Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1528780
Brandy Richards Brandy Richards I rolled to the road and sat for nearly ten minutes, le ng the hot bike cool and hoping I could limp it home. Once it seemed cool, I sprinted with the bike along the flat, then coasted downhill on the road, picking up speed. I fired up the bike and revved it. At about mid-RPM near the bo om of the hill, I felt the bike lurch forward and stop straining as the plates broke loose. It felt weird as hell, but we were moving. The next forty-five minutes was the longest and fastest-paced no-clutch drill of my life. I came into the prefinish check on me but with only a few minutes to spare. The bike survived, and in the evening work peri- od I pulled a burnt and smoking clutch out of my bike, under the watchful gaze of several FIM offi- cials, who wanted to make sure no funny business occurred. I replaced it with a new one and changed out the voltage regulator for good measure, since the whole bike had go en wicked hot. The next morning, I did the fuel pump. That night, rumors were flying around the paddock. Half the field assumed I cheated… totally logical, because OF COURSE I would replace my already replaced clutch and several electrical components rather than change my res. Why wouldn't I want to ride with absolutely zero trac- on. And OF COURSE I am a person with zero integrity who could feel good standing on top of the world tro- phy podium knowing we cheated to get there. Some- body sent me a "friendly warning" that one of the teams had a video. I laughed at what I believed was a very transparent a empt at playing mind games, since I knew there could not possibly be a video. I told them to "put up or shut up", then fell asleep infuriated, with smoke coming out of my ears just like it had off my clutch plates. Day four was the same as day three, except instead of a burnt clutch, I had two bald res. Weirdly enough, it was my best stage finish all week. Go figure. Day five had two new tests up on a mountain ridge, which meant lots of steep hills, off cambers and fog. The early transfer was the same as three/four, which meant it bore a strong resemblance to riding on a highway rumble strip. I have been told the new trans- fer loop midday was much nicer, however the fog was so thick I never actually saw any of it, so I cannot be certain. You literally could not see your row-mate's brake lights twenty feet in front of you. In fact, Jess Gardner (Australia) t-boned Shelby Turner (Canada) in about fourth gear when Shelby went to make a