“If wrinkles must be written on the brow, let them not be written on the heart. The spirit should not grow old.” – James A. Garfield
June is hot in the Baja desert. Very hot. In fact, in the 2016 Baja 500 two motorcycle riders died from the heat. Victor and I had a plan to keep me cool and survive that we were perfecting from the San Felipe 250 race in April. Ice in my hydration pack, staying wet when possible, ice cold cooler water cloths on my neck at chase truck stops, etc.
My son Tanner, who had already finished the Baja 1000 and had nothing more to prove, did not want to make the big commitment to race the whole season. But, he did bite at the Baja 500. It was a different distance, and he wanted to see what he could do. We flew out to pre-run it and the course was stunningly beautiful. It had the tough 80-mile Borrego Loop but went up into the mountains in areas we had never seen before.
We flew home and two weeks later we came back for the race. We were in for a surprise. We were nearly the first ones to pre-run the course. By race day pre-running racing trucks and race vehicles of all stripes had chewed up the course so bad we hardly recognized it. In places, you could say they destroyed the course. It was much more technical and difficult for motorcycles now.
Both Tanner and I had our plans and we both executed them perfectly. Victor and Arturo took great care of me during the race, and I clicked off section by section. Starting at 4 AM and finishing at 1 AM, I finished in 21 hours. Tanner finished in 17 hours. There were seven starters and five finishers in the Ironman Class. I became the oldest finisher of the Baja 500 Ironman class, and Tanner and I became the first father and son to ever finish an Ironman race.
We made history at the Baja 500, and I left there feeling great about my prospects for the Baja 1000. What I did not think much about was the season points championship. I was in third place after two races. I also learned of a prestigious award called the Milestone Award for any vehicle that finishes every mile of every race in the season. Two races left and a new reason to finish the Baja 1000.
Sometimes we say no when we could say yes. Some people say “no” as a default. They take themselves out of things before it even starts. I am not some expected desert motorcycle racer. I am a 54-year-old entrepreneur and father from the northeast, a world away from any desert. I said yes one day. Then I said yes again. Then again.
Saying “yes”, I’ll try it, do it, go there, experience it, see what it’s about – well that’s a life of adventure. No is a life of self-imposed limitation.
“It is magnificent to grow old, if one keeps young.” – Harry Emerson Fosdick