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Day Trip and Fall – Alamo Road, NV


Boondocker

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This isn’t the ride report I ever wanted to write, but when it happens, ‘spose I should fess up. If you’re put off by damage and injury, go back now.

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36.943756938891156, -115.20672809535372

 

On a cool, clear, late October day I set out for a 2-4 day back-country explore on my Tenere 700.  Alone of course because that’s my M.O. The first leg was from Las Vegas, across the Desert National Wildlife Refuge along the Alamo Road to Alamo, NV. From the Ranger Station at Corn Creek, its 75 desolate miles to Alamo. I passed one vehicle, a couple of hunters spotting for the upcoming Big Horn Sheep season. They said they might go down to the lake bed but probably not because they didn’t want to mess up their expensive Raptor pickup truck. I’ve ridden this route to and fro on my WR250R, camping gear and all. It’s a rough dirt road all the way with some tricky bits around the dry lakebed.

 

This is the area. 

 

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Didn’t plan on stopping here but the bike had other ideas, it just stalled. Stopped, restarted, put in gear, stalled again. Can you guess?

 

Peaking underneath revealed some damage around the side stand pivot, must have hit a rock.

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Apparently the impact was enough to open the side stand safety switch. I’m generally not in favor of disabling safety mechanisms, but this call was made for me. Didn’t have any electrical connectors in my tool kit (got some in there now), but I had recently rebuilt my GPS power harness using Posi-lock connectors,

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so I cannibalized that harness for a connector.

 

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If I needed the GPS I could run it on its internal battery for a while.

 

The lakebed is about 50 miles out from Corn Creek Station. I was puttering along nicely, probably second gear when – poof! A cloud of silt dust, the front end tucked and as soon as my head hit the ground, I knew I was crashing. I remember hitting my head in my brand new Leatt helmet and sitting or lying on the ground in a cloud of dust. Removing my goggles eliminated half the dust. My bell was ringing but I had the presence of mind to crawl over to the bike and turn off the ignition. A quick check for loose or missing body parts (mine) revealed a sore left ankle. The bike didn’t look horrible, having landed in soft dirt.

 

Picking up the T7 is challenging for me. As much as I hate lugging my bulky, heavy moto jack, I did. Thank goodness. I could barely lift the bike two-legged; one-legged not so much.

After getting the bike raised, jack visible in this picture.

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The bike had some scuff marks and a dangling left front indicator light and half ripped off OBR ADV tool bag that was mounted to the left side Givi engine guard.

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Even though the inboard rubber tab loops on the light were broken, I was able to pop it back in place and it held all the way home. The bag, containing cold weather gloves, held on too.

 

Ankle was pretty sore, figured I sprained it. For the record – Boots: Alpinestars Toucan (Tech 7 base) and Alpinestars knee braces. I tightened my boot a little more. I already knew that carrying on would be folly. Amazingly there was a cell signal, so I called my wife to let her know the change of plans and admitting why I would return home in about 3-4 hours. Didn’t get pictures of the bike down as I was too busy trying to save my sorry butt.

 

The ride out was challenging enough. The return on my deflicted left leg was downright retarded. Up-shifting is overrated anyway. Really appreciating the flexible (low lugging – high revving) CP2 engine.

 

Unfortunately, I wasn’t done crashing. On a long, rocky, uphill section, the rear lost traction, spun 180 and dumped me on volcanic rocks. Both crashes happened so quickly and I hit the ground so hard that I don’t know exactly what happened. Pretty sure I hit my head again though as I remember rolling ass-over-teakettle. This time I had to drag the bike off the embankment (wheels up of course) and into a rut before I could jack it upright. Couldn’t park the bike to get my gear so had to “ride” it about 50 meters back down to a suitable turn-around spot. Hobbling back up the hill for my gear drove the injury point home. At least I took the opportunity to clear some loose rocks out of the best path of travel. Hobbling back down was less fun. In hindsight, I should have taken a break and eaten something as it had been about 8 hours since I had a bite. I didn’t panic, or cry, but was pretty focused on getting out. Was even able to call home again and explain the new delay… slightly less fun than the first call.

