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73rd
International Six Days Enduro Traralgon,
Australia November 10-15
1998
We arrived in Australia on Monday and were greeted by
friendly locals, great weather, and a beautiful countryside.
We left the airport and started driving along the princess highway.
We passed up the rest of the American team and Patrick asks Brian where
this Geelong town is at that we see posted on the signs.
Brian looks at the map and says Geelong isn’t on the map so we keep
driving then again Patrick asks if he can find Geelong.
Brian again can’t find it so Patrick explains that he probably just
isn’t looking in the right spot. Brian
flips the map over and sees Geelong then says “Hey dude, better turn around
were going the wrong way.” Every
year at six days everyone gets off plane all excited, start driving, then gets
lost for a few hours on the way to the motel.
Looking at the country side it looks like the riding is going to be
awesome. There is a mixture of Eucalyptus forests and rolling grass
hills that look perfect for grass tracks. On
Tuesday we walk over to KTM and pick up our new bikes that are still in the box.
We didn’t think we were going to get them until Wednesday so we
assembled them to rolling condition and went out to walk special tests.
When we saw that special tests we knew it was going to be a fun race. We walked day two/four and the day five terrain tests.
They were fast, wide and sandy. All
of the tests were mowed about twenty feet wide and all logs, stick, and stumps
were removed so there was nothing dangerous in the way.
We were walking one test and we heard a noise and look and saw a lizard
run two steps and jump six feet up this tree.
This stopped us still in our tracks and we hurried to take out the
camera. This lizard was about five
feet long and just sat in the tree and hissed so we walked by got a picture with
Brian getting as close as he dared and continued on.
We saw a local a couple turns later and he gave us the scoop on the
Guyana Lizard telling us it can run up to thirty kilometers an hour.
For the next couple of days we worked on our bikes and walked the rest of
the special tests. Day One The first day was designed to be a warm up day
consisting of two 170 Kilometer loops. Brian
was #34, the last row of 125’s in the Trophy and Junior division.
He started at 7:11 each morning. Patrick
being a club rider was back at #322 starting at 8:47.
Since we were so far apart Brian decided to stay in town with his chase rider David Crain. The course was fast consisting of many fire roads and grass
lands that were very easy. There
was a couple of trail sections halfway through the loop that were a lot of fun.
Brian started out fast and aggressive to finish 16th 125 on
the first day. Brian did have one
scary moment. After leaving a check
he was riding down the pavement road and he went the wrong way and met the
course in a different place. He
realized what had happened so he turned around and pinned it for about twenty
miles to the next check. He still
ended up having about five minutes at that check so his mistake was excused, but
it sure scared him at the time. All
of his tests were consistent with his best test being a 12th in
class. Patrick strategy was to be
consistent all week and not to make any costly mistakes.
The dust was also a factor, with the ground being so dry it just broke
down to powder that lingered in the trees.
Patrick ended up in 53rd 250 after the first day. Day Two We would be riding the same course on the second and
the fourth days. It consisted of a
31 km street ride, a grass track, and then two loops of 100 km that were
all sand whoops. The course was
physically demanding but we had plenty of time to rest at the checks.
Brian had his best day of the event.
The two terrain tests for this day were whooped out and sandy and Brian
was screaming the 125 all the way through the test finishing sixth 125 in one
while also beating all of the 250 riders.
Patrick did well in the terrain tests but in the grass track he did not
do as well. At the last check of
the day it started to rain on Patrick and we knew that we had seen the last of
the dust. At the end of the day
both of us changed both tires, an air cleaner, brake pads, and changed the oil
15 minutes before we had to impound. Day
Three It rained all night and the terrain in Australia
doesn’t hold water that well, it sort of puddles up and floods.
There was a drainage ditch in the parc ferme and by the five feet of
water that gathered in that overnight we knew it was going to be an interesting
day. We figured that we would
probably ride one loop if it kept raining.
