Trail Rider Magazine

28 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com Rachel's European Vaca on (or Things I Have Learned) I recently got a once-in-a-life me chance to race the EnduroGP series, with the goal of being the first American to win an EnduroGP tle, or alterna ve- ly, expose a whole new con nent of people to my an cs and probable secondhand embarrassment (maybe all three at the same me, if we're lucky). Telling the story of how I ended up at EnduroGP would be too long for the pages of this magazine. Giving a blow-by-blow of both the races or even of my travels to the races would be too long. Trying to do both would be like watching angels dance on the head of a pin or a emp ng to copy a service manual onto a postage stamp. So instead, I have prepared a bullet-point list of things I have learned (or re- learned) on this trip. Look both ways when you cross the street: yes, I was taught this principle back before KTM owned Hus- aberg, but it takes on an extra layer of importance when you're walking on a foggy Bri sh morning, jet- lagged, and have forgo en they drive on the other side of the road. Cold and wet: It's also very cold and wet in the UK. Except while in my sleeping bag or the shower, I was cold. Bring your heavy coat, even it means making a fashion statement by wearing a wool-lined coat and riding boots on the plane. Bri sh towns sound made up: Yes, yes, all town names are technically made up,* you know what I mean. As we drove down the highway, I enjoyed some names so much that I wrote them down: Buckelsham, Wa ord, Tilbury, Dorking, Gob- chester, Pu enham, and my personal favorite, Hasslemere. (*Pop quiz! One of these is actually made up, which one is it? Answer key printed upside down on the last page of this story, if Kurt says we can do that.) Insurance: FIM rules require us to carry third-party road insurance. Because I'm Ameri- can the Bri sh companies didn't want to insure me, because the bike was being ridden in Eu- rope. The American companies didn't want to insure me, and because the bike was registered in the UK, the European companies didn't want to insure me. This trip down Hasslemere lane on the Catch-22 Express gave me a whole new apprecia on for what the AMA does for us when it comes to the ISDE. Nooo posse-ball (not possible): This is a French person's favorite thing to say to someone from the UK. It became a catchphrase for us a er en- countering an especially prickly boarder crossing officer at the docks, who literally climbed out of her booth with a tape to measure the rig in the hopes of charging us extra money. Boats: We had to cross the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay. When I found out the crossing would take 36 hours, I inquired as to whether we were doing it in a canoe. Boats are apparently not fast, I get seasick, and Dramamine makes me drowsy. I fought through a short workout and a few small meals, but other than that spent the bulk of those 36 hours in a drugged, half-asleep haze on my top bunk. I don't know how my ancestors ever made it to America if this is how they had to do it. McDonald's wifi: They have McDonald's in Portu- gal. They're open on Easter Sunday. The menu is slightly different*, but they s ll have my favorite

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