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Evan Tanner and Solo Exploration

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Evan Tanner was an elite level mixed martial artist and former UFC Middleweight Champion who passed away in the rural desert of Palo Verde (north of Glamis near the Arizona desert) back in September 2008 while on a solo motorcycle trip / psychological retreat aboard his KLR. He was a local to San Diego, living in Oceanside at the time and was very well received among his peers and the public at large for his caring albeit quiet demeanor.

Here is the initial SDAR thread about his passing: http://dualsport-sd.com/forums/index.php?/topic/3023-evan-tanner-dead-riding-his-motorcycle/

Back in 2008 there was some public skepticism about the cause of his death and his intentions to venture into the desert solo. In 2013, an MMA apparel company and an independent film maker produced a short video detailing his death with interviews of the volunteer rescue team, the coroner and sheriff department. Some of it is relevant to those of us who moto-explore in the deserts and should be a pertinent reminder of the potential of nature.

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Below is an article written about Tanner and his passing. The picture is a selfie taken aboard his KLR while en route: http://www.danielebolelli.com/2013/09/25/on-death-evan-tanner-daniele-bolelli/

On the Death of Evan Tanner – by Daniele Bolelli September 25, 2013 - Posted by: Jeff3 This is an article I wrote several years ago, shortly after Evan Tanner’s death.
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Evan Tanner: 1971-2008

Eddie Vedder’s voice keeps ringing in my ears. I’ve been obsessively listening to the same song for days now; “Off He Goes” by Pearl Jam. My IPod tells me I’ve now hit the play button for the 165th consecutive time. I try, but I can’t get away from this damned song. My obsession began in early September, when I received a piece of news I had never wanted to hear. “Evan Tanner is dead”. The title of the article is precise and leaves no room for hope. Apparently, Tanner ventured too deep in the deserts of Southern California and never managed to get out. Stranded with no water and no gas for his motorcycle, Tanner fought his last battle against a pitiless sun, and the sun won. The almost 120 degrees recorded that day killed him as he was trying to find a way out on foot. To the world of mixed martial arts, the 37 year old Tanner was the former middleweight UFC champion. To me, he was much, much more.

It’s not by chance that a Pearl Jam song would make me think of Tanner. The last entry in his blog told how he was listening to Eddie Vedder while he was preparing for a trip into the desert: a spiritual pilgrimage to try to rid himself of the demons that had been haunting him all his life. “Off He Goes”, in particular, seems the perfect song for Tanner, a man whose overabundant personality seems to be made to be celebrated by Eddie Vedder’s melancholic voice. When Vedder sings “It’s like his thoughts are too big for his size”, it’s as if he was speaking of Evan Tanner. It would be difficult, in fact, to come up with a better epitaph for a man like Tanner; somebody in whose veins run emotions too powerful to allow him a normal life. Whereas most human beings have an emotional range that goes from –1 when they are sad and depressed to +1 when they are overwhelmed with joy, Tanner switches from –10 to +10. For some odd reason, he was born different. From the start, destiny prepared for him a path made of broken hearts and triumphs—a wild ride that sees him homeless and alcoholic as well as UFC world champion. For any other athlete in combat sports, winning the UFC belt would be the goal of a lifetime. For Tanner, it’s barely more than a step along the way. Tanner, after all, ended up being a professional fighter almost by chance. Fighting for him is only a way to challenge his limits and forge his spirit, but his world is much, much bigger than than competitive sports.

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately—wrote Henry David Thoreau—to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” Imagine taking Thoreau’s spirit, put it in the body of a cagefighter, and maybe we can begin to get a sense of who Evan Tanner was.

His journey begins in Amarillo, Texas, on February 11, 1971. Since he was a child, Tanner doesn’t exactly fit the mold of the typical Texan. In school, he often remains silent, very quite, and extremely independent—certainly not one of the popular kids. Even his friends find him a bit weird. As Nietzsche would put it, “wild and foreign even to those who love you”. Growing up in Texas must not have been easy for a hypersensitive guy like him. Maybe this is why Tanner often seeks solitude and quietude.

In high school, however, something changes. At 15, he begins to wrestle. Contrary to nearly all his teammates, he has never wrestled before, but his talent is undeniable. The lack of experience doesn’t prevent him from becoming state champion for two consecutive years. When he walks through the halls in school, no one takes notice of him, but any time he steps on the mat everyone’s eyes are on him.

