Ixtem Games 2024 - 2nd edition: trail riding, motorcycle games, great encounters

The 2nd edition of the Ixtem Games weekend is underway! On the program? A host of off-road excursions, even more (and more convoluted) challenges, and a great atmosphere of sharing the same passion. This year's event will once again be full of mechanical glitches in an idyllic setting: the Champagne vineyards. This year, once again, we've achieved our objectives: to organize a weekend focused on trail riding, where we have fun (and no pressure!). That's all there is to it. Nothing more, nothing less. We'll tell you all about it:

Spoiler alert:

This second edition went magnificently well. With the experience of the first Ixtem Games, the organization of this 2024 vintage was all the more fluid.

So, what has changed from the 2023 version? Well, we've tried to respond more closely to participants' needs and expectations. So we've lengthened the off-road tracks and added some games. And yeah, we're still big kids, so the more workshops and sweets, the happier we are!

2 levels of difficulty for the bike rides

For the motorcycle rides, we proposed two routes: Adventure and Discovery (we'll come back to the events in a little more detail). The first route, designed for those who wanted to challenge themselves, was long (over 400 km) and had plenty of technical treats, including some tricky ruts and muddy climbs. The second trail allowed us to bypass the major difficulties and reduce the overall mileage.

Friday 1:00 pm: presentation briefing

I take this opportunity to explain a little about the Ixtem Games concept. How does it work? It's not a race, nor is it an enduro. It's a trail-oriented event. We're here to have fun around fun workshops and rediscover our childlike spirit. It's a weekend that reflects the values of Ixtem Moto: mutual aid, challenge, but above all, no headaches. Who's got the biggest? Who's going the fastest? Who cares?

As for the weather? Perfect!

Not too hot, not too cold. On the other hand, the heavy rain of the previous week promises to make the undergrowth as greasy as possible. Perfect! What to watch out for? Ruts. Last year, the biggest falls were due to them. By the way, this year it didn't fail either.

After introducing the team, we distilled our final recommendations:

" You're here to share, exchange, discover landscapes, take photos! And, incidentally, to be respectful of the people you meet along the way, so that our activity lasts over time". So much for that!

In 2023, we decided to draw the teams by lot. Except that? The significant differences in level had created some tension. We fully understand this.

That's why , this year, we asked participants what their level of off-roading was: beginner, intermediate or advanced. Thanks to this information, Aurélie and I were able to form coherent groups. The idea? To get the experienced riders to ride together, and to mix the beginners with the intermediates. That way, there's no frustration for the more experienced riders, and the intermediates will naturally pull the novices up. The idea, of course, is to exchange and share riding tips.

Incidentally, it may sound strange, but we also asked the competitors what bike they were riding. Why did we do this? To guide our choices in forming the groups. "Tell me what you ride, and I'll tell you who you are", and it worked out pretty well!

Like last year, we also elect a "shepherd" for each group. This person is in charge of communicating with our Ixtem team. He/she shares his/her position, any difficulties, and ensures that the group stays together. A tough job!

This year, no fewer than 13 events await our 36 competitors! All workshops are timed or graded, to determine an overall ranking. In addition, there's the silly photo challenge. What's that? Each team has to take a funny picture of their team. Offbeat, silly, fun, it's up to them. The photos are then posted on our Facebook page for a democratic vote.

This year, we've also introduced a little general knowledge quiz. Of course, it's not the €1,000 game! Besides, they were allowed to use their phones to answer, so you see. What we didn't know? This little quiz is going to be the deciding factor this year between first and second place!

After the briefing, some teams embark on the motorcycle ride, opting for Adventure or Discovery. The other half stay behind to take part in the first workshops. And this year, our tortured minds were in full swing, especially that of Nicolas Lantenois who came up with all the challenges.

