We never know what's going to happen from minute to minute on a rally like this. The rally phone rings & we all get quiet while David says "Hello?" at least four times. After that we get "I can hear you" a couple times before we get on with the business at hand.
Rider 13 - Troy Martin was the first to call us from Independence Rock near Muddy Gap, Wyoming to inform us the bonus wasn't there. The Conestoga Wagon they were instructed to take a photo of had simply disappeared. Bart swears he wasn't hallucinating when he scouted this bonus in September & we sort of believe him. Regardless, there are other markers at the site so the riders were instructed to take a photo of one of those to prove they were there. That missing prairie schooner kept the rally phone busy most of the day.
Early in the day, near Colorado Springs, rider 88, Barry Myers' BMW K1600GTL radiator started to leak. The holiday weekend is keeping him from getting this repaired so we'll have to see what happens when things open on Tuesday.
Later in the day, rider #2, Corey Nuehring called from Belle Fourche, SD. He had picked up a bolt in the rear tire of his 2014 FJR 1300A. He still had some air in it but wouldn't for long. We got busy on social media and within a minute of posting Corey's dilemma on Facebook, we heard from John Langdell in Spearfish. He had a trailer, a tire changer AND a tire/wheel for this motorcycle. How about that. Corey & his brother/riding partner Brian met John who took them back to his house. They got the tire replaced and got fed before heading back out on the rally. This is exactly what we love about the LD riding community. This type of thing happens all the time. Strangers helping Strangers who quickly become friends. Thank you John!!!
As the rally staff was heading out to dinner in Evanston, Wyoming we heard from one of our Australian riders, Olaf Moon, rider #18. He had stopped to fill up the tank on his BMW R1200GSA in Wichita, KS. Almost immediately the bike started running poorly. Did he mistakenly put diesel in? He was able to have his insurance company arrange a tow to an auto repair shop (on a Sunday afternoon on a holiday weekend). The repairman was very helpful & they quickly discovered the tank had a lot of water in it. Talk about bad gas. There appeared to be some damage to the bike so we're waiting to hear from Olaf this morning for the full diagnosis.
After dinner we got a call from Bob Bowman, rider #64. The shock on the his 07 Honda ST1300 was giving him fits. He wanted to attempt to make it to Reno but overnight decided to head for home rather than risk riding it all the way to the checkpoint.
Rider 94, Ken Cook has decided to pull out of the rally due to illness. He's safe & comfortable in a hotel in Saskatchewan. Danny Graham, our rider from Hawaii has also decided to pull out.
While the motorcycle gods seem to be having some fun with the bikes, all of our riders are safe and that's all we care about.
Life in the rally van has been typical. Bart stayed busy yesterday doing what he does - yelling and/or laughing at the Spotwalla page.
Jonathan has a new game of counting how many times David says "hello" when answering the phone. Pedrow is recycling and I'm in the way back taking it all in.
We're careening through the canyons of northern Utah heading to Boomtown.
Happy July 4th y'all!
Rider 13 - Troy Martin was the first to call us from Independence Rock near Muddy Gap, Wyoming to inform us the bonus wasn't there. The Conestoga Wagon they were instructed to take a photo of had simply disappeared. Bart swears he wasn't hallucinating when he scouted this bonus in September & we sort of believe him. Regardless, there are other markers at the site so the riders were instructed to take a photo of one of those to prove they were there. That missing prairie schooner kept the rally phone busy most of the day.
Early in the day, near Colorado Springs, rider 88, Barry Myers' BMW K1600GTL radiator started to leak. The holiday weekend is keeping him from getting this repaired so we'll have to see what happens when things open on Tuesday.
 |
| Corey & Brian right before lunch. Or is it Brian & Corey? |
As the rally staff was heading out to dinner in Evanston, Wyoming we heard from one of our Australian riders, Olaf Moon, rider #18. He had stopped to fill up the tank on his BMW R1200GSA in Wichita, KS. Almost immediately the bike started running poorly. Did he mistakenly put diesel in? He was able to have his insurance company arrange a tow to an auto repair shop (on a Sunday afternoon on a holiday weekend). The repairman was very helpful & they quickly discovered the tank had a lot of water in it. Talk about bad gas. There appeared to be some damage to the bike so we're waiting to hear from Olaf this morning for the full diagnosis.
After dinner we got a call from Bob Bowman, rider #64. The shock on the his 07 Honda ST1300 was giving him fits. He wanted to attempt to make it to Reno but overnight decided to head for home rather than risk riding it all the way to the checkpoint.
Rider 94, Ken Cook has decided to pull out of the rally due to illness. He's safe & comfortable in a hotel in Saskatchewan. Danny Graham, our rider from Hawaii has also decided to pull out.
While the motorcycle gods seem to be having some fun with the bikes, all of our riders are safe and that's all we care about.
Life in the rally van has been typical. Bart stayed busy yesterday doing what he does - yelling and/or laughing at the Spotwalla page.
Jonathan has a new game of counting how many times David says "hello" when answering the phone. Pedrow is recycling and I'm in the way back taking it all in.
We're careening through the canyons of northern Utah heading to Boomtown.
Happy July 4th y'all!
Thanks for taking the time to do this. See you in 2018!
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to do this. See you in 2018!
ReplyDeleteA friend in need is a friend in deed! Thanks for sharing Lisa!
ReplyDelete