I saw SNR at mile 100 riding as fast as the factory riders, and after the San Felipe whoops my brother saw him leading class 30. Sal Fish looks more tired and he did not race! I cannot wait to read the ride report on this incredible feat. Many congratulations SNR.

surfnride said:

Hurry up already! :ride:

Ron that was one incredible ride my friend. Big congratulations!

My right hand is starting to work again , so here it is -- a little race report - Not to high five myself- but to give credit to all that helped me get to the start line, and maybe help someone to prepare in the future.

Ryan Dahl - Helped me prep the bike - top end- wheel build - valve adjusts etc..- Pre-ran the entire course with me over 2 weekends. (thanks also to his wife Rebecca for letting him) Also drove Chase with Mark and Craig - and let me tag along riding bicycles over the past few months.

Mark - (I didn't break a bone this week) - Painting- Thanks for all the support -

Tex, and everyone else on the course that yelled, I heard and saw everyone, and appreciate the encouragement - hundreds of people seemed to want me to do well -- very cool - - THANK YOU!!!

The Plan - Sprint to Borrego rm 205- get out of the dust, put the entire 30 class behind me, so I could keep an eye on them. If anyone got to close, just pick up the pace a little, and keep them behind me- I was 33rd bike to leave Ensenada, at race mile 175 I was phisically 7th.... Problem with the plan -- I was exhausted at borrego. My legs were wobbly, my brain was telling me I F***** up, and went to fast, to early. I apoligize to everyone for being rude at Borrego, I was very bummed, thought there was no chance I could make the finish, 6 months of preparation down the toilet -- and I didn't see my chase crew -- the pit was a very busy place, 3 or 4 bikes all showed up together, it was chaotic. They appeared out of the crowd, fed me-- almond butter and banana sandwich -- gatorade- maybe something else--don't remember... Told them I was exhausted, and asked for advice -- They told me to slow down - ride conservative. took me a few minutes but I got the message.

As I left the pit, 400x came in, I decided to pull over, take a leak, and give my pals some clean air - as that bike went by, my brain kind of switched from Racing mode to Riding mode. If I kept trying to pass everybody ,bad things- big crashes would happen. So I decided to stop racing and start riding. I figured out a pace that was comfortable, about pre-run speed for me, and settled in. About halfway down morelia road, as I passed the blown up Aussie KTM, I felt bad for them, but my body started to feel much better.

Whoops before Matomi - pulled over and let Blais by. Matomi - cruised, made sure to not smash any rocks. It really isn't that bad in there anymore.
Pull in to Honda 7 - 301x is in for repair - cool. I'm back in front - Enter the 15 miles of hell rock road -- cruise, no big crashes. 301x passes me. No biggee, i'm no longer racing.
Honda 9 -- 301x is in for repairs again, the rider is really nice, gives me some props, I remember asking what is the problem? He said chain guide, starter switch -- I was hoping for much worse...oh well.

FMF titanium silencer --bad choice - by borrego rm 400ish - all the packing has blown out, and the silencer is literally falling apart - loud is an understatement - it was horrible, and the bike was down on power. 15 miles of hell through the powerline whoops - cactus on both sides - I rolled most of them to conserve strength.....Crew was in San Matias waiting.

San Matias rm 420 ish -- Approx 4:30 - crew is ready and waiting - install Baja Designs Dual HID's, install BAJA DESIGNS helmet light, remove complete stock exhaust from pre-run bike (thanks Rene -mr. ZR promotions) install exhaust on race-bike- Eat tacos, fruit, gatorade, etc -- put KLIM jacket back on - must have been about 15 minute pit..I needed a break. no sign of 301x , I'm still leading class 30--

Take off up the Mike's loop about 1 minute after Matlocks quad - I actually slowed down to let the dust clear - Felt great, the bike starting running fantastic -- much crisper -- night air, good exhaust --- I actually starting having fun - Riding the mikes loop all alone, at night - there was a beautiful Crescent moon directly in front - pretty cool.... until the 3rd water crossing. pre-running (and the last 15 years) it was very shallow - put my feet up to cruise on through - it was actually about 3 feet deep. Had to pin it to keep from stalling, made it to the other side, but the bar caught on a tree branch, knocked me over in the water. Soaked both boots, gloves, pants. I actually started laughing, looked up and say, OK, I get it, a little adversity, no problem. Rang out the gloves, took off. It was cold, so I dried the gloves by grabbing the silencer for a few seconds at a time, rotating between hands....not so easy in the rocks. But it worked, and by the time I met the crew at Valley-t area gloves were almost dry, and hands were not frozen.., they gave me fresh goggles and gloves, gatorade, off I went-- still in front of 301x.

No issues across to the coast, starting sitting down on the flat roads to conserve. but still managed to pull 5th gear at times.

