{"id":11730,"date":"2021-09-07T15:17:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-07T19:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/?p=11730"},"modified":"2022-12-22T15:31:45","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T20:31:45","slug":"bmw-gs-trophy-2022-my-attempt-and-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2021\/09\/07\/bmw-gs-trophy-2022-my-attempt-and-failure\/","title":{"rendered":"BMW GS Trophy 2022, My Attempt and Failure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>I first threw a leg over a motorcycle five years ago and for some reason, I thought I was good enough to at least finish top 10. That was ignorant but I learned a lot about myself and further solidified what I believe is my place in this community\u2026.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"My GS Trophy Qualifier Team, Albert, Alex, Adam and our fearless leader, Kerry from BMW Motorrad NA\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/934\/956\/mail\/IMG_2261.jpeg?1631022625\" >My GS Trophy Qualifier Team, Albert, Alex, Adam and our fearless leader, Kerry from BMW Motorrad NA<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Let\u2019s get the meaty details out of the way first because this one may go long and I know most of you just want the high-levelI do not know where I placed in the qualifier. I was not in the top 15. I may be able to request my placement after the West Coast Qualifier takes place in 3 weeks&nbsp;I did injure myself with a possible torn rotator cuff. I won\u2019t know until the doctor can see me in 2 weeksRosie Red is A-OK. She suffered no mechanical damages and just earned a few new scratchesThe 2022 Team USA East Coast Qualifier Winners are, Men: Ben Phaup, Ryan Bottesi, Kirk Graydon&nbsp; \u2013 Women: Gala van\u2019t Schip, Kate CoitThe finals are secret and the scores are as well. This is so the west coast qualifier can be run identically and the top 3 men and women can become Team USA. We won\u2019t know if any of the 5 individuals above will be Team USA until west coast holds their qualifier @ RawHyde the 1st week of OctoberEveryone attending the east coast qualifier knows exactly how the event is ran, scoring, deductions, etc but we were all sworn to secrecy so please don\u2019t ask for that information. There\u2019s little value though in me detailing that after the event because every Qualifier (like the one that will happen in 2 years) has been scored differently. The things I heard done at the 2018\/2020 qualifiers weren\u2019t present in this oneThere were 39 Men and 5 Women (I think, based on what I saw \/ heard) for east coast which is why I told Heather she should have seriously considered trying to qualify as it would have been a ton of fun. She chose to volunteer insteadTeams were in groups of 3 with one \u201cteam lead\u201d that was usually a staff member or someone affiliated with BMW Motorrad. Each challenge had a volunteer (Heather was in charge of one of the challenges). You were scored by your team lead &amp; volunteer then the two discussed their scores after and ensure fairness. For example, Heather wasn\u2019t allowed to score me which is more than fair<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"The sand challenge which came after a 4x4 plank, heavy rock and tire traverse challenge all in one go..no stopping\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/936\/876\/mail\/IMG_7915-2.jpeg?1631026983\" >The sand challenge which came after a 4&#215;4 plank, heavy rock and tire traverse challenge all in one go..no stopping<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>About the challenges\u2026.<\/strong>If I were to build a pie chart of the sort of skills you would need, it would look like this:<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"This is my interpretation of the East Coast 2022 Qualifier skills, not an official chart\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/936\/913\/mail\/CleanShot_2021-09-07_at_11.07.02.png?1631027234\" >This is my interpretation of the East Coast 2022 Qualifier skills, not an official chart<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Keep in mind though that these challenges are only in place to find the top riders. I won\u2019t get into the scores here or how people were picked for semi-finals but I will say that the scores between people was very tight up until the end and you did not need to excel at every category to be a semi-finalist.Police bike was very high. In fact, the three professional motorcycle cops in the qualifier made it to the semi-finals. Navigating very tight on-road cone exercises was a challenge that I was not expecting to even be a part of this. The Trophy is off-road and I didn\u2019t practice cones at all on-road. We\u2019re talking tight figure eights, snow man, light-bulbs, slalom with angles that were next to impossible to make (tight slalom), turns within boxes then exits, elephant turns (off-road) and deductions for basically any kind of error you could make. If I wanted to qualifier in 2024, I would become exceptional at slow-speed police-bike maneuvers.