he last page of our December issue was about my reflections and personal highlights of the year past. Because of the production and printing time needed to get the magazine made, there were still a few weeks left in 2006 when that was written and it turned out that there were still a few more notable developments. The sport and industry lost one more friend when legendary racer Marty Moates died in early December. That was a real shock to everyone who knew him and we all miss him.
     Looming also on the horizon at year’s end was a long Baja ride between Christmas and New Years that I was scheduled to go on. My sister and her husband run Trail Boss Tours and one of their big rides of the year is the “Rip To The Tip,” a 1,000+ mile ride from Ensenada to Cabo San Lucas. I had heard about it in the past and it sounded really fun. But there were lots of reasons to skip it: (1) Time, for one. Even though it was the holidays, we’re always pressed for time to get our magazines produced and this ride was six days long. (2) The distance. While I do ride trail bikes as often as I can, this ride involved some highway, but more than 800 miles of dirt roads and trails. I wasn’t sure I was up to it. (3) Lastly, it’s Mexico! Not having lots of experience south of the border, there were all kinds of issues and unknowns that came to mind. Add it up and it would have been easy to pass.
     But Trail Boss Tours had everything for me to make it to Cabo. All I had to do was show up. They provide Yamaha WR450s, plus a support truck that would be following us, a mechanic, satellite phones in case of emergency, and all accommodations along the way arranged. I got to thinking that if I was ever going to do a ride like that, this was my chance. Getting to Cabo for New Years Eve on a dirt bike. That’s one of those events in your life that not everyone can check off as having done. And as I think back to the friends that I lost in 2006, it starts to make you think about your age and that some opportunities have to be grabbed when they present themselves. They may not be there again. So I decided to go for it.
     There wasn’t room to get my full ride report into this issue (watch for it in the April issue), but we trucked the bikes across the border the day after Christmas, unloaded south of Ensenada and six days later rode into Cabo San Lucas. With the odometer reading 1,140 miles, yes, I was tired, but a cold bottle of beer never tasted so good as the one waiting for me in the parking lot of the hotel when we checked in.
     When I got back home, 2007 was kicking off in a fairly normal way, at least the first week was. But the second week took a quick turn for the worse. I heard the news from England that one of my old buddies from my racing days had passed away. I raced many times with Cliff Carr and it was real sad to hear that he had died. Godspeed old friend.
     Then, came the news that Marcel Fortney died of a heart attack at his ranch in California. We have a tribute to him on page 12, but speaking personally, Marcel was a really exceptional person who I knew clear back to his days at Yoshimura. In recent years, as head of AGV’s marketing here in the U.S., he was a customer of ours and we talked business constantly. But since both of our daughters ride horses, whenever we talked we’d update each other on what our girls were doing in the equestrian world. It was obvious how important his family was to him and keeping his personal and business life in balance was a top priority. Few people I’ve known have that figured out as well as Marcel did.
     Now when I think back to my Baja ride, my mind jumps to that day I heard that Marcel was gone. It reminds me how fragile life is, and how glad I am now that I didn’t pass on the chance to take that long ride. You never know when life’s chances will come your way again, if ever.
My New Year’s resolution for 2007? Seize the moment.

Ride safe,


Parts Magazine
Volume 14 #2

Parts Magazine Index