Today marks the opening ceremonies for the 85th International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) held this year in Morelia, Mexico. The ISDE, often called the "Olympics of Motorcycling," is a grueling enduro event where each rider piloto will cover more than 150 miles of dirt road per day, around 7 hours of driving per day with no support. Each piloto is responsible for his or her own track-side repairs. His or her. There are 20 women registered to ride this year. Gold, Silver and Bronze medals will be issued, many go home with no medals, having never reached the finish line.-
The ISDE began in 1913 as a European-based event. In the '70s, the event began traveling outside Europe. The ISDE was held in the US in 1973 and again in 1994. For 2010, the ISDE is being held in Morelia, Mexico. Morelia is in the north central part of the state of Michoacan in central Mexico. Typical November weather in Morelia has 46 degrees for the low and 73 for the high with very little rainfall.
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Registered so far are 370 riders representing 30+ countries. This includes the following teams: 78 Trophy (6-rider), 40 Junior Trophy (4-rider), 20 women (3-rider), 221 Clubs (3-rider) and some Manufacturer teams (3-rider). The women are riding 250 or 300 cc, mostly KTM or Honda. I noticed 4 women on Gas Gas which I've been paying special attention to lately.
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US Women's Team: Kerrie Swartz #203 (KTM 200), Nicole Bradford #303 (KTM 250), and Amanda Mastin #403 (Yamaha 250). Local riders might recognize Mastin from GNCC.
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Also of special interest are the Husaberg riders. Oriol Mena is riding on the Spanish team: Oriol, Lorenzo Santolino ('10 EJ World Champ), Mario Roman ('10 Youth Cup winner) and Victor Guerrero. This same team took last year's ISDE Junior Trophy and wants to claim a consecutive win in 2010. "We have only one goal, which is to win," Mena told Husaberg, "Mexico is the place where I won the Enduro Junior World Championship last year, so it's a special place for me. The conditions are similar to Spain -- dry, dusty with many stones....... One thing that is unique here is that all bikes have less power because of the high altitude."
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There are 5 other Husaberg riders in the 2010 ISDE. Calle Sjoo and Kalle Svensson on the Swedish Junior Trophy team (which had less time to prepare because the team's container was held up in customs), Valtteri Salonen on the Finnish Trophy team, Nathan Woods on the US Trophy team and Nick Fahringer on the US Junior Trophy team. There is no Swedish Trophy team so Joakim Ljunggren is not participating, he remains at home preparing for the Indoor EWC.
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Interesting note: The Participants Handbook for the 2010 ISDE includes common Spanish phrases competitors might need. Here's hoping nobody needs these:
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Necesito una ambulancia (I need an ambulance).
Adonde esta' el hospital? (where is the hospital?).
Llama a la policia (Call the police!)
Estoy Perdido! (I'm lost!)
Perdi mi motocicleta (I've lost my motorcycle).
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The 2010 ISDE begins bright and early November 1 and runs through November 6. Good luck to all!
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as I originally posted over at The Race Shop.
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