Team Usa

The 76th International Six Day Enduro was held in Brieve La Gaillarde France on August 27th through September 1st, 2001. This year was a little different from years past because the AMA agreed to add three more spots to make up a women's team. That team was called the Daytona Dirt Riders and consisted of 3 women from 3 different states. Suzy Moody from Alabama, Amanda "Mandi" Mastin from Ohio and myself, Nicole Bradford from Colorado.

Our adventure really began on August 21st when we arrived in France and found out the container that had our parts and other Americans bikes would not arrive at the Parc Ferme until Friday. We started to race on Monday so this meant we would have fewer days to get our bikes prepared. Fortunately Suzy, Mandi and myself rented bikes and we had enough time to put them together. For those of you that have never ridden an ISDE, the Parc Ferme is a huge parking lot that has all the containers and tents of the participants and sponsors. It is also where you start and finish each day.

Amanda Mastin - #268 on the Parc Ferme

There is a large fenced in area that houses all of the rider's bikes before and after each day called impound. Only the rider's are allowed into this area and only at a specified time can they get their bikes and push them to the start. Each country is given a specific day and time before the event in which they must have all of their bikes impounded. From impound until the race starts you cannot gain access to your bike. Since the American container did not show up until Saturday morning the race officials extended our impound time until 5:00 that afternoon and Sunday morning for Jeff Fredette who had to pick his bike up at the airport since it did not get put onto the container in the US.

After we got our rental bikes set up, we headed out to find and walk the cross tests and enduro tests. The cross tests were long grass tracks with some rolling hills, a lot of turns and an occasional jump here and there. The enduro tests were a 4-8 mile trail section that each rider would be timed on. Finding and getting to each test was a challenge; but it was helpful to know what to expect once the event had started. European Enduros are much different than American Enduros in the fact that the timekeeping is very simple. You are allowed a certain amount of time to get from test to test. When you arrive at a check the checkers will tell you when you have to be at the official check in spot. Once at that spot your score is written down and then you head to the start of either a cross test or enduro test. You can be late to a check, but since you know where they are you can't really "burn" them like here in America. It would take a whole page to explain the rules, but if you ever go I would advise you to study them thoroughly and ask past participants for information.

DAY ONE
Enough of the boring stuff, off to the start of the race. Three riders would start every minute. I was rider 208 and would start everyday at 8:29. Day one finally came and I was anxious to get started. I did not get off to the start I had hoped. My bike started fine but then I applied too much gas on the slick pavement and spun out. I was fine but rather disturbed. I felt better when the American checkers at the first check told me I was the third American to do that.

Mandi was the next of the three US women to go; she also had a bad start. She was fortunate enough to not crash - but she did take about 11 minutes to get her stubborn bike started. Suzy started only minutes after Mandi and had a good start.

Having never competed in an ISDE I had no idea what to expect. I knew what the cross tests and enduro tests would be, but I did not know what the trail sections would be like. I had also never ridden an enduro in the US that was 200 miles long - and now I was faced with five of them in a row with 40 miles on day six. At first I thought it was easy because the trails were wide and were broken up with sections of paved roads through small villages.

All of this changed at about mile 80 when we had a tighter section with some very steep downhills followed by some rocky uphills. When doing an ISDE there are times when you ask yourself, "how am I going to finish 200 miles today, let alone 6 days of it?" I made it though the trail sections fine, but found that I was lacking the skills to be fast on the grass tracks. This is not something we do in America, so I had to learn as I went.

Mandi was better on the grass tracks because of her background in motocross, but she was struggling some with the trail sections.

Suzy Moody #274 on the grass track.

Suzy was riding the most consistently of us all, until she had the unfortunate luck of hitting a metal post set in the ground on a steep downhill section. When her front tire hit the post it sent her into the air. When she came down, she landed on the end of her handlebars and suffered internal bleeding. At first she thought she was fine, but after riding a few feet she became very faint and was forced to stop. She was later taken to the hospital.

