Smithy1 > Smithy1's Blog Posts > Vegas to Reno 2008, the prep.

August 18, 2008 01:01

Desert racing tends to be just a dream to those of us that live on the east coast. Well, sometimes you need to set some goals and chase a dream! This is not some report where the “team” loads everything up into a Sprinter van or two after a full day of prep at the top service dealer in the country. This is about me, Shawn – an ADVENTURERS WORKSHOP and MAXBMW customer spending 8+ months planning, training, fabricating, and dreaming about what it is like to desert race! Then loading my wife, bike, gear, and spare parts into my pickup to traverse 2500 miles across the county to the start of the 2008 BITD Vegas to Reno (V2R) desert race! Add to that the 500 miles of the race plus the 2500 mile return trip and my fuel costs alone should be somewhere near the Gross National Product of Mexico!

Here are some facts about V2R as stated from the race organizer:

_Vegas to Reno is certifiably the Longest Off-Road Race in the United States at 457.5 miles!

V2R is open to all BITD classes- cars, trucks, UTVs, quads and MOTORCYCLES! Over 300 entries are expected.

The course traverses part of the legendary Pony Express Trail made famous nearly 150 years ago.

V2R takes the racers from the high desert floor at 2,500 feet elevation to mountainous heights of over 9,000 feet, forcing competitors to adjust to the changing pressures, and endure extreme hot and cold temperature variation.

The 2008 V2R course features some of the toughest, and most varied terrain in the world. On the dry lakebed portions of the route speeds over 100mph are typical. Racers must fight their way through canyons, boulder lined paths, and deep silt beds._

My goal for this race is pretty simple: to experience competing and finishing a desert race! I am not in any competition with any other riders or class. Just doing this for me, pushing my own limits regardless on how that compares to the rest of the entrants. Oh, I do have one more goal. The big boys in the pro-trucks will be off the starting line about 3-1/2 hours after me. I would really like to get across the finish line before they catch up to me! I hear that it can be quite unnerving to be passed by a 800 hp pro-truck in a silt bed, especially after the sun sinks below the mountains!

I will be riding my BMW G650X Challenge. The drivetrain is completely stock, as is the suspension. I have upgraded the rims, added a steering damper, extra fuel capacity and HID racing headlights. I have pushed this bike pretty hard in the year that I have owned it and it did need some other maintenance like wheel seals and bearings. I then safety wired the spokes and torqued every bolt that I could find.

My wife, Jen, and I are driving out to Vegas where we will meet my brother, Loren, to round out our team of 3, one rider and two support people. The race course includes 11 designated pit areas that your support vehicle can meet you for service. Eight of these pits are easily accessed by the support vehicle. The remaining 3 are “remote” meaning that they are too far off the main roads for your support crew to access. With the additional fuel range added to my G650X, I plan to coordinate my scheduled stops to bypass the remote pits.

Truck is packed. Time to hit the road!

Tags

Rate this post