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Riding through adversity.

cdn-bigfoot

Junior Member
Now I'm sure everyone who has ridden for any length of time has a story to tell about a bad ride or bad weather.
Sometimes it's overcoming that adversity that makes a bad ride into a feat you're proud of. And a story you'll tell over and over.

I rode 1200 miles in 4 days on a new (used) Sportster. TWO DAYS AFTER AMPUTATING MY LEFT INDEX FINGER!

Riding through Montana at the end of April with snow beside the interstate at 16,000 feet. And temperatures below freezing.

Share your story. Pictures too if possible.
 
Back in the mid seventies I'd only been riding for a few years and had little gear especially wet weather gear. Well I was about 500 miles from my Army base and had to be back the next morning so as not to be in the poo. Problem was it was just on dusk and I had not planned things very well at all. Middle of winter, freezing cold and raining for the entire 500 miles. I had a Honda 400 inline four then. Flat out at 75 MPH. I had my service boots on jeans T-shirt a gazzillion sweaters on and my military overcoat (Greatcoat in Oz language) Fullface helmet and oilskin gauntlets. Well the first 100 miles wasn't too bad even though I was cold, I was still reasonably dry. Couldn't see much due to my visor fogging up all the time so I was riding with it halfway up most of the time. By the time I had done the second 100 miles I couldn't feel my toes or fingers. I was soakingwet. Pulled my gauntlets off and all the black had leached out and turned my fingers a nice blue black colour. Thought I had frostbite but knew I still had 300 miles to go. Anyway to cut a long story short, the rain got worse, the cold got worse and by the time I finally got to the outskirts of Melbourne I could hardly move and at the first set of lights could not get my feet off the pegs. Had to pull up and stop (red light) so "bonk" over I went. Luckily no-one was around being about 3AM so managed to extricate myself from under the bike and get it off the ground and to the roadside. Once I got my body moving properly again, I was so glad that it was early morning and no traffic about. By the time I got to my base on the other side of town, I was ready to just give my bike to whoever wanted it. Have you ever got into a shower to thaw out when you are that cold. I never thought getting circulation back could hurt so much. After the day's work I went into the garage, sat next to my bike in deep thought for all of 1 millisecond before washing and polishing ready for its next outing. I had the bug bad. :s Still have.:D
 
My story is pretty mild in comparison to most, because I haven't been riding that long. Just this summer I had like 3 bees fly in my shirt at the same time...or one magic bee because I got stung like 12 times in a bunch of different places. I just couldn't get them soon enough.
 
I was enjoying a weekend of duty down south(falklands)just after the shooting stopped,and was on a can-am,doing a bit of ross country,(about all you can do down there,considering the lack of surfaced roads)did tumbledown,and mount georgia,and found myself coming up against a low(mid shin)high single strand barbed wire with curious little triangles on it every couple meters or so.(ex forces know what they were!).Checked my maps,and discovered I was on the wrong side of the wire and the other side of the little triangles was the side I should have been looking at.I had been in the minefield for a goodly few kilometers.In my panic,I tried to backtrack,and after a hundred meters or so it dawned on me to ride over the wire might be a little safer!So,I turned around,keeping to my tracks as good as I possibly could,and rode over the wire.After getting back to my unit cp,I found out my version of the minefield maps was an incomplete one,and the oc was very hasppy to have my input so they could update the maps!!!Not a word to me about my misfortune or good fortune or anything,exept is the bike fueled and paraded!
 
Well I have a few of these stories. A couple of years ago the wife and I did a 9 day trip from Virginia to Maine. We were on our 98 Softail Custom, the trip went great, no weather or mechanical problems at all untill the next to the last day on the way home. We left Augusta, ME it was cool and overcast which soon turned to light rain and progressivly got heavier and colder. We made it over 500 miles that day, we were near Harrisburg, PA when the wife said we had to stop, we were both pretty wet, even tho we had good rain gear on. The hotel we stopped at had a jaccuzi tub and we filled it with hot water and just soaked till we warmed up. I do have to say she was a trooper that day.

Another time was the ride home from Sturgis in 04. I had riden VA to Houston, TX met up with two friends then to Denver, CO and on to Sturgis. Stayed there the week and then headed home on Friday morning. The three of us left Sturgis around 10 AM and planned on riding to Iowa City for the night. One of the guys split off in Omaha and headed back to Houston. Paul and I made it to Iowa City about midnight but could not find a hotel (we did not relize the state fair was going on) We went exit to exit trying to find a hotel. Finally we had to stop for a while at a truck stop. Found a hotel at 5 AM in Davinport IA but they said we had to be out by noon. We got up at 11 and was on the road again by 12:30 after a bite to eat. Paul split off from me around Indianapolis and I continued on. It was dusk when I made it to Cincinnati (I should have stopped for the night there) and when I made it to West Virginia it was raining, not real hard but raining all the same. I made it to the West Virgina - Virginia border around sun up and finally made it home at 10 AM. That was the longest two days of riding I have ever done. 1,760 miles in 48 hours. The most disturbing part is I do not remember riding down the east side of the mountains in Virginia. I was on route 60 which is a curvy two lane road.

I really enjoy taking long trips and Know that I will have more stories but now they will be on a bike built for these types of trips. I really can't wait for the first big trip on the new Ultra.
 
Coming Back To The Up Of Mi From Wisc. After A Few Days Of Great Riding And No Rain It Was Getting A Little Cloudy . Put The Chaps And Heavier Gear On Just In Case. Shortly After A Fairly Good Rain Started. Riding The 66 Flh With No Windsheild. Of Course The Area That Your Chaps Do Not Cover Became A Bit Damp. Still Not Bad Only Two Hours To Go. Then For A Brief Couple Of Minutes It Started To Hail. Not Quite Quarter Size But Pretty Big At Sixty Mph. Well One Hail Stone Hits Wear The Chaps Don't Cover. I Think I Cried.... Spent The Night In Iron Mt And Rode The Next 90 Miles The Next Day.
 
After my heart transplant in 1987, my goals were simply to get back physically and emotionally to 100%, share all my good fortune and experiences with family and friends, especially those I have not met yet, making each day count...I have made these a kind of creedo and never take anything for granted no matter what. I always prepare for the worst, thinking of alternatives and pleasantly surprised when things go according to plan...! Life is too short, motorcycling is an experience best SHARED...you will have some resistance to it sometimes, but most everyone I know understand the Harley thing. :s

As far as adversity, I think a long solo ride far from home late at night in heavy fog is the worst...the unknown, lack of vision and control, faceshield constantly fogging, your gloves are all wet (especially the left one from wiping the facehield clear for but a moment), the air so cold that you must lay each hand on the rear cylinder fins to dry them and for warmth and no end in sight literally, except for the tailgating cager using you as interference. :(
 
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The worst/scariest ride for me that I will never forget happen about 2 months ago. I was leaving work on the way home (75 mile trip). About the time I got on my big it started raining, no big deal. Within 5 minutes of leaving it started raining so had that you could see only about 20 feet in front of you and lighting was all over the place. Not fun at all. My hour long trip took me a little over 2 hours that day. It rained a little over 3 inches from the time I left work until the time I got home. I was so glad to get home. that was the only time that when I took my rain suit off that I was soaking wet. i will never forget that trip.
 
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