Picto Diary - 7,8,9,10,11,12 August 2017 - Big Dog

Above: Waitress Audrey unholsters Glock. Shooters Bar and Grill. Rifle, CO. 07 August 2017.

All servers at Shooters carry openly as a measure of safety to protect their customers.

The low grade nervousness that I feel when I go into "gun free" Starbucks is absent here.

Today's bike: BMW F800GS (2012)

Route taken today: Park City, Vernal, Dinosaur, Rifle, Glenwood Springs, Aspen, Independence Pass, Buena Vista. 435 miles.

Above: Sign in Shooters Bar and Grill Window. Rifle, CO. 07 August 2017.

Town seems aptly named, in any case.

Above: Dr. Greg Frazier (Dr. G) launches the 2017 Big Dog Ride. Buena Vista, CO. 08 August 2017.

Dr. Greg Frazier. Full Blood Crow Indian. World Motorcycle Adventurer. Adventure Travel Editor, "City Bike" magazine. Author over twenty books. Inspirational guru for twenty years running "Big Dog" Ride, this year held in Buena Vista, Colorado, 7 to 10 August, 2017.

Dr. G welcomes riders to this year's event, Sumac Lodge, Buena Vista, Colorado.

Dr. G an important motorcycle guru for me over the last 20 years.

The chief Big Dog ride organizer, not pictured, is Greg's long term friend, Clem Cytowski, former owner of BMW of Denver and all around BMW "wrench."

Above: Big Dog Ride. East of Buena Vista, CO. 08 August 2017.

"A" ride (though I am a complete poseur with this group). For the first five years of doing the Big Dog event, I did many of the tough rides over the Sawatch passes... on a bigger bike than the one I'm riding today.

In past years of riding here, east of Buena Vista, I hadn't encountered anything that I thought was really over my head. So, I joined the "A" group.

But, that was then. Today was now... and on my "A" ride today I would find out how lucky i had been on past Big Dog rides by avoiding broken bone type of incidents.

My minders pictured:

Ronnie. Retired trucking company owner, Munster, TX.

Tim.. Owner insurance. agency. Minneapolis.
Jeff. Business network installation in Colorado Springs.

Brad. Commercial pilot. Philadelphia.

Prior to having reached this point, I had taken my first fall. I was riding down a steep, damp, pebbly stretch where at the bottom the center of the road was trenched in a "V" shape.. I lost the front wheel in a misguided effort to stay on the angled left side of the road above the trench. This was a doable piece for me... but, stuff happens.... the ground was damp from the previous nights rain. Possibly I needed a bit more speed. Possibly I misused my front brake, though I don't remember doing this. I've ridden enough dirt to know the sensitivity of front brake use. I was riding, perhaps, at 10 mph. I fell on my left side, and hit my helmeted head. I didn't feel concussed, but the wind was knocked out of me. I was gasping for 30 seconds or so. But, I felt ready to get up and go again after five minutes or so. I felt particularly fortunate to be in the company of my four fellow expert riders who lifted the bike back up. Also, Ronnie took out a tool from his kit and straightened a bent gear shift lever on my bike.

Above: Jeff. Big Dog ride. East of Buena Vista, CO. 08 August 2017.

The terrain/hill in back of Jeff's bike was pure etched, steep rock face for about 50 yards. Spooked, by my crash earlier, I asked Ronnie to ride my bike up this section. I walked.
Hey. I'm being honest, if not totally showing manly attributes, here!

My tires were probably over inflated for the type of terrain we were riding today. I've tended, over the years, to believe that my extra weight compensates for more highly inflated tires. I was probably wrong in making that supposition for today's ride.

Above: Bishop and his BMW F800 GS motorcycle wallow in sand (more like the sand equivalent of snow corn) east of Buena Vista, CO. Big Dog Ride. 08 August 2017.

This shot, taken at my request by Jeff... no Jeff is not taking advantage of someone else's misery.... was after the bone break fall on a rocky trail a couple of miles away... my second fall of the day.

