Grimpossible // The Graham Jarvis Challenge
By Eddie Marak
The first running of “Grimpossible – The Graham Jarvis Challenge” took place on December 3rd, 2017 at Red River Motorcycle Trails in Bulcher TX. The brainchild of Eddie Marak and Gary Donihoo, the event pitted local and National riders against each other in a contest where Graham set the line for the riders to duplicate.
Scoring was a simple 3 – 0 points per obstacle. 3 points if you duplicated the line, and style Graham set, 2 points if you completed the obstacle within the allotted time, but not in the same fashion as Graham. 1 point if you made an honest attempt and but did not complete the obstacle, and 0 points if you chose to skip a particular obstacle.
There were 11 competitors in the event, Quinn Wentzel, Jojo Toole, Adam Iglesias, Brian Storrie, Haydn Franklin, Lane Conaway, Chad Mann, Nobel Hatch, Carter York, Rich Pinto, and Marshall Mathews. Quinn and Jojo made the trek from Ohio and Arkansas accordingly, and the other riders were some of the best North Texas had to offer. Megan Griffiths (aka megs_brapp on Instagram) also made the journey down from the Great White North to the warm Texas countryside to help with the even and do some riding of her own.
Photo: Eddie Marak
The obstacles were determined and marked ahead of time by Graham Jarvis, Eddie Marak, and Gary Donihoo. While some were new obstacles, others were close to elements used at Red Bulls Last Man Standing, which was held at Red River Motorcycle Trails from 2005 – 2007. There were multiple challenges at each site which included, The Waterfall, Joshua Tree, and Texas Stadium. There were a few new challenges such as the Tree Bounce, Pipe Dream (aka The Pit), the Log Challenge, the 5 Ft Wall, and Grahams Gully.
Nerves gave way to confidence as the riders progressed throughout the competition, keeping up with Graham was not an easy task, but the riders stepped up to the challenge. Even if it meant getting over a particular section with the bike flying through the air – Ghost Riding still got you 2 points!
At the end of the day, it was Quinn Wentzel who prevailed for the win. There was a 3-way tie for second place after the last obstacle between Jojo Toole, Adam Iglesias, and Brian Storrie. We had Graham create a tiebreaker, and the three riders attempted to balance across multiple logs, receiving a point for each successfully completed log. After it was said and done, Jojo Toole took 2nd place, and Adam Iglesias took 3rd while Brian Storrie took pride in the accomplishments of his first ride after undergoing elbow surgery right after completing this year’s ISDE (where he won a gold medal by the way…)
Photo: Eddie Marak
The event was created to be very spectator friendly, and there were plenty throughout the day. North Texas fans were not only treated to witnessing Graham Jarvis in person but were thrilled by some great riding by the competitors. Thanks to Graham, Red River Motorcycle Trails, all of the competitors, AdventureMoto KTM/Husky, 100%, Megan Griffiths, and everyone else who helped with the event. It was a great effort that brought a lot of great people together to pull off a great event!
Grimpossible Gallery
All photos by Eddie Marak
(Click on any image to see its full-frame enlarged version.)
