Sunday November 2, 2014
With bikes impounded, and nothing else to work on, I’ve resorted to taking pictures of stray dogs, broken down motorcycles, and shiny new motorcycles today.
Sunday is about the one and only “down” day in two weeks at the Six Days. Starting at 7:45 tomorrow morning, the first rider heads out on the course, and the 89th running of the oldest off-road motorcycle race in the world, the International Six Days Enduro will officially begin!
The weather was unseasonably cold today. Josh was wishing that the race could have begun today as it would have been perfect weather with cool temperatures and cloud cover. The next couple of days should be relatively nice but the forecast calls for 90+ degree temperatures by mid week again, at which point the heat , dust, and proper hydration will be critical factors in the race.
We completed a few last minute tasks at the Paddock today, and otherwise the entire team is ready. There was another team meeting held tonight, and final assignments were made in preparation for tomorrow. All of the Check points and Special Tests will be manned with U.S. Support crew members. I will be working Special Test 1/5 tomorrow and Tuesday so unfortunately, I will be extremely limited in getting any pictures as I will be in only one location and have to be there first thing in the morning before any riders arrive.
As we drove around today, I snapped a few pics of a few cultural anomalies that Josh and I have observed after spending a week here in Argentina. Thank you to everyone for the encouragement and support to this point. All of the preparation comes down to tomorrow morning, when things start to get serious. Let’s do this!
Below are the official start times of all Team USA riders tomorrow morning. Zach Osborne is one of the first riders on the course (Rider #, Name, Class, Start Time, Bike Brand).
23 Zach Osborne E1 7:46am Husqvarna
21 Thad Duvall E2 7:58am Honda
22 Charlie Mullins E2 7:58am KTM 7
25 Kailub Russell E2 7:59am KTM
20 Mike Brown E3 8:16am Husqvarna
24 Taylor Robert E3 8:17am KTM
28 Trevor Bollinger E1 8:27am Honda
26 Grant Baylor E2 8:36am KTM
27 Steward Baylor E2 8:37am KTM
29 Justin Jones E2 8:37am KTM
230 Sarah Baldwin EW 8:55am KTM
231 Rachel Gutish EW 8:55am KTM
232 Mandi Mastin EW 8:56am KTM
379 Alex Lehr C1 9:05am KTM
479 Kyle McDonal C1 9:08am KTM
502 Brian Storrie C1 9:09am KTM
577 Josh Knight C1 9:13am KTM
583 Michael Pillar C1 9:14am Honda
302 Jeff Fredette C2 9:20am Kawasaki
334 Chris Bach C2 9:25am Honda
377 Travis Coy C2 9:28am KTM
383 Ben Kelley C2 9:29am KTM
402 Paul Krause C2 9:31am KTM
434 Andrew Delong C2 9:35am Husqvarna
477 Alex Dorsey C2 9:40am KTM
533 Justin Sode C2 9:44am Beta
534 Gary Sutherlin C2 9:44am KTM
579 Cody Schafer C2 9:48am Kawasaki
333 Nick Burson C3 10:02am Beta
433 Cory Buttrick C3 10:06am Beta
483 John Kelley C3 10:08am Husqvarna
Stray dogs are everywhere in this city so all the houses have these raised baskets out front for their garbage to keep the dogs out.
This pack of about 10 stray dogs was sleeping on the freeway on-ramp this morning. Another observation we've made is that the locals treat these grassy areas in between the highways as parks. We've seen people parked in the middle of the grass sun-bathing, chatting, having a picnic, or just hanging out with their kids.
Ever wonder where all the cheap Chinese scooters end up when they inevitably break down? I think it's in this junkyard. There were literally thousands of bikes/mopeds in this junkyard. Scooters are almost as common as bikes around here, usually with 2-3 helmetless kids hanging off the back.
Josh Strang's Yamaha. This is for my friends back in Utah at Rocky Mountain ATVMC
The Australian Trophy Team took some liberties and created their own version of the "Argentina" graphics scheme on their bikes.
One of the cool things about the Six Days is the number of different bikes you see. Here's an Italian TM.
....and a Gas Gas.
....and a Beta (lots of Betas). We were told Beta has a factory here in Argentina.
The Argentina Trophy and Junior Trophy teams. Their bikes are looking good.
The U.S. Trophy and Junior Trophy teams bikes in impound.
These Shercos are actually pretty good looking bikes.
Consistent with the Stray Dog theme for today....these are some dogs laying around the paddock area. This is a common scene everywhere you go.
We spent some time walking part of Special Test 1 again today as did the Australian team. Riders are going to hit this test shortly after leaving the paddock, so it is important to really remember the lines on the early technical sections.
For anyone that has been to Six Days and knows Bob Agonis, you'll appreciate this picture and what is happening between him and the Australian Team. If you don't know Bob, well.....then this is just a good U.S. Team support member being very helpful
Sage Riders Mc, thanks for the support!
Since today is Stray Dog Sunday, I snapped this picture with my phone when I went into Wal Mart tonight. There were multiple dogs laying outside, and this one wandering around the store, and it didn't even raise an eyebrow.
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Dim 2 Nov - 19:11
