The key players in this story are:
Here is the story folks:
In Halloween night 1998, we heard about a fun ride through the woods in Daytona Beach, Florida. This was our second year. We participated in the same bike fun ride a year before. That year we didn't go all the way. We didn't think that there will be any mud involved. Our American friends left the race early so we left with them and didn't see the whole course.
This year it was a whole different story. A day before the race we decided to join in. This year, we thought that we ware prepared for the worst. Last year we didn't have spare plugs for the bikes. We had no tools except for an adjustable wrench and a screw driver that we accidentally found in one of the bikes! We used these tools to clean the plugs with gas that we got from the tank of the bikes themselves!!
We rented a U-Hall van to transport the bikes to the race location. We brought 8 spare plugs, plenty of water and soft drinks, and, of course, tools! We also didn't forget to bring a spare tank of gas just in case we need it! It came in handy later!
The year before, Majed's bike didn't have any brakes. Because of that, he hit a tree during the race. His bike also turned over once. It also hit another bike that was in front of it on another occasion. This year, because we knew about the race just one day before it started, we tried to fix the brakes but we couldn't because of the lack of time. We spent six hours the night before the race working on the carburetor and the brakes.
We were told that the race is going to start at 9PM. So, we left home at 5PM. We arrived at the meeting site for the race at six. Because we didn't play with our bikes in the mud before, and because we had about two hours to spare, we decided to play with the bikes in the mud.
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Saud on top of Majed wrestling in the mud. Then, the idea developed to playing with the bikes in the mud! |
After an hour of harmless playing in the mud, Amer jumped on his bike and decided that he is going to spray Majed and Saud with mud to make the trip more fun because we were bored. He also like to tease his friends all the time with these stupid stunts. He covered some Americans with mud by mistake. They thought that he did it on purpose, so they got mad. Soon after that, Amer's bike got stuck in the mud. He tried to get his bike out of the mud by flooring the gas. Because his tires were worn out(he was burning rubber the day before), it didn't work! The bike was smoking a lot! Majed and Saud told Amer that, but he just kept on trying. Suddenly, the bike's noise stopped!
The Americans that got soaked by Amer didn't waste a minute! They saw that it was time for some pay back (haaaa!! Ohhhhhh!). Four big guys jumped on their bikes and head towards Amer. They buried Amer in the mud. Amer screamed for help from Majed! Majed immediately jumped on his bike and headed towards the Americans. "Let's get him people!", said Majed. "Let's Spray Amer with mud". (3adi shabab fee re7lah!)
Afterwards, Amer and Majed pushed the bike to the van to fix it. A guy walked to them and told them that the mud they were playing in is mixed with shit! When they finally fixed the bike by the time everybody was ready for the real fun.
After standing on the starting line for half an hour, we were told by the officials that everybody has to ware a helmet. We only had two of them! So, we went back to search for someone that would lend us a helmet. The same guy that told us about the shitty mud lent us the helmet for $80 and Amer's Driver's License as a deposit.
We finally started the race. We were very excited and happy to finally join the race. After 5 miles, Majed's bike suddenly stopped. The spark plugs needed to be changed.
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Amer is changing the spark plugs in Majed's bike while Saud is laughing and making jokes not knowing of what's coming to them soon! |
So we stopped for half an hour to fix the bike and we also had some drinks and chocolates. We continued the race and tried to catch up with the others. After about two miles, we were surprised to see that we had to cross some very deep mud. We agreed to find another way around the mud. So we basically created our own route.
Majed was the one that came with the idea of driving around the mud. He was starting to brag about being a genius! We ware happy that we passed the mud obstacle thanks to Majed. Saud and Amer were happy on their bike when suddenly the bike just froze in it's place and they were thrown in the air! A big tree branch was the reason that the bike stopped. It was stuck in the bike's chassis. Amer was badly hurt. Saud had no scratches! Amer was his safety airbag!
After we recovered from the surprise. We drove more miles but this time we were waiting for more surprises. Sure enough another one came by. This time Amer's bike had some water in the carburetor that sneaked in when he was playing in the mud. We stopped for an hour to fix that problem.
We then continued on racing and problems started to rise more often as we progressed through the course. The main obstacle was our spark plugs. We had to change them so often that we ran out of them pretty soon and had to clean and reuse some of the old spark plugs.
After hours of driving we assumed that we were almost at the finish line but there was no one around. We started to lose patience and got scared. We became desperate. We thought that we were lost in the woods. Going back was no option because we thought that it was longer than continuing the race. We tried to create our own shortcut. We forgot about wining and concentrated on surviving!!
Soon after, we were back on the right track. Out of nowhere, we were faced with a bigger problem. Majed's bike again!! It stopped this time the spark plugs were fine! We found that the problem we had was more difficult than we imagined. All the tools and spares didn't help. Sprocket (chain sprocket in the engine) in Majed's bike was worn out.
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Amer and Saud are surprised to see that the spark plugs are fine and clean! They soon discover that the Sprocket was worn out. (Wondering were majed is?? He is the one taking the picture!) |
The bike couldn't move the engine was running but the bike was not! We were delayed for more than two hours to fix it. We tried to call for help but there was no one around. We tried to tie the bikes together and pull Majed's bike with Amer's. That didn't work!! Saud "the pushing power" was our solution to this problem. He pushed Majed for miles and miles.
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Amer and Saud are giving up on fixing the bike. Amer is tired from mechanical work and Saud is tired from pushing. Majed captures this unique moment in time on film! |
It was sunrise! We were still in the woods. We were relieved by seeing the morning light. Even though we were scared, we stopped and tried to enjoy this moment. The birds were singing and fog was everywhere around us. We were extremely wet and cold!
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It's almost morning and we are hoping for a little guidance from Allah. |
Our mission now was looking for the main road. Saud was our eye in the fog. Majed and Amer went looking for the road on foot. They walked for half an hour until they finally found it. They were happy but there was another problem!! How were they going to get back to Saud! The fog was blinding. They had to shout to find Saud! After we found each other by the power of sound we got to the main road and headed for the finish line. We reached it in five minutes! We were glad that this adventure was over with!
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Majed is happy that the adventure is over and he finished the race although there is no one there at the finish line! They all left long ago!! |
We still can't believe it not forget this day! We were stranded in the woods for 13 hours! We went back home and slept for the whole day! We didn't want see each other for two days!
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