Mandi and I were able to finish the course on day one, get our tires changed, and bikes into impound. That was when we were told of Suzy's accident. Since Suzy was the driving force behind getting a woman's team, we were both very upset and saddened for her. Suzy doesn't tolerate people feeling sorry for her, so she made it clear that we needed to do our best to finish for her too! That became our new motivation.

DAY TWO
Day two proved to be much easier than day one; because we now knew what to expect, and day 2 would be the same course as day one. The trail sections were whooped out and the cross tests had huge turn ruts that I found easier to go around than through. If and when I ever go again I will spend more time tearing up some farmers field than riding tight trail sections. Both Mandi and I improved on our times from day 1 and were ready for day three (or so we thought).

DAY THREE
Day three was a big challenge for me personally. I struggled physically and mentally. My rear fender lost a bolt, which I had to try and fix in the morning during the ten-minute work period. I failed to work well under the pressure of time, so I had to abandon the fender fix and get to the start ramp. This haunted me for the rest of the day mentally and somewhat physically as the fender would bounce up and hit me in the rear.

Day three was a new course. Our pre-race rider, Drew Smith, had told us there was a steep hill near the start that would be a challenge. He was right! It was a very long hill that had the best tilled garden dirt mixed with some big rocks. One nice thing about the ISDE was the spectators. They always seemed to know where the nasty sections were, they lined that part of the course and helped out the poor souls that were struggling. I should also mention they loved the women riders and always wanted to help us - even when we didn't need the help. There were only 9 total women out of 583 competitors so we were easy to spot.

The hill was a real pain in the butt because it was hard to get traction. I was using the clutch so much I thought I might burn it up. There was one point near the top of the hill when I pulled the clutch in and the bike continued to move forward. Eventually I made it up the hill, but would have to go up it again later in the day. Just shortly after that hill we had another nasty hill to contend with that had a tree root sticking out about half way up. I made this one but would screw up on the easier one just past it. When I laid the bike down to turn it around on the hillside I forgot about my goggles that were now draped over my handlebars. A few miles later I realized I had lost them. When I got to the next check Wild Bill Rush's wife was kind enough to give me one of his extra pairs.

Eventually I made it to the end of day three and took extra time at the end to get my fender fixed. During an ISDE you have 15 minutes from the last check to get your bike to the work area, work on your bike and get it into impound before you are given any penalty points. I knew that I was on bronze level and could not move up to silver so I decided I would be better off taking the time to make sure my bike would make it through the next three days of riding. One of our top riders was out because his rear tire came off the rim and was destroyed. I had come too far to let a broken bike keep me from finishing.

DAY FOUR
Day four would be the same course as day three but in reverse. This was a relief! Now all the challenging uphills would be fun downhills. The only bad part about day four was the rain. The rain would make the trail sections very slick and the ruts very deep. It also made the grass tracks harder to ride because the off-camber turns were now very slick. By day four I had realized that European enduros were much different than American in more ways than just time keeping. I had never ridden up stairs in the US, and now each day the promoters seemed to find stairs for us to ride up.

I found it odd when they sent us into a very busy town that had a lot of backed up traffic. Luckily the officials told us at the start of the event that we could pass these cars but that we did have to wait at stoplights. Had they not told us this, I would have houred out waiting to get into a check that was in the middle of town. The traffic was terrible.

I had to laugh at Americans, because in the US we take one hand off the handlebars to indicate to another driver that we are turning. In Europe they just kick their leg out in the direction they plan to turn. Seems safer to me to keep both hands on the handlebars. Back at the Parc Ferme at the end of the day, Mandi realized that she would need a new front tire. The problem was her dad thought she could make it all six days on the same front tire so they put a mousse in there so she would not get a flat. Now Mandi was forced to learn how to change a tire with a mousse in it. Several riders stood over her yelling directions and eventually she got it changed. Problem was she still needed a rear tire and did not have enough time. Now she would be forced to do it in the morning.

DAY FIVE
Day five was here and I really thought it would be the easiest day of them all. We had come so far, why would the officials want to make it hard? Oh how wrong I was. Day five would prove to be the hardest of them all.

