Thursday am Tombstone is breaking nice and sunny.
The thunderstorms the night before wreaked lots of havoc on this
previously dry area. Locals report plenty of roads out or underwater, and
the hotel the TeamStrange staff currently resides in is housing many area
residents who simply can’t get home due to the flash flooding.
Will this affect the riders later today? Hopefully…..
Before 9am Thursday the first riders were already trickling in regaling
the staff with their tales of woe.
Canada’s favorite Irishman Fergus Hand is looking more beat than we’ve
ever seen him before. His reports of mishaps galore the previous evening
naturally brings joy to the hearts of your evil rally masters. “The road
to Lochiel was just terrible” Fergus declared. After the fourth water
crossing, I knew it was either going to be cry or keep trying to make it
until something broke. The last water crossing had me thinking about
looking for a boat to get across—I finally had to give up and turn
around.
“That’s not the worst of it” Fergus went on. “The road is within a
half-mile of the Mexican border at times, and after awhile all I kept
hearing was this whup-whup-whup sound. I finally looked up and realized I
was being followed by a Border Patrol helicopter. They probably didn’t
think a motorcycle out there at 3am was up to any good.”
While the sad tale didn’t necessarily earn Fergus the sympathy he might
have hoped for, it did cause TeamStrange Staffer David E. B. Smith to pose
the question “If an Irishman living in Canada gets busted in the US
trying to sneak into Mexico, which country would they deport him to?”
Curt Gran reports figuring out what the rally staff was up to.
“Yeah, I saw you guys out by Gerlach” Curt says. “When I saw the
minivan with the MN plates with the bicycle on the back and the big guy in
the white T-shirt driving, I figured it had to be you…or maybe Kenny
Rogers.” We didn’t have the heart to tell Curt that while he was
roasting away in the NV heat, his lovable rally staff was in Tombstone
deciding whether to have another Dos Equis or a Corona for the next round
at the Six-gun Saloon”.
Curt went on to report that the only time he really had a problem was
“once when I stopped using the routesheets and tried to use the GPS and
my brain instead. That didn’t work to well…..”.
We’d received reports of Michael Evans failure to remain vertical at the
Bisbee bonus (the route sheet DID say minimum maintenance road…), but
Michael arrived (I’m told) with a virtually unscathed machine. Now Alex
Schmitt’s bike, on the other hand…..well, let’s just say that
scratched FJR bodywork, exhaust, misc. foot pegs, etc, will be available
on the used market soon.
Rider after rider came in to report that the bonuses on the infamous AZ
“local roads” offered up some of the most challenging and scenic rides
they’d ever seen. “Whoever found that Portal Rd bonus earned their
rally fee” said one rider. “Same with whoever sent us to Lochiel”
said another “but I’d really like to talk to whoever arranged this
weather”.
The Team Newbie LD Conglomeration of Hanson, Hanson, Berg & Sundet had
problems of a different nature. Upon arrival at their expected nights
lodging in Williams, they learned that A) the place had just been robbed,
B) police were everywhere, and C) they wouldn’t be able to check in for
some time as the crime scene was processed. Not even Carrie Hanson’s
well known aura of charm and grace could expedite the process, giving
insight into just how dire the scenario was. Team Newbie reports that they
were finally able to check in and get some shut-eye, and took a few
moments to properly chastise your event reporters for leaving Mr. Sundet
out of any reports mentioning their exploits. “Hey, he’s been with us
every bit of the way from route planning to riding—so he deserves the
credit” explained group spiritual advisor Chris Berg. “Besides. If we
screw up big time, we want to make sure he gets pulled down with us”
added Carrie’s personal Sherpa Ron.
ButtLite riders already have a reputation of tackling the toughest event
going, and when the game gets played, rider skill and determination come
into play. Witness John Coons overland route from Denio to Gerlach. This
routes existence has often been questioned by veteran LD riders—but
apparently everyone forgot to tell John. “Sure I knew it would be
rough” he said, “but figuring a conservative 40 mph average, it would
save me some 50 minutes getting to Gerlach to go that way—so I did.”
Spectators noted that John’s trusty R1100RS now sported a new logo—The
“RS” had been crossed out with a red grease-pencil, with the letters
GS written in.
Fred Drogemueller and Joe DeRyke felt the same way about Jungo Rd coming
into Gerlach from the east. “Sure it’s a dirt road—so what” Fred
asked rhetorically. It’s the fastest way in from the east if you’re
not afraid to go for it. Fred reports the road being in good condition
with much time spent at 50+ mph on his Wing. Joe Describes Jungo Rd as
being “the best Rd in Brazil”.
It’s now 10:20 p.m. Thursday night.
Riders have had their Leg 2 routesheets for more than two hours now--we
should see something start happening soon.
More as we know it.
Dirk
|