We had encountered another steep rocky passage. I stopped, in a difficult place, to contemplate the road ahead and figure a way out. I started to let the bike roll back a bit to find a better start point, and lost my balance. The bike fell to the right and pinned my leg against a rock. When my buddies helped me up it was clear that something beyond a sore knee was going on in my leg. Jeff found me a stick to use as a cane and I walked to the point where they guys had repositioned my bike to head back down the hill. It had started to rain and it was decided we should head back to lower ground. That meant riding back to the corn gravel road seen in the image. My friends asked if I could ride. I said lets try... but, you need to help me lift my sore right leg over the seat. Once I got on the seat, and had my right foot on the peg, I felt fine. I was able to ride out.

Total, we rode through about 6 miles of this corn sand, 2 miles of the 6 after my bone break (I didn't know at this point that the bone was broken, however).. While seated on the bike, after the tibia fracture, I felt fine. My broken leg had the support of the peg. The problem was, though, I didn't have the ability, which I am used to having when riding in this type of terrain, to use my right (broken) leg as a support when needed.

Pictured is one of two such falls in the sand, riding around 5 mph. Still, for Mwah (sic) six miles in this stuff and only two falls, gimpy leg and all, is pretty good. Good riders (not Mwah[sic]) know how to shift more weight to the rear of the bike and get a bit more speed to stay on top of the sand... One other of our group went down on this stuff once.

Next day at the Big Dog Awards ceremony I was cited for "best ride out of tough terrain with a broken bone."

The riders I was with, Jeff, Ronnie, Tim, and Brad, are the best back road riders I have been with. They are as good of problem solvers and trouble shooters as they are riders. Bishop is somewhat ashamed to taking advantage of their care and expertise... though these type of guys would never let on to the fact that they might be irritated by having a weak link along on the ride.

Above: Bishop. Heart of the Rockies Regional Hospital. Salida, CO. 08 August 2017.

Fractured tibia. Instructed to get home to Park City ASAP and see an orthopaedic doctor.

They gave me a splint, some crutches and a prescription for pain killers and sent me on my way.

After dropping me off at the hospital, a 25 mile ride from the place of the broken bone incident, my four rider friends returned twenty plus miles to Buena Vista base camp. Ronnie and Tim cam back in Ronnie's truck to pick me up. Tim rode my bike back to Buena Vista base camp, Sumac Lodge.

Ronnie fulfilled the pain killer prescription for me at a nearby pharmacy.

Above: Bishop. Big Dog Ride. Buena Vista, CO. 09 August 2017.

Riders Meeting 2nd day.

Bishop was recipient of yesterday's riding award:

"Best Ride Out of Back Country with Broken Tibia."

Other awards which should have been considered:

"Doofus Award for Riding with Broken Tibia."

or,

"Bad Judgement Award for Riding with the "A" Group."

Above: Bishop and Dave (Reno, NV) at Big Dog steak dinner. 09 August 2017.

I hung out at the motel during the day. Rudy Jr. wouldn't be arriving from Park City with the F350 until late afternoon. He had 450 miles to cover to get to Buena Vista. We planned an early AM departure on the 11th back to Park City.

Rudy Jr. arrived a little later than I thought he would... circa 7:30 PM, so dinner was over. But, on arrival, the Big Dogs grabbed him, sat him down, and fed him a steak. By that time I was back laying on my bed in the motel room. Rudy Jr., came into the room after he had eaten and said something to the effect: "Hey Dad, these guys you are hanging out with are really good guys!"

That day, the 10th, disabled, I read, worked the emails/social media, and talked to some other people, part of the Big Dog group, who weren't out riding for one reason or another.

I talked with Maynard Hershon, City Bike columnist. He was in Buena Vista to meet his new boss, City Bike Editor in Chief, Surj Gish, who was participating on the Big Dog ride. I had met Surj earlier, but, didn't have a chance to talk to him today as he was out riding. Dr. G. is also a columnist (Head of Adventure Travel Desk) for City Bike.