He reminds me of the Lakota hero Crazy Horse. Pathologically shy, Crazy Horse didn’t speak much. His voice was often barely more than a whisper. And he showed little interest for the things that filled the dreams of his friends. Most of the time, he is on his own. His weird behavior pushes other Lakota to nickname him “Our Strange Man”. It would be easy to ignore him or treat him like a nutcase but Crazy Horse—like Tanner—possesses an unbelievable power. Since he was young, any time he went to battle against rival tribes or the U.S. Army, Crazy Horse was invincible. Bullets would fly all around him and he would barely take notice. While everyone else dove for cover, Crazy Horse would regularly charge the enemy to rescue fallen friends. The other Lakota couldn’t help but take notice of his unexplainable, disturbing skills: he was a fighting demon who was never introduced to fear. And the same goes for Tanner. He was weird—no doubt about it. No one can understand what forces move inside of him, but everyone realizes he has access to extraordinary abilities.

After high school, his college life is quickly over—not because he lacks the grades for it (on the contrary, he makes the Dean’s Honor List), but because he doesn’t feel stimulated enough. Academic schooling doesn’t feed his restless soul: too abstract, too intellectual, too many useless notions and not enough warmth, epic challenges, life.

After a long list of odd jobs, in 1997 Tanner decides to use his wrestling experience making his debut for a local MMA promotion called Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation (USWF). Like most of his other choices, this one is not the result of a well thought of plan. He just thinks it would be a great adventure. Why not? Fighting against other touch Texans in a ring placed in the middle of a rodeo arena, usually used for cattle sales, seems to him like an experience not to be missed. His plan is to enter the tournament and then retire. He has no intention of turning fighting into a profession. Things don’t pan out that way, though. Tanner wins the tournament defeating three opponents in one night (including future heavyweight contender Paul Buentello), The audience loves Tanner so USWF calls him again to fight a championship match against future UFC and Pride star Heath Herring.

Things are getting serious here. Wrestling and athletic talent only go so far. Maybe—Tanner thinks—it would be a good idea to learn how to fight for real. The logical next step would be to join a martial arts camp, but logic is not high on Tanner’s priority list. What he does instead is precisely what any martial arts expert tells you not to do. He buys some DVDs and attempts to learn fighting by trying the moves on a friend in his living room. Like everyone knows, no one can learn just by watching videos. This is absolutely true for 99% of human beings but Tanner doesn’t belong to that 99%. This, after all, is the same man who learned how to learned how to re-plumb a house from reading a book at the library. His photographic memory allows him to remember anything he sees. He just needs to observe a technique a couple of times and soon enough he can executes it perfectly.

This impossible talent, that permits him to excel quickly in ways that normal people can only achieve thanks to years of hard work, does nothing to lessen his sense of alienation. If anything, it makes things worse. Like Crazy Horse, Tanner can do things that no common mortal can dream of, but this is a blessing and a curse at the same time. What makes him special is the same thing that condemns him to loneliness, even when he is surrounded by people who love him. No one, in fact, fully understands the dark forces lodged in his heart. Maybe this is what attracts the demons who will follow him for the rest of his life. In order to keep the demons at bay, and to overcome his akwardness in social situations, Tanner starts drinking heavy.

Despite the alcohol, Tanner gets back in the ring, and defeats Herring finding himself a champion of a sport in which he is self-taught. In the following years, he’ll defend his USWF title seven times without ever needing the judges’ assistance to win: all his USWF matches end by submission or KO.

Just to make things more interesting, when Japan calls, Tanner packs his bags and goes fighting for the Japanese organization Pancrase where he’ll defeat rising stars such as Ikuhisa Minowa, Ryushi Yanagisawa and Kiuma Kunioku. Tales of his success attract the attention of the UFC. So in 1999 Tanner debuts for the organization that will make him famous. After three consecutive wins, he finds himself fighting for the light-heavyweight title against Tito Ortiz: not bad for a guy who learned everything he knows by books and dvds! The dvds, however, are not enough to beat Ortiz who knocks Tanner out with a brutal slam. The defeat doesn’t stop Tanner who goes on to win three more fights before losing to future champion Rich Franklin.

