Administrators Eric Hall Posted March 30, 2015 Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 Or is it "photo moto?" Kurt asked me last minute if I wanted to do this gig and it sounded like a lot of fun, so I said "sure!" I know it's not "adventure" riding, but I think there's actually a place here to showcase the various uses of our bikes. I keep saying I'd like to do a track day on the GSA and when I do, I'll post pics and video on that too. Some other guy was supposed to do this event but he was sick. Kurt wasn't feeling well either and would have had to ride all the way from Vegas, so he called me the day before. I had to get my bike prepped, which turned out to be an adventure of its own. I'm testing out these prototype risers from RRR Tool Solutions and had to send one of my oem brackets to him for tooling, so I called over to Irv Seaver BMW to borrow one from one of their shop bikes. I also had to put my 19" front wheel on with the street tire and then change the rear over to a street tire. Then I had to actually wash the bike! They said they wanted it clean! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted March 30, 2015 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 I ended up getting there at about 5:45 am for a 7:00 am first race. I really could have gotten there at 6:30 but since it was my first time and all, why not be early? At first I thought this was some kind of sleepy community fun-run for fat soccer moms or something but it's billed as the "world's fastest 5k" and had runners from all over the world! This one lady was just 2 seconds from breaking a world record. Glad I didn't run her over! I was given a pretty good overview from Kurt on the phone and a guy who runs the photographer thing called me the night before to explain things as well. It's basically ride responsibly and don't do anything stupid. I had to basically do what the photographer on the back wanted me to do, which was usually to speed up or slow down. I started using my mirrors to stay in a good position for him but then I had to make sure not to block the line of sight for the photogs in the stakebed truck at the front of the pack (which I did once briefly). That big truck had some issues is about every one of the seven races we did, mostly in being able to stay far enough in front of the pack. On the final race, which was the elite men, the truck couldn't get going quick enough and I was squeezed between it and the pack of runners behind us. I was on the left side and saw some kind of camera stand or something and there wasn't going to be enough time or room to get around it, so I stopped short of it just as the pack passed me. I had one runner brush my elbow, which was no big deal but I felt like that truck created an issue they may complain about later. I don't think they did. I was able to quickly speed up and get around them right after that. My photographer's name is Andrew but I didn't get his last name. He said to look for the photos on Competitor.com, so I assume these are his. These girls were funny, but I think this one in particular should understand the race was over for many of these guys in under 15 minutes. If she wants that kind of endurance, she need look no further than right here baby! This is the near world record winner. Impressive fitness, huh? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted March 30, 2015 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 Had a guy snap my pic prior to the first race. I see now that my fist was clenched for some reason. Must be really strong coffee or something And then a shot of the bike with their special all access pass I ran into (not literally) JD and Maria who were running the race. JD and Maria ride ADV bikes and I've ridden with them a few times in Baja and elsewhere. They ran it four times! I wish I could have hung out with them afterwards but I was eager to get home to my kids. They also had the fastest wheelchair racers in the world competing. They introduced them and I heard a few of them were gold and silver medalists at the paraolympics in China recently. These folks are FAST! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyNuke Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 Looks fun, let us know when you are doing that track day, maybe a few of us can join. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted April 1, 2015 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 one more from Getty Images 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted April 1, 2015 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 4:43 I show up https://youtu.be/x23kTW3Eb6s 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBearRider Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 That's really cool. I hobbled through the LA Marathon a couple of weeks ago. I hurt my ankle in a motorcycle accident a few years ago. It started to bother me around mile 3... I managed to complete the race, but it was a long day... I passed some of the offical motorcycles along the course. Next time, maybe I'll look for you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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