Firsts and the Kansas Kid with OPA at Coast2Coast

First time to see the Pacific Ocean, and first to see the Atlantic. First time to ride a rally bike in Texas, then in Mexico. First time to sleep in an airport, first time to fly alone. First time to fly in Mexico, first time to fly at all. First time to BE in Mexico, first time to be outside of the USA. I’m missing other firsts, but none of this means that Justin Jumet didn’t handle all of these things like he’d been traveling and riding since he was three. Constantly eager and aware, quick-thinking and confident, Justin delighted everyone who caught wind of what this quiet, easygoing, quick-to-smile Kansas kid was doing. 
Born and raised in Colony, Kansas, Justin is a 24 year old diesel mechanic, with experience in his field that began when he was a youngster. (Wait…he IS a youngster…) Justin took his first paying job as a mechanic at 17, as an apprentice for a transmission specialist while also side gigging in the NAPA parts house. Justin now does service calls and works on “pretty much everything” but specializes in diesel engines, an A-rated mechanic. As far as motorcycles go, he began riding dirt bikes as a boy and then racing off road:  hare and hound, hare scrambles and other enduro races,  mostly in local race circuits. He gained his experience racing and riding with buddies. 
On Wednesday, February 15, Justin picked me up at the Kansas City airport; we were joining the Off Piste Adventure team headed to Coast2Coast Rally, beginning in Veracruz and ending in Puerto Escondido , Oaxaca. As we headed to team manager Matt Ransom’s home and garage in Manhattan, Justin filled me in. His one and only rally bike ride was three days prior, which of course meant his first road book as well. He received his passport just two days prior. Off Piste had contacted him in January offering a sponsorship to the upcoming C2C rally, and Justin, with an easy, midwestern drawl, shrugged, cocked his head and said “So I said, ‘why not?’ “ He was grateful, he told me, to be part of an organization that, in order to get young riders into rally raid, are willing to put their money where their mouth is. And did they ever, but that is another story. 
After several attempts to get through the import chechpoint in Mexican territory with a large truck/trailer rig and four motorcycles, Justin rode the one problematic bike (wrong papers, basically) back across the border to US soil. C2C event director Patrick Reyes had begun working with us to get the bike across, and had a contact at a border crossing 60 miles east of the Laredo border crossing, but he was redirected back to Laredo with no luck. Justin’s instructions were to get a hotel for the night and then find a secure storage space to leave the bike, crossing  
the border on foot the next morning and then making his way to the airport in Nuevo Laredo, flying from there to meet us in Veracruz. 
Meanwhile, things were getting dicey for Matt and myself, having finally gotten across the border ourselves. With Patrick staying in close contact with us via cell and RallyComp tracking, we learned that we were not in safe zones nor within safe travel times, as it is not safe to travel after dark. Though we were pressed for time as we had the RallyComp equipment for the whole event starting less than 36 hours later, military and even locals were urging us to stop until daylight the next morning. As we sent prayers back Justin’s way for safety and presence of mind, we turned south as quickly as possible. When we got enough cell signal to check on Justin, we couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, no problem!” he yelled into the phone, excitedly. “I’m having the time of my life: they had a full-on parade in Laredo - THESE PEOPLE LOVE GEORGE WASHINGTON ! - and you’ll never guess where the bike is!” He was right, and suffice it to say there was governmental security involved. At this point Matt and I realized that we needn’t be overly concerned about our rally teammate newbie, and of course, he made a Spanish speaking friend who helped him with airport security and directions, he found a couple fellow C2C racers and caught a ride with them to the Coast2Coast hotel that was hosting registration and start line bivouac. 
After all of this it should have been no surprise that on the very first stage of the race when Justin realized his tracker wasn’t working, he calmly headed back to the start line to have the officials fix the problem - across the river, back by the dunes and back down the beach. By the third day Justin took his first stage win and followed with another the next day. Though his final placement was not on the podium, all eyes are now on the Kansas kid, who, I might add, resembles a kind of popular rally kid out of Auga Dulce, California. 
As is characteristic of rally raid, there’s plenty more to the story, and get ready, rally community, there’s a new kid in the bivouac, and the wheels are turning <bad pun> to get Justin to the next event, and the next and the next. Thank you, Kansas Kid, for taking me along for the ride, for the impromptu mini-classes on torque vs horsepower and the strategy behind changing sprockets and all the other stuff you patiently explained! Word is that I will see you again by the end of this week, and you’ll probably be doing something new!