&nbsp;The rough terrain included slaloms up hill, down hill, up a mountain, down a mountain into a 180 degree turn with little to no space to turn, up stairs, through gravel\/rocks\/sand and balance beams and some single-track up and down hills sideways (as in not straight up and down but riding off-camber around cones then back up a hill with no runway on loose\/muddy terrain).Slow speed balance was a part of every single exercise except the team challenges. There wasn\u2019t a single exercise where you didn\u2019t need to be completely balanced atop your bike both standing &amp; sitting (yes these were rules depending on the exercise)I assumed physical and mental stamina would be higher but it wasn\u2019t. if you\u2019re healthy and can do woods riding for an hour, you\u2019re healthy enough for this event. That would have been different if this was a typical Labor Day weekend in SC but temps were mid-70s and a nice breeze so I didn\u2019t have to sweat too much. We had a lot of downtime where I\u2019d spend 2 minutes doing a challenge then rest for 10-30 minutes. Stay hydrated and you\u2019ll be fine. The rules weren\u2019t there to trip you up. I took them all literally and I felt I did okay but I later found out there were some unspoken rules that frankly, upset me. I can\u2019t go into detail here but now knowing I had DNFs for rules that I didn\u2019t know existed is pretty frustrating. I spent 4.5 minutes on a steep hill getting my bike picked up and positioned only to find out a few hours later, I probably DNFed that event. I would have just rolled down the hill and let the next guy go if I knew that<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Staff + Volunteer keeping track of points as semi-finalist Wayne completes a course\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/937\/080\/mail\/IMG_7935-2.jpeg?1631027745\" >Staff + Volunteer keeping track of points as semi-finalist Wayne completes a course<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>My preparations for this event were sparse. I did a lot of hard riding on my bike and that\u2019s it. I thought about the qualifier every time I did something at slow speed off-road. I worked for a few days on slow speed elephant turns, skid-turns and loose-terrain full lock turns.&nbsp;All I know is that I was not in the top 15. 16th? Probably not. No one in my team made the semi-finals and we were all competent riders. I don\u2019t think it was pandering for Aaron, who runs the BMW US Riders Academy, to say that we were all top riders for even being here. A lot of GS owners were sitting at home while we were trying to qualify for team USA. I didn\u2019t see a single rider who was \u2018bad\u2019 or needed a level 1 RawHyde course because they were too afraid to drop their bike or leave pavement. These were all great riders and we were heavily challenged. That is not an exaggeration. A few people who I spoke to that were in the past 3-4 qualifiers as participants or volunteers told me this was the most challenging qualifier they had ever seen. I went into this thinking it was 50% skills and the rest of the qualifier would be made up with style, attitude, perseverance, team work and how well I am on camera. Seriously, this is a BMW Motorrad Marketing event, of course they want people who are good with their team and on camera. Turns out this as entirely skills based which is how it should be so I was wrong in that regards. Not that I acted any differently but throughout the day, when I spent my entire lunch hour on Friday helping a buddy with his steering issues, I figured there\u2019d be a mole who\u2019d see that and grant me a few extra points. I was wrong.&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Fresh and Ready for the 1st challenge on Friday morning\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/937\/732\/mail\/IMG_7845-2.jpeg?1631029098\" >Fresh and Ready for the 1st challenge on Friday morning<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Here\u2019s what I learned at the Qualifier that I didn\u2019t know going into it. I don\u2019t want a free trip to Albania to represent Team USA. There are people who want that badly enough that they practice for over a year all of the skills I lacked and they do extremely well. They usually have other goals, either a life bucket list or they want to gain the notoriety because their livelihood depends on it because they work for a training academy or accessory company and they want to add GS Trophy to their resume. Me, I just want to spend a weekend with like-minded people, ride GS bikes and have a great time but most importantly, I want to capture these events on film.&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Wayne on the sand\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/937\/816\/mail\/IMG_7948-2.jpeg?1631029253\" >Wayne on the sand<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>I had some fantastic conversations with the BMW Contracted Photographer throughout the event. I don\u2019t want to be him but I envied his ability to photograph this event. All I wanted to do at each challenge was run it one time then throw a drone up in the air or run alongside a competitor with my SLR in a gimbal and video-tape their run or grab my SLR from the tank bag (absent for this event) and get a photo of any one of the amazing riders I was surrounded by. The 2 hours after I finished my challenges running around capturing the photos you see here were my favorite moments of the entire event.&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Gala (#1 Woman) and Dmitri (#4 Male) going into the Semi-Finals\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/937\/857\/mail\/IMG_8001-2.jpeg?1631029364\" >Gala (#1 Woman) and Dmitri (#4 Male) going into the Semi-Finals<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>If you take a step back and look at my place in the BMW community, I am 1st and foremost a motorcycle rider but, if you look at the bigger picture, I\u2019m a historian and documentarian for this community. I\u2019m on the Vermont &amp; National boards and I help lead rides, organize events, market events and get new riders into our sport but through it all, photos, video, audio are things I create and broadcast and it\u2019s what I love doing. I can leave my house, ride 500 feet and ride off-road all day on my GS or dirt bike. I get to do this kind of riding all of the time. What I can\u2019t do all of the time is be with people who are just like me and capture their smiles and celebrate their successes. This is unique to the events I attend and something I take very seriously.