The Best East Coast Hare Scrambles in the West

After the dust of Glen Helen settles, and before the gate drops at Anaheim 1, we have what most would refer to as an off-season. Off-road series' like WORCS, GNCC and BITD also wrap up their year and take a few weeks of down time before kicking off their '06 season. While this time of year may seem boring to some, it's one of my favorites. Why? Because it brings the best off-season events of the year: The U.S. Open, the Elsinore GP, Endurocross and most-recently, the Tecate Hare Scrambles. Last year's trip was nothing short of epic, so this year, we all packed up and headed south of the border for the 2005 Tecate Hare scrambles in Baja, Mexico.

The Los Ancianos M.C. of San Diego always lay out a course unlike anything you'd typically find on the west coast. The tight, twisty, bouldery course with plenty of technical rock sections (and if you're lucky, totally virgin trail) is described as an East Coast GNCC–style cross-country race. And aside from the fog-like dust, that's exactly what this year's race was like.

The Pro Race

GNCC Privateer Nathan Kanney took the top honors at this year's Hare Scrambles. He grabbed the holeshot and led the race from start to finish, although his lead was technical, not physical. There was confusion with trail markings, and a few dozen riders unknowingly skipped sections of the course. Consequently, several A and B riders came through before any of the pros completed the loop. But the race continued and times were later adjusted.

Kanney didn't know what was happening, and thought his lead was lost. That wasn't his only complication experienced that day. On the way to El Hongo, he took a wrong turn in Tecate and wound up in Tijuana. They made it to Rancho Santa Veronica 20 minutes before the race and experienced another problem, he didn't have enough for the entry fee. Los Ancianos were gracious enough to let him enter on an I.O.U., and he barely made it to the line in time. But all the hard luck turned into a good day for Kanney. He took the win, and after deducting the remainder of his entry fee, Kanney's came away with a $953 purse.

A virgin rock section near the start of the course made for some great spectating. While laying out the course, Los Ancianos marked the tricky rock step up, but never once rode a bike through it. There were no lines established at the start of the race, which made for a very entertaining section. The first lap had guys looping out all over the place before finding the best line through the section.

KTM rider Brent Harden was running a close second to Kanney until breaking off his footpeg. He limped the bike back to the pits and was out of the race. Other front-runners in the race were Brian Brown, Quinn Cody and Luke Dodson. Nathan Kanney admitted to running a "trail riding" pace for most of the race until Kawasaki rider Brian Brown caught up with him. The two turned it on in the last laps of the race, with Kanney ultimately pulling away. Quinn Cody, Tommy Pierce and Luke Dodson finished off the top five, respecively.

2005 Tecate Hare Scrambles
KTM Pro Challenge Results
1. Nathan Kanney 16
2. Brian Brown 9
3. Quinn Cody 14
4. Tommy Pierce 2
5. Luke Dodson 8
6. Dave Ondas 10
7. Brooks Hamilton 3
8. Justin Morrow 6
9. Jim Beauchamp 13
10. Francisco Real 7

The Trip

Jimmy Lewis, Jesse Ziegler, Derek Steahly, Joe McKimmy, Heather Lewis (Jimmy's wife) and I (Jean Turner) all caravaned down to Mexico on Saturday morning. We had hopes of conditions like last year, and some scattered showers earlier that week kept us holding our breath. But the little puddles on the side of the road seemed to stop exactly at the border. When we crossed into Mexico, and began the trek down to El Hongo (the site of the Tecate H.S.), we could see that it hadn't rained in some time.

We headed out Saturday afternoon to do some trail riding and photo shoots (which you'll see in the upcoming 250 four-stroke enduro bike shootout), and as always, Jimmy took us through some of the best single-track in the area. We stopped at a scenic clearing in the trail for pictures, and after shooting us for a while, Jimmy handed off the camera and announced his plans to "ride up on that rock."

The rock was the size of a house, with walls almost as steep. We all looked at eachother and back at Jimmy. "Uh... does anyone else know the way back to camp?" Joe mumbled, considering that we all might be stranded if the worst should happen.

Jimmy hopped on the 450X, sized up the rock and went for it. Nearly vertical with the front wheel coming up, he gassed it almost to the top. Heather screamed and the rest of us stared, slack-jawed as Jimmy's momentum came to a halt a few feet shy of the top. He hit the brakes and clung to the side of the rock over a drop off of nearly 20 feet.

There was nothing we could do from down below except holler at Jesse to keep shooting. Jimmy managed to inch himself and the bike up the rest of the way to the top. We all sighed of relief, but now he needed to turn around and ride back down. Almost as sketchy as his ascent, Jimmy came down the rock with the rear wheel barely touching the ground. Jimmy's death-defying stunt marked the end of our photoshoot and we headed back to the ranch.

Race Day

The next morning was cold and dusty with a biting wind. Jesse, Joe, Derek, Heather and myself were all entered in the morning race which was two hours. The women's class this year was pretty stacked (no pun intended), and with 2/3 of the class at pro level, Heather, talked promoters into letting us start on the second row (last year we started on the sixth row). So we were lined up with the Industry class. I had remembered to bleed my forks, check my tire pressure and do a thorough bolt check. My air filter was clean, my goggles were prepped and my drink system was full as I headed to the line. But seconds before the flag dropped when it was too late to do anything about it, I realized I had forgotten one very important thing: gas. I had about 2/3 of a tank, so I'd have to just see how far that would get me.

It was a dead-engine dismounted start (facing the back of the bike). At the start we had to turn around, throw a leg over, fire it up and go. But when the flag dropped for our row, things didn't go so smoothly for the Dirt Rider crew. Jesse "Domino" Ziegler fell over into Joe McKimmy, who then fell over to the guy next to him, who also fell over. The three of them struggled to free their now-tangled bikes, and consequently started dead last. Man, I would have paid money to see that... Meanwhile, Derek was fighting for the holeshot, and I was off to a very good start.

I don't know how many of you race off-road, but the first few miles are always crazy. And with my good start and the level of riders on my line, this was one of the craziest I had ever been in. The dust was so thick you could hardly see, there were engines grunting, people yelling and elbows flying as we all sped along the narrow course, fighting for positions. This went on for several minutes with people pushing, romping through bushes and dodging downed riders.

I was swept along with the pack, in a desparate effort to keep pace until a thought occurred to me: "This is a two-hour race, not a sprint. I'm going to crash if I keep this up." With that, I chickened out and pulled off the course, letting about a dozen people by before resuming my race. (You know you're getting old when you start considering things like having to put up Christmas lights next week in the middle of your race.)

An hour and a half later, I got the white flag. I cruised my last lap almost to the finish, when all of a sudden, "braaa... brop." I was out of gas. So close! Luckily the Gas Gas has a reserve tank which I made it back on.

Derek won the Industry class, and almost overalled the entire race. Joe and Jesse recovered from their start fiasco and diced it out for sixth. Heather finished second in the women's class to Brenda Janowski, and I finished sixth behind Jen Morton.

Jimmy, Joe and Derek entered the three-hour afternoon race which was on an almost entirely different course. Some of the trickier "virgin" sections were right near pit row, so we went out to hoot and holler at the riders as they climbed their way through.

Our trip back included our habitual stop at Los Panchos tacos for the best Mexican food in Tecate, and a grueling 2½ hour wait at the border (all part of the fun)! The Tecate Hare Scrambles is one of the few events a year that our whole staff (almost) makes it out for; kind of like our annual holiday party. If you ever get a chance to come down to Baja for the Tecate Hare Scrambles, I definitely urge you. It's a great weekend getaway, and a race unlike anything else you'll find out west.