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Dan Diego

Arizona Backcountry Discovery Route (AZBDR): April 17-24, 2015 (plus)

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Sorry to hear of the crash. What do they do with a bleeding spleen? surgery? What a great adventure trip that was. When you recover, post up some photos.

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Sorry to hear of the crash. What do they do with a bleeding spleen? surgery? What a great adventure trip that was. When you recover, post up some photos.

If the spleen dose not stop bleeding, must do surgery to stop the bleeding and if it is ruptured (thank god mine was not) take it out.

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Please do not let this be the big part of the ride (the crash that is), this did make it a bigger adventure though. Dan and I had a great ride and this is well worth doing. Diego will do a great ride report and I know that he will not put a lot of focus on the crash but what will be helpful for a rider who wants to do this ride. We have a lot of good information to share on this ride for those who want to do it in the future. The ride offers some of the best scenery that AZ has to offer. Diego has a special talent on putting this all together when he does a ride report.

Thank god for SPOT!

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Great ride - even better riding partner. TCOB and do as much as you can - all you can ever ask of a riding partner. Well done on both Dan's parts. Look forward to the full RR.

Heal well and quickly.

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Dan Diego....our hero! Now we have two riders with broken bones...Dan Rider and Thumper. Time for the broken bone party when everybody is healed up!!!

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Saw Dan last night and Kug and I got his bike out of the truck and into his garage. Dan's a tough guy and doing great just needs a little time to heal up and he'll be good as new and ready for another ride.

CiD

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Motorcycling is an inherently dangerous lifestyle. I hesitate to call it a sport or a pastime, as it truly is a way of life.

So it should come as a surprise to nobody that the act of getting on a speeding motorbike and going to far-off places comes with risk. James Agee said that the goal is the same: life itself; and the price is the same; life itself.

That said, I had a most excellent ride these past 10 days. There were injuries; some severe. And that just goes with said lifestyle.

So, like everyone else, I read about the Arizona Backcountry Discovery Route (AZBDR: http://www.backcountrydiscoveryroutes.com/AZBDR)and took up the challenge: A friend and I --DanRider--would ride from San Diego to the Mexican border in Arizona, then ride 750 miles through Arizona back roads to the Utah border, camping along the way.

Sounds fun, right? Right.

OK, all set. Ready for adventure. He's on a big, shiny BMW GS800; I'm on an equally large and intimidating KTM 990 Adventure. With too little pre-planning we were off and riding on Friday, April 17, 2015, en route to Bisbee, AZ; because we dilly-dallied along the way, we arrived to Sierra Vista after dark. I could then see the ride was going to be touch-and-go. Just like I like it!

We rolled up to the official start of the ride at the Coronado Monument near the Mexican border on Saturday morning. It was a beautiful day and the paved road quickly changed from gravel to dirt to a rutted trail. Ah, just what I expected.

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I should mention that I was only fairly GPS-proficient. I'd used my trusty Garmin Zumo 660 GPS on-road for years, but had never dealt with off-road tracks. That issue proved to be a recurring theme throughout the ride; a true learn as you go experience.

So off we went. We predicted the 9 sections of the AZBDR would take us 4 to 5 days to complete. We wrapped up the sections comprising the Coronado National Monument to Sonoita -- then Sonoita to Benson -- on the first day. We took a slight detour as I tweaked the route but were back on track soon enough.

The second day consisted of Benson to Mammoth, staying in Winkelman for the night. We camped right on the edge of the Gila River and talked late into the night with some new friends; locals who had us laughing all evening.

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The ride to Globe -- then to Young shortly afterward -- was challenging but scenic, with some incredibly rocky ground that resembled a lunar landscape.

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This would be the section mentioned as likely damaging to motorcycles and recommended only to expert riders. I didnt read that until later

We were really moving along. There is a series of rocky hills on the way to Young that is absolutely ludicrous; I highly recommend bypassing them. One of the high points of this ride was the Mogollon Rim. Just spectacular; some scenery not to be missed.

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We put the section between Young and Winona to bed and stayed at a KOA campground in Flagstaff for the night.

On day 4, we headed to Winona to begin section 7. The route to Cameron was eye-opening for several reasons--and, for me, the most challenging portion of the ride: over 15 miles of volcanic sand.

A friend from SDAR who'd previously ridden the AZBDR (Arnie) warned us of the ruts. Ruts, I thought? I'm concerned about these fricking rocks! In retrospect, I shouldve been concerned about the ruts...

At about 4pm, Dan and I were hustling through a hilly forested area, about 18 miles from Cameron, where we intended to stay for the evening. I was a couple hundred yards ahead of Dan, trying to simultaneously check the GPS tracks as I negotiated the rutted terrain. I suppose I was going about 30 MPH or so. In a moment I was on the ground, rolling away from my fallen bike. It appears that my front wheel was in one rut and my rear wheel in another. When the ruts took different directions, I went down hard. Surprisingly, I was uninjured and my KTM suffered only minimal damage to the left side. I put the bike upright and waited for Dan to arrive as I shook off the dirt nap. After he didnt arrive in a few minutes, I turned around and found him lying under his bike -- also in a heavily rutted area. He was in a lot of pain and stated that he'd broken some ribs. I contacted 911 and a helicopter arrived within 45 minutes. While we were carrying Dan to where the helo had landed about a mile away a Coconino sheriffs deputy arrived in a 4x4 and carted him the rest of the way. It was all pretty efficient, actually.