&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Smiles following the first-round of cuts\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/937\/878\/mail\/IMG_7989-2.jpeg?1631029522\" >Smiles following the first-round of cuts<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>I don\u2019t want BMW to hire me to be a photographer but I do want to find some way to continue attending events yet be there to capture them from my standpoint. It\u2019s a part of this that I really love. So much that I will sign up for the next qualifier in 2 years and just take photos the entire time if they\u2019ll let me. Knowing that BMW\u2019s photographer will be sending all of his images to BMW and there they will sit in some folder used only for marketing when a lot of participants would love photos of themselves and most will never get to see the entire set of images, it feels criminal. This is a BMW event\u2026they paid for the photographer but those pictures belong to all of us and we\u2019ll never get to see ourselves. I know the photographer was present for me on 3 of my challenges. He has photos of me looking like a bad-ass and falling off my bike\u2026I\u2019ll never see those photos. It sucks knowing they\u2019re out there and in a corporate Sharepoint site locked away.&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Louise Sporting the X3\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/937\/887\/mail\/IMG_8032-2.jpeg?1631029626\" >Louise Sporting the X3<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Who knows, I may also attend the 2024 GS Trophy Qualifier cheering on Heather because she things she\u2019d really like to try her hand at it in 2 years and I will absolutely be there to support her.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Heather and I\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/937\/899\/mail\/IMG_7842-2.jpeg?1631029711\" >Heather and I<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>This was my first exposure to BMW Corporate as well. They\u2019re a customer of ours @ my day job and I\u2019ve been to the Performance Center and I\u2019ve been heavily involved with the clubs and community that surrounds their motorcycles but attending a corporate event showed me that the GS Trophy exists to sell motorcycles. We were the actors on a stage set to sell GS Bikes to more people and I think the media that comes out of this will work but the amount of people out there who ride with me on GS bikes who don\u2019t know what the GS Trophy is too DAMN high. I want GS Trophy full size banners at every dealer, I want mass email broadcasts going out to GS customers and I want live interviews with the winners on YouTube. I want every single BMW GS owner to know about this event and follow everything live from start to finish covering every qualifier, winner and team from training to the final event next year in Albania. The marketing just feels so sporadic. I love BMW motorcycles and I love the riders in our community of GS Adventure Touring Riders but the Trophy is an amazing event built just for us so BMW can sell more bikes and the amount of work and money that goes into it is very high for so little online activity following it. That\u2019s my opinion as an individual and not of my various club affiliations or my employer. I write this as a GS owner who wants to see more GS owners at the qualifier in 2 years. I want to fight people for a spot and not have tickets still on sale a few days before the event.&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Our Staff who ran the event from start to finish\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/069\/mail\/IMG_7885-2.jpeg?1631030401\" >Our Staff who ran the event from start to finish<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>The \u2018boots on the ground\u2019 staff from Performance Center &amp; BMW Motorrad NA were AMAZING. What a fantastic group of people who made this event awesome. There was so much work that went into preparation, organization and execution. Truly a team effort and I have a huge appreciate for how much they did to make this happen! I hope we get to do the event here again in 2 years.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Our Amazing volunteers &amp; one of the finalists\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/169\/mail\/IMG_7958-2.jpeg?1631030524\" >Our Amazing volunteers &amp; one of the finalists<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/170\/mail\/IMG_7961-2.jpeg?1631030524\" ><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/171\/mail\/IMG_7964-2.jpeg?1631030529\" ><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"My team leader who works for BMW and was an amazing coach!\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/173\/mail\/IMG_8053-2.jpeg?1631030530\" >My team leader who works for BMW and was an amazing coach!<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Above, our volunteers who showed up Thursday and gave 20 hours of their time over Three days to coach, help, guide, mend the competitors. These unpaid helpers were all smiles and worked their butts off. I\u2019m glad to call a few of them my friends now and I hope to see them again.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>I\u2019ll leave you all with a few more photos of me competing. These photos are sourced from 4 different people who shared them with me after the event.