The Road to Finland, Part 3: Silent Sunday

86th International Six Days Enduro
Kotka-Hammina, Southern Finland

Story and Photos by Sandy Carter
KOTKA-HAMMINA, FINLAND, AUG. 7, 2011

The first-ever ISDE flag made its debut at the 86th International Six Days Enduro in Kotka-Hammina in southern Finland.

On Sunday – usually a rider’s day of racing or a day of rest – most of the competitors at this year’s ISDE were touring the area, or walking the special tests out on the course, or traveling the short distance to peer over the border into Russia. All crates and boxes had been opened and the bikes prepared for impound after passing the required technical inspections. Technical inspections are much more strictly enforced for ISDE standards, and several Team USA riders had a nerve-wracking Friday night as anxious mechanics and riders were trying to solve problematic issues involving mufflers and silencers. By 2 o’clock Saturday afternoon, everyone’s machines had passed inspection, and the cycles were secured in the parc ferme until Monday morning’s key time of 8 a.m.

Team USA has a Trophy Team, this year comprised of Colton Udall, Destry Abbott, Russell Bobbitt, Jimmy Jarrett, Kurt Caselli and Nathan Kanney; a Junior Trophy Team, comprised of Ian Blythe, Cory Buttrick, Andrew DeLong and Cody Schafer; and a Women’s World Cup Team, comprised of Kerrie Swartz, Nicole Bradford and Amanda Mastin. The Club racers are the Missouri Mudders’ J.D. Friebel, Ben Smith and Caleb Wohletz; JAFMAR Racing’s Jeff Fredette, Jake Vainio and Dennis Decker; Go Fasters’ Greg Gillian, Max Gerston and Brent Martell; the Tony Agonis Memorial Team’s Fred Hoess, Bob Heizerling and Glenn Scherer; and the Carter Engineering Team’s Aaron Sanders, Brian Petty and Chase Bishop.

Richard (Rick) “Gunny” Claypool is the director, with Bruce Wakely serving as team manager and Jay Hall as the pit manager. These guys have worked tirelessly to put this all together.

The opening ceremonies were similar to those of the world Olympics recently held in Beijing. This is, after all, the “Olympics of Motorcycling,” held each year in a different country – a tradition since 1935.

Several hundred riders, family members and supporters marched in the Parade of Nations. The Trophy and Junior Trophy teams are at the front of the American contingent, being led by the Tony Agonis Memorial Team’s Fred Hoess.

The opening ceremonies, called “Kings of the Race,” began with the Parade of Nations, and teams, in alphabetical order, began entering the arena, which has been fashioned out of a 17th-century bunker fortress protecting the city of Hammina from invasion. More than 30 countries attended this year, with well over 500 riders competing for individual gold, silver or bronze medals, with the top prizes of the Trophy, Junior Trophy and Women’s World Cups awarded to winning countries for one year until the next ISDE, which will be held in Germany in 2012, when the cycle will begin again – just as it has for 86 years.

After the Parade of Nations, many people from the Kotka-Hammina area spoke about their 2011 ISDE effort. The entertainment was targeted at the youth in attendance. A host of young ladies who carried the countries’ flags in the race turned out to be acrobats in parade costumes and riding unicycles, and a young ladies’ chorus sang.

Young men called “conscripts” (i.e., draftees) marched in uniform with a flag – an ISDE flag – and raised it for the first time over the ceremony, along with the flag of Finland. There had never been an ISDE flag before this. The conscripts gave a performance with precision marching and music. Later on, they marched to the beat of a different drum – along with rockin’ guitar and keyboards.

With precision marching, young Finnish conscripts brought in the ISDE flag…

… and later gave a great performance of a different kind, rockin’ to beat the band!

The star of the show was an 11-year-old whose performance on a trials bike displayed skills that would put grown trials riders to shame. To say Roni Ratinen is a “gifted” rider would be an understatement. Look out, UK Trials champ Dougie Lampkin!

Trials star Roni Ratinen put on an amazing show.

Deejay and master of ceremonies Axl Smith got the party started with several pop selections that broke the ice, and Finnish pop stars Hanna Pakarinen and Jonna Geagea performed the finale – and what a finale it was, with all the teams coming in from the stands. That’s when the party really began!

DJ and MC Axl Smith, breakin’ the ice and getting’ the party started!

Finnish pop star Jonna Geagea gave a performance that will not be forgotten.

So Sunday was a day of rest and relaxation (of a sort), and down time for many. The night ahead would be short: Dawn comes at 4:30a.m. in the Finnish summer, as the sun rises only four hours or so after it set.

The World Trophy, the Junior Trophy, the Women’s World Cup (won first by USA riders Nicole Bradford, Mandi Mastin and Lacy Jones in the 2007 ISDE in Chile), and the Club Team Trophy. This is what it’s all about – and those gold, silver and bronze medals…

Team USA is ready to go – Pros, rookies and vets. All riders have a common goal: to finish this and bring the gold, silver and bronze medals back for their considerable efforts. And let’s not forget that their eyes are squarely on the prize: garnering the World Trophy, Junior Trophy and Women’s World Cups.

Go, Team USA! Let’s do this!

[To see the first and second stories in this series, please check out “The Road to Finland, Part 1: Team USA Lean and Mean for 2011 ISDE” and “The Road to Finland, Part 2: The Statesmen of the Enduro,” both by Sandy Carter – and stay tuned for more coverage of the 86th International Six Days Enduro in the next few days… Editor]

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