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Paul’s 2007 ISDE Chile Adventure. Sunday November 4, 2007 – Departure Day for Chile. Today is the day I’m starting my adventure for the 2007 ISDE in Chile. I have been preparing for the last 11 months for my first ISDE event in La Serena Chile. Countless hours have been spent riding my bike, cardio work, and weight lifting while working full time and maintaining my family life with my wife and two small children (2 and 6). It is snowing out and the family is dropping me and my parents off at the Calgary Airport. Total travel time to Chile is 20 hours, so it will be a long day. At the airport, I meet the first of the Canadian Team; riders Stephen Shannon and Jesse Knapp along with friends and helpers Bill Cooper and Bryce. The flight to Dallas was uneventful and the temperature in Dallas was a lovely 27 degree C. I run into my brother David and his friend Eric Croy at the airport bar. Things are starting to shape up for the adventure. Before boarding, I meet Geoff Nelson and his family. We board the plane for an overnight flight to Santiago Chile. Monday November 5, 2007 – Arrive in Chile. Everyone arrives in Santiago Chile after a long overnight flight with minimal sleep. Next is immigration and paying $132 to enter Chile then pass through customs with no issues. At the same time a flight arrives with many riders from Europe, I recognized some Italians, the KTM mechanics, and Juha Salminen. We recheck our luggage and take a short flight to La Serna Chile, our final destination. It is a desert climate that is very dry and minimal vegetation. The mountains close to the city appear to gain altitude very quickly. We finally rent a truck and make it to our hotel by the beach. We poke around the rest of the day and discover Parc Ferme, which is located next to the ocean and a Golf course. Things are just starting to shape up with only a few countries setting up. Tuesday November 6, 2007 – Parc Ferme setup. After a good sleep in, the crew, Eric, David, and I decide to check out a special test before heading out to Parc Ferme. . The special test was interesting with some adobe type hills and flat grass type sections. The test looked really fast, but the adobe hills looked like they were going to rut up and be dusty. The rest of the Canadian Team was heading to Parc Ferme to unload the container and start assembling their bikes. David and I were renting KTM’s and were originally told we could not pick them up until Wednesday, so no bike work for us today. Eventually we decided to return to Parc Ferme to see what was happening. Next to the parking area was the test track. It was a short sand track and it was looking rough with lots of whoops. We watched one of the Kiwi riders shredding up the sand, nothing like the Alberta terrain. Everything was going well back at the Canadian Container. Everything was unloaded and everyone was assembling their bikes. With nothing for David and I to do, we checked out the final moto track. It was a sand track with several jumps and is locating in the sand dunes before the beach. The sand was extremely loose when it was dry, and the parts the crew watered felt very good. Wednesday November 7, 2007 – Pick up Bikes. The first item on the agenda today was to pick up our KTM rental bikes. The bikes were specially made for the ISDE. I was renting a 2008 250 two stroke and my brother was renting a 2008 530 four stroke. The bikes started as an EXC model and then had special modifications. The two stroke has a Domo pipe and silencer, stiffer suspension, skid plate, and road requirements (lights, horn). I quickly found my bike, but we could not find my brother’s bike. Last year in New Zealand, he showed up and KTM did not have a bike for him. Eventually, they found one last year, but we were saying no way that could happen again. After some searching, we found his bike and they were working on something with his clutch. Hopefully, this is not a bad sign of things to come. Anyways, the paperwork process was extremely slow to get the bikes. I stood in line for nearly three hours waiting for 4 riders to get their paper work processed. Finally, I was ready to go with my bike and spare parts box. I checked over my bike and learned my first KTM lesson, how to open the gas cap. I ride a Kawasaki at home, so pressing the magic KTM gas button was new to me. The KTM Chile people filled the bike with 1 liter of fuel and off I was to ride down the road to Parc Ferme 10 km away. Everything was going well, until I turned off the highway and the bike stopped. I could not get it going again and thought I fouled a plug. What a way to start, hopefully I did not do any real engine damage. With no tools on me, it was time to start pushing. After 10 minutes of pushing, I caught a ride in the back of a truck and arrived at Parc Ferme. I pushed the bike to the Canadian work areas and started to work on the bike. I changed plugs and fill up with gas. On kick and it came to life! I just ran out of fuel and I felt like a rookie. Now it was time to start to prep the bike. I started by pulling to carb to check the jetting, it was stock based on the KTM charts. Upon installing the main jet, I got overzealous and broke off the main jet, another problem! It was not an issue to get out the threads, but things were not going well for me. I decided to chill out for a bit and wait for KTM to post their recommended jetting