Mandi's was even worse since she still had to put on a new rear tire. In the morning she too found it hard to get the work done under the time pressure. She couldn't get the valve stem into the rim and was becoming very frustrated. My husband was there watching, and her dad was outside the fence yelling instructions to her. She politely asked my husband to tell her dad to shut up before she threw a tire iron at him. Eventually she got it done and started.

Not too far into the day we had a hill that was only wide enough for 1 bike in most sections, and had a lot of big rocks to get over. I waited about 5 minutes just to get my turn. Again the hill was lined with spectators who were helping riders. The help is great but in America we push. In Europe they pull! This meant that as they pulled the forks you had to fight the handlebars from turning; several times they even pulled my front brake line out. I had to slip the clutch a lot to keep it from dying; my bike quickly overheated. The radiator steam was so bad I couldn't see, and was choking on the antifreeze I was now breathing in. I even thought my bike might seize, but it was rented so I didn't really care. I finally made it to the top and then thought, "They are going to kills us on day 5 and I won't make it."

About 30 miles later I was faced with a very steep grass hill that seemed to be about 60 degrees steep. I thought, "This is crazy but it is the ISDE after all and I have to try it." I made it almost to the top when the bike began to lose power. I quickly pulled in the clutch and gave it full throttle, released the clutch and pushed the bike away. This got the bike to the top and I only had to walk a few feet. Mandi tried this same technique but the bike flipped backwards and down the hill. Her second try was successful.

The mud was again really bad and crashing just became a part of life. Another American rider, Ron Schmelzle, passed me and yelled "I have never crashed so much in my entire life." I laughed because I was thinking the same thing. Just past the halfway mark we went down a trail and then up a small hill. At the top of the hill sat 25 or so riders - trying to figure out how they would make it up this nasty, steep, shalely hill. I sat there thinking the same thing.

On my first attempt I hit a rock, launched to the left and took out a spectator. Unless you got really close to the top the spectators didn't seem to be helping. After my first try I didn't know what to do. I've gone up a lot of nasty hills before, but none like this. I didn't have a choice but to keep trying, and on my second try I got close enough for the spectators to realize I was a girl; then seven of them struggled to get my bike to the top. What a relief! Unfortunately, 100 yards later I found myself in a big bottleneck. I never actually saw the next nasty hill but it had to be bad because it took each rider over 5 minutes to get up and only one could go at a time.

There are two things that girls carry in their fanny packs at an ISDE that men don't. Well actually three but I will only mention two. One is baby wipes, and two is a disposable camera. I am probably the only person in the world who has a picture of this big bottleneck. We sat there for about 30 minutes before the official came and told us to turn around and go back to the road. I will never know what I missed but I am not too upset about it.

We were now way behind, and I was sure the officials would have to throw out that section. Mandi never even saw the first hill because the officials were turning people around before it - lucky girl. As I came into the next check I had to spend some time getting the mud out of my chain guard, which is required for the race. One American was out of the race because his sprocket wore out. I had gone too far to let something like that keep me from finishing. The checkers said my bike had the most mud on it by far. By 6 PM I was pulling into the Parc Ferme and realized that I only had 30 or so miles and a 7 mile moto left before I had finished my first ISDE.

DAY SIX
Day six was FINALLY here! If my bike and body could hold up for the last 40 miles I would earn my first international competition medal.

At the end of day five, I decided my tires were good enough to finish on, so I just changed the air filter and called it good. At the start they had moved all of the riders up in start times to fill in the gaps now left by riders that were out of the competition. Because of this, Mandi and I would end up starting at the same start time. This way we could make sure we would both make it to the finish. The trail leading out to the course was the same as the day before, and we really didn't have much trouble.

