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Sorry to hear about your crash Milt. You sound as if you are unhurt which is
the main thing.
I'm not sure what you mean by my "death march". We've christened that puddle
(pond?) you decided not to cross as Lake Milt.
If it will make you feel any better let me tell you my story of woe. The
weekend before last I and my nephew were supposed to meet Dave at Whitcomb
Summit for a ride to route sheet the rally loops. As usual I was late and
Dave had given up on me and gone home.
Owen and I unloaded the bikes, the TA for me and my MT250 for him. You may
remember it because of its strawberry injector oil. I didn't bring the maps
because Dave said he had some new routes and would bring his.
Owen and I did the first loop from memory without problem. We refilled the
250 and took off on the 2nd loop. It went well but we had extra time before
getting back to WS to meet Beth so I suggested we go exploring.
Off down this road we went and didn't worry as it kept getting smaller and
rougher. Finally we were down to single track when we came upon a couple of
hikers. Since I was on the Transalp and Owen is a new rider I decided to get
advice about what was ahead. After some discussion I decided to keep going. I
was assured that the trail came out to a road at the bottom of a steep hill.
The hikers seemed to think that we could make it down without too much
difficulty. And they were right. It was steep but by being careful we got to
the bottom with no problems.
But that's were our problems began. We lost the trail and it was too steep to
go back up. After half an hour of mucking about we found the hiking trail and
began to follow it. Problem #2 - the river. I was trying to decide how best
to ford it since it was only about 20" deep and about 30' across but Owen
wanted to try the foot bridge. Good idea but the end of the bridge was 30" in
the air. So we lifted the 250 pound MT up and onto it with only minimal
grunting and took it across. Then came the 400 pound TA. With much huffing
and puffing we finally got it up and across.
Problem #3 - We are now on a hiking trail that has steep inclines with roots
and sharp turns. Nothing you can get a run at and no traction. More huffing
and puffing.
And it's getting late, and dark. Finally we just left the bikes in the woods
and walked out by flashlight. We must have walked a couple of miles before we
got to the road and it all looked nasty. When we got to the road we flipped a
coin as we had no idea where we were.
A mile and a half later we came to a village and knocked on the first door we
came to. A 75 year old woman came to the door and answered our plea for water
and a phone. I called Beth on her cel phone and found out that she had called
out the State Police since we were 2 1/2 hours overdue. The woman said that
it would be easier for her to drive us to WS than to give Beth directions and
have her get lost. What a kind soul.
When we got to WS there were two cruisers waiting. I went to tell them we
were OK but Beth got me first and started giving me hell. The cops just stood
there trying not to laugh at the shit I was getting. They probably thought
that anything they were going to say was easy compared to what I was getting.
Believe me, it was a very cold and silent ride home to CT.
-- Aftermath --
I called Dave the next morning and asked if he would come help me get the
bikes out of the woods. I knew where the trail ended and so we hiked in from
there. Where it seemed like a mile or two at night it was less than half a
mile in the morning. It must have been because it was pitch black and we were
so exhausted.
The bikes started ok and we pushed them up the first incline and got going.
We go stuck a couple of times but nothing that was a show stopper. The big
deal was that the trail was 6" wide next to a 25' drop into the river in a
couple of places. Not a good place to slip or slide.
Then we got to a spot where the TA was just not going to go. A slick slope
with roots sticking out and a tree to go around. No amount of pushing a
shoving was getting it up and over. Luckily I had brought a block and tackle
so we put a tie down around a tree and then hooked onto the TA's frame. It
finally budged.
Just as we were getting going again a group of young (18-20's) hikers came
by. The first informed us that motorized vehicles were prohibited on this
trail. I explained that I had gotten lost and certainly had no intention on
being here. She repeated that I wasn't supposed to be there and I tried to
be reasonable. Finally, she led her merry band ahead but each one of the
little tree huggers had to repeat that motorized vehicles were prohibited.
Not one of them offered to help us and I was ready to wipe the smirk of the
face of the last one with a tire iron. I can only hope that when one of them
needs rescuing that I'm there to proclaim that motorized helicopters are
prohibited and they can limp out with their broken leg.
Dave and I finally got out from there without further incident and got the
bikes loaded on my trailer. Dave got his map out and we checked it for the
route Owen and I had taken. It started out as a double dashed line and then
just ended. No single dashes or dotted lines, nothing until we got to the
trail along the river.
But we got through it in one piece. Beth calmed down after a few days of
reminding me that this wasn't the first "adventure" I'd ever had. I must
admit that I didn't know there were so many synonyms for "stupid" and "dumb".
Owen wasn't too put off by it all and wants to try it again in the spring but
probably with a map next time. I'm going to be working out with weights this
winter so that I can pick up a Transalp single handed.
Lastly, I'd still be there pushing the TA if it weren't for Dave's help.
Thanks!
I only wish I'd taken some pictures. ;)
J.
31 Oct 2004