At this juncture, it’s time to make a choice. Step one is the decision to join the legendary Team Quest, where Tanner will be able to train with champions like Randy Couture, Dan Henderson and Matt Lindland. Further, Tanner leaves the light heavyweight division (for which he was too small) and drops down to middleweight. In this division, he wins three consecutive fights (twice against Phil Baroni and once against Robbie Lawler) and earns himself a shot at the title against jiujitsu prodigy David Terrell. The demons, however, start screaming again and almost ruin everything. A disagreement with Team Quest induces Tanner to leave the team and go back to training on his own. Troubled romantic relationships push him back into drinking heavy. The title match is only two months away and Tanner is drinking so much that he can no longer keep food down. Physically, he is in horrible shape. With a titanic effort of the will, Tanner temporarily quits drinking and begins again training like a madman. Somehow, he manages to get back in perfect shape just in time to beat Terrell and become world champion. The title doesn’t stay with him long since his old nemesis—Rich Franklin—takes it away from him despite a heroic performance by Tanner. A couple of fights later, Tanner leaves the UFC. No one who drinks so much can keep competing at such a high level.

For two years, Tanner disappears from the mixed martial arts world, but legions of fan follow his adventures through his blog, where he tells with alarming honesty everything that happens to him. In early 2008, after kicking the bottle for good, Tanner attempts a very unlikely comeback to the UFC. Yushin Okami, however, is there to block his path. As Tanner will later tell, the true battle is fought after he loses in the ring. The temptation to dive back in the bottle, in fact, is insanely strong, but in what he considers the toughest challenge of his life Tanner finds the willpower not to give in to the demons.

A few months later, Tanner embarks on his last trip. In his last entries in his blog, he tells of wanting to go to the desert to cleanse himself spiritually of everything that he had had to endure in the previous years. With hindsight, the blog offers disturbing passages. Tanner freely admits that what he has in mind is an extreme adventure that could kill him. In an eerie coincidence, Tanner tells he prepares for the trip while listening to a song by Eddie Vedder taken from the soundtrack of “Into the Wild”, the movie about the life of Christopher McCandless, a young man who, inspired by Thoreau’s writings, ventured out in the Alaskan wilderness and ended up dying there. After directly mentioning McCandless, Tanner reassures his fans that he has no intention of meeting the same end. Destiny, however, has different plans. Tanner will die exactly like McCandless: killed by the nature he loves so much.

The loss of a great athlete is always sad, but the collective mourning in the MMA world reflects something deeper. What his fans love is Tanner the man even before Tanner the UFC champion. Fighting for him was only a way to touch as many people as possible, share his philosophy and inspire people he may have otherwise never met. “Believe in the power of one” was his creed. Changing oneself and the world, one person at a time, was his mission.

Considering what happened to him, it would be easy to file his passion under the heading “romantic bullshit”. It would be easy to feel pity for him, but Tanner would have none of that. As he wrote, “Now you may ask if I regret it, if I would do it differently if I could, if I would take it back. NOT A CHANCE!!!!! I went for it. I put it all on the line. I always will. I knew what the consequences would be if I failed, and I was willing to accept them. So any of you reading who might be feeling a twinge of sympathy, don’t. I made my decisions, and I accept the consequences. I’m no victim. And to those who are thinking about preaching at me, don’t bother. I won’t hear you. I haven’t accomplished anything in this life worth remembering by playing it safe. That’s boring to me anyway.”

Evan Tanner surely was not perfect, neither as a fighter nor as a man. But his irrepressible drive and his incredible heart are greater than any sterile perfection. No regrets, no complaints. The only thing Tanner made room for is a great desire to taste life in all of its intensity, even when it makes you shed tears of blood. How can we not love such a man?

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The reason I post this and post it here is the discussion of solo exploration. Tanner was an individual some of us may have known about or seen fight on television. I post the videos and links to show that he was a person just like us and to afford us a chance to possibly relate to him. We all ride.

I've ridden solo and I will continue to ride solo on occasion. I think there is something very rewarding in getting out of your comfort zone and pushing into the unknown. There is a risk we all assume while riding - some risk can be mitigated, some is explicit and inevitably there is risk which we seek out.

So, where do you draw the line on risk vs reward when it comes to riding? What are your thoughts on solo exploration - (the perils and rewards) ?