 

Intimidation is staring up the hill that just kicked your ass and knowing you have to best it. I knew the bike could do it, just needed the rider to pluck up his courage and ride with confidence. Made it up and knew most of the hard stuff was behind me. This is where I have to give big props to Mrs. Boondocker. She knows I can do but also covers my back by calling the ranger station to let them know my predicament. She also called my next door neighbor who has done more than a few moto rescues.  Another hour and a half of steely-eyed but retarded riding got me back near Corn Creek Station when my neighbor and Mrs. caught up with me. Was going to finish the ride home but stopped to talk, put my foot down and promptly fell over because it couldn’t support any weight. Took his offer to trailer it from there. Got home, showered and went to quick-care. X-ray showed a displaced lateral fractured of left fibula, not horrible but well accompanied by knee strain and many bruises.

 

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Considering how bashed my leg is, the bike must have bounced off of it but thankfully didn’t trap me underneath. The heavy duty boots, knee braces, padded base layer, and courdura pants no doubt saved me from potentially disabling injury.

 

So I can’t ride for a while, much less walk, but that doesn’t stop me from fixing my bike. First of all, props to Yamaha for making the Tenere 700 one tough motorcycle. Tougher than me.

Damage rundown:

-          Broken FL turn signal – replaced

-          Broken FL hand guard (happened on 2nd crash) – replaced with T7- specific Barkbusters VPS. (I won’t claim that BBs are the best choice in handguards, but I wanted to try them.)

-          OBR ADV engine guard bag had 3 of 7 mounting straps ripped off. The bag is fine and it held with the remaining straps. Good stuff. As a side note, the brand new Kreiga OS12 bags, while scuffed are completely undamaged. Extra-good stuff!

-          Sheared the plastic bolt from the lower right fork protector. Thanks to @AZJW for gifting me a pair a plastic bolts last year to replace the OEM metal ones. The remaining threads were easy to back out and the original is now in place until I can source more plastic bolts.

-          The left side Givi engine guard bent into the plastic fairing. Picture below shows how I used a couple of loop straps and a big lever (floor jack handle) to persuade the guard back into alignment.

-          3” Crack on the left front fairing but no apparent damage underneath.

-          Left rear R&G side rack bent inboard but didn’t fail. It’s aluminum and was easy enough to bend back using a bench vice and a couple of large Crescent wrenches.

-          A few scuffs and scratches on the front left quarter of the bike but no Yamaha bits broken apart from the turn signal and handguard.

-          Leatt helmet is a write-off

 

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It’ll be a couple of months before I can walk normally and ride again. The takeaway for me is the wakeup call that my days of riding solo in rough, remote areas are done. I owe that to Mrs. Boondocker and my aging body.

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Thanks for sharing Boondocker. I appreciate learning from other's adventures and mishaps. It won't necessarily prevent me from having my own, but there's always something to learn. Looking back on my own crashes many which happened on mountain bikes, it seemed it was usually in a spot where I was just cruising along, a grin on my face, and next moment I was eating dust. 

 

As someone who rides solo almost exclusively, I don't take this stuff lightly. Heal up fast and get back out there!  

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Sorry to hear about your leg but glad you were able to self rescue.  It sounds like a difficult and painful experience that many would not have been able to complete. 

 

Do you carry any type of rescue beacon like a Garmin inReach or PLB?  They are nice to have when you can't get a cell signal. 

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@Boondocker The reason for all of this is evident, your Yamaha flag hung vertically in the garage drained all the good juju out! 😉

Seriously,  using your MotoJack twice in one day is a record nobody wants to beat, but good on you for having it and making the outcome to this story a lot better than it could've been.  It sounds like you had a hellva day, but thanks for sharing as it gives the rest of us facts to contemplate regarding our own self rescue capabilities and backup plans.  Lots of armchair quarterbacking can be done, but it's best done by the participant as you have all the facts and nobody else was there. 

 

Most ride reports are fun to read and make us dream a little more about traveling, but one's like yours are necessary for the reality check we need to keep us planning for when things don't go as planned.  Being in the EMS business for more than a dozen years I've seen a lot worse outcomes and not diminishing your injury, but really glad yours was not as bad as it could've been.

 

Wishing you a speedy and complete recovery and please update with any additional information or planned added equipment so that we can learn from your experience.

 

P.S.  I'll see if I can scare up another plastic screw for ya. 😉

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"Men do not quit playing because they grow old, they grow old because they quit playing" Oliver Wendell Holmes - Mods - HDB handguards, Camel-ADV Gut guard, 1 finger clutch, The Fix pedal & Rally pipe, RR side/tail rack, RR 90nm spring & Headlight guard, Rally seat, OEM heated grips- stablemate Beta 520RS

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Thanks for sharing Boondocker!

