Hltoppr
El Gringo Spectacular!
*I'm using the "advanced" term very loosely....
Ok, so that the newbies don't feel so bad....
Coming home from the Silverton, CO Horizons Unlimited meeting, I decided to take a side route on the Mormon Trail in Southern Utah...
The beginning looked great, newly graded, and was smooth sailing...
Unfortunately for me, on a fully loaded 700lb. GS...if it's Southern Utah...there will be sand....deep sand. The result:
Not too tough to get her up again, as the rut made the bike sit up a bit. Back on the trail, the sand was consistent, but not too bad; then I passed into a rocky section. Heading up some stairsteps, the rear wheel spun on the sandy rocks....off I go again!
This time the bike is really on its side. I make an attempt to lift her...nope...another attempt...nada.
I remove my gear...it's 106 degrees and I'm sweating like a dog. Luggage comes off...hike it up the hill.
I swing the back end of the bike around, so it's not on a rock, and give my quads a squat workout. Up the bike comes, and I'm able to get it on the sidestand in gear. Okay...time to lower some tire pressures.
I start the bike up...she bellows like a diesel. BMW Oilheads have a tendency to get some oil in the opposed cylinders if they're on their sides....the ABS light begins blinking wildly...the servos don't like being at 90 degrees either, but, like any GS, you really can't stop 'em, and she revs back to life. Lighter and with less air pressure, I get going, stand up on the pegs, and make it up the twisting slope.
Not a bad view! By this time, the heat is catching up to me. I take out my water supply, which, I, not knowing I was going to do this route, partially emptied in Silverton; so I have about 1.5L left. I sit under the shade of a rock to cool off and grab a snack.
My WEMT training, and years of SAR and adventure racing tells me I've got all the symptoms of heat exhaustion...profuse sweating, thirst, a tad of nausea...not good when I don't know what the trail has in store for me....
I decide to press on; only to find a two foot stairstep around the next bend...my decision at that point is to "pop smoke" and head back the way I came. Its obstacles are known, and I'm low on water...
Back in Bluff, I find some shade by the side of a gas station, grab a gallon of water and a cup of ice....and head home to see my little girl!
So...lessons!
Agua es vida. That reminder is being written on the pannier....
Don't be afraid to turn around! Although I had my SPOT beacon on, I sure didn't want to suffer in the Utah desert!
Cheers!
-H- (Still rehydrating today....)
Ok, so that the newbies don't feel so bad....
Coming home from the Silverton, CO Horizons Unlimited meeting, I decided to take a side route on the Mormon Trail in Southern Utah...
The beginning looked great, newly graded, and was smooth sailing...
Unfortunately for me, on a fully loaded 700lb. GS...if it's Southern Utah...there will be sand....deep sand. The result:
Not too tough to get her up again, as the rut made the bike sit up a bit. Back on the trail, the sand was consistent, but not too bad; then I passed into a rocky section. Heading up some stairsteps, the rear wheel spun on the sandy rocks....off I go again!
This time the bike is really on its side. I make an attempt to lift her...nope...another attempt...nada.
I remove my gear...it's 106 degrees and I'm sweating like a dog. Luggage comes off...hike it up the hill.
I swing the back end of the bike around, so it's not on a rock, and give my quads a squat workout. Up the bike comes, and I'm able to get it on the sidestand in gear. Okay...time to lower some tire pressures.
I start the bike up...she bellows like a diesel. BMW Oilheads have a tendency to get some oil in the opposed cylinders if they're on their sides....the ABS light begins blinking wildly...the servos don't like being at 90 degrees either, but, like any GS, you really can't stop 'em, and she revs back to life. Lighter and with less air pressure, I get going, stand up on the pegs, and make it up the twisting slope.
Not a bad view! By this time, the heat is catching up to me. I take out my water supply, which, I, not knowing I was going to do this route, partially emptied in Silverton; so I have about 1.5L left. I sit under the shade of a rock to cool off and grab a snack.
My WEMT training, and years of SAR and adventure racing tells me I've got all the symptoms of heat exhaustion...profuse sweating, thirst, a tad of nausea...not good when I don't know what the trail has in store for me....
I decide to press on; only to find a two foot stairstep around the next bend...my decision at that point is to "pop smoke" and head back the way I came. Its obstacles are known, and I'm low on water...
Back in Bluff, I find some shade by the side of a gas station, grab a gallon of water and a cup of ice....and head home to see my little girl!
So...lessons!
Agua es vida. That reminder is being written on the pannier....
Don't be afraid to turn around! Although I had my SPOT beacon on, I sure didn't want to suffer in the Utah desert!
Cheers!
-H- (Still rehydrating today....)
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