before doing any further work. The nice thing about KTM at the ISDE is the support. They have a parts container to purchase spare parts (cash only!) and they do testing and post their recommended jetting. The jetting for my bike bumped up the pilot from a 35 to a 38, needle clip to the 5th position, and the main jet from a 165 to a 175. This was quite a jump up and it was to deal with the deep soft sand. My next issue was to get the correct jets and purchase spare air filters. I was predicting the week would be very dusty and I would be changing air filters at most time checks (gas stops). Eventually, I got the correct jets, but KTM would only sell me 3 air filters. KTM felt they were going to run out of filters, so I sent up Eric and he picked me up 3 more. I finished prepping the bike with bark busters, red loctite, and safety wire. Finally I was starting to feel better with my bike back together and running with several spare air filters. Now it was time to put on the gear and start riding. I headed out for my first experience in the test track. The sand was very soft and easy to lose momentum. It was whooped out and rough with several large dips. It did my best to adapt to the conditions and sampled the sand several times. The fast sand riders went by me like I was standing still. This could be a long ISDE. Only a bruised right thigh to report from my crashes and the bike was running great so I ended my test sessions and headed back to check over the bike and change the oil. I loaded my bike in the container and headed back to the hotel.
Everything was going well for the rest of team Canada. Most of the day was spent time jetting the bikes for the deep sand. A general rule of thumb for the ISDE, is not to be the first rider starting to ride. If there is big issue with fuel and jetting, it is better to learn from other first. Most of the bikes were running, and everyone was starting to settle in. My brother chatted with his Italian friend from last year and was informed of the tricks to make the 530 run better in the sand. Thursday November 8, 2007 – Sign In. Our tasks for the day were to purchase tires, sign in and impound the bikes. My brother was finishing up his bike, so Eric and I headed up to the Metzeler area. Somehow, my brother’s name was dropped off the Metzeler order list. Luckily, they had enough tires so I dropped $3000 and ended up with 12 front, 12 rear, and 4 sets of mousse tubes. Thing are finally starting to go our way. Back at the container, it was time to prep the rims with duct tape and practice tire changes. Meanwhile, my brother finally got his bike together and went testing. A crash over the bars sent him back to the pits and he was having problems with the bike overheating. He decided to do the tricks from his Italian friend – fix thermostat, remove radiator fan, drill holes in plastic skid plate, get new end cap. Now his bike started to run right. After talking to the Americans, a big name US rider made it only about 100 m into the test track before he was tossed over the bars. It least it was not only us struggling in the sand. Around noon, the Canadian team headed up for sign in. It was simple and painless for most of the Team. Terry had problems with his ownership papers, so he had a big issue to overcome before they would let him sign in. He got it resolved several hours later, but his ISDE could have ended here. Next were team pictures were taken by the ocean, and then it was time to impound the bikes. On the way to impound inspection, Lee Fryberger came back into the pits. He was the Canadian pre-rider and headed out on the Day 1&2 route in the morning. Lee had crashed and broke off this right foot peg and brake lever. Our first DNF of ISDE happened on the pre-ride. Anyways, to impound my bike, I needed an inspection paper with bore and stroke, the bike and my helmet. My rental KTM had no issues and easily passed the sound test. Several riders were turned back with problems with hole in their bar pads. Zip ties and foam fixed everyone up. Everyone was impounded, and next time we touch our bikes is race day on Monday. Friday November 9, 2007 – Walk tests Nothing significant to report. The Team organized our areas at Parc Ferme and sorted out the mechanic duties. We did notice that KTM revised their jetting again. This time they went to a richer needle, bumped the main up to 180, and set the air screw to 1 turn. I decided it was not worth rejetting on day 1, since the bike felt slightly rich and I do not pin it like the factory boys. Afterwards, it was off to find and walk the special tests of Day 1&2. Saturday November 10, 2007– More Tests. Today was scouting out days 3&4 and the special tests. In the evening it was the opening ceremonies. It was held on a street by a lighthouse on the ocean. Everyone lined up by country and paraded across a stage. Then there were some speeches, local dance and fireworks. It was cool to see all the people involved with the 30 different countries. Even more amazing was all the people who came out to watch the ceremonies. Thousands of people were crowded in as tightly as possible to see the ceremonies. Sunday November 11, 2007 – more tests and rest. Today was the day to scouting out day 5’s route. We made it to the first test and then we ran into highway construction. The decision was made to back to the hotel and rest for tomorrow’s adventure. In our evening meeting we found out we were