Get well soon, and good to read your spirits are still high.

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@Boondocker, You must have been a boy scout as you were prepared. Good job at getting out of that mess. I tell myself to give up riding off road alone, but i still sneak out for a short one occasionally.

 

Getting older and fragile (I know it well)... you are not alone (I bet lots of guys have pictures to share)!

This was 16 years ago for me. I healed up well, but a bit of arthritis starting now...

 

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We are all tattooed in our cradles with the beliefs of our tribe

~Oliver Wendell Holmes~

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Wow, what a story Boondocker!  Im sorry for you mishaps, and maybe even more sorry for the loss of your future remote trips.  Im always wanting to find a take away lesson from mishaps too, and in this story your bike jack jumps right up to front and center!  I do alot of solo as well.

 

Heal up quick! 

 

 

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Thanks for sharing. These shared episodes help many others learn about preparation and safety. I don’t ride alone off road. Any off road. I learned that lesson. And I carry a Somewear unit for communication via satellite. Proof that the T7 when crashed right can withstand a lot of abuse. Get well soon. 

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14 hours ago, Hollybrook said:

<Do you carry any type of rescue beacon like a Garmin inReach or PLB?  They are nice to have when you can't get a cell signal. >

@Hollybrook I carried Spot Tracker for a long time but finally could no longer justify the subscription price for the value I was getting. It's basically the "insurance" conundrum.  That being said, I've been encouraged to reconsider, maybe an InReach this time with more flexible messaging capability and rate plans would increase my value proposition.

3 hours ago, AZJW said:

@Boondocker The reason for all of this is evident, your Yamaha flag hung vertically in the garage drained all the good juju out! 😉

Seriously,  using your MotoJack twice in one day is a record nobody wants to beat, but good on you for having it and making the outcome to this story a lot better than it could've been.  It sounds like you had a hellva day, but thanks for sharing as it gives the rest of us facts to contemplate regarding our own self rescue capabilities and backup plans.  Lots of armchair quarterbacking can be done, but it's best done by the participant as you have all the facts and nobody else was there. 

 

Most ride reports are fun to read and make us dream a little more about traveling, but one's like yours are necessary for the reality check we need to keep us planning for when things don't go as planned.  Being in the EMS business for more than a dozen years I've seen a lot worse outcomes and not diminishing your injury, but really glad yours was not as bad as it could've been.

 

Wishing you a speedy and complete recovery and please update with any additional information or planned added equipment so that we can learn from your experience.

 

P.S.  I'll see if I can scare up another plastic screw for ya. 😉

@AZJW I didn't know about the flag juju. As soon as I can climb a ladder, I'll rectify it. I have 3 Yamahas in the garage, so the juju juice should refill.

I love a good ride report or moto adventure story as much as the next guy and suspect that many "unfortunate" stories go unreported. After all, it's embarrassing to admit "failure".  My trip didn't go according to plan, so that was a failure. On the other hand, I had a challenging "adventure" by overcoming the unexpected and pushing some personal limits, so there is positive takeaway. That's why I decided to write it instead of hide it.

 

2 hours ago, Hibobb said:

@Boondocker, You must have been a boy scout as you were prepared. Good job at getting out of that mess. I tell myself to give up riding off road alone, but i still sneak out for a short one occasionally.

 

Getting older and fragile (I know it well)... you are not alone (I bet lots of guys have pictures to share)!

This was 16 years ago for me. I healed up well, but a bit of arthritis starting now...

 

 

@Hibobb Yes, an Eagle Scout, to this day. I'll still solo most of the time to my favorite, local off-pavement haunts and longer "road trips" too.  It's the more challenging and/or remote venues that I need to get in the practice of partnering up for.

 

To everyone who responded so kindly - thank you for your well-wishes, suggestions and concerns. I'm a self-described loner but enjoy being part of this community. While I had moments of doubt when me and the bike were down, I'm can hardly wait to get back in the saddle.

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The new iphone 14 can do sat com emergency. Some carriers will give you one for free with a new contract.  Check out this PLB - no subscription - McMurdo FAST FIND 220. Glad you are rethinking it. Maybe it will be in your Christmas Stocking this year...

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