Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1524446
20 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com Stories of Six Days By Rachel Gu sh The Wall Jeffrey Kirchner (Finland '96, Australia '98) Interview Date: 3/5/23 Jeffrey Kirchner is si ng in a lawn chair under a blue E-Z UP. We're hiding from the harsh Florida rays at the Wild Boar GNCC; the roar of the PM bikes in the background occasionally interrupt our interview. This was my first interview in this series (and in the book I hope to someday write), and it was pure serendipity. My dad le to wash my bike, leaving my dogs and I out in the hot sun, guarding a large pile of stuff. I got to talking with the guy parked next to me a er he offered to share some of his shade. That was Kirchner. I joined his circle of friends, we started swapping stories, and that's when we dis- covered the ISDE connec on. Kirchner s ll has a strong New Jersey accent, but with the deep tan, Salt Life tank top and long-ish brown hair, he looks like the full- me Florida res- ident he's been for the past few years. The only thing missing was a nice pair of sunglasses. Even though they would have perfectly completed the picture, I was glad he didn't have them – that way I could see all the emo ons in his eyes as he spoke. "So, my first Six Days, in Finland. It was just about finishing. In Australia… now in Australia I raced. But that's not the story I want to tell. Finland was rocky. Rocky, nasty, kinda like my backyard, so at least I was prepared for the condi ons. I'm a New Jersey rock rider, I'd take that any day over these sand whoops here in Florida… Kirchner laughs, but then his tone becomes serious as he beings to speak again. What I wasn't prepared for at ISDE was the dis- tance. The toll it takes on you. The first day was 180 miles. The second day was 220. The third day was 220. More miles than I'd ever ridden. Burning tank a er tank of gas. You go back to the hotel at night, just to get up and do it all over again the next day. A er the second day, I got, like this bronchi s thing? My body wasn't working, it was shu ng down. There's a wall. There's a wall you go a go through – and you will go through it. Don't ever quit, because you can push through… But it is the toughest thing you'll ever do. Once you make it though, you become something else, a complete- ly different rider. A different person. Everything beyond that is easy. I'd never faced that wall before. Being sick made it harder, sure. But everyone who rides the ISDE hits the wall. What I remember the most, and the reason I made it through: I am an AMERI- CAN. We do not quit. We are there as a group, as a team. I felt like an American, more than at any other me. It was a powerful feeling. So, I pushed through that wall, I finished on the gas, and I'm damn proud of it." I ask Kirchner if he has anything else he wants to add "Well, I'm 61 and I just finished the Wild Boar GNCC, so I guess I've s ll got it! Kirchner, laughs, and his friends and I laugh along, applauding. I thank him for taking the me to talk with me. He replies: "No, this has been real nice, taking me back to '96 again. Thank you!