The trouble came when Mandi went to impound her bike before the final moto and they noticed she did not have the ball on the end of her lever. They are real sticklers about this. They think that without the ball on the end of the lever you could land on it and it would puncture you. True, but I can think of a million things on both the bike and course that could do the same. The problem was Mandi did not have a spare so she had to go find one. The only one she could find, was one that someone had stuck a rock where the ball should have been and taped it on. I knew that would not fly, so as she went to impound, I went to borrow one from Jonathan Seahorn. I met her half way up the hill as she was coming down since - sure enough - it had not been accepted. Both our bikes were impounded and now all we had to do was wait about 2 hours until our moto started.

FINAL MOTO
Mandi and I would be in the same moto and had decided to race for last. Yeah right! Once the gate dropped we were 2 women on a mission to beat as many of the men as we could. As I mentioned earlier Mandi is also experienced in motocross. I, on the other hand, am not. When I saw Mandi crashed on a turn I thought there was hope. Forget it! She passed me before I could even reach the next turn. At least I was good enough to beat about 10 men. One guy would not let me pass. I am sure he was going to do everything in his power to beat at least one lady.

My persistence prevailed and I finally was able to cut him off on a turn. The checkered flag came out and we were done. I could not believe that I had just finished over 1000 miles on a motorcycle in 6 days. All I wanted to do was eat a bratwurst and drink a coke. I sat wondering what possessed me to put myself through the last 6 days. At the time I couldn't come up with an answer, but a few months later I realize that I did it for the memories that I will forever cherish. I certainly was not the first American women to finish the six days, but I was one of the very few.

When it was all said and done the memories are invaluable. I will always remember:

• How wonderful my husband was to do whatever I needed.
  
• My two roommates, Rosemary and Debbie, who faithfully volunteered to wash my riding clothes every day, and who made us spaghetti after each ride.
  
• Playing with Little Rachael while I was eating my spaghetti, thinking she might someday fill my shoes.
  
• Calling my mom at the end of the day to tell her we had finished so she could post it on the dirtrider.net forum.
  
• I will remember the men that I waved on with my hand to pass but made the effort to pull up alongside to shake my hand and then give me the thumbs up.
  
• The girls at the checks that wanted my autographs.

  The women riders were very popular with the race officials

  
  
• The workers at the impound that wanted my autograph and a kiss on the cheek.
  
• The desperate times of thinking I would never make it.
  
• The talks with God, telling him how much I wanted to make it.
  
• The endless amount of spectators that cheered for me.
  
• The two Swiss girls who were racing but wanted us to finish as much as they wanted to finish themselves.
  
• The girl at the restaurant that only gave us one egg and one croissant, even if we were still starving.
  
• And last but not least, all of the American participants and volunteers that pulled for us to finish. No one seemed angry that three women got to go. They were all very supportive, and I thank them for that.

At the final dinner the American Motorcycle Association handed out some special awards. One was the Valencia award, which goes to the rider who shows the most perseverance and courage during the Six Days, and is able to finish the entire course. This year they decided to give that award to Mandi and myself. There is no question in my mind that Suzy Moody should also have her name on that plaque, but maybe without her we would not have had the courage to finish, only the courage to start.

This story wouldn't be complete if I didn't thank all of my sponsors that made this possible. Without these people I would not have been able to make the trip:

• God
  
• Wm Ohs Showrooms
  
• Downsview Cabinetry
  
• Timberline Trail Riders (Cap and Julia Kuney, and Stickler)
  
• Rocky Mountain Enduro Circuit
  
• Robert and Arlene Rakich
  
• Moose Racing
  
• Motion Pro
  
• Gas Gas (Dale Malasek)
  
• Signature Construction
  
• Rex Farrior
  
• Valley Stone
  
• White Surveying
  
• FSO Architecture
  
• Weld Wright
  
• Dirtrider.net
  
• Inyan Kara Riders
  
• Stretch Family
  
• Brac and Suzy Melton
  
• Tom Lambert
  
• Violla Wood Repair
  
• Eye Tech Optical
  
• John Worchester
  
• Vixen Off Road
  

• Mom (Bert) and my Dad (Cliff McPherson). Thanks!
  

  Comments? Questions? Let Us Know!