no virgina, there is no moab

[John Biccum]

Today we rode Shaffer Trail to the Canyons in the Sky Visitor Center, then back down on Long Canyon through Pucker Pass. About 90 miles total maybe 60 or so dirt. Pic here: http://johnbiccum.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Moab-2013/29552794_RL3Lsd#!i=25270 82255 http://johnbiccum.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Moab-2013/29552794_RL3Lsd#!i=2527 082255&k=X8VK7hf> &k=X8VK7hf [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Horton Oliphant]

Cool pics! Wish I could be there. Al Henderson A13 Iowa

On 5/21/2013 10:04 PM, John Biccum wrote: > > Today we rode Shaffer Trail to the Canyons in the Sky Visitor Center, then > back down on Long Canyon through Pucker Pass. About 90 miles total > maybe 60 > or so dirt. > > Pic here: > > http://johnbiccum.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Moab-2013/29552794_RL3Lsd#!i=25270 > 82255 > http://johnbiccum.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Moab-2013/29552794_RL3Lsd#!i=2527 > 082255&k=X8VK7hf> &k=X8VK7hf > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Monty]

Those are great pictures John. Looks like you guys are having great time! Safe travels, Monty ________________________________________________ Tue May 21, 2013 8:04 pm (PDT) . Posted by: "John Biccum" johnbiccum Today we rode Shaffer Trail to the Canyons in the Sky Visitor Center, then back down on Long Canyon through Pucker Pass. About 90 miles total maybe 60 or so dirt. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Jud]

Rev, I am sorry you are missing out on Moab. of course, I am sorry I am missing out too, but not half as sorry as you must be. OTOH, it sounds like your glass is half full, and catching the aneurysm means many more Moabs instead of fewer. Then too, there are the opiates, which, if taken in the right spirit, can turn almost any disaster into a pleasant adventure in dreamland.

