It was going to happen sooner or later

[ajayhawkfan]

I had a great weekend of riding but it happened.

I met a friend, from Monett, MO, who also rides a GS Adventure in Fort Scott on Friday. We rode from Ft. Scott to Eureka. On Saturday we road from Eureka to Sudan and back to Fort Scott. Almost all of that trip was on gravel and I had no problems. It was wonderful scenic ride. http://picasaweb.google.com/ajayhawkfan ... 68To692007 Here are some pics from the trip.

Early this morning the Ft. Scott area got almost 3 inches of rain so the roads were a little soft in places but still passable except at low water crossings. I did not think there would be any problems riding home. I was riding along a section that follows Middle Creek in Linn County (not far from Mound City) and all of a sudden my pig lays down in the mud. I know it happened quickly but it seemed like slow motion, one second I am riding upright the next I am watching the ground rushing up to meet me and then we meet with a thud.

I was glad no one came driving down the road while I was falling or getting out of the mud. It would have been a sight. As I would try to lift my bike my feet would slide out from under me and sink deeper. After a few attempts, I got some sticks and logs to stand on so my feet could stay in one place and was able to get it up. Now I had to get it through the rest of the mud. I thought I could sit on in and slowly ride it though.....that did not work. The wheel spun digging a deeper hole so I had to get off push it backwards out of the hole and then go forward. That is when I noticed my big problem. The front wheel was not moving. Mud was packed between the tire and fender. I grabbed a stick and cleaned it out. That allowed me to push it about 10 feet before it stuck again so I repeated the process and repeated and repeated and repeated until I could get on semi firm ground. I again cleaned out around the tire again the best I could but I could not get it all. That 30 yards of mud must of taken me 40 minutes to get through.

I was covered in mud as was my bike. I must have been a sight as I road into Osawatomie. (It took $2 worth of quarters just to get all the mud out from beneath the fender.)

I knew it was happen sooner or later. I glad nothing was hurt but my pride.

[troy]

Whoa! You rode the big GS through mud so deep & sticky you packed the front fender? You are getting confident on that bike! I guess that is bound to happen with all the miles you are putting on her.

Glad you are OK...I got to imagine you'll be sore for a few days.

I rode down to Altamont, KS one weekend, and stopped in at the Whistle Stop in Osawatomie for dinner. It was VERY good, home-style food.

[safiri]

"been there, done that" as per mud in the tire to the point it won't turn. Picking up a 300 lb bike is hard enough; you really had to sweat to get the "pig" upright!

Yes, a slide does occur in slow motion. Amazing the clarity of what was happening every instant.

As I say about snow skiing: If you aint falling, you aint trying. Not happy that you fell, but glad you are ok and glad that you take the pig where a pig belongs ... dual sporting!

[ajayhawkfan]

I have been doing a lot of duel sport riding and am getting more and more confident each time I ride. I have now ridden 5600 miles, over half would be on gravel. I slow down quite a bit on my turns but I am practicing and getting quicker all the time.

I hope one of these days to get out with some experienced riders and learn some new tips.

[MacWildcat]

Seems to only take once on a big DS to learn the limits when mud is concerned. Couple years ago I had a Vstrom. Pretty capable bike until you threw mud into the ride. At that point all bets were off, mud always won.

[ajayhawkfan]

Seems to only take once on a big DS to learn the limits when mud is concerned....

I don't plan on needing to relearn that lesson.