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Playing on the hills\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/275\/mail\/IMG_0093.jpeg?1631030773\" >Playing on the hills<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/274\/mail\/IMG_0068.jpeg?1631030768\" ><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Team Challenge\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/273\/mail\/IMG_2252.jpeg?1631030768\" >Team Challenge<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Chatting up the volunteers\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/272\/mail\/IMG_2245.jpeg?1631030768\" >Chatting up the volunteers<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Going through cones while going over obstacles\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/271\/mail\/IMG_2244.jpeg?1631030762\" >Going through cones while going over obstacles<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"No foot down 90 degree turn on a hill w\/o hitting a cone\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/269\/mail\/IMG_2242.jpeg?1631030757\" >No foot down 90 degree turn on a hill w\/o hitting a cone<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Dabbing and DNFing at an obstacle course\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/268\/mail\/IMG_2232.jpeg?1631030757\" >Dabbing and DNFing at an obstacle course<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Riding the Plank\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/267\/mail\/IMG_2228.jpeg?1631030757\" >Riding the Plank<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Tight Turns on-road\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/246\/mail\/IMG_2217.jpeg?1631030753\" >Tight Turns on-road<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Slalom in Water\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/244\/mail\/IMG_2207.jpeg?1631030752\" >Slalom in Water<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Picking up the bike un-assisted on a hill\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/245\/mail\/IMG_2190.jpeg?1631030752\" >Picking up the bike un-assisted on a hill<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Here are a few more photos I took with my camera in the 2 hours I was running around as challenges come to a close for the general qualifier before the semi-finals took place. Semi-Finals \/ Finals were not allowed to be captured so we could keep things fair for the West Coat qualifier:<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Cassie aka Full Gear Female, before the Semi-Finals\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/308\/mail\/IMG_8068-Edit-2.jpeg?1631030910\" >Cassie aka Full Gear Female, before the Semi-Finals<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Chris from NH who did all of the challenges in one day after arriving late\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/307\/mail\/IMG_8028-2.jpeg?1631030910\" >Chris from NH who did all of the challenges in one day after arriving late<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"90 degree turn off the tires before sand\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/305\/mail\/IMG_7942-2.jpeg?1631030908\" >90 degree turn off the tires before sand<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Perfectly Planked\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/302\/mail\/IMG_7931-2.jpeg?1631030905\" >Perfectly Planked<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Awaiting to hear if they were cut\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/298\/mail\/IMG_7903-2.jpeg?1631030903\" >Awaiting to hear if they were cut<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"&quot;Reserved for A. Chandler&quot;\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/295\/mail\/IMG_7859-2.jpeg?1631030897\" >&#8220;Reserved for A. Chandler&#8221;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Sunrise @ The BMW Performance Center\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/294\/mail\/IMG_7857-2.jpeg?1631030897\" >Sunrise @ The BMW Performance Center<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Getting ready for our challenges - 7AM on Saturday\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/293\/mail\/IMG_7852-2.jpeg?1631030897\" >Getting ready for our challenges &#8211; 7AM on Saturday<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/292\/mail\/IMG_7850-2.jpeg?1631030892\" ><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Wayne, who made the semi-finals changed from Anakee 3 tires to TKC80s at 10PM at the MOA headquarters. My headlights kept him going\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/291\/mail\/IMG_7831-2.jpeg?1631030892\" >Wayne, who made the semi-finals changed from Anakee 3 tires to TKC80s at 10PM at the MOA headquarters. My headlights kept him going<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img  decoding=\"async\"  alt=\"Driving home as both a loser and a winner\"  height=\"auto\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  width=\"600\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/revue\/items\/images\/010\/938\/311\/mail\/IMG_8091-2.jpeg?1631030921\" >Driving home as both a loser and a winner<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>\u2026and that\u2019s it. That\u2019s the 2022 GS Trophy Qualifier East Coast hosted at the BMW Performance Center. I spent $400, drove 2200 miles and was atop my bike for 2.5 days and slept on the ground so I could attempt to get a free trip to Albania. What ended up happening was a lot of self-realization, a lot of laughs and some new friendships. You can\u2019t put a price on all of the dividends attending this event will give me. I\u2019ll see many of you again in 2 years but this time, I\u2019m hoping to be standing alongside all of you as a photographer and cheering on Heather as my wife and participant.&nbsp;PS: A video is coming. It\u2019s a lot of content and I have a busy week ahead.