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "revmaaatin" wrote: > > They say if you don't practice, you will never get hurt practicing. > How does that work? > Well, don't let the bike fall on you during practice. cough. > No, don't cough. there is far to much pain. > > Prior to making the trip to Moab tomorrow, I have been riding more difficult trail sections with the KLX250. > Some trails ridden under adult supervision, some without. > > I have some enduro friends, age 69, 73, that I affectionately refer to as the Dual sport geezers, of which I am an honorary member at age 58. They on the other hand, have been competitive enduro riders since teenagers and still ride better than most people who are 25. > What could be better than follow around one of these accomplished riders? > Well, not falling down...would be a good place to start. > > During the Great Divide Ride of 2004, some post mistress in MT suggested to me, "If you are not falling down, you are not riding fast enough." > As I recall, I had the bike on top of me that day as well. shurg. > Falling down is over-rated. > The results are rarely good--at any speed. > Seems like I find the most trouble at low speeds. shrug. > > > What happened? > > While practicing last Friday for next weeks Moab, UT trip. I entered a low speed, climbing trail with a 90 degree R. turn, trash on the trail and the wheel slid while I was on the throttle in 1st gear attempting to make the turn between trees and rocks. > > It was the first time I had ridden this trail, however, I was following a someone who rides it often. > Following a geezer on a bike, how hard can it be? > Suddenly, I was just baggage on wheels as the bike landed on me with my right leg pinned below the frame at mid-calf. > Not to worry, the fuel cap managed to start pouring out on my belly which motivated me to action. > > Marginally, I was able to extract myself, and then it was all my riding friend and I could do to lift the bike as the wheels were pointed up hill and the bike had slid down hill against pine trees like a mouse in a trap. > > Somehow, between the sudden slamming into the ground and the difficult self-extraction process, I had the wind knocked out of me, deeply bruised my shin where the bike landed on me, and eventully discovered a fully dislocated rib; I don't think it was the actual dismount but the self-extraction of pushing/pulling the bike until I got it off of me wreched the rib away from its home next to the spine. > > Friday afternoon - Monday morning was uncomfortable, like someone had punched you in the ribs uncomfortable, until I twisted something just right while loading a box in the Suburban around noon on Monday. > > How can this be--after all, I even rode 45 miles of jeep trails with my son late Sunday afternoon to dusk without much discomfort. > Then, while loading a 25# box, twisting to shove it aft into the vehicle set off what seemed like Mr. Toads Wild Ride. > > With a BFO (blinding flash of the obvious) I began to think the ER was a pretty good destination; > I self diagnosed: I either had broken ribs (again) or was having another episode of kidney stones (again). > Should you wonder about a choice between being beaten with a stick or having a kidney stone--take the stick. > > After a 30 mile drive, I managed to walk into the ER just as the rib moved again. > If you are going to max the pain scale, I would say the ER is about the best place to be. > > Honda commercials used to say, You meet the nicest people...on a Honda. > Having become a frequent flyer of the ER variety, I have found that there are also some really nice people in the ER who love to see a grown man cry. > I had began to wonder if I was going to drown in my own tears, but not to worry, if your thrash around enough, they send nice looking nurses to hold your hand while you suddenly get religion. > > > "How is your pain on a scale of 10?" > It is 11 and an accelerating. > "Please lay down on the gurney"...and the rib made its final 'slipage' of its spinal location and pinched a nerve. > > I began begging, "Please, hit me with a stick." > Finally, an I-V was started, > blood drawn to feed a fleet of Dracula's, > before they would get with the program and start adding some kind of drug with a name like > 'Tornado cocktails for geezers' -- > and the pain subsided enough they could slip me into the CT scanner without the screaming patient scaring the technicians. > > The Dracula report indicated no abnormalities, > the Dr. reported the 'soft tissue' to be free of disease and without indications of broken bones. > Don't see any reason for your pain. > Perhaps it is just previous scar tissue that has broken free or irritated from your dirt-nap? > > Oh, I beg to differ. > Somewhere in my memory, I recall some sage suggesting, "You are never to old or feeble to beg...." > More happy pills prescribed, I slinked home under the watchful gaze of my bride who took in the entire process by asking, > "Do you still want me to give your cowboy hat to Jerry if this does not work out?" > > That's my girl! > > Two trips to the chiropractor this week; Thurs, Friday, I described to the quack-practor that I could feel a rib move when I rolled over in bed Wednesday evening and felt the need to seek additional medical attention. > > After the famous chiropractor inventory-beating that is $140/hr., he too could feel the rib move and vocally praised my self diagnosis. > > Yes Virginia, > You can get a compliment if you pay the Dr. enough. smile. > As a bonus, I can see that we are getting better, but the trip to Moab is a bust, or at least is 'dislocated'. > > My brother upon hearing about my latest assault on the insurance companies coffers, texted, > STOP THAT > ... as it was 7 years ago this month that I rotated over the KLR650 handle bars and broke 6 Ribs and a collar bone. > > I refuse to live my life in a box. > Riding a KLR/KLX makes for a better story and of course, girly-men can only wonder why we do such things. > > There is actually a 'silver-lining' in all this. > The CaT scan revealed I have an aneurysm in the main artery to the spleen; it would have remained unknown without the CT scan. > At least unknown until the lab students at South Dakota University did their cadaver inspection of my formaldehyde soaked hide and discovered, contrary to popular belief, > I did have a heart-- > and if I had been a girly-man, would have lived long enough to have died of an aneurysm that would have killed me if I had not rode motorcycles to distant places and met new and interesting people dressed in surgery costumes. > > The joy of growing old. grin. > More conversations with people you would never have met. cough. > It is always something new to discover. > > Life is like a lab experiment with a scientist and a rat. > Sometimes you are the scientist; sometimes you are the rat. > Sometimes you are the tail that shakes the dog as well. > Scientist, rat or dog-- > Either way, it always becomes a tail of a tale to tell. > > revmaaatin. who has been given a 14 day timeout. >