Jaffe Wilde

What I've been listening to lately...

Spruce, Cedar, Oak and Giant Airplanes

I've spent plenty of time in Portland, Oregon... Enough to know I can find a ramen shop that'll play Kevin Gates while I eat dolphin-friendly tonkotsu. But aside from summers spent exploring the coastline west of the city in search of surf, I hadn't seen a lot of the surrounding area, which includes a rather infamous old hotel high in the mountains and a giant wood airplane that cost the US government $23 million dollars to develop. There's also wineries and riverboats and rural communities out there that'll make you question your current living arrangements, and lingering daylight in the summer months that stretches well past 9pm. 

So, if you're interested to see what else Portland, Oregon has to offer, hit the link to RoadRUNNER Motorcycle, Touring, and Travel, or grab a copy of their current issue, and read about my experience exploring the area on a Kawasaki Versys 650 last summer.

The Brudi Brothers

For all them cosplayin' cowpokes in Austin...

The Boys of Summer Part 2: NY, PA, OH & IL

The second episode of 'The Boys of Summer,' a two-part video series documenting our cross-country motorcycle ride chasing Major League Baseball from Boston to Seattle is live on YouTube! 

 

A lot of work went into this, and we're pretty stoked on how this series turned out. 

Shot and edited by SLAB Visuals

Made possible by RoadRUNNER Motorcycle, Touring, and Travel

Memos from the Rally Desk - Dakar

Below you'll find a collection of short editorial entries I wrote on my phone while covering the Dakar Rally for the third time. The intention was to give readers a behind-the-scenes look into my life as a photojournalist, documenting an international rally raid in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

These were originally published in our 'Off-Piste' Substack, which you can subscribe to here. 

A City of Shifting Sand 

It can take twenty minutes to walk to the bathroom. Some days, you have to decide whether you'll eat dinner or take a shower. The roads are nothing more than water soaked sand and the adjacent alleyways play home to massive motorhomes and chase trucks, straddled with spare parts and tires, washing machines, makeshift kitchens and massage parlors. 

Nearly three thousand people eat, sleep and work within the confines of the bivouac. A settlement in sand, encompassing everything from a mess hall and medical center, to scrutineering, a fueling station, showers, a small stage and even an arcade in recent years. This city of transient souls moves every night through the desert, leap frogging rally racers as they navigate massive sand dunes and razor sharp rocks, aimless camels and thorn laden flora. It's a village for lack of a better term. A Bedouin camp for mechanics, media personnel, racers and their respective crews. 

Our first day in the bivouac was spent orienting ourselves and just generally getting a better sense of our surroundings - the media center being our starting point. From there, a grid system spills out around us, marked by makeshift signs. Race teams park their chase rigs and camper vans so as to create an encampment, within the encampment. They bring their personal chefs, massage therapists, mechanics and social media teams. It's a zoo. A traveling circus of motorcycles and racing machinery. 

Welcome to the bivouac... 

Black Bear Enduro

Kyra and I raced the Black Bear Enduro over the summer, an ISDE style event hosted by the Cascade Family Motorcycle Club. This was her very first race, and a huge step toward her goal of entering Red Bull Romaniacs next year. 

It maaaaay have taken her an extra hour to finish the race, but I'll let you read about that in her 'Seat Time' column on Motorcycle.com in a few weeks 😉 

In the mean time, click here for a few photos I took before (and after) the race, as well as a couple that Bill Purcell snagged of us during the first transfer.

Chickenhead...

What I heard when I walked into Watte's living room before going to see Gojira...

The Boys of Summer Part 1: The Beginning of A Baseball Road Trip

The first episode of 'The Boys of Summer,' a two-part video series documenting our cross-country motorcycle ride chasing Major League Baseball from Boston to Seattle is live on YouTube! 

A lot of work went into this, and we're pretty stoked on how this first episode turned out. 

Give it a watch, as well as a thumbs up and a comment if you can. 

Shot and edited by SLAB Visuals

Made possible by RoadRUNNER Motorcycle, Touring, and Travel

Type-O

What I've been listening to lately... 

From The Griffin to the Jersey Shore, or was it the other way around?

A Family Affair...

"I’ve lived in Ensenada for a bit. Spent the better part of the last decade down here. Racing isn’t just a part of the culture, it’s a part of people’s day-to-day lives, and something that ties friends and families together. Race shops are crammed between buildings. Retired race cars are parked around town. And the sound of a four-stroke dirt bike going by is about as common as the sound of roosters on a rural country farm. Jerseys and helmets hang from the ceiling of the hamburger stand down the street from my house. The walls are covered in signed photographs of current and former champions, local racers and legends. During the SCORE races, the street in front of the Cultural Center is closed down and a crowd of people pack in to get a peek at the bikes and buggies, side-by-sides and the all mighty Trophy Trucks. Little kids ride on their father’s shoulders for a better view. The vibe is unlike any other race experience you can have. A tenable sense of excitement, race fumes filling your lungs." 

I followed five friends as they entered, raced and finished their very first SCORE International event, the Baja 500. But this story isn't about them or their race effort, it's about the bond that Baja creates between friends and their families. If you have a handful of minutes, read my story on Race-Dezert.

SOME LIKE IT CLASSIC

 

Some say this blog used to be about surfing and what such...

Sonora...

This is a hard place. 

The gentle sunrise behind the mountains. The cold, beige sand. The clouds that streak across the sky, swirling around the sun. And the tall cacti rising up across the landscape like the hairs on the back of your neck... It's all just a reminder of what's to come. A moment of forgiveness before the bell rings. The only mercy the Sonoran landscape might show you. 

Those first few minutes of morning, before the sun has fully shown herself, before her warmth reaches across that cold sand and up the trunk of that tall, green cactus. Afterwards, the colors change. Beige becomes yellow, becomes white. The chilayos providing a place of respite from the sun when she's not directly overhead. The clouds migrate to other parts of Mexico, leaving behind a tight blue canvass stretched all the way to the horizon.

Narcos in stolen silver trucks crisscross the land, with ski-masks and mismatched fatigues and Soviet era AK-47s slung over their shoulders. They're young, with blood in their eyes. And they're lost. Guidance comes only from an older version of their misguided selves, whose bravado wafts into the air like prom queen perfume. A stare turns to a smirk when they realize your intentions are not interfering with theirs. Hands around your neck. At their mercy. 

And this is just your first day in the desert.