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Show THE Page 10 OGDEN VALLEY NEWS March Volume XIV _ Issue XI 1, 2007 SPORTS-Locals Baja To the uninitiated, the pin given to finishers of the SCORE Baja 1000 race might as well be a T-shirt that reads, “I completed 1,000 miles of the most treacherous terrain on earth, and all I got was this stupid t-shirt.” But for the members of Team Sanpete, an amateur motorcycle-racing team of four former Mayfield, Utah residents who competed in the event last November, that pin is better thangi Ie sa prized possession,” said team captain Jeff Good, who currently lives in Huntsville and mate Cc ‘omstock Mortgage in Eden. Jeff was in his amateur age division for the 3006 USRA (Utah State Racing Association) desert racing series, and voted 2006 USRA “Motorcycle Sportsman of the Year” The race is one of the most coveted events in the world of off-road racing. It is the longest, continuous race anywhere. There is a longer off-road race in Africa, but racers rest every night before starting again in the morning. cording to Jeff, completing the race was the culmination of a lifelong dream he thought would always be just that—a dream. “I'd heard of the Baja 1000 since I was just akid,” said Jeff, “and pretending to race the Baja 1000...was just part of growing up in Mayfield. “Actually racing...seemed way out of reach. I guess turning 40 years old and finally having a little disposable income can do funny things to a guy. For Team Sanpete, the pin also acts as a reminder that, according Travis, shmoes from Sanpete” finished in the top ten against some of the best racers in the world. Team Sanpete completed the 1047.8 mile course in just under 29 hours to finish ninth out of 15 riders in the Pro 30 class, the “people who are paid to ride,” said Travis. Good said that out of the 15 riders in the Pro 30 class who started the race, only 10 crossed the finish line. Only 42 percent of the 431 total entries finished the race. “Just that you finished the thing is the prize,” said Good. “My wife wasn’t all that fiuppasaed until she found out weeks after the race that I beat Patrick Dempsey—‘McDreamy’ in TV’s Grey's Anatomy,” said Jeff ways, Team Sanpete’s notable finish was part luck and part experience. For the rest of it, “It was guts and courage and a lot of motorcycle riding,” said Travis. The team was lucky because not one of them ended up arrested, as some participants in the race did. “Mexican law enforcement knows there’s big money in this,” said pit crew member, and Travis’ and Jeff's father, Leslie Good. rding to Travis, the course crosses some of the most difficult terrain anywhere. took the roughest riding in Utah...and compiled it into 1,000 miles, that’s what you’d get,” he said. And the comparison to Utah is apt. Travis said that he and team members Jeff Good, Jeff Good of Huntsville starting off. Jeff Perry and Shane Bartholomew, spent their youths riding motorbikes in the White Hills west of Mayfield and in the mountains of the Manti La Sal Forest. Travis said that the terrain they experienced there, as well as cy el TL LLES 7 ev. il Canyon or White The team also had to deal with enthusiastic natives who exhibited a strange dichotom In order to make the race more exciting created “booby traps.” No matter how remote an area was, there were thousands of people cheering on the racers, and they had most likely built jumps or dug holes, or both. “Mexicans were constantly shouting at me and giving directions,” said Jeff, “but I was warned not to trust them because they have a tendency to send you in bie? wrong direction for entertainment purpos ” But at the same time, “You fe = like a movie star,” said Travis. “They want to touch you. They want your autograph.” “T felt like Lance Armstrong in the Tour De France riding through a crowd,” said Jeff, who thought the small sombrero he attached to his helmet that read “Mexico,” might have had something to do with their enthusiasm. “You would have thought I was flying the Mexican flag the way they reacted,” he said. Jeff ran into one of the booby traps early in the race: a piece of concrete buried in the sand in front of a jump. “T did a 4-foot high donkey kick and nearly went over the bars,” he said. “It was a real crowd pleaser.” Travis also ran into an interesting booby trap that nearly ended the race for the team when he came to a river. The river, according to Travis, was about 45-feet wide and about 2-feet deep. In the water were rocks with numbers on them, sur- Note: This article is being reprinted courtesy of The Sanpete News by permission.. $350,000-$440,000 si a i M rounded by spectators with sticks. Travis said he was cautious, but continued across the river with his thumb on ea uu switchin case he sank into a booby tr: which he did. He said he was frustrated when the spectators who had sunk him came to help him get his bike out and on its way again. When the bike started back to life, Travis said the crowd went wild “That’s just part of the race,” he said. “From that point on I’d try to hit all those things I’d avoided just to hear them cheer.” He later assumed the natives had marked their holes in the river with numbers and the winning lottery ticket would go to the digger of the hole that held a rider captive. The race also pitted Team Sanpete’s meager $8,000 motorbike—sponsored by ADS Motorsports in Ogden, and KTM, a motorbike company in Austria—against some big mone Travis said many of the dune buggies and trucks in the race cost upwards of $500,000 or more. He said the truck ou by the —— Casino cost around $2 million. y riders were met at pit stops by semi bias vontaiaing parts, tools, and in some cases, living quarters for the pit crew. Some teams also had helicopters that followed their riders to the pit stops. “T had a little pop-up camper and a flashlight,” said Leslie Good. The team had three vehicles that transported parts to various places on the peninsula and were assisted by a professional pit crew along the way. Other pit crew members were Doug Brewer, Ben Dalley and George Thompson, and Leslie’s wife, Connie. Even if the team had finished first, the payout would not have even come close to covering the event cost of $13,000. Jeff said the race has a purse of about $16,000 that is divided between the three categories, motorbike, car and truck But that’s not the point for Team Sanpete. “For a couple of kids from Mayfield to go down there...they couldn’t believe they did that well,” said Leslie. “It’s kind of a dream that motorcyclists have to do something like that.” a Week...Rain Snow or Shine... 7 = other places in Utah, prepared them for the Baja 1000. “There wasn’t anything we hadn’t ridden before,” said Travis. But that’s not necessarily true. Travis, who rode the last leg of the course, said at some point he found himself riding hrough =a Catholic Church courtyard, a landmark quite absent from san trail in 12or By Sean Hales 2-3 BR New-Construction ‘Moose Hollow condos with Lake and »)Snowbasin views. _ 41100-1600 SF SPRING BENGTZEN - 801-641-1431 spring @wolfcreekresort.com Specializing in new-construction resort properties $295,000-$595,000 St ey Highlands Final Phases. 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