I Raced a Motorcycle 100 Miles in The Desert With No Experience

This is me about to race a dirt bike in what can only be described as a 100-mile punishment ritual disguised as a motorcycle race. And I can easily say it was one of the craziest experiences of my life.

Every year, hundreds of daredevils bring motorcycles of all shapes and sizes to California and race them through the sand, rocks, and mountains of the Mojave Desert. The only problem is, I have no experience racing a motorcycle at all, but with the help and encouragement of dirt bike enthusiasts all over the country, I go from no gear, no bike, and no idea what I'm doing, to the starting line in the California desert next to seasoned riders from all over the world about to take on one of the greatest challenges of my life.

How did I end up here? My editor, Simon, loves motorcycles. I like motorcycles. Motorcycles are awesome. But it wasn't always this way. He fell in love with dirt bikes two years ago while making a documentary about a race called the Biltwell 100. Ever since we started working together, Simon has constantly been pushing me to do an episode on motorcycles, like nonstop. You know what I think would be a really good idea? We should do an episode racing dirt bikes in the desert.

Every time he said this, I thought, I don't have a motorcycle. I don't know how to ride motorcycles. I don't know anything about motorcycles. And every single time, Simon had a solution for me. You can ride my bike from last year. I'll road trip the bike out to California. You don't really need that much experience.

It's almost like he was trying to coerce me into something completely crazy for the sake of content. And to be honest, I completely fell for it. Maybe I could be a dirt bike guy. How hard could it be? And so, before I knew what I had really signed up for, I had a ticket to race in the Biltwell 100. Okay, we're less than a month out from the race. I was totally prepared to just show up to California and hop on a bike, but I just got this text from my boy Nick.

Yo, Tom. I'm going to be honest. I don't think this race is a great idea. Not being super familiar with a dirt bike, something like that could get sketchy real quick. For context, this is my friend Nick, who's an experienced dirt bike rider, and he was there the one and only time I've ever rode a dirt bike. He vividly remembers that I got lost, ran out of gas, and injured myself. So, in his mind, I really don't have a good track record.

And so, getting this text concerns me a little bit. But no one can accuse me of being a quitter, so I started calling every place I could find to see if anyone would rent me a dirt bike and teach me how to ride. I'm aware that this is a little bit crazy, but... When is the race? It is next month on the 12th. Yeah, you don't have a lot of time. And one yes was all I needed. After picking up some riding gear on Facebook Marketplace, I was off to Ohio to master the basics.

All right, so I got a chest protector here. I just got this on the basement marketplace. Welcome to my one and only day of training. Better make this one count. Not only was I introduced to Chris, a lifelong dirt bike rider and instructor, but his six-year-old son, Ryder, was also with us for the day. I have never met a kid with more casual swagger. I pretty much know the whole place. If you want to chill out, there's a pit bike track down there.

Ryder rode with the breezy confidence of someone that's been riding since he could walk. Possibly before. I imagine it must have been pretty funny for him to watch a grown man struggle through the absolute basics. He probably forgot what I said.

Tell him to not give it too much thought. He was also happy to take my iPhone to capture every moment of me making an utter fool of myself. Told you I never miss a fall. Good job, man. Wow.

After spending some time getting comfortable riding around on the grass and getting some tips from Chris and Ryder, Keep feet on the pegs, right? Keep feet on the pegs. Yes. I started to think, this isn't too bad. I can handle this. So, I stepped up to the next challenge, which was to drive through the trail in the woods that was a bit muddy.

This is where it started to get more challenging, and I started to realize just how hard 100 miles was going to be. Dumping the bike and picking it up completely wore me out. Get those big boy muscles in. Get those big boy muscles. I can only imagine that this must be much more difficult in the sand. This man is a champ.

After my ride, this is what Chris had to say. I cannot really explain it until you get it, but you are going to get in that sand, and the sand is going to take control of the bike. And the only way that you can negate this is throttle. Speed is your friend. Based on what you have seen today, do you think that I can finish? I would say if you practice a little bit more, yes. I'm not sure if Chris remembered me telling him that this was my only day of practice, but at least he offered me a sliver of hope that if I could conquer the sand, he believed that I would finish.

Either way, before I knew it, it was time to head to California. Welcome to San Diego. You made it. Are you ready for some adventure? We were now one short road trip away from racing in the Biltwell 100.

