Cliff? What cliff?

[CavScout]

As I dug through my video of the Washington Backcountry Discovery Route from 2011 to make a larger video, this little gem rose to the surface. This was on the morning of our second day, headed from south to north. One of the few face plants caught on video (yeah, this wasn't the only droppage on the WABDR), and thankfully not nearly has bad as it COULD'VE been, what with that cliff and all:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK5LK2yNcoE



Shiny side up!

[Dingo Joe]

needs smaller bike. good vid...

[DREW823]

WOW Glad it all worked out

[Deacon66]

Wow, great video, love having multiple angles. Glad you were able to get it down before it went the LONG WAY DOWN.

[PeterW]

I was looking at that and thinking "how the f... did he screw up so badly" .

I own a DL, that SHOULD be easy, not something you'd take casually, but not insanely tough ...

Then the final few seconds with the shot back up the track, that big rock in the shadows - oh yeah, I can understand that now .

Well done saving it, you done good !.

Pete

[Jailor8]

Im no expert rider for sure, and I may get flamed for this and if so thats fine. But Ive always been told "momentum is your friend, up hill and down".

Watching your video it seems and sounds as your almost idling up the hill... and thats fine, Sight seeing maybe? I would be. But if you would have been in a gear that would have allowed you to blip the throttle and pulled the weight off the front wheel, not really a wheelie, just as you got to that root or rock you would have rode right over it.

Were you watching the front wheel hit that obstuction? You should have been looking out ahead of it if you werent, let your periferal vision pick it up and deal with it with the throttle. Noticing where you ended up I bet thats where you were looking, Usually you ride or crash right where your looking. OR I do anyway.

Again Im no expert. In the Rockies last summer, the faster I went the better the ride, and the ability to deal with the bumps. Also I know nothing of how your bike handles, I ride a KLR. I dont know anything!!

Glad your safe and not over the edge!!! Looks like a wonderful place to ride. WHeres that Bucket list of mine ?

Jailor8

[PeterW]

Originally Posted by Jailor8

Im no expert rider for sure, and I may get flamed for this and if so thats fine. But Ive always been told "momentum is your friend, up hill and down".

Watching your video it seems and sounds as your almost idling up the hill... and thats fine, Sight seeing maybe? I would be. But if you would have been in a gear that would have allowed you to blip the throttle and pulled the weight off the front wheel, not really a wheelie, just as you got to that root or rock you would have rode right over it.

Were you watching the front wheel hit that obstuction? You should have been looking out ahead of it if you werent, let your periferal vision pick it up and deal with it with the throttle. Noticing where you ended up I bet thats where you were looking, Usually you ride or crash right where your looking. OR I do anyway.

Again Im no expert. In the Rockies last summer, the faster I went the better the ride, and the ability to deal with the bumps. Also I know nothing of how your bike handles, I ride a KLR. I dont know anything!!

Glad your safe and not over the edge!!! Looks like a wonderful place to ride. WHeres that Bucket list of mine ?

Jailor8

Let's be fair here, that was my first impression as well, but that rock is in deep shadow, invisible coming up the track. Certainly I've been tossed off tracks by more visible obstacles than that. (Deep dust filled ruts a specialty)

It's substantial, hit it fast and you'd have dinged a rim AND gone over the edge - all in all, not a bad save.


Pete

[Jailor8]

Originally Posted by PeterW

Let's be fair here, that was my first impression as well, but that rock is in deep shadow, invisible coming up the track. Certainly I've been tossed off tracks by more visible obstacles than that. (Deep dust filled ruts a specialty)

It's substantial, hit it fast and you'd have dinged a rim AND gone over the edge - all in all, not a bad save.


Pete

Im not saying Fast, because your fast is faster or slower than mine, How about this... A speed fast enough that lets your bike and load be more stable. I did mention being able to blip the throttle and unload the front wheel didnt I? No dinged rim, No crash.
Wanna bet the rider was looking right at the substantial rock or root, so by looking right at it rode right over it.

Again Im not perfect, Im not complaining here, but trying to help. But I have rode a few miles on a overloaded KLR. I learned so much out west this year and just thought I would try to pass along what became painfully obviously to me after just a few days. And what other much more experienced riders told me to do. Took a while for my ego to except their advice.

J8

[CavScout]

Originally Posted by Jailor8

Im not saying Fast, because your fast is faster or slower than mine, How about this... A speed fast enough that lets your bike and load be more stable. I did mention being able to blip the throttle and unload the front wheel didnt I? No dinged rim, No crash.
Wanna bet the rider was looking right at the substantial rock or root, so by looking right at it rode right over it.

Again Im not perfect, Im not complaining here, but trying to help. But I have rode a few miles on a overloaded KLR. I learned so much out west this year and just thought I would try to pass along what became painfully obviously to me after just a few days. And what other much more experienced riders told me to do. Took a while for my ego to except their advice.

J8

I was up ahead of these two inmates, and ripped through this section about twice as fast. I remember hitting this obstacle and thinking, "Sheesh, I hope nobody goes down on that..." It wasn't a rock; it was a line of several large, smooth, parallel roots angled towards the cliff at about 45° to the direction of travel, sticking up a good 6 inches or more. My front wheel skipped to the right several times as I rode over them, and I probably would've low-sided to the left if there had been more.

Speed was part of the issue; he should have probably been going faster. However, this section of the road is completely flat and was composed of packed dirt with a light dusting when we did it. And the view...! His front wheel cleared the first root, but tossed him off balance, and the next few redirected the front wheel to the right, the direction they angle towards.

Faster isn't always better, some people can ride slowly very well. For what it's worth, I ride a V-Strom 650, carry a lighter load, and ride much faster than my buddy in the video – and I went down about twice as much as he did on this trip! But you'll see more of that in the upcoming vids...

[longwayaround]

don't ride off the cliff
don't ride off the cliff
don't ride off the cliff....

glad everything worked out....you have quite a view from where you landed.