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Wow pretty amazing story and good video to watch, what bad mistakes turned into a horrible outcome. I can totally understand him going out into the desert and just being by yourself and actually finding yourself. But to do it in September by yourself and your hope of water is a 5 mile hike in new territory without proper research is dumbfounded me. I once had to rescue my friend who ran out of water while hiking in hauser canyon and put me in a situation where I had to hike an additional 3 miles to bring him water to continue the hike. He later spent 3 days in hospital from dehydration and fatigue it's a scary thing especially since was suposed to be a 4 mile hIke aND turned into 13 milesfor me. Now where ever I go I bring my spot even if it's just a 1 or 2 mile hike you never know. Planning and common sense would have saved him. How sad

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Interesting film, heat will get you. I remember riding in the desert in Mexico and having my route changed by the terrain, no big deal except it was 105 and I kept thinking if something happens I will have to wait till dark to walk out of here (stupid), I should have turned around and retraced my steps but I pushed it 45 miles down the coast till I could get down to the beach and ride back (stupid).

I think we all get the "bit in our teeth" sometimes and push to far, with a little sense and lots of luck it turns into a good story, but if something goes wrong... Anyway solo riding is fun and with some caution quite doable, to bad his story turned out so bad. If only ...

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I look at it a little different. It was simply dudes time. I know of many that were prepared to the utmost and still were called home. Somehow I'm still here. By all accounts I shouldn't be but here I sit typing this. I'm going to live and take it as it comes. If I get a hair up my ass to do something I'm gonna do it. My time is my time and no amount of preparing is going to change it.

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Wow pretty amazing story and good video to watch, what bad mistakes turned into a horrible outcome. I can totally understand him going out into the desert and just being by yourself and actually finding yourself. But to do it in September by yourself and your hope of water is a 5 mile hike in new territory without proper research is dumbfounded me. I once had to rescue my friend who ran out of water while hiking in hauser canyon and put me in a situation where I had to hike an additional 3 miles to bring him water to continue the hike. He later spent 3 days in hospital from dehydration and fatigue it's a scary thing especially since was suposed to be a 4 mile hIke aND turned into 13 milesfor me. Now where ever I go I bring my spot even if it's just a 1 or 2 mile hike you never know. Planning and common sense would have saved him. How sad

Bringing a spot or similar locater could help in many situations I have heard about.

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Bumping this thread because his passing occurred early September. Remember that in 2008 the world was different and information flow and sharing wasn't the same.  Google, satellite trackers and satellite phone technology has come a long way in nearly a decade and a half.

There is risk potential throughout life. Sometimes risk and reward can really make for a great ride.

 

 

I'd like to reopen the discussion about solo riding / the precautions You take and what reward system you get from riding.

 

 

 

76801053_evantanner.jpg.acbbfcc33086640172bca91439f5a0e1.jpg

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What a sad story that was. Most of the riding I've done in life has been alone. Partially due to preference, and partially because I'd rather ride alone than not ride, and I usually don't like to ride in large groups.

Few years back I grabbed a Garmin mini-Inreach so I could do some less-traveled Baja riding. I never even turn it on other than to check the battery a couple times a year. It's just a little peace of mind and mostly so I don't feel like a jerk to my family.

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Hope I'm not de-railing here, but I saw today that Apple's new iphone has built in satellite comms/SOS, and they say it has "crash detection" (whatever that means).

https://www.thedrive.com/guides-and-gear/apple-iphone-14-satellite-communication

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I don't know how well it works, but if it seems reliable/functional after it's been out a while, I'm going to ditch the Garmin and upgrade the phone.

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It worked quite well for my 86 year old father.  He fell and simultaneously dropped his iPhone. Suddenly there was a voice saying "are you ok?" or something to that effect.  When he didn't respond (as he didn't know where the voice was coming from), EMS was dispatched to his location.

I don't know, or trust that this works all the time, in remote areas like Baja or Anza Borrego.  Perhaps Tim (@goofy footer) knows more as he is first response.

You have the inreach mini.  Keep it.  Turn it on for the sake of your fellow SDAR members who would jump to search for you should you find trouble.  Not to mention for SAR's use.

It's a little thing, you'll probably never need.  Kind of like your helmet.

One should note from the video above,  the pace of decay from dehydration in the desert is astonishing.  It would suck if your cell phone and/or inReach Mini was 'dead' just about the time you really needed it.  But that's often times the way things go.  An ounce of prevention, and such...

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On 11/15/2015 at 9:36 PM, hobiee said:

I look at it a little different. It was simply dudes time. I know of many that were prepared to the utmost and still were called home. Somehow I'm still here. By all accounts I shouldn't be but here I sit typing this. I'm going to live and take it as it comes. If I get a hair up my ass to do something I'm gonna do it. My time is my time and no amount of preparing is going to change it.