riding on schedule B, the easier schedule. Hopefully this is good news. Monday November 12, 2007 – Day 1 Today was the big day. I showed up early at Parc Ferme with a couple of other riders. Since some of us were newbie’s, we wanted to check out the start. The way a typical day starts is you can pick up your bike 15 minutes before your start time. Then you have 5 minutes to push your bike across the impound area. Then you have 10 minutes in the work area before the starting line. You can finally start your bike after you minute comes up on the starting line and you must ride 20 m under the bikes power without getting a time penalty. The main difference this year was a rider only had 50 m on pavement before turning into the deep sand to go another 400 m until the first sand test of the day. After getting the feel of everything, it was time to get dressed and head up to pick up my bike. I met the two riders from Argentina on my minute, one spoke English and other did not. All the riders were sent out on the course at three riders per one minute intervals. The only thing I had to do in the work area was to install my time sheet. I pushed my bike up to the start line and waited for my minute. The clock turned and my bike started in one kick. I rode it across the 20 meter line and stopped and let my bike warm-up before the next riders started. The first section of sand was really soft and put a good load on the engine. As I made it to the start of the first test, I reminded myself that I’m here to finish and to ride a good pace and not to crash. The first test was really whooped out at my number 413. I only stalled my bike once; rode reserved and made it out of the test. The next section to time check 1 (TC1) was a short blast down the beach. I did manage to get myself wet in a small creek and had to clean my goggles at the check. After TC1 the route continued down the beach, across the highway to TC2 and the second special test. This test stared down in a field covered in a type of juniper bush then climbed up some adobe hills, dropped into another grass field, climbed back over the adobe hills and returned to the start. This test went okay for me until the finish. There was a nice rut in the last turn before the finish. I turned into the rut and my front wheel planted and sent me over the bars on my face. My first big crash of six days! I dragged my bike out and finished up. The next section of trail was rated as a 5 out of 5 for technical difficulty. After the test, we started to climb the mountains. The trail varied from a two track to tight single track. There were lots of scrub brush and cactus everywhere. The ground was sharp pointed rock, mostly firmly planted in the ground, covered by silt. It was very dusty back at my minute, but I turned up the gas and started to ride. My suspension was way too stiff for these rocks, but felt good at the high speed sections. I got on the gas and found a good rhythm and started to pass riders. I caught Jesse at the base of a hill and he let me by. On the next hill, it was bottleneck time. There were about 30 riders on this section of tight rocks switchbacks. I passed a ton of riders here and just tried to keep moving. I guess this is the section where Jesse hit a rock and fell down the hill that caused him to hour out. There were lot of riders crashed, ended their ISDE only 1.5 hours into the event. The next part of the trail dropped back down into the valley and we had over 30 minutes of riding sand whoops as fast as you could go. I think I was riding at around 80 kph on these whoops that led into TC3.
From TC3 to TC4 was more desert riding – sand whoops for another hour. From TC4 to TC5 the trail was more sand whoops with some sandy canyon riding. At TC5 was the next special test. This test had lots of off cambers and had very silty dirt. It was very dusty and was very hard to see when you caught the rider in front of you. From TC5 to TC6, there were more sand whoops, some two track, then some mountain single track, before returning to sand whoops. This section was a little tight on time so you had to keep moving. At TC6 was a sandy special test next to the ocean. I felt pretty good here and started to feel more comfortable on the sand test. From TC6 to TC7 was returning back over the mountain that we used earlier in the day. The mountain trail was getting haggard and I had to keep pushing hard to keep on time in all the dust. There were riders everywhere struggling in this section. The lowest number I caught was around 200, some ladies on CRF 230’s. At TC7 was the second special test run again. This time the first big hill had a nasty rut in it. When I went up, there was a rider stuck up to his gas tank in the rut. I went to the right with no issues. The rest of the test was okay. From TC8 to the pre-finish was back up the beach and running the first special test again. Everything was going well for me when I came upon Steve on the beach; he had blown it up about 10 minutes from the Parc Ferme. I finished the last test and prepared for the 15 minute work area. I was able to changes both front, rear tires; change my oil with a minute to spare. This was the first time I was able to do the mousse tire changes this quickly; thankfully Eric was there to help coach me. Kris helped out by changing my oil. I was done day 1! After cleaning several air filters, it was time to get some food and get ready for the next day.
