rmc_olderthandirt
~SPONSOR~
- Apr 18, 2006
- 1,533
- 8
All right, I admit it, I was a moron.
I was itching to ride and had nothing better to do yesterday so I loaded up the bike and headed out to Carnegie, a nearby state vehicle recreation area (SVRA).
First mistake: it was 104 degrees out there. It was insane to even load the bike up.
Second mistake: I didn't have a riding buddy. I figured Carnegie was crowded enough that if something happened someone would come along.
Third mistake: I didn't have a camelpack or other form of water.
Fourth Mistake: I didn't carry my fanny pack with tools and such.
Fifth Mistake: doing all the above at an area I had no experiece with.
I started riding about noon, would ride for 30 minutes or so and then come back to the truck for refreshment and rest. It was about 2:00 PM when I headed out for the last time.
This area is unlike any other I have ridden: the ground is very hard packed with a loose sprinkle on top. This makes it very slippery! Downhill was a bitch as even a light tap on the brake would lock the rear wheel up and then there wasn't enough traction to get the engine to start turning again.
I was climbing this one hill, nothing serious about it except I started loosing traction about half way up. I would slide back on the seat to get more weight over the rear wheel but then the tire would get a bite and the front wheel would lift. I bounced back and forth a few times and then just lost it.
It was a minor fall, hardly worth mentioning. I picked the bike back up, drug the front wheel downhill, hopped on and started riding back down. I shifted up to 3rd gear to bump start it (any lower gear would just lock the rear wheel).
The bike would not start.
I had a pretty long run with the engine turning a pretty good clip but it simply would not fire.
I get down off the steep part and start pushing the bike along the trail. I would occasionally get to a downhill area that I could hop on and ride, and couple times more I tried bump starting it. No go.
I was hot, I was tired, I was thirsty.
And then I get to a fork in the road. Off to the right is a single track that heads down the hill. To the left is a wider trail that goes up, probably a 20 foot elevation gain, moderate slope. I figure the single track shortcuts the wide trail and rejoins down the hill.
That was the 6th stupid mistake. First part of that assumption was correct, it does rejoin. But it made a sharp loop down and then steep back up, and now I am in a spot that is not well traveled.
I would push the bike a few feet and rest a few minutes. Another few feet and another rest. I had my helmet hanging from the handlebars.
Then I dropped the bike. I just got dizzy and couldn't hold it. It just tipped over and lay there, but the helmet went bouncing down the hill about 50 feet.
I gave up. I was too tired to even pick the bike back up so I let it lay there and I walked up the hill to a point where I could see several trails. Then I sat down and waited. And waited. And waited.
It was about 45 minutes before someone came by, a dad with his small son on a trail ~ 200 feet away. I waved, he waved back and kept going.
I was a little discouraged with that.
About 15 minutes later he returns, however, with the calvery! A ranger on a bike, another on a quad and a third in a SUV.
I must have been a bit incoherent at this point because I had a hard time explaining that I didn't really crash I was just exhausted from pushing the bike. The rangers got me some water and after a few minutes we walked down to where my bike was laying. One ranger walked down the hill to retrieve my helmet and then they helped me back to the SUV (I couldn't hardly even walk at that point). A few minutes sitting in the air conditioning and another bottle of water and I started feeling like I might survive.
They had to get another ranger to bring a truck up to load the bike up. Meanwhile they took me down to their station to check me out and file an "event" form. They took my pulse, blood pressure, checked my pupils, etc. BP was okay, pulse was racing but coming down. When the forth ranger got back with my bike he took me to my truck and even helped me load the bike into my own truck.
It was about 4:30 at this point. I slowly loaded the rest of my gear and drove home.
I think that a camel pack is going to be high on the wish list. I think I might also figure out a way to put a spare plug and wrench fastened to the bike so I can't ride off and forget it. And I think I have admit that at 52 years old I shouldn't be riding in 104 degree heat and that I seriously need to start doing more aerobic exercising.
