103
Blake locked bars with the
same riders he’s competing
against today: Tomac, Jason
Anderson, Justin Barcia,
Dean Wilson.I
t’s a disgustingly humid
June day in Eastern
Pennsylvania, two
weeks after Thunder
Valley. The Team Rocky
Mountain awning provides
relief from the sun, but the
truck is blocking the breeze.
At 9:10 a.m., Red Bull KTM
team manager Roger De-
Coster stops by. He stands
at the railing and asks Tom,
“How’s the bike?” Carlos
Rivera, most recently Ryan
Dungey’s mechanic, walks
by with Blake’s bike stand
while Blake’s mechanic, Nate
Alexander, pushes the wet #4
KTM SX-F into the work area
and begins blasting the water
off with compressed air.
Blake’s mood is much
more serious than it was in
Florida ten days earlier. Ab-
sent is the borderline convul-
sive chuckling that preceded
every sentence. Aunt Deidre
wishes people could see the
real Blake, the nephew she
calls “the comedian of the
family,” the kid who starts
whipped-cream fi ghts in
Grandma Nanni’s kitchen
during Sunday family din-
ners. If he appears antisocial
at fi rst glance, he still spends
much of his morning sitting
in the hospitality area with his
dad, wife, and a product rep.
Baggett’s inner circle is small
and always has been.
That was one of his sell-
ing features to his wife whenhe was courting her. Blake
was only 14 when he sent
18-year-old Keleigh a mes-
sage through MySpace. She
was an intern at Transworld
Motocross, pursuing a
degree in journalism. “Cute,”
she remembers thinking.
“Come fi nd me when you’re
18,” she replied.
In January 2011, a friend
asked her to help in the
Toyota promotions tent at the
Anaheim Supercross opener.
It was only for the afternoon,
and she agreed. Blake, who
began his second full year as
a professional the following
month in the 250SX East
division, spotted her, walked
up, and said, “You’re Keleigh,
right? I’m Blake Baggett, and
I’m 18 now.”
She was nonplussed, but
he convinced her to stay for
the evening and watch the
races with him. He continued
to reach out via text, but she
didn’t return his messages for
two weeks. His persistence
got her on the phone, but
she rebuffed him: “I know
your type, you motocross
boys—I don’t think so.” Blake
countered that he had no
friends and still lived with his
parents. Then he played the
birthday card, and she caved.
On January 31, Blake’s 19th
birthday, they met at a movie
theater and watched Ashton
Kutcher in the rom-com
No Strings Attached. When
Blake walked Keleigh to her
car to say goodnight, he
stuck out his arm in a hand-
shake request. They were
married on May 10, 2017, in
Joshua Tree, California.With new bride
Keleigh by his
side, Baggett has
rebuilt his life and
career in Florida,
where he is also
building their new
home. But for
the summer, he’s
squarely focused
on chasing down
Eli Tomac (above)
for the 450
Class crown.
SMITHCOURTESY BAGGETT