Islander races to honor his mother

Published 12:00 pm Saturday, August 12, 2006

Jay Sherman competes in race to raise money for breast cancer

While some people honor their deceased mother with a tattoo, or an urn containing their ashes resting on the mantelpiece, one Bainbridge resident is blazing his own trail to commemorate what one woman did for him.

Jay Sherman, 31, is taking part in the Tecate Baja Score 1000 November 15 to 18 with two of his cousins and a friend to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research in memory of his mother, Sandy Ellen Spittal (Polito), who died of the disease in 2003.

The road rally race, – which starts in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico and ends 1,100 miles later in La Paz, Baja California Sur – is regarded as one of the toughest in the world. It has been in existence since 1967.

Teams race day and night during a full moon to help them see better and must complete the race in 30 hours. Racers compete with motorbikes or modified or stock cars, trucks, ATVs and dune buggies.

There have been reports of locals creating booby traps for their entertainment and many racers don’t finish due to the extreme conditions which destroy many a ride.

Sherman decided to add his name to the long list of racers, famous and non, while riding the ferry to his job in Seattle one day in March.

“I have time to think and reflect and I always wanted to do something for my mom,” he said. “We’re not millionaires, so it’s not like I can start a foundation.

“I wanted something that I really would have to work at to accomplish, something that seemed like the ultimate challenge, and the Baja 1000 is pretty much considered the hardest race in this hemisphere.”

He called up his two cousins Pete Thompson and Ken Shaffer, both accomplished mechanics and motorcycle racers, and told them of his plan.

“The first person I called was my cousin (Pete),” Sherman said. “I called him up and I said, ‘Hey, you want to race the Baja 1000?’ and he said, ‘Well, I’m kind of busy getting ready for the Daytona 500.’ But I said I was serious, and he said, ‘How the hell are we going to do that?’

“I said I don’t know if we can do it either, but I’m going to start working on it.”

Since then, Sherman bought a dirt bike and began working out and training around his work schedule, taking his kids and wife along with him in an RV provided by Poulsbo RV when he rides on one of the many trails through Tahuya State Forest near Belfair.

He also found some sponsors, started a web site and spread the idea around to his friends and family, who let everyone else know of his plan.

“It just kinda took off,” Sherman said. “Everybody’s interested in it now. I get e-mails and calls all over the place.”

His wife’s family has been supportive as well and even his two stepbrothers from his dad’s side are lending a hand. One is traveling down with the team as part of the crew.

Sherman has raised $7,000 since he opened the site. He plans to hold some fund-raisers before the team leaves, including a night at Clearwater Casino and a dirt poker run at Tahuya.

He’s also done as much research as he can about the race, getting help from pro racers who give him advice in chat rooms and brushing up on his Spanish.

Sherman has even received advice from Jessica McCreary, who is trying to be the first woman to race the Baja 1000 solo.

While many of the racers will have bikes painted all sorts of colors, Sherman’s team will probably be the only ones with pink bikes and uniforms.

The bikes also will be outfitted with a clear gas tank imprinted – with the names of people in pink – who have lost their lives or survived the disease.

Coming from a long line of motorcycle racers, Sherman has been a life-long rider thanks to his mom, who was into Harley-Davidson bikes and belonged to a motorcycle group.

Spittal raised Sherman and his brother, Justin (who died in 1989), by herself after their dad left her when they were little.

She also had a family history of breast cancer, as her mother suffered from the disease.

Spittal would recover through chemotherapy and everyone, including Sherman and her doctors, thought she was OK.

“She went out to the Sturgis Rally (in South Dakota) because the doctors said she was doing better,” Sherman said. “When she got back, she got sick. They didn’t know if her immune system just wasn’t ready for it.

“She got sick just one day and died the next day.”

While Sherman chose this race as a way to honor his mom, he’s not harboring any delusions of grandeur.

“I don’t have any delusions of winning the race,” he said. “The other guys are competitive and I’m certainly going to try, but the only thing we want to do is finish so I don’t feel like we let anybody down and I don’t want anybody to get hurt.”

And if his mother were alive, what would she say of Sherman’s idea?

“She’d tell me not to do it,” he said with a laugh. “She was pretty nervous about me after my brother died. Even when I would go to the local motocross track, she would try to bribe me sometimes. She was pretty protective.

“She’d say, ‘Be careful’ and try to talk me out of it.”

The race will be shown as a one-hour special on NBC in December and on ESPN International.

For more information, visit www.bajaforbreastcancer.com or contact Sherman at 704-293-3845 or jsherman@colbaltgroup.com