First challenge? The King's Bath

Each team nominates one member as king of the group. Freshly invested, he climbs on his bike with gloves, helmet and boots as a minimum. Some crowned heads don't need much more. Then, with the engine switched off, the vassals push the king onto his bike. The difficulty? There's obviously a course to follow. Fun to watch! Once they've reached the pool, the valiant team-mates have to lift the king out of his vehicle, take off his boots and let him take a dip in the bath. The king for a day completes two laps, then exits. Like a Cinderella 2.0, his team-mates then put his boots back on, load him onto his carriage and push him to the so-called castle. I'll be honest, I had a ball watching the team members struggle to carry the designated king, especially when he was the strongest of the bunch. A real laugh!

Second workshop: Who am I?

A test worthy of Fort Boyard! Blindfolded, each participant had to guess the objects that passed through his or her hands. No snakes or rats in our case, but the parts of my old Zundapp's fire. Having perished in a fire, we salvaged a few spare parts for the competitors to discover. Brake disc, shock absorber, rear-view mirror, brake pedal, Cardo intercom: some parts were really hard to identify.

3 challenges on the bike tour

Halfway through the tour, the other competitors stop at a pond. What awaits them? No less than 3 challenges! They start with "La Barque". The principle is simple: cross the pond on buoys (without motorcycles, of course). The second event is entitled "Don't wear out your footrests". The objective? Follow a course through the trees while pushing the bike. To spice things up, the event is timed. It's at this point that some competitors slightly regret having opted for a 260-kilo trail bike!

We really racked our brains to come up with the latest challenge: "Trigger King". Picture this. The rider is on his motorcycle. Armed with a BB gun in his right hand, he has to shoot cans while riding. The challenge? Coordinating clutch, foot brake, balance and shooting accuracy. A test worthy of the most epic westerns!

A lovely evening at the campsite

At the end of the day, we return to the campsite at La Pointe, where Geoffrey and Céline prepare delicious meals for us every time. Dinner is an opportunity to debrief and gather first impressions. What stands out? Obviously, some bikers were disappointed not to have been able to ride with their buddies (remember, we were the ones who put the teams together). However, by Friday evening, everyone was getting on really well, exchanging phone numbers and laughing about the day's events.

Today, no time for nonsense: breakfast at 07:30 and off we go for 75 km of off-roading before meeting up with Nicolas Lantenois (co-organizer) in the middle of the Champagne vineyards. Several workshops await our brave adventurers.

Where do we start? Come on, the rope.

You have to imagine an American-style rodeo (yeah, we like the western theme). One participant, with a rope around his waist, plays the role of the bovine to be caught. The other rider, on his motorcycle, has to ride around it, winding it up as much as possible without putting his foot on the ground. One boot on the ground and the race is over. Letting go of the rope is also fatal. How do you determine the winner? The winner is the one who ties up his leg the tightest. To do this, we measure the remaining centimetres of rope that have not been wrapped around the substitute animal.

The board challenge? The principle is simple.

Riders must ride on a narrow strip of wood without leaving it. The further they go, the more points they score. Basic. This exercise has given rise to some fine wallows. In fact, trying to get back on the board after moving away from it is a real pain in the ass. And yeah, it then acts a bit like a rut. That's it, the few daredevils who try end up with all four irons in the air.

The competitors continue with the tire exercise.

A new feature of the 2024 vintage, it's quite a tricky one. The objective? Pick up a tire with the left hand and place it vertically on another pile of gumshoes a little further away. It has to stay upright for at least 3 seconds. Of course, this has to be done while driving! What you don't necessarily realize before the test? A motorcycle tire is heavy. A few funny falls.

We then move on to a GS Trophy classic: the garage.

Ever heard of it? Basically, several rectangles are drawn on the ground along a course. The biker must then navigate from one rectangle to the next. Except that the further he progresses, the smaller the frame becomes. In practice, this is more complicated than it sounds, since it involves working on several aspects simultaneously, such as eye contact, position on the bike, speed and clutch management. In the end, no one managed to reach the end of the course. Special mention goes to Mathilde on her CRF, who put in a fine, fine performance!

The final test of the day? We simply called it agility.

Particularly tricky, it was a great success last year. Left foot on the ground, right foot on the footrest, engine on but bike in neutral. The rider must quickly lift off his left foot, engage a gear and launch. Sounds easy enough, doesn't it? What follows is less so. The next step is to get off the bike while riding, then get back on, and finally stop in a defined area by standing on the bike's stand without putting a foot on the ground. Easier said than done!