The final tally was 8 broken ribs and a torn spleen. Ouch!

Aristotle said that the ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances. And so he did.

If it matters, his bike was undamaged! I hid his bike and gear in the brush as the copter flew Dan to Flagstaff; a friend with a trailer arrived later that night and towed it to his place in Prescott.

After considering my options, I decided to finish the ride. On the 5th day, I headed back to Cameron where I purchased the Navajo Nation backcountry permit for $12 and immediately hit the trail for Marble Canyon. I took an alternate route to the rim of the Grand Canyon, as seen from Navajo land. There was no one there but me and it was magnificent. No tourists, no structures except an old fire ring, no sounds except the wind lightly blowing through the scrub brush. I soaked in the solitude and realized how fortunate I was to be seeing it like that.

Continuing on, I found a nice little site about 50 miles into the reservation just before dusk and set up camp.

The following day, April 23rd (my 6th day on the ride), I rode through Marble Canyon and, past the Vermillion Cliffs and down a long, silty road to the Utah border. In a way, it was a sudden, unceremonious end to an interesting ride. There I was, staring at the leaving Arizona, entering Utah sign and it just wasnt sinking in.

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I slowly rode the last 15 miles or so to the pavement and found my way to Kanab for some Mexican food and cold ones. I once again pirate camped off the main road and pointed my KTM for Prescott to meet up with a bunch of fun KLR riders for the 3rd annual Arizona Spring KLR Ride.

But thats for another report.

Here are some points I made note of:

· No real need to exactly follow the AZBDR tracks. Some of the trails are washed out or not as interesting as others nearby. The ride is yours to explore.

· Camp as much as possible; its really a great part of the riding experience. Pirate camping is best.

· Make sure your bike and medical insurance is up to date and available.

· Be familiar with the GPS tracks, your GPS unit and your AZBDR map.

· There is no such thing as too much planning.

o Talk to your riding partner(s) about contingency plans.

o What to do in a medical emergency, a mechanical failure or a personal issue: Stay together? Continue riding? Return? Plan ahead.

· Build in enough time to enjoy the ride.

o If youre pressed for time, you might want to reschedule the ride. One of the best parts of the ride are seeing the scenery and talking to folks along the way.

o Set up camp before dark so you can talk about the days ride. And plan for the next days ride.

· Gas in Arizona is less expensive than in California. Yup.

Fun facts:

· Miles traveled: 2,562 (approximately 820 of those were off road miles)

· Highest elevation: Just under 9K feet (near the)

· Lowest elevation: -75 (New River @ the I-8)

· Number of times I contacted emergency services: 2

· Number of times we dropped our bikes: 4

· Number of times I removed my front fender because mud stopped my front wheel from moving: 1

· Number of times I was advised by SDAR members to install the high fender kit because mud would stop my front wheel from moving: 10+

· Flat tires: 0

· Bent rims: 1 (slightly)

· Hotel vs campsite stays: 8/2, respectively (hospital stays not included)

· Gates opened/closed: 8+

· Shirtless hippies riding lawnmower-engine mini-bikes in the middle of nowhere: 2

· Law enforcement encounters: 0

· Highest riding temperature: 89

· Lowest riding temperature: 41 (colder at night)

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What, you only camped twice...WTH?

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What, you only camped twice...WTH?

No, we only hoteled it once!

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Maybe I wasn't clear.

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some more pics, I am sure Diego would ad to this, when you are on the rim it is just beautiful

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Great report and pics guys. :smile_anim: Too bad about the ribs and spleen but, you'll be riding again in no time! :coolio: Thanks for sharing the adventure. :thumbsup_anim:

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How did I miss this post?

Mad respect for Dan Diego. It takes a hero to care for a downed rider like that. Danrider im two days behind you.

I hope to catch up with you guys soon.

Great ride report .

I really enjoyed the camping aspect of your ride and the awsome scenery.

Thanks for posting pics.

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Let us know how your ride goes.

It takes no hero to care for a downed rider. Dan and I have put in way over 15k miles together. We're like bread and butter.

I was amazed at how he handled the situation. Calm, quiet, ambivalent to the pain. "How's my bike look?" was the topic of conversation. (Along with, "I wonder how much a helo ride goes for these days.")

Now, about using the Spot GPS Satellite Tracker to notify emergency services (and hence, our wives...): That's a whole other story.

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A heloccopter ride from corrall canyon is $46993.96

If you ride the ambulance to the helicopter throw on another $1400.00.

Having a riding buddy that will help save your life....priceless..

Thankyou Ken S.

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Wow-just went through the entire thread-im just getting back into riding and heard about this from a friend.

Is there any update on the California BDR?

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