Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128176
before the start. Luckily, the organizers bent the rules and let the U.S. team impound their bikes the night before the start. No such problems this year, but others would surface. The organizers just love to create stress for the riders. This year, they decided to enforce the kickstand rule without telling anyone. Many of the riders were turned back in tech inspections because they didn't have kickstands mounted to their bikes. And since there aren't too many kickstand stores in Jablonec nad Nisou, many riders were forced to make their own kickstands, which some of them did out of the metal frames from the crates that their motorcycles were shipped in. It didn't take long for things to go wrong for U.S. Club riders Chilly White - who came prepared to ride his Gas Gas 250 in the 250cc TwoStroke class - and Tom Huber - who was set to ride the 400cc Four-Stroke Brian Storrie pushes his Gas Gas Into the Impound area at the end of day four. Storrie was this year's top U.S. Club rider. never ridden in the ISDE, but ever since I covered my first Six Days for Cycle News in 1985 in Spain, I've been hooked and have gone back 14 times, including the just-concluded ISDE in the Czech Republic. The fact that the U.S. has never won the ISDE (though we've won the Silver Vase once and the Junior World [formerly Silver Vase] division once) has never gotten me down, because, to me, the Six Days is more than just about winning. And anyone who's ever been to the Six Days (Oklahoma doesn't count) knows what I'm talking about. The Six Days is an experience, from the Olympic-like atmosphere to the different culture and way of life in whatever country the ISDE is being held that year. Anyone from the U.S. who has attended the Six Days abroad has always come back a more enriched and experienced person, even if they come back without a (Right) Dave Wolfe legpaddles through a deep rut In a day-three special test. He was one of 12 Americ:an riders who took home a silver medal. (Below) John Wells pulls out of one of the Americ:an checks early on day three. number-one trophy or gold medal. But to me, one of the best parts of the Six Days is the stories; stuff just happens at the Six Days - on or off the "track." Whoever came up with the "Sh- happens" bumper sticker a few years ago, must've been a Six Days rider. And this year in the Czech Republic, a lot of "stuff" happened, as usual. class on a rented KTM. They arrived at sign-up to find out their entries had gotten messed up. "They had me down in the 400 Four-Stroke class and Tom down in the 250cc class," White told me before the start. "And they wouldn't fix it. So, Tom and I had to switch bikes. I've got to ride his bike and he has to ride my bike." White finished out the Six Days with a bronze medal, while Huber DNFed. THE HARD PART GETTING STARTED This year, the Czech ISDE got off to a pretty good start for the U.S. team. The container, which the riders ship their bikes and supplies in, actually arrived before they did. In years past, the container has shown up late, forcing the riders to hastily put their bikes together before the impound deadline. One year, the container, held up at a border because of paperwork, didn't show up until the day cue' e MORNINGS CAN BE BRUTAL Day one dawned cold and rainy. I arrived at the start area not long after the first rider took off, and I got to see many riders drop their first points of the week. The bikes were obviously reluctant to start after sitting outside in the cold the past couple of days and nights, and late-start penalties n e _ S • OCTOBER 16,2002 21