A lot of folks see things that way, and to each his own.

If he'd have had an inReach, it wouldn't have been "his time".

To quote some ol' cowboy movie line " I aint a skeered a dyin' ".  But I have an obligation to those that love me to try not to.  Just because well prepared people perish isn't cause for me to shuck it out the window and say "whatever".  Every person of course finds their own level of risk acceptance, as they should.  I don't believe in forcing anyone to wear a helmet or carry a Spot just because that's part of my own protocol.

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That I personally may or may not be ready to die is a pretty myopic and narcissistic point of view- I don't live in this world alone, and I'm obligated to consider others. 

They may be sad, or they might celebrate- but I'm not alone.

I was an early adopter of SPOT specifically because of the tracking feature. If I die out on the trail solo, I don't want resources to be spent trying to find me with S&R folks, aircraft, wife and kid living in anxiety and emotional torture while my whereabouts remain a mystery. I don't want to be responsible for the waste of public time and money (and the chance that diverted resources will cost another person) because I was entranced with my own navel and my own existential mortality.

Perfect example of this is the guy who rode Otay alone a few years ago, and had a (reported) cardiac event. Hundreds of volunteers wasted their time and energy because he simply could not be bothered to consider his family and carry a locating device. Was it two weeks before his body was found? Two weeks of hell for that guy's family.

Scrape me up off the desert floor (you might want to bring a truck) and be done with it. Strip all the good parts off my bike before it's impounded. My wife can more quickly cash in my measly life insurance policy and, after an appropriate week or so of mourning, easily find a far more prosperous individual with whom to share her remaining years.

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I've had an in reach mini for a while now - simple - nice safety thingy to have. 

As for Solo Travel, the biggest Solo I did was from San Diego, up the Eastern side of CA (dipped in to nv a couple times) on in to central/Eastern Oregon, camping along the way. I chose correctly in terms of twisty uninhabited roads in norcal and southern Oregon, just glorious. Camped in Prineville a couple nights (exactly where I grew up fishing and camping with my dad) then headed west down the Oregon coast, stayed in the redwoods a night, then the old highway 1 out directly on the coast down to the narrow redwoods, and cut back inland for the final stretches. 

I enjoy riding with friends, but that 8 days on the bike by myself, just me, the bike, and my full camping load was truly awesome. Highly recommend fucking off for a week or so on your bike by yourself and camping along the way to somewhere and back. That trip was 95% paved, but was absolutely glorious because I picked the right ways to go, and Listened to friendly locals that wanted to give me routing ideas the entire way. Here is some pics from that trip.

Edited by shutterrev
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On 9/8/2022 at 9:28 AM, shutterrev said:

Highly recommend fucking off for a week or so on your bike by yourself and camping along the way to somewhere and back.

I logged a fair amount of solo miles last year mainly because aligning schedules for trips is quite difficult. I enjoyed it all and don't regret a single trip. I'd love to take a buddy and share the stoke with them but it doesn't always happen.

 

On 9/7/2022 at 8:53 PM, bfar33 said:

Most of the riding I've done in life has been alone. Partially due to preference, and partially because I'd rather ride alone than not ride

i-5fbLTgb-X5.thumb.jpg.a55b7bd110f17fe25300dbd282f86b19.jpg

 

"I'd rather ride alone than not ride" -- I definitely agree there. Maybe I could plan better and farther in advance to ensure a ride partner but sometimes a hair up your ass and a spur of the moment opportunity align and you just gotta get the ride done.

What bike is that? Catavina?

 

 

_______________________________________________________________________________

 

I borrowed an InReach Mini and a Spot during my 2 different trips last year and will borrow / rent one again in the future. The InReach Mini's connectivity to my phone through the app was easy and worked fine.

It's an excellent backup and emergency plan for me. I did communicate random intel through the InReach which both provides assurance to my friends and myself that I'm being tracked. I also understand wanting to "Get Away" and standard youthful male escapism. We all ride for a Reason(s).

Having a well prepped bike and additional water are vital. NOT CRASHING is also vital and I certainly ride a few notches down when solo backcountry exploring. No need to be a hero if the cheerleaders aren't celebrating.

 

 

@Zubb I cannot say that I've responded to an iphone activation but have been to many life alert type calls. As a rider -- at this time I'm not sure I would solely rely on the apple sos technology. I still think InReach and the gps location from your phone are best. If you break your phone in a crash you're SOL but the InReach should still activate (built more rugged and no screen to crack).