Suddenly, my mind started to wander back to the first time I rode dirt bikes with my friends. And it turns out, word had quickly spread among them that I would be doing this race. And they all had something to say.

If you had to describe Tom's first time on a dirt bike in one word, what would you say? Chaotic. Ambitious. Cocky. Joyful, I guess. So, the first time I saw him ride a dirt bike, and honestly, we all rode a dirt bike for the first time together, was at his bachelor party. And I remember getting everything ready, and getting the dirt bikes taken off of the trailer, and I remember saying, hey, no one go too far. I need to fill them up with gas.

I distinctly remember saying to Tom, Hey, don't go far. You don't know what you're doing. And he looks at me with all the confidence in the world and says, quote, I know what I'm doing. Mind you, I've been dirt biking for 20 years. And the number one rule is you don't go out by yourself. It is just an absolute maze in those woods. 20 minutes goes by, we don't see time come back. 30 minutes. Has anyone seen Tom? No one's seen Tom.

So, initially, I thought they were messing with us just because, you know, we just showed up. Maybe they're pulling a prank or whatever. Hey, he could have fallen, hit his head. We don't know. It's starting to get dark. It's a dangerous sport. There's risk involved. And then we eventually get a call, I believe, from some random people that he crashed and ran out of gas close to their cabin. And then we had to go pick him up in the truck and get the dirt bike.

For someone who knew what he was doing, he just ran out of gas, so classic mistake. As someone who's known you for 15 plus years, I'll tell the audience. Tom is a very courageous dude, which is a double-edged sword. Do you think Tom will finish the 100-mile race, and why? This is a great question, Tom. When you told me you were doing this race, I called my father, who has a ton of dirt bike experience, and told him that you're doing this, and he just started laughing on the phone and said, it was nice knowing Tom.

Tom will finish. He'll definitely finish this race. Might be coming up on fumes. I think you're going to get it. I mean, you're going to take a spill. It's 100 miles. But I do think it's not going to be severe, and you're going to be able to finish it. I think you're going to finish the race, but I think you're going to come back with a couple of reasons. Do you think Tom will finish this 100-mile race? No. Why? You don't, Tom.

I truly believe that what's going to happen is you aren't going to get hurt, but I think something on the dirt bike is going to break. I think the clutch is going to break, or the handlebar, the throttle. Something is going to break on it where you don't, where you can't. And I think that would possibly... More than likely come from just, you know, dropping the dirt bike however many times, but... And that's why I like that take, because we're recording this before I do it.

Yeah. You can prove me wrong. No, exactly, but if this comes true, you're on record being correct, and everyone else was nice, and they're like, dude, he's going to finish it. Oh, really? Did everybody say that? You have maybe the most dirt bikes. It's you and Sam. I mean, I'm saying that with love. I am. I'm saying it with love.

All right. Just pulled into the desert. Just pulled into the desert. It's starting to set in. It's windy. This terrain is a little bit more elevated than I thought. I thought desert was going to be flat. I'm seeing mountains all around me. Yes. Some of those hills that we drove past, you may be driving over in your race on Sunday. No. That hill up there to the left, that's kind of come up it over that down that for the finish. Like, that's kind of the end.

At least it was the last two years. I couldn't believe it. We had finally arrived in the desert, and it was time to see. Could I conquer the sand? Yeah! Let's go! After I came back from the test drive, I have to say it, I felt pretty good.

California was beautiful, the desert was majestic, and we retreated to a beautiful sunset before we hit the tent to rest up for race weekend. The Biltwell was split into two days. This means that Simon would be racing before me.

I was more than happy to be his pit crew and see how it all goes. Okay, Simon, we're pre-race. We're about a half hour plus out of the race. This is your second time doing it? Last year, I got so out of breath, so I'm loading up on Albuterol before I get to the race. Atta boy. Atta boy. Being scientific. What are your goals this year?

How are you approaching the race? Talk me through it. My goals? I'm going to actually just relax a little more. Last year, I was just too amped up. It was my first time. And when you come back here, this is our little pit stop, so we're going to gear him up with some Gatorade.

This is so cool. What a classic American experience. Desert racing in California with all these vintage bikes. It is like a living museum, pretty much. You know, we got bikes from the 1930s, apparently. So, pretty much 100 years of motorcycles all in one race. It is pretty awesome. So American. Just the freedom, the open desert.