After all these tests, it's time for a picnic on the site where the tests took place. Then the participants set off again on the trail of the rando, finally meeting up again at 7pm for dinner and debriefing.

Sunday morning is my favorite time of the year. Which is? Seeing the bikers return from the last rando with huge smiles on their faces. They all had a blast! Everyone tells me their favorite part of the day. I enjoy listening to these stories, which show that, once again, Nicolas Lantenois has done a great job in designing the routes.

In the morning, we realize that a general knowledge questionnaire is missing. We go to see poor Pascal, who can't ride because of a leaking shock absorber on the KTM 790 Adventure R Rally: "You have to fill in the general knowledge questionnaire, because it can change everything". What we didn't expect? His team would have had to make a near-flawless record for it to change the standings. And they almost did! 49 points out of 50. The result? They took first place. His team has 1262 points, while the runners-up have 1258. In a handkerchief!

It's time for the prize-giving. Every competitor goes home with something. T-shirts, boot bags, Acerbis Hydrabags and waterproof socks. And for the big winners? Leatherman knives engraved with IXTEM GAMES! We pamper our trail runners!

I haveto tell you a funny anecdote. Remember David? He took part in the first edition, except that his TTR never wanted to start. Incidentally, Geoffrey, the campsite manager, broke his arm pushing the bike. In short, this year David persists: he'll be riding his TTR. Except, of course, the little machine with a few springs under its belt is temperamental and won't start. Bis repetita? Not quite, because this year, a competitor with a serious penchant for the mechanics of our grannies takes a look at his millstone and adjusts its automatic decompressor. Phew, Geoffrey won't lose another limb!

Well then, it's true that the TTR isn't working at 100% capacity. Let's just say that if it's already running at 50% performance, everyone's happy. So David can ride on Friday and Saturday, only to have a big mess prevent him from setting off again on Sunday. You know the best one? By dint of kicking like a donkey on his haunches, he manages to break the crutch!

What's more, the guy accumulates. Because you see David participates without tools or inner tubes. Trust him. The result? Without the invaluable help of his fellow adventurers, he would still have been in a lot of trouble after his puncture on Saturday.

So, to congratulate him on this totally random preparation - and because he's still a guy we love - we're presenting him with a rather special trophy. In fact, the cabinetmaker who makes the trophies for us made a typo. Instead of writing Ixtem, he wrote Ixtrem Games. We found this award particularly appropriate, as it embodied the character's approximate nature. Motorcycle just about ready, rider just about ready, so there you have it, the just about trophy for our very own Jean-Michel-à-peu-près. Thanks for your photo David.

You want funny? Jean-Philippe, a former emergency doctor, signed up for the Ixtem Games at the last minute. He takes part with an almost-new F900 GS. Over the course of the weekend, a series of crashes put paid to the flashiness of his unfortunate BMW. And more importantly? He managed to fracture his scaphoid. The last straw for someone who is supposed to help others.

His emergency skills came in handy when Stephane Lacasse suffered a violent fall. Probably going too fast, he hit a rut and fell to the ground. His head hit the ground hard, causing him to lose consciousness. His team-mates were really scared, as he remained unconscious for almost 30 seconds. Jean-Philippe gave him a quick check-up on the way home in the evening, mainly to reassure us that his condition merited a CT scan. In the end, it turned out to be nothing serious. No trip to the emergency room this year - quite an achievement, don't you think? Stéphane, like a warrior, climbed back on his haunches to make Sunday's tracks.

This 2nd edition is already drawing to a close. What will I remember? Once again, the trail spirit was very much in evidence. Competitors helped each other, shared, discovered and, above all, enjoyed themselves. We were able to bring together a great team of big kids and have fun for a weekend around the values that are unique to Ixtem Moto. Mission accomplished! What about next year? We're moving. Yes, you have to reinvent yourself. But one thing's for sure: we'll be keeping the same recipe: a human-scale event focused on helping, sharing and relaxing. All that remains is to find the next venue for the 2025 edition. Perhaps the Morvan...