Maynard had ridden over to Buena Vista from his residence in Denver. He was full of stories.

One story: 15 years ago, he was riding a fully restored 70's vintage BMW airhead up the California coast near Monterey. The bike, at 75 mph, started harmonically shaking. Before he could slow the bike, he was, at speed, thrust over the front fork. Luckily, he was only bruised... no broken bones.

Since he felt his bike was in excellent shape, he was troubled by the vibration that resulted in his crash. He began to do some research. He discovered some internet discussion about a part linking the front forks on this particular bike being to thin, and subject to vibration. He learned that a BMW motorcycle dealership repair facility in the Bay Area had experience fixing the flaw.

The dealer in question said they knew about the problem... knew how to fix it... but would only work on bikes they had sold. "Couldn't you just tell me what the problem is and give me some tips on how to fix it myself?" he asked. No.... no... and no.

This experience really miffed Maynard. Through other channels of information, he eventually found out what the problem with the bike was and how to fix it. A new, thicker plate connecting the forks had to be machined.

Maynard learned later that the dealer in question was concerned about liability issues when he refused to help on his bike. There had been no manufacturer recalls on the bike... back in days ('70's) when that requirement hadn't been taken too seriously by manufacturers. Yet, a few insiders, including the California dealer, knew that there was a serious problem. We have here the makings of a real cover-up, according to Maynard.

City Bike is a free periodical which survives on advertising, but not advertising from manufacturers. This independence from manufacturer obligations allows them to be one of the edgier, bolder motorcycle publications in the business. They have a circulation of 10,000, mostly in the Bay Area.

Dave, they guy I'm sitting with in the above image, is from Reno. He's an attorney. He represented "Burning Man," for about ten years. He's just your average ho hum motorcycle adventure traveler. Two recent trips: Reno to Uschuaia and back. Seoul to Tallinn. Ho hum... zzzzz... He's a non rider this event... he has a bruised hip. Dave rides the same bike I do, when he's adventure traveling: BMW F800GS.

Big Dog is a collection of unusual people. Good guys. Common love of adventure motorcycle riding. Its an invitation only event. Very little drinking. I'm lucky to keep getting invited back. My initial entre into the ride came after I started correspondence with Dr. G when he was riding in Argentina in 1998. I read one of his adventure riding columns and became very envious of the experiences he was having.

Dr. G. invited me to my first Big Dog ride in 1998, based in Red Lodge, MT. I had no experience riding big bikes off road, but, I rode my R1100GS oil head motorcycle from Park City to Red Lodge and joined in the ride.

Two experiences on that first ride in Red Lodge (one vicarious) hooked me to this type of activity. First, our B group ride, somewhere north of Cody, WY came over a rise and spooked a grazing group of over 100 wild horses. The horses stampeded from left to right in front of us, kicking up dust and commotion that was unforgettable. Most of my top wildlife sightings are connected in someway to a motorcycle ride.

Second, the "A" group wittingly or not was riding on verboten land of the Crow Indian Reservation. They were stopped by the reservation cops who were on the point of commandeering their bikes, until Dr. G., plaintively, playing the repentant Crow Indian that he was, got everybody off the hook.

OK a third story on that Red Lodge ride... a guy, Paul Taylor, who later won the Iron Butt rally, circa 2002, tried to cross a good sized mountain stream near Cooke City, MT on his R1100GS. He ended up in the middle of the river before the bike conked out. I witnessed this event. Members of our group waded out into the river, tied a rope around the bike, and we pulled the waterlogged motorcycle to shore. It took the Big Dogs only 30 minutes to totally dismantle the engine, dry out all the parts and put the engine back together again. These guys were unbelievable I thought to myself, maybe if I hung around them some more, some of their motorcycling legerdemain would rub off on me!

