Dear Editor, First Off, I want to congratulate you and your crew on the coverage , and internet posting of realtime race coverage! It has been Great! I know that this is no small task, and you've done an admirable job in both it's inclusion and it's many stories of the twists and turns of a racers fate once on this mighty adventure! The above story is well-written, informative and fun! The pics that go along with it are great!Especially the ones about the mex militare and Sal! Encounters with the boyz in green can be somewhat scary at times, especially out in the middle of nowhere! A lot of people don't understand what it is like to actually be there, and this story does a great job of detailing some of the work that goes on behind the scenes for the best off-road race in the world, as well as make it both interesting and FUN! I know Sal personally also, and it's great to see him out there really being involved in the marking of the course! I've been running the Baja since 1981, when I first went down there with Al Baker and Team Honda developing the first prototype XR's. With Bob Balentine,and Jack Johnson, we had a great Team, and won the the 250 and the 1000 in '82!I've figure I've got over 30,000 miles logged-in on a 1300 mile long penninsula myself, and have pre-ran and raced the 1000 many, many years! I've hosted Teams from Japan and France, introducing them to the raw beauty of the Baja Desert in the best way, on a Race Bike! they have been back several times- I've got tons of Baja stories, and I'd love to share them with you sometime, they're all really good and...EPIC. Some of them go way way,way back to an entirely different kind of Baja than today!

But for now, I just want to say THANK YOU!!! I wanted to go to this years race in a big way, but couldn't make it:( due to my job. You helped me to get my BAJA 1000 RUSH that I always need around this time of the year!Thank You for Covering the stories and the RACE for those of us un-willingly left behind! It means a lot to me! For Years , the coverage of the 1000 has been so dismal that it hurts! The effort, stamina ,blood and guts which is put into being there, and doing it, is one of the most heroic things that a person can do in their lifetime, and it's good to see reps of the media present that in a fun, true, honest way to the general public, so they can feel it, sense it, and understand it, for what it is....... a real test of true grit and determination! Con Muchas Gracias, Amigos!

P.S.- You want some more good stories, cross that, GREAT Stories, talk to Ron Bishop, Jack Johnson, Larry Roeseler, Ivan Stewart,Chris Haines, Bruce Ogilvie.... all of them have years worth of EPIC BAJA Stories! Each one is a Full-Length Feature Story!Someone needs to get it down while they are all still here!
Feel Free to contact me if you like, if you need help with covering races or photos( or old race photos) I was an off-road journalist some years ago, and have experience! I've been riding since I was 9 Yrs. Old, and am 44 Now, lived most of it in the Desert(Desert Hot Springs at present), and have been a member of The Checkers MC for many years......E-Mail Address....locomotodave@msn.com

2001 Baja 1000, Knocking on the gates of Hell by Rodolfo Iribe (The Mexican "want to be" Iron man)

Have you ever had a bad nightmare? You know, the one you wake up sweating, your heart is hammering and you are so glad that you are breathing and still alive that all you can do is sit there and simply be thankful. Well, the 2001 Baja 1000 was just that but with a time limit of 30 hours. Here is my story of what happened. Our race bike #305x "was" a Honda XR 650R and my race partners are Kent Kroeker, Rod Hamby, Bob Laughling and yours truly Rudy Iribe. I have to let you know that my 3 race partners are crazy but calculated men, sometimes. These guys are ready to chase down the Taliban in the Afghanistan territory any day. Everyone in the team shared about the same amount of race miles. Here is the break down:

Thursday, the night before the race I was too wound up to sleep. I got out of bed at 0430 and got ready for the start. Time 0634, time to drop the hammer and get real. The first turn from the start on the pavement was a full throttle slide with spectators running for cover. The start to Ojos was great, no problems, no one passed us but we did pass three bikes. Going up the nasty Summit then, down the Summit was reported to be as bad as Osama Bin Laden running for cover in the desert of Afghanistan. By the time the bike came out of Borrego we were running 3rd in class. Bikes 301x and 304x were a good 30+ minutes in front of us. When I got on the bike in SF I could hear some bad noises coming out of the engine. The bike had good power but the "snap" was gone. I decided to "baby-it" and not run the risk of a complete failure. When I got to the next Honda pit at Morelia Rd I killed the engine and ask the guys to check the oil, new air filter and top it off with gas. I got off the bike to take a leak and check the family Jewels.

