The opening day is a 200 miles run from a Goat Farm south of Atlanta north to Tellico Plains, Tennessee. The day started with 8 riders with fresh bikes and steely determination. Maitland, the spiritual leader, decided to just run chase today and help others along the way instead of riding. Such is the burden of also being in charge. The big question today was going to be one of routing. No one predicted that driving strait through Atlanta was going to be the fastest route so it was either go east or go west. Immediately out of the camp solo rider Jose Castanon, Chad Burke, and Dylan with Team Clark took a more western route heading up US-19 while the rest of the teams went more strait north route up US-23. It would be some hours before we find out which was the better gamble.
Forty five minutes into the first day Adrian from the Cold Muffs calls across Groupme looking for a piston. Only 10 miles in and sitting in a lonesome stretch of road with no amenities, no one had any of that specific type. Maitland said since they were close they could return to the start with a new bike and begin again. Without hesitation they did, grabbing a spare E50 swinger they brought with.
Chad Burke on the west route, and Jordan on the east route, both take early leads one hour in. Ninety minutes in and no one is showing a clear raw speed advantage so it’s going to down to time in the seat, routing, and reliability. Two hours in Chad stops for gas and then the motor locks up. The con rod bearings failed, torching that rare kit and forcing a top end rebuild back to the stock 50. Also costing the early lead. On the east route, Team T3: The Resurrection took a commanding lead. Chad was able to make quick work of the switch and was back on the road by 1.
On the west route, Jose took over the lead and just put the miles on. Team Clark were sidelined around noon when the muffler fell of but a quick swap of pipes had them back on the road. Then, just two hours later, the second pipe failed. Somehow they were able to sort it out and finally had a clear run, but with a dent in their time. By this time Chad shredded his first belt of the race. Now this had been the source of a previous years DNF so this time he brought plenty of spares for his odd motor. He was back on the road quickly as well, leaving the West route teams a little behind but still running.
Over on the east route, Team T3 were still tuning their bike but only during gas stops, F1 pit crew style. QCB, with their dual bike team, ran into some issues with the Derbi. Around 3 o’clock they posted a pic of a blown piston. They had the parts but it was going to take some time to sort. But by 3:30 they were running again. Then immediately were stopped by the local police to see what they were up, therefore pulling the first pork of the year. The bike was not happy though and they worried about an air leak that was causing temp issues. As the day wore on the temp issues continued so they erected their pop up shelter to avoid the passing rain showers and tried to sort it. Eventually, around 6:30 the team called it on the Derbi, DNF-ing for the day. The Bye bike still ran fine and carried on, albeit with a significant time loss.
The Cold Muffs, on the other hand, after having lost the first bike mere miles in, reported almost no issues with the new bike. Only losing an exhaust stud early, then another later in the day. At on point the phone battery used to navigate died and they became lost but were able to get turned around eventually and get on their way. As the first bikes were pulling into the camp grounds they were still around 100 miles out though . Even though they came in late for the day their spare bike held up well and avoided them an early DNF. Still finishing before dark, which in Bakers Dozen terms, is a good day.
The sharp end of the race was getting close. As they teams ventured further into the woods of southern Tennessee cell service became spotty and the Glympse app became harder to follow. With the final camp ground about 40 minutes away from the closest town and cell reception I was unable to get final times for the day. But I do have a rough finishing order. Jose, with the west route gamble, and solo riding all day, pulled into camp with a comfortable lead. Team Clark, despite the pipe issues, squeaked out a second place, rolling into camp 10 minutes ahead of Team T3: The Resurrection. The west route gamble payed off.
Seven of the eight bikes finished the 200 mile opener of Bakers Dozen 2021. It was a long day for everyone, some more than others, but everyone can rest easy knowing they only have 6 more days to of this go! Tuesday is going to be a short, fun day with the main feature being the legendary Tail of the Dragon section of road that will be mandatory to ride on the short 50 mile day. So stay tuned to see how the teams do tomorrow.