God bless America. Have fun. Let me have fun. Yes. After Simon's successful race, I figured it was time to wander around camp and try to steal as much wisdom from other riders as possible. I've been on a bike one time in my life. I trained in Ohio for a day. Two weeks ago. A day. A day.

Well, at least you didn't over-train. What advice do you have for me as a beginner tomorrow to try to just finish this race? So, see which way the wind's blowing, and let the wind blow off the start. So, yesterday it was blowing right to left, line up on the right.

Okay, I like that. So, you'll get to see better. I think it's going to be the same as probably everybody else, but, you know. Live today, you know, however you say it. Live today so you can die. What is it? How do you say it?

Die. Live today. Whatever. Just try not to die today. Yeah, yeah. Find somebody and just follow them for a little bit. Like, if you let them go and stay with the pack, you just kind of gravitate behind someone, and then just feel them out. And then, when the time's right, pass them. It's running clean laps. Like, we weren't pushing hard. I would actually say we were riding below our abilities just a little bit, because we're like, hey, we don't want to go down.

We don't want to break stuff. Loose grip on the bars, so you don't pump up. A lot of it's two rut. Stay in that right lane. Like, if you haven't crashed out in the desert, and you're not riding fast enough, kind of like, you're just going to fall. I mean, there's washes, there's rocks out there. It's just a part of life, and so it's what you do when you get back up. And so, it's that enjoyment of like, oh, I fell.

I got back up. Good story to tell. Yeah, good story. It just adds to the experience. Watch out for the danger arrows down. They're legit. Wait, what do you mean by danger arrows down? So, there's a big orange thing. It'll say danger, and it'll have an arrow pointing down. It's easy to miss, and that means a little ways ahead, there's something you want to know about. There's a big ditch or ravine. There's some deep sand. Keep the front tire light. Kind of straighten your arms out.

Get the weight over the back of the bike. And try not to let off. Try and stay in the throttle, and that will keep the bike steady and planted straight and pulling forward. The key is not to get excited and go for broke. There are guys that are willing to do that, and you don't want to be one of them. Yeah, or near them, probably. Or near them. You steer with your pegs, in a way, or think about pushing down with your foot.

So, think about steering with your feet versus the bars, and that keeps the bike more predictable. Sweet. Is that good? That was a lot of answers for one question. I need all the answers, man. Oh, yeah, do you think I'll finish?

Honored? Yeah. Guarantee it. I have no doubt. No. There you go, man. Who's working with him? He's saying, just say yes, just say yes. Do you think I'll finish? Absolutely. Yeah, baby, I love the confidence of everyone. I don't care what the bike is, he's got it. He's got what it takes. Let's go. Here's the deal you've got to make with me, right? Okay, what's the deal? You take my number, and you've got to text me I've finished. I will. Because I don't want to leave not knowing.

I need closure. I'm not going to sleep tomorrow without knowing. And with that, it was finally race day. I feel like it's so much like a marathon, like, it's not a sprint to marathon, it's not a sprint to marathon. A hundred percent.

And I was experiencing the biggest adrenaline rush in my entire life. I had a million thoughts racing through my mind. We just had the riders meeting. We're about 45 minutes out. 40 minutes out. How are you feeling? I found out I'm going to be row three, which is like right away. Up in the front. The closer I get to this, the more I got to be honest. This is probably the craziest thing I've ever done in my life. This is my fourth time on a bike.

I'm going to ride 100 miles. Sweet, man. Yeah, get past me real quick, all right? Thanks, man. First, there's going to be a ride today, man. It's going to be good, man. It's going to be good. All right, good start, Tom. Welcome to the desert, I guess.

Immediately, one thing became obvious to me. I was completely unprepared for riding in sand. Wow, almost ate it there. Riding in it felt like the bike just swims under you, and you have no control. Oh, sand is so sketchy.

Just got to glide right over it. Glide right over it, stay back. All it took was two racers braking hard in front of me to welcome me officially to the Belt 1100. Stay back in that sand, stay back in that sand.

Yeah. Take's leaking. All right, got it out of the way. Slapped the knee on that one. At this point, everything changed. Forget four laps. I just wanted to survive one. Wow, this is gorgeous. Bless you, get out of here, man. The problem is when people pass, I can't see what's next. Sand. Oh my gosh, it's only mile five. Rocks.

That was one of the hardest hits I'd ever taken in my life. Completely knocked the wind out of me. The riders flying by me kicked up dust everywhere, leaving me disoriented and shaken up. No way I'm giving up. I didn't come out of California to give up.