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I first threw a leg over a motorcycle five years ago and for some reason, I thought I&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_custom_appearance":"","csco_disable_excerpt_posts_layout":false,"csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[148],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11730","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-my-bike","7":"cs-entry","8":"cs-video-wrap"},"apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb3IC4-33c","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12250,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2024\/03\/28\/photography-2024-bmw-gs-trophy-qualifier-in-greer-sc\/","url_meta":{"origin":11730,"position":0},"title":"Photography: 2024 BMW GS Trophy Qualifier in Greer, SC","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"March 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Like 2022\u2019s GS Trophy Qualifier, this event is an opportunity for USA based amateur riders to make the top 3 for their gender and earn a spot on Team USA representing their country on the global stage in BMW\u2019s global off-road competition. It\u2019s only open to non-pros, non-trainers and non-BMW-employees.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Photography&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Photography","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/photography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"BMW GS Trophy Qualifier USA - 2024, Greer, SC, Performance Center.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53258968149_6f306441ba_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53258968149_6f306441ba_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53258968149_6f306441ba_b.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/53258968149_6f306441ba_b.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11729,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2021\/08\/23\/coming-to-terms-with-my-skills-gs-trophy-qualifier\/","url_meta":{"origin":11730,"position":1},"title":"Coming to Terms with my Skills &amp; GS Trophy Qualifier","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"August 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Two weeks and Two days until we head to the BMW Performance Center in Greer South Carolina where I\u2019ll attempt to qualify for BMW\u2019s Team USA and their GS Trophy in Albania set to take place next year. I started this year feeling confident in my skills but also a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;My Bike&quot;","block_context":{"text":"My Bike","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/my-bike\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11708,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2021\/08\/08\/20-in-20-20\/","url_meta":{"origin":11730,"position":2},"title":"20 in 20 &amp; 20","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"August 8, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Instead of 7 days since our last issue, it has been 20. This morning, while driving the 2.5 hours south to Boston airport, I saw it was 73 degrees, 73 MPH on the cruise control setting & speedo and I had driven 7.3 miles since filling up the tank and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;My Bike&quot;","block_context":{"text":"My Bike","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/my-bike\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11731,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2021\/10\/26\/fall-in-new-hampshire-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":11730,"position":3},"title":"Fall in New Hampshire","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"October 26, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s the best time of year for riding and I\u2019m making up for lost time from September Post GS-Trophy remarks are unchanged. However the lingering pain I feel still in my shoulder is hard to shake. As with American Medical Care, my doctor\u2019s exam was inconclusive so I pushed for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;My Bike&quot;","block_context":{"text":"My Bike","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/my-bike\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11707,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2021\/07\/18\/my-husqvarna-701-is-dead-other-adventures\/","url_meta":{"origin":11730,"position":4},"title":"My Husqvarna 701 is DEAD &amp; Other Adventures","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"July 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Since the last newsletter, we\u2019ve added a few subscribers here and it\u2019s nice to have you all following along. I hope this update finds you well and in good healthy. Are you out on the road? I hope so! If you enjoy this update, please forward it to a friend\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;My Bike&quot;","block_context":{"text":"My Bike","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/my-bike\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8503,"url":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2021\/04\/19\/my-bike-a-weekend-at-bmws-performance-center-moa-premiere-training-2021\/","url_meta":{"origin":11730,"position":5},"title":"My Bike: A Weekend at BMW&#8217;s Performance Center &#8211; MOA Premiere Training 2021","author":"Adam Chandler","date":"April 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThis time, do it with one hand\u201d Trainer Brian yelled out in my direction as I rolled by on a fully fueled BMW R1250GS Adventure slaloming by between offset cones on a corner of their track making a 180 degree turn as you take the bike full steering locked left\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;My Bike&quot;","block_context":{"text":"My Bike","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/category\/my-bike\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11730\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}