Anyone live in the San Jose, California area that needs a riding buddy?
Rod McInnis
I was itching to ride and had nothing better to do yesterday so I loaded up the bike and headed out to Carnegie, a nearby state vehicle recreation area (SVRA).
First mistake: it was 104 degrees out there. It was insane to even load the bike up.
Second mistake: I didn't have a riding buddy. I figured Carnegie was crowded enough that if something happened someone would come along.
Third mistake: I didn't have a camelpack or other form of water.
Fourth Mistake: I didn't carry my fanny pack with tools and such.
Fifth Mistake: doing all the above at an area I had no experiece with.
I started riding about noon, would ride for 30 minutes or so and then come back to the truck for refreshment and rest. It was about 2:00 PM when I headed out for the last time.
This area is unlike any other I have ridden: the ground is very hard packed with a loose sprinkle on top. This makes it very slippery! Downhill was a bitch as even a light tap on the brake would lock the rear wheel up and then there wasn't enough traction to get the engine to start turning again.
I was climbing this one hill, nothing serious about it except I started loosing traction about half way up. I would slide back on the seat to get more weight over the rear wheel but then the tire would get a bite and the front wheel would lift. I bounced back and forth a few times and then just lost it.
It was a minor fall, hardly worth mentioning. I picked the bike back up, drug the front wheel downhill, hopped on and started riding back down. I shifted up to 3rd gear to bump start it (any lower gear would just lock the rear wheel).
The bike would not start.
I had a pretty long run with the engine turning a pretty good clip but it simply would not fire.
I get down off the steep part and start pushing the bike along the trail. I would occasionally get to a downhill area that I could hop on and ride, and couple times more I tried bump starting it. No go.
I was hot, I was tired, I was thirsty.
And then I get to a fork in the road. Off to the right is a single track that heads down the hill. To the left is a wider trail that goes up, probably a 20 foot elevation gain, moderate slope. I figure the single track shortcuts the wide trail and rejoins down the hill.
That was the 6th stupid mistake. First part of that assumption was correct, it does rejoin. But it made a sharp loop down and then steep back up, and now I am in a spot that is not well traveled.
I would push the bike a few feet and rest a few minutes. Another few feet and another rest. I had my helmet hanging from the handlebars.
Then I dropped the bike. I just got dizzy and couldn't hold it. It just tipped over and lay there, but the helmet went bouncing down the hill about 50 feet.
I gave up. I was too tired to even pick the bike back up so I let it lay there and I walked up the hill to a point where I could see several trails. Then I sat down and waited. And waited. And waited.
It was about 45 minutes before someone came by, a dad with his small son on a trail ~ 200 feet away. I waved, he waved back and kept going.
I was a little discouraged with that.
About 15 minutes later he returns, however, with the calvery! A ranger on a bike, another on a quad and a third in a SUV.
I must have been a bit incoherent at this point because I had a hard time explaining that I didn't really crash I was just exhausted from pushing the bike. The rangers got me some water and after a few minutes we walked down to where my bike was laying. One ranger walked down the hill to retrieve my helmet and then they helped me back to the SUV (I couldn't hardly even walk at that point). A few minutes sitting in the air conditioning and another bottle of water and I started feeling like I might survive.
They had to get another ranger to bring a truck up to load the bike up. Meanwhile they took me down to their station to check me out and file an "event" form. They took my pulse, blood pressure, checked my pupils, etc. BP was okay, pulse was racing but coming down. When the forth ranger got back with my bike he took me to my truck and even helped me load the bike into my own truck.
It was about 4:30 at this point. I slowly loaded the rest of my gear and drove home.
I think that a camel pack is going to be high on the wish list. I think I might also figure out a way to put a spare plug and wrench fastened to the bike so I can't ride off and forget it. And I think I have admit that at 52 years old I shouldn't be riding in 104 degree heat and that I seriously need to start doing more aerobic exercising.
Anyone live in the San Jose, California area that needs a riding buddy?
Rod McInnis