 

Also -- consider the reflex time for resources. A few years back we had a member break a femur deep in Fish Creek and was flown out. Last year we had a member injured just outside Borrego Springs near Rockhouse I believe and he was flown out. One situation is a lot easier to get to than the other. 

Research at your own leisure:

https://www.airmethods.com/membership-facts/

https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises/policies-and-resources/overview-of-rules-fact-sheets

 

 

 

Iphone 14

 

 

Iwatch

 

Edited by Goofy Footer

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On 9/8/2022 at 9:28 AM, shutterrev said:

that 8 days on the bike by myself, just me, the bike, and my full camping load was truly awesome

I am far from ready for a trip of that scale but man that sounds like a great time. I need more skills related to route planning, camping, off-roading, comms gear, everything, etc. That sounds like an absolutely wonderful way to decompress, get out of the rut of work/life, and smash the reset button on mental health. New life goal added.

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57 minutes ago, Hawkins said:

I am far from ready for a trip of that scale but man that sounds like a great time. I need more skills related to route planning, camping, off-roading, comms gear, everything, etc. That sounds like an absolutely wonderful way to decompress, get out of the rut of work/life, and smash the reset button on mental health. New life goal added.

^^^^^ Those skills are heavily discussed around the campfire when I see you in Oct.

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Correction:  My dad does have a new iPhone, but apparently it was a fall detecting and SOS device he wears around his neck that sent EMS.  Not the phone.  We now know this as it's happened a couple more times.

I'm an Apple fan, but would never replace the inReach with my phone.  Would rather have the sure thing, and let the phone be redundant.

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On risk vs reward...for me, it depends.  I don't fear dying, I just don't want to rush it.  On the road, for years, I'd be out on my bike for a month or more riding solo - never even thought twice about it.  It was just what I did.  One of the questions I was asked most often by people "aren't you afraid?"  my answer was NO - what's there to fear that isn't at home.  I was on paved roads, mostly back roads, but they were paved.  YES, I was 12-13 years old in 1973 when I first saw "Easy Rider" and it was my goal to cover the US on a Harley...but I didn't have Billy riding with me...LOL

However, when it comes to riding off pavement - my lack of experience changes my thinking process.  I do think about if I go down and get hurt.  I do think about what if I'm in a ditch somewhere by myself - not sure I want it to end that way.

This is why in part I joined this site, to meet people to ride with and gain experience, also to gain knowledge from more experienced riders.  Who know's, after I have what I consider enough experience, I may go on solo trips.  I want to do the TAT and BDR's!!!

Who wants to ride with a Newbi...

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Tim I looked at the Airmethods.com link you posted. 
Boy is that an eye opener!

there are still a couple companies with booths at large rally’s (BMWMOA) selling global evac memberships. I spoke with one of them at the Springfield MO rally and I thought they did a poor job of trying to sell their services vs the $99/yr I pay inReach for global evac.  But it appears I’m wasting that money too. 
I think I’m paying about $24/mo year round for unlimited use of the inReach. 
I’ll look through the other info you posted. Thanks!

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On 9/9/2022 at 1:36 PM, Goofy Footer said:

"I'd rather ride alone than not ride" -- I definitely agree there. Maybe I could plan better and farther in advance to ensure a ride partner but sometimes a hair up your ass and a spur of the moment opportunity align and you just gotta get the ride done.

What bike is that? Catavina?

WR250R on 22 day trail, and thanks for posting the air evac info, very interesting. I've always bought one of those policies when going for a multi-day trip south of the border, guess I'll re-think that.

You're welcome to borrow my inReach anytime I'm not using it, which is usually. It mostly sits in a bin charging $15/mo to my credit card.

image.thumb.png.e295748f7af6a1a8ee95f7fb43b169c9.png

 

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A few words about air evac- there are recent laws that are intended to reduce a victim's exposure to crippling evac bills- strong limitations on billables. 

Air Evac insurance policies have fine print that is among the most deceptive I've ever seen. For example, should I be injured in a foreign country, it's not up to me to decide if I get a flight out- it's up to (guess who?) the insurance company. They are financially incentivized to refuse one's transport and can argue one's care does not warrant a flight to the US for care. I'm not really fond of that dynamic.

