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how to drive 3,500 miles in 12 days



Several years into my career as a traveling banker, I decided I wasn't taking enough advantage of business trips. I was in the peak of my single-living years and had only myself to take care of. My career was financially comfortable and I had plenty of free time, but after spending a few days on the road, I usually just wanted to get home. New York City? Blah...get me out. San Antonio, San Francisco and any other "San" town didn't matter. My trips were out-and-back career obligations, nothing more.


But in September 2007, I took a look at the National Enduro Series schedule, as well as the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) series, and decided to plan a vacation around two consecutive weekends of racing. I would head east to New York and Tennessee to compete in a GNCC and a national enduro, respectively.
The trip actually started at my company's annual retreat* at Starved Rock State Park, then on to my suburban Chicago storage unit to retrieve my KX250, and then a journey to upstate New York to see a business client. The trip would also include mountain biking, thus the need to pack so much gear. On the way home, I would see another business client in Northern Kentucky. This was my idea of combining business with pleasure, with heavy emphasis on pleasure.



*Corporate retreat side-note



One of my coworkers was a good family guy who I liked and respected, but I always wondered if he ever left the confines of big city life. His business travel mostly involved airlines and his vacation stories were not about road trips to Wally World. My coworker left for Starved Rock in his car, a little earlier than the rest of us, and called me while I was still in the office. “John, I don’t understand,” he said. “I’m on the Interstate and all the corn is still standing in the fields and it’s all dead! Totally brown!”


He was clearly concerned about this. We were a corporate agribusiness banking group. If that much corn was rotting in the fields, our clients were doomed, and this would not be good for us either. I gazed through the window next to my cubicle, glass and concrete and steel from all angles, and sighed. I chose my words carefully and replied in the most soothing tone I could muster: “It’s alright Joe. That’s the way corn is supposed to look in September.”



Road trip preparations



September 2007



The Chevy Blazer 2-door version can haul a surprising amount of stuff.



The Blazer has some utility, too. I was ready for a long road trip.



The Ultimate MX Hauler worked very well. I didn't trust my aging GMC Sonoma pickup truck for a journey this long, so the Blazer was called into duty.



This massive chain lock was a theft deterrent. When I had to stay overnight at hotels, I also wrapped the entire motorcycle and MX Hauler in a plastic tarp. Plastic tarps are noisy.



Destination #1



Chenango Valley State Park
Binghamton, New York



Chenango Valley State Park is a nice little park in south central New York, not too far from the Pennsylvania border. It's a little over an hour from New Berlin, site of the Unadilla GNCC race, and had two appealing attractions: Mountain bike trails and cabins with wood burning stoves (temperatures dropped down into the 40's both nights I was there).



if only i had wood



In theory, this was a heated cabin.



probably breaking some laws



The bike was spotless, though.



who says you can't live with it?



If not for the 42 stairs to my 3rd floor condo, I would have lived like this every day.



just like home



Pretty much the same stuff I cooked any other night.



it's culinary genius



Pasta in a box. Legit.



Destination #2



Unadilla Grand National Cross Country race
New Berlin, New York



the nascar of woods racing



Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) is the premier woods racing series in the U.S. The staging area for this race was the Unadilla motocross track, made famous by the 1987 Motocross des Nations and many epic AMA National motocross races over the years. It's a large, mostly natural terrain track in the rolling hills of Central New York.



factory teams



Most of the major manufacturers maintained a fleet of professional racers for the GNCC series.



a carnival-like atmosphere



Can-am was the primary sponsor in 2007



go orange or go home.



it's a scenic place



team suzuki



Rodney Smith, Mike Webb and Glenn Kearney



The man, the legend



Rodney Smith, leading a track walk, was a multi-time GNCC overall champion. He was well into his 40s and still very fast.



The morning race



This race was for various C classes, women and novices. The afternoon race, run on most the same course, included the premier Pro class and the A and B classes.



the wall



The crowd awaits.



carnage at the wall



This obstacle was near the beginning of the course, when riders are typically at their highest state of excitement and are willing take risks to improve their positions. Several tried to perform their finest Ricky Carmichael impressions at the wall. All failed.



its a game called dodge-bike



some were winners. others not.



If at first you fail



He tried 3 times to climb the big hill on the motocross track. Then he gave up.



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