And lost...

RIP Whitey. 

Going south on Snelling by Macalaster last Wed. evening and a silver Lincoln appears from the right seemingly out of nowhere across my lane. I was probably doing about 30mph and didn't even touch the brakes before I smacked him. I don't know if he was yanking a u-turn or if he came out of one of those little loading dock drives just south of Grand... but wherever he came from he was definitely not merging into traffic... I do not remember seeing him AT ALL before he was across my lane.

I flew over the hood, landed in the street in front of the car. Then got wedged under the front end of the car and was slid along for another 10 or 15 feet before coming to a stop.

Got a half dollar sized patch of rash on my left knee and a damn sore right knee, but nuthin' broken.

Arai Helmet, Vanson jacket, Held gloves, Sidi boots, (_{and Dickey double kneed jeans} ) all did their job better than expected frankly. I was a little afraid to reach down and touch my knee after that slide in jeans, but they held up amazingly well. If I would have had my leathers on with some knee armor, my right knee might not be so sore...

All I can say is this. I will discontinue the practice of riding the three "in town" miles to my shop in shorts     There is no way in hell I could have avoided that guy. I think I might have been ground down to the bone in spots if I was in shorts...

Whitey is down at Silverback. Totalled... His insurance adjuster looked a it yesterday, but I haven't heard from them yet... we'll see...

Holy Cow!!! Glad to know u didnt get hurt bad ... havent seen u or heard from u in a long time either ... That just totally sucks tho ... u spent quite a bit of time on Whitey too ... What are u gonna do now ?

Balls, dude. 

Glad you're relatively okay.

Hey Mo,
Yup 'ole Whitey had about 30,000 miles on 'er. We had a great trip down to North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky area this spring, other than that I've mostly been riding dirt. Did a couple enduros and lots of trail riding...  Nemadji, Akeley, Thielman. No cops to take the fun out.

QuoteWhat are u gonna do now ?

We'll have to see what his insurance ends up paying out for the bike. Maybe a 996,748, Hypermoto, s2r 1000 who knows.... or you can give me your 848 out of sympathy. 

I'm finally getting around to trying to plate the 610 Husky. Got the brake lights, hi-lo headlight, DOT tires, Trailtech speedo, goobered up CRG mirrors off Whitey... all I need is a horn and a sympathetic inspector to deem it roadworthy... if it does o.k. I'll look at getting some 17" wheels...

Glad you're ok. Sounds like minor bumps and bruises. Sorry about Whitey. That was one cool bike with a lot of miles/character. Godspeed whitey.

How are you doing otherwise? Has the move been good for you?

Hi Gabe,

QuoteHow are you doing otherwise? Has the move been good for you?

Jury's out on that at the moment...

    

Holy shit, Ross!  I'm glad you're (relatively) OK !!

Sorry to hear about Whitey.  Like Gabe said, you had a lot of experiences on that bike.  Hope you're healing well.

Hi Pete,

Quoteexperiences

Yeah that's an all encompassing term. I did keep it rubber side down for the last couple years though.

I thought I was doing fine until yesterday when the right knee/ankle/foot swelled up big enough that I went in and had it checked out. Doc thinks maybe torn cartilage is causing fluid build-up. Now I have a knee immobilizer and I'm supposed to stay off it. Maybe go in for MRI if not better by Tues. Not much pain really and I can walk fine, but the swelling must be a sign of something...

Hopefully it will be good enough so I can get in the trail ride down at Thielman next weekend. A little tough to kick the GasGas if I can't bend my right knee...

See Ya,

Ross

I thought it was only laborday weekend that you could ride thielman?  I was going to hit snake creek this weekend to avoid a crowd.  Plus I think you can camp there right?

QuoteI thought it was only laborday weekend that you could ride thielman?

http://www.armca.org/schedule/rec_schedule09.htm Yes camping at Thielman. Best trails in the state IMO. There are LOTS of bikes at the trailride, but you rarely see anyone out there.

Where is Snake Creek?

Kellogg MN.  It was a blast.  I was pretty much the only person there.  There were some guys with their kids for a while and some couples on 4 wheelers but theres plenty of places to pass so they never really get in your way.  It's like a 12 mile loop and takes around 20 min to do.  On my 450 I was doing 2-3 laps per tank. On the back section you can really flyI've never had as much fun on a motorcycle.  I'm new to the whole offroad thing and I see why people are so into it. My 450's a f'n bull to ride in spots but its insane power had me passing people on quads going up the steep washouts like they werent even there[bacon]

QuoteKellogg MN.

Oh o.k... Guess I never made the Snake Creek connection, always heard it referred to as "the kellogg trails"

I've thought about heading down there to check that out some time. 12 mile loop would be o.k. but it's all frickin' 4 wheeler track isn't it?

Thielman has over 50 miles. Much of it fairly tight to VERY tight single track. Same with Nemadji and Akeley.

You should REALLY get down to Thielman. I hope my leg is up to it. Maybe we'll see you down there. If I am there it will either be in my white Ford E-150 with cheap-ass trailer or in my buddy Merrill's silver Subarau Baja with his two place, much less cheap ass trailer.  I have a black and white GasGas MC 250, he's got a KLX 300. Stop by and say hi.

QuoteI've never had as much fun on a motorcycle.

Yes I agree. Dirt is where it's at. Way higher fun factor.

Yeah maybe I'll se you there,  I'm also a little battered from snake creek but my GF wants to go to camping so some laps would be in order.  I have a blue yz450f with #34 plates on it black silverado truck with CRA stickers and will be camping with my big white German Sheppard if I go.  Maybe see you there

Might not be the best place to just "camp" if riding is not your main focus. There are lots of bikes ripping around all day in the camping area which ends up looking more like a big open field/pit area at a race.

Dusty, noisy, you get the picture.

Also might be little spendy for "a few laps" since there's a entry fee, ARMCA membership, pass a 96 dB sound check.

http://www.goldeneaglesmc.org/trail_rides.htm

I think we are going back to snake creek seemed like a better camping setup and its free.  money=saved money earned[bacon]