Behind sweep in the rain in PA, tired and wet and about 45 on an easy easy two track at the end of a long day. Back stepped out on the grassy strip between the two tracks and launched the bike off the edge of the "road"... If it hadn't hit that tree it would have kept going a good 60 feet down. Sorry for the low quality pic... the KLR is the dark blob about 7' below the road surface on the right. It was well past dark by the time we fished 4 guys and a strap from town, and then the 7 of us managed to LIFT the thing back up to road level. The highlight was that the rider hit the road instead of going off the edge. -Luke (of course, I was along but it wasn't me riding )
(Sorry to clog bandwidth) Here's the bike. As usual it doesn't do justice to the steepness. It was a muddy drop, you needed your hands to climb up or down and it just kept going.
[ although this one is certainly bike related, and a classic: [/quote] I love the people laughing in the background....classic
A great thread, some fantastic piccies.... You don't stop playing because you get old... you grow old because you stop playing Well this seemed like a good idea at the time.... on board camera set low down.... :eek1 Crookford Ford... no probs, bin here before www.adventure.gs
About 1/2 hour earlier, there was section of about 20 fet of ice. Mix that with a Dunlop D207, not a lot of speed, but the clutch was out, in third gear, and I got a nice highside for my trouble and recycled some plastic... Not a scratch to myself. But mangled the video camera in my tankbag. The bike lit in it's top. Now the bad part of this is that I knew there would be ice up there and had planned on going another way. Didn't. A bungi net, a couple feet of atheletic tape and we made it back to my garage. Doesn't look all that bad, do it? No glass in that mirror on the right. Dented tank, dented frame... Crushed upper fairing, mid shattered and rashed. Bent brake lever, and smashed controls on the right. Rebuilt all the plastic and switch gear and rode the beast a 100,000 miles, then sold it. Then there was this: Went on this No Whimps ride. About two hours later a fat guy falls on me and knocks me and my bike over in the wet sand. Nobody got a picture. I attempted this ride after spending the previous day at MotoVenture dirt school getting completely tired and whole body sore. I could barely move on the big pfig, but I had better skills than I had the previous weekend. Just not enough leg to hold my bike up against a little fat guy aon a big fat bike. This is the first rest stop and probably some of the easiest road we saw all day. It was a fun ride, and I would have enjoyed it more, had I not been so sore, and maybe if I was on something smaller. I did learn this though, never, ever go on a ride that is lead by some young kid on a real dirtbike. Or for that matter any old desert racer. For both these groups an easy ride is any ride that does not require emergency services, plaster or guns.
Don't assume that just because you've been following a track that it will continue... JT and I headed up to the Lefthand Canyon OHV area today (you know, where there are a gajillion jeeps and people shooting). Near the top, the beaten path suckers you into a small dead end mine complex, while the road to the top of the mountain sneaks off to the right. We took a break on the main tailings pile and JT asked about the road leading directly up. I said, "Oh it ends." I should have said "it ends in about 100 feet, around those trees... the road to the top is to the right." (I got suckered up the same road last year, but without the drama.) He thought I meant that it was a dead end at the top of the mountain (another 500 or so vertical feet up). He got his gear on before me and said "I'm heading up." I said, "Fine, I'll be along in a minute." Then he headed up the sucker road. I figured that he just wanted to explore a bit. Fine I'll wait here, turning around up there was a little sketchy last time. I didn't remember the mine shaft. At the end of the sucker road is another small tailings pile. For some reason, folks claw their way up it, then back down. Perhaps they assume the road continues. Anyway, it's steep and loose with roots sticking out. So JT got a run at it sort of diagonally, and pulled a bit of a wheelie in the process (as he likes to do). The grade switches from steep up to vertical down within a space that's difficult to stand on. So as his line of vision revealed his doom, he initiated an emergency eject maneuver. From below I saw him burst up the base of the slope before my line of vision was blocked by trees. Then I hear a yell, follow by JT rolling back down the pile, sans bike. "Are you OK?!" Long pause. "Yeah, I think I messed up my bike though." As with pretty much all old mines around here, the shaft had been either filled or blocked near the top. The open portion was about only about 6 feet deep. As the good friend I am, I first went for my camera... only to find dead batteries. We resorted to the cell phone camera. With the help of a length of webbing and a bit of grunting, the bike came up without too much fuss. Amazingly, the only visible carnage was a broken mirror mount. Ironic. He busted the very same mount in a loop-out not more than 5 miles from here earlier this fall. "You know, when you order a new one, maybe you should get more than one..."
I've see nthis pic before, and the thing that always got me was that it appears the rear wheel is still turning?? Did someonw just crawl off, swim to safety, and let it run out gas while getting a tow rope? Enquiring minds want to know..............
I think it is an illusion. muddy chain- looks like it is blurred, but really just mudcovered muddy rocks- looks like churning water and mud around rear tire, but just muddy rocks. I could be wrong.
20 years ago, sand dunes at Buttercup after some serious wind that made the dunes super soft. This is a re-enactment of my buddy going over the bars of his Husky.
YOu don't want to know. 400 pounds of bike does not reverse easily. Everyone loves Sherwood Forest road. If you decide that slick as snot mud is not really to your liking for the next 28 miles just make a u turn. As long as you need a 45 minute aerobic workout. And of course, my all time favorite bat idea :