With Jonah out of the Dakar we have decided to take a few extra days to ourselves, that being Me, Nora, and Schampa Class 1 Baja racer Josh Rigsby. Yesterday we headed up to the Argentina border via Los Andes, a simple drive at first, but laced with near vertical switchbacks that peaked a t10,500ft of elevation. At the summit we drank Yerba Matte, and watched large groups of motorcyclist of all types stream by. When I say all types I mean it, while there were a couple adventure riders on BMW’s and KTM’s, the majority of the riders were on 250 to 400cc bikes, and one riding tandem on a 50cc scooter putting the adventure riders to shame.

The highlight of the trip was Andrew Morgan, a lone bicyclist on a 15 month ride from New Jersey thru South America. We came across Andrew just shy of the summit when he was looking for a camping spot. Andrew is combing volunteering as an English teacher with his adventure. Andrew had just spent 7 weeks in Santiago teaching and is now on his way to Buenos Aires, this delightful young man had the adventuresome spirit that inspires me to create the products that we make at Schampa. Visit Andrew Morgan and check his progress at http://teacherontwowheels.com/.

After an incredible first half of the Dakar, Jonah Street was forced out of the race with an injury to his wrist, the following is the statement prepared by Street’s management;
“A very minor fall, but major consequences. Jonah Street fell today and hurt his wrist. Doctors at the Dakar and at home said that [...]

Today, all racers were given a much needed day of rest.  Usually, rest days are used for the media frenzy, however many of the racers didn’t show up.  Schampa Racing’s Jonah Street took the day to himself, getting all the rest he could in order to preserve and maintain his second place overall standing, and [...]

Rally PanAm Press Release
January 7, 2008
American Rider Jonah Street has won Stage 5 of the Dakar Rally in South America.  Jonah gained 15 minutes on leader and Dakar champion Marc Coma from Spain, solidifying his 2nd place position overall.  Jonah leads the Marathon category.
Stage 5 was a nail-biter.  Early in the stage, leader Marc Coma [...]