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Hodel Brothers 1000 team
Battling the Baja 1000
Two Lodi natives motorcycling in 1,300-mile off-road race
By Layla Bohm
News-Sentinel Staff Writer
Last updated: Thursday, October 11, 2007 6:44 AM PDT
They're 18 years apart in age and live hundreds of miles away from each other, but brothers Eric and John Hodel have some things in common.
They finish each other's jokes. They have matching brown eyes. And next month, the Lodi-raised brothers will spend more than 24 hours riding a
motorcycle in the 40th annual Baja 1000, the world's longest non-stop off-road race.
"Once you start, that's it. There's no stopping," said Eric Hodel, who has entered the Baja 1000 five times and has also competed in shorter versions
of the race.
Along the path toward finishing the 1,300-mile race, they hope to raise money for a children's cancer group — and maybe even win in their division.
They've got competition, though: As of Wednesday, 16 motorcycle teams were registered for the over-40 class, and hundreds of other vehicles will also
be riding on the same paths.
In recent years, the race has gotten much bigger due to celebrity involvement. Among this year's celebrities are NASCAR Nextel Cup team owner and
driver Robby Gordon, former Indy champion Danny Sullivan and "Grey's Anatomy" star Patrick Dempsey.
Another popular figure is Jesse James, of the TV show "Monster Garage," though John Hodel, 46, noted with a grin that more people seem to know James
as the husband of actress Sandra Bullock.
The race certainly gets intense, and it takes a lot to coordinate each team, John Hodel said. Support vehicles follow along the race course, carrying
the other team members, fuel and spare parts.
The ride is basically a relay: Each team member will ride a stretch of more than 200 miles. Most of the race is off-road, which is where motorcycles
do best, the Hodels said. But a few parts of the race are on pavement, and that's when the trucks and cars really gain speed.
While a motorcyclist is riding about 105 miles an hour, the monster trucks, Hummers and cars can go even faster. By the time a motorcycle rider hears
a truck behind him, it's already beside him, Eric Hodel said.
The brothers know the risks, but both have lifetimes of experience and something that comes close to a genetic predisposition toward motorcycles.
Their middle brother, Mark, got into motorcycles in the mid-1960s before he died in Vietnam. Eric, the eldest, carried on the tradition, as did their
father.
Their father died in a motorcycle crash in 1978, when John Hodel was 17, and that made the brothers draw closer. Their mother never objected to their
love of motorcycles.
"She didn't say anything," John Hodel began, and Eric Hodel finished the sentence: "She just prayed a lot."
Standing in Eric Hodel's west Lodi garage on a recent afternoon, the brothers talked about their fond memories of motorcycle riding. Eric Hodel, now a
computer consultant, won a number of motocross races in his day, and plaques dominate one corner of his garage. A framed photo shows him racing in
1976, and a yellow off-road bike is parked beneath it.
The Baja 1000 at a glance:
The race will draw more than 400 entries from 40 states and 15 countries, and more than 300,000 spectators are expected along the course.
Motorcycle and ATV riders begin at 6:30 a.m., Nov. 13, and the car and truck groups are expected to start around 10:30 a.m.
The race starts on Boulevard Costero in Ensenada, with vehicles leaving every 30 seconds. The fastest finishers are expected to arrive 22 hours later
inside the Campos de Futbol soccer fields in Cabo San Lucas.
NBC will air a one-hour special on the race, to be broadcast Dec. 30.
— SCORE International
Off-Road Racing, http://www.score-international.com.
Charity for children with cancer:
The Orange County Foundation for Oncology Children and Families is a nonprofit group that began in 1982 and focuses on supporting families of children
who are battling cancer.
Every year the volunteer-run foundation organizes two weekend camps, held in June and September in the San Bernardino Mountains. The camps allow
children and families to get away from the stress of cancer through a variety of outdoor activities. They also allow families to meet one another and
form their own support groups.
Source: http://www.ocf-ocf.org.
The brothers also share a passion for helping others, and Eric Hodel regularly goes on missions trips to other countries. He's currently on a two-week
trip to Honduras to help build a church, and that's his seventh mission trip this year alone.
John Hodel, who organized the race team, works in sales in Orange County, where the team's Honda bike is waiting for its Baja 1000 ride.
Though the race carries an entry fee of $3,000 and riders have to pay for their own airfare, hotels and gear, John Hodel set out to make it a
fund-raiser for a charity. He's always had a passion for children facing challenges and uncertain futures, so when he came across the Orange County
Foundation for Oncology Children and Families, something struck a chord in him.
The Hodel team is now officially raising funds for the group, which runs camps and other activities for children battling cancer. The goal is to help
the families bond and support one another.
Within days, the charity's Web site, http://www.ocf-ocf.org, should have a link where people can simply click and enter their information to pledge money. Even if it's a penny or a
nickel a mile, John Hodel said every bit helps, and all money goes to the foundation.
Whether the Hodel team will win their class will not be known until after the Nov. 13 race ends. It will probably be their last race on the same team
— now 64, Eric Hodel wants to spend more time on missions work — but that won't change the brothers' relationship.
"We get along pretty well, only because I'm so immature," Eric Hodel said as he grinned at his younger brother.
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