Brian got going early in the morning and rode a very slippery grass track
right after the first check. The
grass track was laid out on the side of a hill and there were many off camber
corners that became very slick. By the time that Patrick started Brian had
already been through the next terrain test also.
When Patrick got to the check the pit support told him that there was
only going to be one loop for the day. When
he got the grass track there were many deep ruts with people stuck in them and
the off cambers were so slick that stopping wasn’t going to happen so he would
pitch the bike sideways and slide for about twenty feet before the corner then
drop the clutch, turn, and get up the other side.
Right before Patrick entered the terrain test Jeff Fredette told him that
he would do the terrain test and that would be it for the rest of the day. He also said that there were some uphills that he would
have to go through the bushes to get around.
When he got to the first uphill where Brian had a little traction rut,
Patrick had a rut with water flowing down it that was over head high.
He had to go through the bushes and wheelie his bike through a bunch of
trees and then got back on his bike and continued through the bushes.
When finished with this test Patrick found out there was a river that
couldn’t be crossed so we were to be back at the parc ferme by 4pm.
Brian was early enough to be able to cross the river and said that the
trails for the day were awesome. There
were big wide uphills, steep downhills, and some good single track.
Brian said that on some of the hills he would be in a river of water
about 18 inches and he would follow that down the hill instead of the trail
because the whole trail system had turned into a river.
We got back to the parc ferme and worked on the bikes even though they
were still both in top condition. Day Four On the way to Traralgon for day four, Matt who was
driving Patrick to the race, got pulled over for speeding in the rain and told
the cop that he was just trying to get to the race and he didn’t know the
speed limit. The cop told him that
he was going too fast and there was no hurry because the start had been delayed
until 11 0’clock, but he still let Matt off with a warning. We just drove to the house where Cole was staying and tried
to figure out what was going to happen for the day. It was decided that the sand that we were going to run was
impassable because it turns into quicksand and most people would be stuck.
The check crews also could not get to there checks because the roads were
in too bad of condition. Because of
this all we had to do is two loops of riding out to the grass track, get tested,
then ride back all on roads. The
conditions were a little slippery for the Junior and the Trophy riders the first
time and Brian kept falling down. Patrick
knew this was the point of the event where he would have to start to make up
time so he went for it on the grass track.
Patrick ended up with his best test finishing 33rd.
For the day Patrick was also third American behind Jason Dahners and Ty
Davis. Day Five Day five was an easy trail ride and scenic trail ride
with blue sky overhead. We didn’t
do some trails in National Park that we were supposed to do that were through 20
feet high ferns and lush forest. We
had some really fun tests with the grass track being partly held on a motocross
track, and two fun, fast, sandy terrain tests.
We both had good tests and no problems for the day.
Since day three and four were basically canceled we both weren’t even
tired at this point. Both of us had fun today riding with the people on our
minutes and having a fast trail pace just to keep having fun. Day Six Day six is just a short trial ride to the grass track
where we have the final motos. Brian
was up first in the 125 moto. Brian
got a decent start but had problems with an Italian rider that wouldn’t leave
him alone. After a long strait the
Italian went for a pass but ended up going in too hot and ran Brian off the
track. The Italian fell but Brian
stayed up but lost many positions in the process.
A couple of laps later the same Italian rammed Brian again while trying
to pass. Shane Watts looked perfect
in the moto. He quickly opened up a
ten second lead but fell on the second lap.
He got up in second, passed the other rider and opened up a nine second
lead in just one lap. He pulled away from everyone doing wheelies down the straits
and waving to the crowd while wrapping up the overall win on a 125.
Patrick was in the second 250 moto.
He got a good jump on the gate and ended up with a decent start.
He rode consistently throughout the moto in order to keep on Gold.
In the end we both accomplished our goals and ended up with Gold Medals which means that you are within ten percent of the class leader. The Junior team which Brian was a member ended up sixth. Patrick was on the top American club team, The Ridge Runners M/C, along with Cole Marshall and Russ Pearson. Again we would like to thank you for making it possible for us to travel and compete with the worlds best. |
