...... I'll just skip to the Baja part.

I wrote a post exactly like this on this ride report- then I deleted it before I posted.

Think- does everyone have perfect gear, perfect knowledge of terrain, etc?

Nope- many of us have to make due with the equipment we have. Instead of sitting home waiting for that BMW or KTM outfitted with everything Touratech sells we go out and ride the motorcycle that we have. We seek adventure and pushing the edge because life is meaningless when it is perfectly safe. If we wanted safe we would all be in a car with airbags... or better yet just turn on the TV and be safe and warm at home.

Now obviously the OP made mistakes... water, maps, gear, etc. But we know he is fine and got out.

I personally reject both extremes... I would not place myself in that position with bad gear and no water but OTOH I don't want to sit at home waiting for the Touratech catalog to come. This guy has a story to tell and a experience that he will not forget. I would not do what he did but I don't think we should say he was wrong for going.

That which does not kill you will only make you stronger.

No I don't think everyone has perfect knowledge or gear. Nor do I think that is a requirement.

Making errors is part of life. The problem is when you bite off more than you can chew.

The best way to grow from your mistakes is honest After Action Reports (AAR) and constructive debriefings.

He should have done a better job planning what he was doing around what he had to work with.

Let me add a little bit more...

Taking risk is part of going on adventure. Managing those risk so you come back alive is part of it to.

Going on adventures like this require certain decision making processes around your and your gears capability to properly manage those risks. The more extreme the ride or the environment the more care you need to take in planning. Things like 2 water containers so the failure of one would not have been catastrophic would have been a good idea. Things like riding slower because you had already been down 2 or 3 times earlier that day and you're exhausted because you had to drag your bike up a hill twice.

There is wisdom in both of these thoughts.

kta made it out alive, so we can now laugh and learn. I don't know that I would have wanted to be in his shoes, or would have taken his walk that way, but I am glad to be sharing now.

So please, carry on kta, I am ready for more baja stories and friendly laughter.

Misery and success are two ingredients for a great story!

I'm kinda new here... but is your idea of "constructive debriefings" to post:

"There's a fine line between being brave and adventurous and being stupid.

No one thing you decided to do was stupid, but when you compound them all you got what you had coming in my opinion. Let's enumerate your errors to date. "

Sorry man, but IMHO you may be the one that crossed the fine line onto the stupid side... ... your point that he could have done things differently is not the problem... but your delivery ("stupid", "got what you had coming", "enumerate your errors") was definitely out of line.

kta... Please finish your ride report, many here appreciate your living life to the fullest.

Wow, you must be a hoot at parties. :huh

I wouldn't want to necessarily live kta's adventure, and obviously neither would you, but he did live it, and had the dumb luck to walk away and write about it. Do you think maybe he's learned some of the lessons you speak of from his experience? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe next time his lack of planning will kill him. But it is his adventure and many here still want to hear about it rather than dissect it and point out all of the stupid things he may or may not have done.

One of the reasons I'm intrigued is that he did do this on the bike he did it on. I get bored reading about some over equipped yahoo going on some over-planned pseudo-adventure where every possible contingency is planned for. I much prefer the ones like kta's. Remind me of some of my best trips.

There are lots of threads where the guy has GPS coordinates mapped out, paper maps, his spot, a brand new GS with everything from the touratech catalog mounted on it, along withe all the coolest gear from aerostitch , several similiar equipped friends along and enough money and credit cards to buy his way out of any predicament. You can have them. I'll take the guy crossing the world on a Ruckus and a smile anyday

I'm glad kta did it. And I'm glad he survived it. Now I'm ready to hear the rest of the story.

very well said.

So I also want to hear the rest of the story

Man oh man I cannot believe you took the route from San Isidro to San José Comondú solo! On a bike that you had to bumpstart, no less!!

I just got back from Baja with two other riders (RR forthcoming) and this stretch was the hardest part of the whole trip. It's nothing but huge grapefruit-sized rocks. We were <a href="http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9401453&postcount=7">warned</a>, so we were prepared for hard going, but there is no way I would want to be out there without a bike in good condition, supplies, and some fellow bikers!

