• Wes Bloomquist •
• Originally published January 24, 2009 at 1:06 a.m., updated January 24, 2009 at 1:06 a.m.

After 21 years of marriage, it seems that nothing her husband does makes Lauri Daman anxious anymore.

"He's always been into pushing the limits," Lauri said Friday. "He's not happy unless he's doing something that is dangerous. Our family just has to support him."

Russ Daman has been in the Army since 1982 and served seven months in Iraq as part of the Army's 4th CAB division out of Fort Hood. The chief warrant officer returned Thursday to his Moulton farm, but knows he'll return to Iraq for another tour of duty soon.

While that's stressful enough for a family with two teenaged daughters, Russ' hobbies are a far cry from simply fishing. He loves to fly, ski, snowboard, rock climb and ride dirt bikes.

It's dirt biking that is going to be his next great adventure. Russ is planning on competing in the Baja 1000 in November after returning from Iraq.

"Surviving it is my goal, and winning would be nice," he said of riding in the Baja 1000 for the first time. "It's a long endurance race that you have to approach thoughtfully."

The Baja 1000 started in 1967 and is an off-road race that takes place on Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. The different courses used for the race average around 830 miles in a grueling test for riders and their machines.

"It's an open-class race that pushes riders," Russ said. "The person that rides the race tactically is the one who usually wins. There are beginners who get out there and also riders who put a lot of time and money into it, being an open-class race, and that makes it fun."

Russ is choosing to ride a dirt bike he's purchasing from Dale's Fun Center in Victoria. He saw his Honda CRF 450X for the first time on Friday.

"It's been a while since I've had the opportunity to ride, but it's like pedaling a bike for me,"he said after taking it for a ride for the first time. "Riding a dirt back has always been something I've done, so it's pretty natural for me."

Russ, who also has served in the Texas Army National Guard and was a pilot for Air Logistics, is 13 months away from retiring from the Army. He said he plans on taking a year off to work around the Moulton farm on cattle barns and projects around the house. But he admits he's not just going to relax when he's retired.

"I think my family would like to see me start taking it easy after I retire from the Army," Russ said. "That's probably not going to happen though."

Lauri knows not to expect that too, and said their daughters Janelle and Leah are expecting nothing less.

"I've come to the conclusion that he's never just going to relax," Lauri said. "I've realized that he's probably not going to settle until he's broken."

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