Honda 13 - feel great - gas only, still no sign of 301x -

Head for the beach - take the much slower left fork at split -- probably cost me 2 minutes, but no whoops and rocks -

Plateau above Erindera - I see lights coming, pull over and let 301x pass. He caught me, and It would have been pretty shi*** of me to dust him out in all the silt through there. I was still 4 minutes ahead on adjusted time - I hoped the issues would continue for them - no such luck - they hauled ass and beat me by almost an hour- nice job.

Honda 14 Santo tomas- gas only - another bike caught me as I was leaving the pit.

Highway section - Since I decided to not run a speedo - and use the highway sections as rest stops - I was cruising about 45 , stayed on the highway, he took the short cut up the single track to the military check - I rested.

As already reported by others, the section from Acambaro to Ojos was prety tough - I just took my time, made sure of no crashes. Basically cruised, and started doing the math at every 5 mile marker...70 miles to go, 65 miles to go, trying to figure out how long, what time to the finish, anything to keep mr. brain occupied.

Honda 15- Saw the crew, gatorade, gas only - cruised it on in -- the course was really different than the morning run -- lots more silt, exposed rocks..survival mode. ... through ojos, right at the arch ... and then I got lost. Still not sure what happened, but I lost the markers, ended up at some locked gate-- backtracked, found the markers, followed them, and ended up back at the arch - about 10 mile detour -- try again - follow signs, end up confused again.....Thank God here comes Andy Mac in the trophy truck - I know his GPS works -- so I followed him about 12 miles in. Maybe I was a little foggy, but the markers were not good. Props to everyone who found the pavement in Ensenada.

Finish line - Very cool - totally exhausted, I was afraid to get off the bike thought I might fall down. My little sister was there with Michelle (Dan Troys wife) IT was a pretty special moment in my life.

Thanks to Scotty for all the pics, George for the internet stuff.

Most asked question so far- Would I do it again? Answer - not if San Felipe is involved.

Thanks also to Gabe Williams - I think we can call RACESOLO.com a success.

p.s. Spot tracker- turned it on the night before - gabe checked it from Utah - it was working fine- I put it in my pack and forgot about it. I guess it stops tracking if it doesn't move for a while-- oh well.

Result --18 hours 29 minutes-- 1st solo - 2nd class 30 -- approx 16th OA motorcycle

Ron Wilson

Kendall


Ryan and busted up Johnny

What a great race/ride report! Kudos to your finish and your placing!:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Awesome, you are a freakin stud! Congratulations!!!

Nice ride Ron congratulations....Are you the first solo dude to get a podium??

Way to go Ron! :thumbsup: Congrats :worthy:

Big congrats Ron!!! Great RR. Glad you are OK. You did a fantastic job. All here on TT are very proud of you!! :thumbsup:

Great job buddy. I am so stoked for you. Pheobe was watching over you!!!

Tex

Great job!

Great work Ron. Thanks for the report. You were haulin a#$@! the first 200 miles. :thumbsup: I could not believe you held that pace through Borrego. That alone was friggin awesome!!
Tell me... as the days pass are more memories coming back to you? Any bushes waving at you? What was your worst moment?

Great job! :thumbsup:

Great pace coming thru RM80.

BajaCyclesRider LK said:

Thanks for all the kind words guys, really, makes me feel like I actually did something great.

I literally spent 2 months building the bike. I wanted it to be good enough so I didn't have to carry heavy tools. I only had a camel back, loaded with 1 can of sugar-free red bull, mixed with water. Tools- leatherman, flashlight, 8-10-12 sockets, 8-10-12 wrenches, aqnd a multi-tool for removing front and rear wheels. Tools were in the camelback pockets, no fanny pack.

Interesting things to me about solo-ing- Clothing, very difficult to decide what to wear. lots of testing, late nights worrying, $ spent on things I didn't wear- I ended up wearing full cycling tights under my Klim vented Baja pants -- long sleeve Klim tech T under a vented jersey- Jacket for the start to rm 80, then jacket back on with the lights. Seems simple now, but we are talking 40 degree temp variation.

Speedo- I was losing my mind trying to figure outy the most reliable/ lightweight/ dependable speedo- my little garmin GPS shuts off when I hang over it, I bought a cycling speedo, but it was too weak, then I found an analog unit at Baja D- but the mount would have to be redone... Then my pal Mark says - why not just go slow and relax on the highway? So, I didn't even run a speedo. figured out what 50mph felt like, and went a little slower.

Booby traps- the trap dejour was rocks across the trail- 4 different situations. no biggee. El coyote- wrong way sign placed dead center of the road after looping around the ranch- felt sorry for those that didn't pre-run.

Owls -2 giant white owls swooped down in front of me on the mikes loop- had to duck for one of them .

worst moment- dropping the bike in the stream. no other real close calls.

Next we want a ride report from your ride in the 16 TT!

Mtz

surfnride said:

Congrats on the ride, but this is TMI.

Danger Dave said:

Quote

I'm confused now, I thought you went with the cycling tights?

I'm so proud of you! What a great ride! Your secret admirer. Loved the hug at the start.