Thursday in TombstoneAugust 11 2006 at 7:18 AM |
Dirk Diggler | |
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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 |
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