There are insurance policies offered by SPOT (and likely inReach) but dig through the fine print again- the insurance only goes into effect IF the rescue-related response in initiated by the device. If your buddy calls the local EMS, it will not help.

Insurance.

Legalized gambling.

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*** Research at your own peril - Goofy Footer is not responsible for any legal advice nor medical outcome! ***

All insurance plans are different. All jurisdictions having authority are different. All rescues, medical issues and emergencies are different. Your needs are different than mine.

 

That said, Garmin offers a variety of plans  -->  https://my-geos.com/products

SOS Coverage and What Happens When Triggering SOS  -->  https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=dENvi0yoo51ib0Zh8L4El6

Saved by Garmin inspirational (marketing?) stories  -->  https://www.garmin.com/en-US/blog/saved-by-garmin/

 

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@J5ive - I hope this thread is informative for you. Skills and knowledge empower solo riding (and all riding). Welcome!

 

@Zubb  $24 / month Garmin InReach likely includes your sat texting capability and possibly tracking? The actual EVAC insurance isn't widely expensive as noted in the first link above. 

 

@bfar33  dope beach pic and love the bike!  Did you replace the DR650 with a WRR for Baja?  I may take you up on that offer to Rent the InReach - I'll pay!!  Maybe we can meetup for Beers and Baja talk sometime. @Reximus is a baja junky too and needs his fix.

 

@paulmbowers  agreed - the nuances of the insurance plans are important to know. Let's say I rent @bfar33 or @Zubb 's InReach... if I activate it (not them, Me) I'm not covered in the insurance plan. If @bboyle9 activates His InReach for me, I'm not covered in the insurance plan.

 

 

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In terms of cell phones being used to access 911 - my understanding is if your provider doesn't have cell service the 911 call will route to the nearest alternative provider's tower to make the call. Ex: your verizon phone doesn't have service in Anza Borrego so the 911 call will roam and route through AT&T as a safety courtesy.

However... if you are in an area of NO cell service -- aka remote places we ride, then you are SOL and need Satellite Comms.

 

image.png.6993dc5212dc69c9ca20b0f34fb2cb29.png

 

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2 hours ago, Goofy Footer said:

Ex: your verizon phone doesn't have service in Anza Borrego so the 911 call will roam and route through AT&T as a safety courtesy.

My understanding (one should verify) is: better still- any phone, even without an active contract, will allow 911 calls. As long as there's some connection to some cell tower. Also be aware- the more remote, the less likely your location data will be available to EMS- triangulation works only with 3, right? Unless it can satellite ping (GPS chips are built into modern phones) and that data is available to EMS. Those of you using a non-activated phone for navigation should be aware of this.

Be prepared, in any emergency, to communicate GPS coordinates to EMS. My research speaking with a 911 dispatcher AND her helo-pilot fiance is any GPS format will work. 

 

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On 9/11/2022 at 11:13 AM, Goofy Footer said:

@Zubb  $24 / month Garmin InReach likely includes your sat texting capability and possibly tracking? The actual EVAC insurance isn't widely expensive as noted in the first link above. 

 

@bfar33  dope beach pic and love the bike!  Did you replace the DR650 with a WRR for Baja?  I may take you up on that offer to Rent the InReach - I'll pay!!  Maybe we can meetup for Beers and Baja talk sometime. @Reximus is a baja junky too and needs his fix.

 

@paulmbowers  agreed - the nuances of the insurance plans are important to know. Let's say I rent @bfar33 or @Zubb 's InReach... if I activate it (not them, Me) I'm not covered in the insurance plan. If @bboyle9 activates His InReach for me, I'm not covered in the insurance plan.

Sounds like @Zubb has the 'Recreation' plan, I've got the 'Safety'. Annual plan pricing is $12/25/50 for the 3 plans below.

image.thumb.png.713c7086539d948bcad80e0964e259df.png

Replaced my 3rd DR with the WR, later replaced the WR with my now 4th DR. Still not sure I made the right choice, but I do love DR650's (almost as much as DR350's). Count me in for Beers 'n Baja.

That is a very interesting point about activating for someone else. I often bring the inReach just in case I need to pop it off for another rider/hiker in trouble. I hadn't considered the insurance implications of that for me or them. I suppose if it was a true emergency I'd push it either way, but still seems like info I should know.

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I also let my wife/kid know- if there's an SOS placed by my SPOT/InReach, it may or MAY NOT be me that's injured. Might be a riding buddy.

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