at the end of a race it is not so bad getting beat by women.  We are 6 points out of first and the defending Champion had mechanicals and is 36 points behind us.  Now it is on to the 500 at the end of May to continue the hunt.

Larry P

[firstturn]

Thanks Larry for the update.  You are living your Dream and I wish I had the health to help you....but thanks for asking me to help and I hope that you know you are not riding alone.  Keep us updated.

Ron Carbaugh

[Ernie Phillips]

Congrats Larry!  "...the worst whoops I ever rode..."  Yikes!

Ernie P.
Chattanooga, TN

[socalmx]

In District 37 desert racing, you really learn the meaning of a deep whoop. Glad you had a successful Baja trip.

[Big Mac]

Larry - Great report and keep on charging!

You are the man -- I saw Dust to Glory a couple years back and thought about how cool it would be to put together an old-man Baja race effort, just to try to finish...then walked from the theater and was rudely slapped back into the daily grind of reality. Glad to see someone's making it happen!

Stay safe and take care down there. I've ridden the washes, hills and beaches around San Felipe in my early years, visited Mexican emergency rooms--that terrain is hard, sharp and rough, gives extra hurt when you go down. As you well know, to finish first, you must first finish. Good luck!!


Jon McLean
Lake Grove, OR

[socalmx]

If you woodsy type riders want to try something different (on a modern bike), come out west and ride a District 37 sponsored National Hare and Hound. It will be like a completely different world!