Tuesday November 13, 2007 – Day 2 Today was the same course as day 1, still with schedule B. We did get notice that the big hill was cut out from TC6 to TC7. I was tired to start to day, my forearms felt like steel, and monkey butt had started to set in. The KTM seat is not a soft as my Kawasaki’s seat. The morning work period consisted of an air filter, checking axles, checking spokes, and replacing a pipe bolt. Riding today was tough. Hitting the square edged rocks and sand whoops hurt my forearms, but I kept on going. Riders were starting to drop out, some rows only had one rider, but my minute was still full. The dust was better than day 1, due to the large drop out of riders in front of me, but the dust still required frequent filter changes. Test 1 went okay, and test 2 started to have problems. By the time I hit the first hill in the test, there was a rider stuck in the left rut, a rider stuck to the right. The “French Connection” pit crew told me the hot line was up the middle over the rock and brush. I hit the good line and no issues and continued through the test. The course was the same until TC6, I tough they would run us up the mountain and detour the tough stuff. But the course detoured onto the highway and rode for 30 km at 120 km/h. I showed up at TC7 one hour early. So I had time to check my bike over and bled the rear brakes. The hill at this special test (same as test 2) was removed and the rest of the day continued on. In the 15 minute work period, I was able to change both tires and change my oil without any issues. Again I was able to stay on time (~6 hours riding), no crash damage, and changed another 5 filters today. More air filter cleaning before going home. We did get word that night that KTM went testing and recommended different jetting for Day 3&4 due to the Altitude. Their jetting was a one step leaner 35 pilot and a 170 main. I decided to keep my jetting and try turning out the air screw ½ a turn. For the team, Day 2 saw Clint drop out with clutch issues. Jesse was riding for fun after houring out on Day 1 and gave parts from his bike to Clint to keep him going. It did not work, but it was a great gesture. By end of Day 2, the Canadian Team had lost Steve, Jesse, and Clint. Michel was not feeling well and passing fluid out both ends during the day. Everyone else was still going well. Day 2 summary: Ride Time – 6 hours Mileage – ~240 km Special Tests – 6 Route Points – none Bike Work – 6 air filters, oil change, front tire, rear tire, change rear brake fluid.
Wednesday November 14, 2007 – Day 3.
New course today and the organizers bumped everyone to Time schedule A, the fast time. My forearms were still very tight in the morning. In the morning work period it was the same – air filter and check over the bike, install new route sheet. The Day started with the same sand special test and then headed north up the beach and then through some trail to TC1. After TC1 was the Enduro test. It was run in a long rocky creek bed with a couple of detours up dirt hills. The first run was not timed and the rock very loose and calling out to damage my bike. I rode reserved, trying to protect and bike and then it was onto the trail. The trail took us up and over some small mountains, drop into some sand whoops and back over more mountains down to TC2. The trail tended to follow the crest of these mountains and was fairly open. Some hills were steep and required a good run to make it up. This section was not too dusty due to the lack of riders on the trail. From TC2 to TC3 the trail started as a two track and then worked into a tight single track with lots of rocks and off cambers. I started to feel my mid day lull at this point. Riders were catching and passing me in this section and I was feeling really tired. The trail dropped down a larger series of two track switch backs into a rock wash that we rode for several km. I was beat at this time. From TC3 to TC4 we started to really climb up the mountains. I estimated we