I Was Beat Up, But

I was beat but, my adrenaline was flowing through my body with such volume that I was not able to pee like a normal person would. Instead, I squirted some drops tucked it in and got back on the bike. Ran flat out (100 mph) on the high road next to Diablo dry lake bed but occasionally I would "lift" the throttle to keep the bike from blowing up. Before coming out at the San Matias wash I hit a nasty rock in a silt bed at about 80+ mph. The bike got out of control but managed to stay on two wheels. The rider (me) was asking for forgiveness while flying off the seat while my private parts were close to my throat. I was promising that I would go to church on Sunday if I lived!!! By the time I got to San Matias bike 301x was done. They had bottom end bearing failure, terminal. Now, we were running a solid 2nd. We decided not to risk the bike so the rest of the race we took care of it. Rod Hamby reported going down at a nasty ditch and loosing about 5 minutes while 1-2 bikes got around him. Rod never complains and never quits. That is way we love to have him in our team.

Bob Reported KillingBugs

Kent Kroeker took the bike at Valle T and ran it in the darkness all the way down to Santo Tomas. Kent is the master of this run. Kent is picky about bike set up and tires but in the heat of battle he elected not to install a new front tire, just a new rear. Bob was reported killing bugs on his way to the finish. Bob said that if you are going to hit something in Baja you are better off hitting it at full speed. According to Bob, this way you will not live the rest of your life in a wheel chair. Makes lots of cense to me. Bob finished at 23:31:54. Total elapse time was 16:57:54 with an average speed of 39.905 mph. Good for 2nd in class 30, 16th overall if you count all bikes and cars (226 entrants).

That Belongs To The Oldest Man RacingBaja

If you remember I got off the bike in San Matias sometime after 1400. Well, then I waited for a class 9 buggy (#948) that belongs to the oldest man racing Baja. Ed McLean, is in his late 70's. The man, still runs like a teenager in High School full of testosterone. What a guy, I hope I get to be his age and have the capability to race Baja like he does. Ed McLean has the REAL Baja Spirit!!! The race car showed up at the BFT Pit in San Matias sometime after midnight. I got on the race car with my co-pilot Mike O'Neal and ran the loop around Mike's then to Llano Colorado close to San Vicente in the west coast. During this night time we managed to pass close to 20 cars and some bikes, most of them stuck in the silt, some with blown engines, transmissions, or simply up-side-down in a ditch. By the time we got to Llano Colorado on the West Coast it was around 0900 of the next day, Saturday.

I got out of the car while our chase crew fixed a control arm ball joint that was getting ready to come OUT. The bolt had worked the nut off and the only thing holding that joint was gravity and some Baja silt. The car took off and managed to finish in 4th place at 13:14:27 (the next day, Saturday). It took the car 27 hours and 39 minutes to complete this 2001 Baja 1000.

In a Daze, He Held Out His Hand

Our chase crew asked if we wanted some Mexican "T" (Tequila and Tecate Beer). I looked at them in a daze and simply held my hand out, I was exhausted from 48 hours of not sleeping and riding/driving Baja. I took a gulp of this Mexican "T" looked at my co-pilot, Mike O'Neal, as simply said.

We just got back from knocking on the gates of Hell; El Diablo is probably very pissed off that no one was at the door when he opened it. The question is: Are we going to do it again? You bet your sweet candy ass we will. Why? Because we still can and we there is no way we are going to sit and watch this wicked and dangerous sport on TV.

Rudy Iribe