Dolores, Charlie and Caroline awaken some time around 3:30am to be at the Mammoth Motocross track for their shift at 4. Stationed at the front gates, they infuse cool morning air with dry British humor and fun-loving smiles before it gets taken over by the rich smell of fuel and loud engines. “We have a blast out there,” says Dolores, who has only missed one summer since 1976.
In order to check-in the riders lining up at 4:30 every morning, the hard-working Motocross staff doesn’t have time to think about being bleary-eyed. “I’ve been out here since 3:30am getting organized, then greeting staff as they ride in on the first bus of the day at 6am,” said Laurey, the Motocross Event Manager, on the first day of racing last year. “It’s dark, it’s quiet, it’s peaceful. The smell of the pines and the wet dirt gets you focused on what’s going happen for the rest of the day.”
One thing is clear: Mammoth Motocross is worth waking up early for. Unlike other Eastern Sierra activities in which outdoorsy types enjoy solitude and have no need for a clock – at the Motocross, the clock matters. So does competition and endurance.
“Those who have walked around the pits at 6am can feel it,” says safety manager Julien. “The way the soft morning light hits the four stroke exhaust against the snowy peaks, watching families wrenching on their bikes before the morning’s first practice and seeing the track workers meticulously water the perfectly groomed track.”
Next time you’re waiting for the starting gates to drop, take a look around and watch for the spirit that is alive between generations of racers who turn up year after year to race. “Mammoth is a special place and the people that come here for those two weeks in June know that,” said Julien. “Chances are their father brought them here and now they are taking their children to become part of this great tradition.”