were 7000-8000 feet high, after starting at sea level. There were several big sandy climb and my bike was not running well. The trail dropped down and we had a 10 minute ride up the highway to TC4. TC4 was located in the middle of town and was full of people and extremely hot (30 degrees C). After TC4 was the rock bed special test. This special test winded through the rocky banks of a river and was 100% loose rocks. It was similar to the rocky beds on the side of the Elbow River. This test was brutal and I was slow. My goal was not to crash and save my bike and body. I found out later this test took out Bjorne Carlsson with a broken arm and Juha Salminen had a big crash here. The next section from TC4 to TC5, started with climbing up the mountain with big sandy dusty hills and dropping back down to a dry creek bed. This creek bed had loose rock with intermixed large rocks following a mountain valley. It seemed to go on forever (~30 min). Near the end of the stream bed, I had a big crash and landing on my head. Somehow I did not break off my visor, but I really bruised my left thigh. I rolled into TC5 thinking I had dropped some route points, but I was still on time, but really hurting. From TC5 to TC6 was all road riding. My forearms were shot, I had a sore rear end, and I was hard to stand – survival mode. I popped some Aleive at TC5 hoping it would help. From TC 6 to TC7 was more road riding, but the wind had kicked up and the air was very cool. Everyone was chilled riding into this check. I tried to eat some sugar to get my body going. Word had passed back that the next section was tight on time (thanks to Pat Beaule). From TC7 to TC8 was a reverse of the morning mountain section with less time. I started to feel better and tried to get on the gas. Unfortunately I got stuck on the first bike hill and lost valuable time. The trail continued onto the sand whoops and then bypassed down a rolling rocky power line. I had the bike pinned in 5th gear to make up time ~90 km/h. I hit the check and gassed and rolled through 1 minute late. Now the Enduro test was timed and the loose rocks had turned into rocky whoops. Then the trail reversed the trail and headed to Parc Ferme to do the Sand test again. In the 15 minute work period, changed two tires and oil change. Day 3 was complete, dropped one trail point, no crash damage, changed 4 air filters, and beat tired. The bike was running very poor up high, but I decided to leave it alone. Day 3 summary: Ride Time – 7 hours Mileage – ~250 km Special Tests – 4 Route Points – 1 Bike Work – 5 air filters, oil change, front tire, rear tire.
Thursday November 15, 2007 – Day 4. Same course as day 3. My forearms were not loosening up at night, so more fun to come. I rode tired most of the day. I struggle with my bike up high and some hills required 2 runs, compared to a single run yesterday. This is probably due to fatigue. I did much better in the river bed and did not crash. On the final mountain section, I made it up the first big hill allowing me to stay on time. Again, 2 tire changes and an oil change at night. Day 4 complete, no new trail points and changed 4 filters. Day 4 summary: Ride Time – 7 hours Mileage – ~250 km Special Tests – 5 Route Points – none Bike Work – 5 air filters, oil change, front tire, rear tire.
Friday November 16, 2007 – Day 5. New course today. The organizers decided to re-seed everyone, the trophy riders were now 2 riders per row and the club riders were 3 riders per row. This means full rows, therefore it will be dusty. Of course we rode the first sand test for the last time. This test was really whopped out after riding it 9 different times for each rider. The trail first section was the same as Day 3&4 to the Enduro test in the creek bed. After the Enduro Test, it was time to head north. From TC1 to TC2 was a climb over a small mountain. It was very dusty, some tight sections and very rocky in parts. I was riding very slow and just made it on time to the next check.
