With the actual course marked and some gained confidence, it was time to return to Mike's Sky Ranch to pre-run it on the quad now. We could not find any babysitting so the kids had to come with us this weekend. Only this time, it meant that I would have to make my family wait for me as I rode the section alone. We could not tow the buggy for Tim and the kids to ride along with me because that would mean we would have to bring the big trailer and spend more money on gas. The buggy also needed work that we did not have time or money to do before the race. So, bashfully, I asked Tim if he would be willing to drive to Valle de Trinidad stay the night in the Suburban and then stake out for a day with the kids while I rode the Mike's Sky Ranch area loop from there alone. I would have to start the loop by driving 10 miles up the course backwards first, but starting from race mile 535 would allow us to get to know one of the planned pit stops for the race and test out our upgraded radio communication system. And driving down highway 3 again on the way there would allow me to finalize my notes for the pit crews by recording exact directions for them with kilometer markers and other landmarks.

Being the trooper that Tim is, he agreed to this plan. So I tried to make a fun Saturday evening for the kids with a bon fire. Things went well until I decided to heat up our canned dinner in the bonfire and forgot to crack the top of the cans first. Three of our cans exploded with the kids sitting next to the fire and sent my son running with hot soup on his leg and my daughter screaming with fear. After calming them down and trying to explain to them what happenned, they were both ready for bed. I rummaged in the car until I found something else quick to eat, fed them peanut butter sandwiches, and set up their beds.

The next day I got up early with the plan of trying to get my ride done as soon as possible so that I would not make my family suffer much waiting in the hot sun. It was a cold morning so I decided to ride with my jacket on since I would be climbing even more in elevation. I also carried a bottle of gas in my camelback because the 115 mile loop I was going to do was just long enough to run the risk of running out of gas. The previous day we met a motorcycle rider who was pre-running the same loop I was about to do and he said that the course was a little technical and challenging. I realized that this would be the first time I would be pre-running a challenging section alone, with no radio contact with Tim and no chase back-up. I decided this was a good thing because I was getting closer to the reality of this race and I didn't want anyone thinking that I couldn't do this race alone.

Driving backwards on the first 10 miles of the course was a little difficult because I ran into a chain of 21 motorcycle riders. I ended up wasting about a half an hour pulling over for each one, knowing they had the right of way. But it was really interesting to watch every single rider go by holding up the number of fingers for the number of riders behind him. Tim later told me that when the chain of riders went by him where the course took a 90 degree turn, he saw every rider take their turn waiting for a visual check on the guy behind him before he took the turn. The more I was exposed to the organization of motorcycle riding in Baja, the more intrigued I was becoming with the idea of getting into motorcycles.

I poured the gas I was carrying in the tank as soon as I thought I had consumed enough gas to make room for it (I hate carrying gas on me). Then I wasted another 20 minutes or so looking for the correct roads that would lead me to the marked course. Once I was going the right direction on the official course, the real adventure began. I found the trails to be a little more difficult to ride on after many people had pre-ran the area. The trails were most difficult in and out of Mike's Sky Ranch, where I don't even want to think about how many times I came too close to falling off the edge of cliffs. I lost count of how many streams I had to slow down to cross and discovered that there were areas of silt I hadn't noticed the last time. This silt was bright red, unlike the beige silt I found in San Felipe. One particular section of silt by race mile 475, was very large and challenging. I was sliding all over the place and I even hit some large rocks stationed inconspicuously right in the worst parts. I was VERY lucky to have made it through alone, but when I did, I didn't look back. For a few miles after that, there were some flat easy roads that had some wide but windy turns going up and down some gentle hills. Because I didn't think I had to concentrate as much on these roads, my mind started to wander and I lost focus. Suddenly, I found myself sliding off to the side of a left turn and running into the high burm of sand at the edge. My bike was high centered and there was nothing I could do about it. I dug and tugged...but I just don't have the upper body strength to move a bike as large as the DS650 off of a high sand burm. As much as I hate asking for help, all I could do was wait for someone else to come by.

On this day, alot of people were out pre-running. I started recognizing people from other sections I pre-ran earlier and again I felt like a member of the important club. It wasn't long before some fellow club members came by and I flagged them down. Two motorcycle riders pulled over and in 2 seconds had the bike off the berm for me. While it was a little embarrassing that I couldn't move the bike myself out of a simple situation, I was grateful that these guys stopped and gave me a way to help myself out of a predicament for which my husband wasn't around to provide support. The guys said they recognized me from pre-running other sections and tended to me as I complained about the heat. They made sure I had enough to drink in my camelback and unzipped my jacket for me that I now felt stupid wearing. They also counseled me on how I should be careful about not training too hard for this race, even if I was trying to Ironwoman it. They told me to ride on ahead so they could look out for me. Before I left, I told them not to worry when they decided they needed to pass me because I was sure their pace was faster than mine.

Now focused again, I was off for the next challenge. Coming back through Mike's Sky Ranch towards the end of the loop there was this steep dip in the trail. The dip fell for about 25 feet to the bottom and the other side ascended at a very steep incline. The deep bend at the bottom made it difficult to pick up speed for the climb on the other side for fear of hitting the nose of the bike. On top of that, the entire dip was made of deep thick silt, which required speed to get through it. Before going down the dip, I looked desperately for another way around it. I saw many other foot steps and tire tracks that attempted the same. But just as the previous tracks led right back to the same trail, so was I. There was no way around it, I had to go through it. But what if I got stuck out here by myself? What if I got stuck at the bottom where the next vehicle coming by would not see me in time? Just in time to answer my questions, a buggy rolled up and understood immediately what I was pondering. When I was about to say, "It's O.K., I'll figure it out," the driver got out and walked to the bottom for me and studied the hill. He told me exactly where to plant my tires to climb it. Realizing now that I had someone to tow me out if I got stuck, I had no worries as I attemtped the pass. In one professional-looking swoop, I cleared it just fine with no problems. When I stopped at the top of the other side to thank the driver, I saw another guy on an ATV stopped in the same spot where I was before. I smiled to myself as I realized that the buggy driver had to help that quad through just the same.

I finished the rest of the ride watching tons of ATVs and motorcycles pass me. I felt slow, especially when I saw the two motorcycles who stopped for me earlier pass me twice after they stopped at Meling Ranch for a break. I completed the ride by myself, but not feeling alone. I learned that asking for help and helping others is a necessary part of this sport for all who are members of it. When I got back to where Tim and the kids were, I saw a whole pit of people who had finished their rides in the area earlier. All the guys who were passing me were also finishing in the same spot and they greeted me when I finally arrived too. I found that Tim and the kids were happy and didn't mind too much waiting for me even though I took longer than expected. I took my family out to eat at the best taco stand in Valle de Trinidad to celebrate the lesson I learned from my first truly independent ride in Baja; interdependence.