And at that point, all I could do was draw upon the advice of all the different bikers I'd encounter along the way. In those moments on the bike, I completely dropped all pretenses. I had no idea if I could finish four laps.

Heck, I don't know if I can even do one. But I knew one thing for sure. My fear would not be the reason I don't finish. I could fall a hundred times, I'd get back up a hundred more.

This is the first time I've not been in sand this whole race, like mile nine. I'm learning. I can do rocks. Sand is my nemesis. Wow. Oh my goodness. That is a view, boys. All right, I'll just enjoy this view real quick. Ah, spun out. Wow. It was worth the four falls for this view. Glad my bike didn't fall off a mountain. Jeez.

Man, we're in trouble. Push. Get up. Get up. Come on. Get up. At around mile 10, I encountered a problem that I couldn't get back up from. Get up. Get up. Yeah. Sounds like a laser beam. All right, my engine's not starting.

Yeah, what's, okay, no. I'm getting nothing from the starter. No. Yeah. Yeah, wide open throttle, I got nothing. Yes. Okay. As it confirmed with the boys in the pit stop, my battery was completely dead, and unfortunately, I only had an electric start and no kickstart.

This means the only possible way for me to continue this race was to do something called a bump start. So, should I try the hill start? And just like everything else I'd done out here, I'd never done a bump start before.

I would need to roll the bike down a hill, in second gear, jump up, slam my butt down on the seat, and pop the clutch, bypassing the battery. As someone who had already taken quite a beating, this sounded crazy.

But after getting the worst falls out of the way, I didn't even think twice. I had to finish this lap. Do you think Tom will finish this? No. No. You don't? No. That's right. By some small miracle, I did a bump start on my first try. And in the grand irony of it all, I crashed immediately.

I mean, I'm saying that with love. But as promised, other riders in the race took the time out of theirs to help me get my bike to safety. And it was among the other racers that tried their best, but didn't quite make it.

Dirt biking is physically exhausting, humiliating, and very expensive. Before I started riding, if it was a month ago, I honestly didn't understand the appeal. After my journey to California, I now know exactly why. And what should I expect from, I guess, yeah, what's your favorite thing about... Dirt bike people, the community, what should I expect when I go out there and see it? If you need help, they're going to be there to help you. They'll literally give you the shirt off their back if they need to.

When my bike broke today, I came through the thing, right through the finish line there, and my bike shut off, and a guy pushed it all the way back, like 100 yards, a guy pushed my bike back for me, and like, hey, you need anything? You need parts or whatever? How do you become a better person through working on your bike, competing, that kind of thing? I think we have it all in common. It is not hard to pick up a conversation with somebody over a motorcycle.

It does not have to be the same brand, same motorcycle. It has got two wheels, and we become friends. And that is why there is that commonality out here. I mean, it does not matter. There are guys riding Harleys out here. There are guys riding Vespa scooters, and it really does not matter.

Everybody's willing to talk to everybody. Everybody's got time for everybody, and I think, yeah, people are just kind of better out in the desert. The family element, I see kids out here, I see wives out here. What does that relationship mean to you, and how has dirt biking and bikes and Gearhead brought you and your father to a relationship to what it is today? Oh, absolutely. We just grew up going to the mountains and riding and camping, and just a shared time together, like sitting around the camp.

So, like, almost every year, we've been coming out to the desert. And so, that's just... I've grown my relationship with my dad and my brothers, and my dad would absolutely say likewise, and so, yeah, it's just that all the time spent together. The key is to always, constantly, every day of your life, check Facebook marketplace.

And if it looks like it's taken on a flip phone, you're going to get an awesome deal. You're going to get a great deal, or are you getting scammed? The key is to know what you're looking for, because when you see gold, you know what it is, like gold rip, you just know what it is, and then it's only purely a function of how do I talk my wife into this? How can I make this possible to happen? You get to the point to where you're just extremely exhausted, just can't even fathom riding anymore, and you get done for the day, you go home, you're sore, your bike, you got $500 worth of damage to it, you just...

Everything hurts, and you wake up the next day or the day after, and you're like, man, I can't wait to go ride my dirt bike again. You just constantly crave it. It's an addiction, really. So, it turns out, I might be just as crazy as the people I found out in the desert. I'm going to keep an eye on Facebook Marketplace and start working on my wife.