Jim Hyde pulled together a diverse group of product vendors, adventure experts and even a few motorcycle dealers, including BMWVC, to offer a chance for the public to come and see what all this Adventure Life stuff is about. Many riders chose to sign up for the whole experience, for about $250 per rider you were given an all access pass, meals included, to just over three days of rides, clinics, seminars and camaraderie. For those without the time or inclination to hang for the whole event, free day passes were available which gave access to the clinics and seminars. Some of which included tire repair clinics, Warn winch demonstrations, vehicle lighting seminars, camping clinics, first aid, survival and finally a clinic on emergency field repairs, presented by our own Howard Rantz.
Howard presented a list of small, easy to carry spare parts, BMWVC's OSK (Offroad Service Kit), that if they fail could leave you stranded and while seemingly difficult to troubleshoot and replace are actually very simple fixes so long as you have the part to replace the broken one.
Toward the end of Friday we were approached by a pair of riders asking if we knew anything about the mechanical aspects of the R1200GS, Cameron and I looked at each other and laughed as Howard had just left for the day. After showing us a picture of the right side fuel injector, it was immediately apparent what the problem was, the injector connection was damaged beyond use. "So let's see the bike" I said. It was then that they informed me that they had left in on the trail.
Having been riding in the mountains about an hour away a mild spill had left the bike not performing well enough to get up a fairly steep hill and out to the highway. I asked if we could go and get it? They said "we're going to need a bad-ass Jeep or something to get to the bike though." I said "Today is your lucky day." Now all we needed was a fuel injector, as Howard had left for the day, we did not have the parts kit so the guys at Woody's Wheel Works were gracious enough to loan us an injector out of their bike.
During the drive out to the bike the two recounted the humorous details of their day since the bike started having trouble. They described in detail, an attempt of assistance by a pair of hunters on a quad that resulted in a comical maelstrom of man, machines, and guns! We were laughing pretty good when we realized that as we got further up the mountain it started to snow, and it was getting late, which meant it was getting dark.
By the time we reached the bike, about 8 miles off the highway, it was snowing in earnest. Getting to the bike was pretty easy up until the last 200 yards, but those 200 yards were of the kind that can get pretty tricky if it gets too slippery, even for a Jeep so we were growing concerned. After fighting with the fuel injector for what seemed like an eternity, I was finally able to get it back together and the bike fired right up! Now it was time to get up that hill, in the snow, on Tourances! This was not going to be fun, but it was funny ;-)
His first try was interesting, it was decided that he would go down the hill to the bottom and then get a running start at it, as he went past us with our phones recording it for posterity, things looked pretty good, and then as the road became steeper, the bike began to fishtail and then WHOMP! and he came running down the hill unable to stop in the snow, it was pretty funny. Laughs aside it was getting dark, and the snow kept falling, so I used the Jeep to tear a groove down through the snow to the nice dry dirt underneath so as to give the Tourances something to work with, but another spill and it was decided to use the Jeep and a tow strap to pull the bike up the hill. I was just getting into position, backing down the hill, when I saw the bike coming up the hill! I switched gears and got out of the way as quick as I could and ZOOM he went by me and didn't even stop, just kept going!
It took a few minutes for his friend to climb up the hill and jump in the Jeep, and we were off. When we arrived at the highway he was waiting for us, both mirrors missing from the bike, riding in the snow and now it was all but dark we quickly exchanged instructions and we were off.
About an hour later we rolled into Rawhyde, no fan faire, no welcoming committee, but that's ok we knew what we had just done, we had an Adventure, and that was just Friday.
Saturday was filled with more rides, clinics, and seminars. Attendees gathered at meal times and shared the days' experiences with each other and planned the next few hours, deciding between clinics like Emergency Flat Repair, riding in the Sand or Surviving the Unexpected, the latter of which was presented by two US Navy Seals.
There was something for everyone.
Saturday evening was finished off with a roasted pig on a spit, courtesy of Nicolas from Pizza Salad. We hovered around the roasting fire as the pig slowly turned, cooking to perfection, listening to the music of Evan, Owen and Shawn jamming on their Guitar, Electric Fiddle and Ukulele.
It was a great evening, and a great weekend. You meet the coolest people when you ride a GS.
If you are looking for someone to go on a quick GS ride or want to plan an Epic Adventure, you should check out the Facebook page and join the community!
