Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
IRBY — Two local men were among the competitors Sunday, April 2, in the grueling Desert 100 west of Odessa.
Of the 921 competitors on the start line, only 472 finished the race through sagebrush, rocky basalt palisades, open rangeland and across a creek and road.
Ritzville’s Chris Maxan finished 283rd overall, and 60th in the 30-39-year-old division. He completed the race on a Yamaha in 5:38:08.889.
And from LaCrosse, Jake Stanley finished 310th overall and 73rd in the 40-49-year-old division.
He completed the course on KTM in 5:45:14.150.
This year’s start line faced north, away from State Highway 28.
On the line, racers spread out a half-mile wide, awaiting the boom of a cannon and the ensuing cloud of pink smoke.
The course took competitors on a northerly route through sagebrush to a slight left-hand turn through the first gate, which was only about 50 feet wide.
Once through, they raced down an embankment to Ott Road and Crab Creek. There, racers jostled for position to cross one of two, small makeshift foot-bridges.
During the first lap of the Desert 100, with hundreds of motorcycles reaching the bridges just minutes apart, racers bottlenecked, each trying to get across the bridge.
Racers were not allowed to race through the creek, even though the crossing was shallow and had an accessible approach.
After crossing, racers weaved their way along the base of rocky palisades of basalt before circling up the ridge and looping back toward the start and west toward Irby Road.
Racers in the 100-mile event made two laps on the course. At the halfway point, they refueled, then repeated the course.
Roger Harnack is owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. An award-winning journalist, photographer, editor and publisher who grew up in Eastern Washington, he's one of only two Washington state journalists ever to receive the international Golden Quill for editorial/commentary writing. Roger is committed to preserving local media, and along with it, a local voice for Eastern Washington.
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