I'm sure kta (and anyone who has actually been on that road recently) knows this, but the direness of that situation should not be brushed aside. This RR could *very* easily have ended up another object lesson for all the rest of us. Nobody uses that road anymore so you won't be getting help from passersby. Many parts are fairly technical and there's nothing to fall on except very hard rock. Bump starting? Good luck!!

This is what he went through:

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3511/3467845916_98422a77e8.jpg"/>

None of my group made it through without dropping a bike at least once.

Honestly, between trying to get through that route alone with a bike in that condition and playing russian roulette, I'm not sure which is safer.

Glad you made it back alive.

I feel you both crofrog and Oregon coast ... I think Oregoncoast may be on to something that crofrog might not be the life of the party . However, as one who is often the life of the party I take comfort from the presence of stable guys like crofrog (hmmm ... even if this thing WERE to catch on fire I'm sure crofrog could put it out .... yeah ... let's do it!)

KTA your ride report was fantastic! I've been there, done that and would do it again. I do think crofrogs warning was good too though ... there are many "less experienced riders" who read these RR's and it should be pointed out that KTA's MO isn't particularly safe or advisable ... IT SURE IS ENERTAINING THOUGH!

Seriously though, I am really glad your ok ... that sounded like a pretty bleak situation!

Rick

Hey Stick!! What's you up to and where you at? I appreciated your RR and actually followed a bunch of your routes just a few weeks behind you. I "lived" at the KTM shop in Guadalajara for 2 weeks - just missed you when my FI went out.

Yeah, I'm that guy... :)

Sooooo anyway.

damn good report....

Constructive Critism:
criticism or advice that is useful and intended to help or improve something, often with an offer of possible solutions.

It doesn't mean it's all sunshine and flowers and "well you did the best you could and that's just going to have to be good enough."

Don't get me wrong I've throughly enjoyed KTA's misadventures, but the story just as easily at a few different points ended with Kta a missing person dead in the desert. Not because he was engaged in some grand adventure, or for circumstances outside of his control, but because he failed to plan or have any respect for the task he was undertaking or environment he was in.

Cool! I just got back from two weeks in Baja, doing some of the same roads that kta did. The story is starting here: <a href="http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9646281">How I Nearly Killed My Friends In Baja</a>

Great story KTA. Glad you are OK. I love it when a trip turns into an epic, but only when looking back on it after you are out of the caca.
Good on ya.

You lived my worst nightmare come true. How did you get out of there?:huh

Forget all the backseat drivers, I wanna hear the rest of the story!

&#8230;.. I rolled around for a while and went through the normal physical inspection checklist for a crash (I crash a lot).

Once the pain subsided enough to move around I got to my feet and limped over to look at the rock.



The fork hit......



All the rocks on the right side of the road were on top of the rail before I came barreling through.



Some good luck hit when the broken metal shards in the dirt were just pieces of the clutch lever, I was worried about a cracked case.

Damage report &#8211; broken clutch lever, smashed electric controls, crushed odometer, bent handlebars, bent front rotor, bent front wheel, gas tank mounting bolts ripped from tank on right side, bent saddle bag brackets, broken headlight mounts.



I replaced the clutch lever with the spare, bent the rotor back to straight(ish) with a wrench, and adjusted the handlebars as best I could.

The engine was flooded, no doubt about that. The road was rocky and loose, I was limping and my knee was throbbing and stiff. This was going to be hard.

What ensued was a painful and exhausting combination of pushing, panting, resting, and cursing, but over the course of an hour and a mile I was able to get the bike started once again.

If only I knew where I was going. . . . I thought the crash would be the worst part of my day, but I was wrong.. . . .

DAMN! You could have been hit by a truck and done not as much damage as you did by dumping it in a rock garden!..damn

C'mon, quit draggin it out, we want the rest!!!