Between TC2 and TC3 the course had two sand special tests and a section of trail that wound between large rocks. The tests were okay, but I knew I would be tight on time. It was hard to make up time in the rocks and very hard to pass in the dust when I caught a slower rider. I rolled into the next check late. Got gas, filled up my camel back, changed and air filter and just missed hitting a lower minute. I dropped 3 minutes. This check was all backed up with at least 10 riders waiting for their time cards. I cost me two minutes to go through the line before heading out on the trail. Now I had dropped back and was riding with Jeff Fredette and some one from Venezuela. From TC3 to TC4 the trail was two track up a mountain and two track on some flats into TC4. I made it in-plenty of time. From TC4 to TC5 we followed a power line then some mountain riding finally into a section of hard packed dirt trail. After TC5 was a repeat of test 4 in the sand. Then we went through a section of rocky stream bed to TC6, just to beat us up some more. After TC6 was a repeat of test 3 and back over the rocky mountain. I put the hammer down and made it in time. AT TC7 was the Enduro test and then it was back to Parc Ferme. Franco Acerbis was at the pre-finish to shake everyone’s hands for finishing day 5. I rolled into the pits and found everyone was gone. I had help changing my oil and impounded my bike. I found my riding partner from the previous four days and trading jerseys. By the end of day 3, I dropped 3 route points, only bike damage is a really dented front rim, and 4 filter changes. To this point, I had been ignoring the results and tried to focus on riding. When I finally looked at the results I was sitting in Silver (within 40% of the class leader’s score)! All I have left is the final moto. Day 5 summary: Ride Time – 7 hours Mileage – ~240 km Special Tests – 7 Route Points – 3 Bike Work – 6 air filters, oil change
Saturday November 17, 2007 – Day 6. Final moto day was scheduled on the sand track next to Parc Ferme. I was seed in the middle C2 moto, heat #5 riding at 11:30. During the work period, I changed an air filter and re-impounded. We had to wait about 45 minutes before our the final moto could start due to the television. The stands were packed with people and it felt very hot in the sun. The parade lap was very rough and I knew it would be a long 9 laps. After re-seeding for the start line, I started in the upper half of the pack. It was crazy on the first lap. People were falling all over the place and several people came charging by. I just kept my steady pace and started to pass back many riders. The only rest on the track was jumping the big tabletop. Midway through the moto, I was tired and hanging on. Shortly later, a German rider came flying by me; I had been lapped. I kept passing and lapping people and I think I ended up around 7th. At the end of the day, the jury threw out the motocross for the club riders – I ended up with a Silver! I found the other rider from the week and traded him for his Argentina jersey. The DNF rate was over 30% for this tough six days. My group of three riders from the beginning of the week all finished; two silvers and one bronze. After the race it was time to clean up and prepare the bike to be returned to KTM. There was a gap in the moto from the club riders in the morning to the Trophy riders in the afternoon. This gave the locals time to check out the pits and the Canadian pits turned into a huge yard sale. Chilean people were buying anything you would sell; tires, boots, helmet, goggles, knee braces. This kept everyone entertained until the afternoon motos. After getting everything ready, I finally could go watch the final three motos of the top trophy riders. The track was really rough and the top riders made it look easy. The E1 class (250cc 4 stroke) was running around 1:50-1:54 lap times. The next moto was the E2 (450 cc 4 stroke) and was amazing. The moto was clearly won by Johnny Aubert of France; he had consistent lap times of 1:43 compared to 1:50 of the second place rider. He crushed most of the rest of the best riders in the world by over 10 seconds a lap. Second place was a rider from Chile that had great support from the 15,000 fans. The final moto was the E3 moto in the roughest track conditions and features Kurt Caselli, Marko Tarkkola and three Canadians. Tarkkola won the moto with 1:50-1:54 lap times. Last task of the day was to pack up the container and go to the after party. The container was packed up and the Canadian Team celebrated with pizza and beer. Upon returning to the hotel, I crashed out and missed the big party. Day 6 summary: Mileage – ~15 km Special Tests – 1 Route Points – none Bike Work – 1 air filter Sunday November 18, 2007 – Return the bikes. Our last official task for the ISDE was to return the rental bikes to KTM. My brother and I showed up around 9:30 to return our bikes. The Chilean mechanics went over the bikes with a fine toothed comb. My total included a dented front rim, a burnt out headlight and a missing upper chain protector. I thought I would be forced to replace the rim, but the only charged me $10. In the end I only owed $30. Racing was over and time to rest and sight see.
ISDE Summary: Ride Time – 34-1/2 hours Mileage – ~1235 km Special Tests – 21 Route Points – 4 Bike Work – 28 air filters, 6 oil changes, 5 front tire, 5 rear tires, 1 pipe bolt, replace brake fluid, top up radiator fluid, wore out two front mousse tubes, two rear mousse tubes (okay). Lots of riding at high speeds (40 km/h) on a bike with minimal maintenance, this is why riders need new bikes for the ISDE. I’m sure glad I rented a new KTM for this event. Many thanks go out to all the people who helped out the team throughout the week. These people are along to help the riders (family, friends, and good souls) and have the great task of manning a check stop during the day. There are too many to name and without them, no riders would ever be able to finish the race. Additional thanks go out to the sponsors and financial supporters of the Canadian team. It is a very expense race and every little bit helps. Lastly, I would like to thank my parents for helping me during the race, the guidance of my brother Dave, the tire change technique from Eric Croy, and my wife and kids allowing me to go to the race.
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