So... from that time - Red Lodge, I was hooked. Each of the subsequent rides, like this one in Red Lodge in 1998, have created new stories. I guess my tibia story this year will now be added to the list of Big Dog tales.

Clem Cytowski, former owner of BMW of Denver, is the main organizer of Big Dog. I'm very grateful to him for keeping me fed (a couple of great, welcome chicken burritos) and providing excellent advice on use of pain medication during my down day on the 9th.

Above: Mwah (sic) in F350 with motorcycle in the back. Green River, Utah. 10 August 2017.

Rudy Junior, round tripping 900 miles in the F350 to rescue his Dad.

Lunched at Ray's Tavern, a Utah iconic place, in Green River.

Big Dogs loaded the bike into the truck last night.

Above: TIMDT (#1 Caregiver) and Bishop. Intermountain Hospital. 11 August 2017.

Image is TIMDT and Mwah (sic) having breakfast in the hospitals cafeteria.

Through the instrumentality of FeeBee and doctor friend Joe we were able to get quickly into see the hard to get in orthopaedic doctors at Rosenberg, Cooley, and Metcalf.

Diagnosis was confirmed as a fractured tibia and a surgical solution was determined. Surgery is scheduled for Monday, 14 August 2017.

Above: Montage and 'Cake visit Bishop on his 72nd birthday. 12 August 2017. Park City, UT.

Convalescing on birthday. Welcome visit from friends.

Above: Grandkids. 12 August 2017. Park City, UT.

This image taken by Rudy, Jr. at B1B/FeeBee house, but all the grand kids visited convalescing Mwah (sic) at some point during the day.

Best birthday present of all.

Above: Two musicians. John Mayell and Bud. Image by B1B. 12 August 2017.

John Mayell concert at "The Egyptian Theater" in Park City.

Addendum:

Hi Steve, just going through emails and realized I never responded. So sorry to hear about your leg! I guess you will be getting in more reading time now. I find Grisham very hit and miss – probably his most recent that I read was Sycamore Row, which reintroduced Jake Brigance from A Time to Kill. Have you read the Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling)? The mysteries are good/not always great, but I really like the characters. Another you might like is the DI Sean Duffy series by Adrian McKinty – it’s set in 1980s Northern Ireland, gives a good view of daily life in an environment I hadn’t thought much about before....

Take care – I always enjoy reading about your adventures.

GC, Minneapolis, MN

Hi Steve….Went on a bike ride with Jim today and he mentioned that you had an accident on a motorcycle ride. Hope you are well and heal fast.

Good Luck and take care,

Microchip, Park City, UT

Great shots Steve. Thanks.
Brand, Ventura, CA



Dr. G, on seeing image of Bishop fall in sand:

Thanks Jeff! Not forget I want a couple of the HPN being towed.

Attached pic is what happened when I towed Mr. "Nevermore" some years ago. He forgot to pull in the clutch, tried to pass me on the left after the bike fired up in second gear and took me out as well as himself. We were still attached via the tow strap. I had lent him the new KLR and the result was needing new crash bars (on his loaner) and mine needing new rear bag mount and sub-frame un-tweaked, plus new mirror. The guy never offered to make good on the $'s it cost me to fix.....a prime example of THE LOST MAN. Steve was behind us, saw the whole "show."

Dr. G.

Above: True. I was riding behind. One of the great Big Dog stories. I think I labeled it a "three stooges' event at the time.

Steve,
You inspired me. I’m in the process of buying a ’95 Duc Superbike 916, just like then I used to ride. I sold it before I moved to Phoenix so I only had the Harley at that time. Check it out on eBay.  http://www.ebay.com/itm/1995-Ducati-Superbike-/232438373809?hash=item361e681db1:g:F0sAAOSwIclZh7Qt&vxp=mtr   

Obviously, I won’t be doing any long rides on it! :^)

Best,
Bob,
Washington, DC


Re: Vimy

Great summary, analysis and commentary Steve.

Archbishop,
Big Sky, MT