Here are a couple of pics I took in Breckenridge. Note, I had just purchased the KTM 1090 and had 3 miles on it when I went for this maiden voage by myself. This was the fat the top of the first hill climb that the 1090 purred up. She was a beast and I had a lot of fun when I ran into this group of fellow riders. There was one woman in the group, forget her name, but she and her husband were traveling for 3 months all over the place on their bikes, good for them.
The real adventure happened when I left these happy campers and went off by myself to continue the black and blue loop from a GPS file I picked up at the base camp.
Since the emergency unfolded in real time I have no pics or video of the rocky, slippery steep as heck chute that drove me and my shiny new 1090 at mach 2 towards the big A## rock back above me. Since the 1090 was new to me I hadn't figured out that the computer settings reset every-time the engine starts, not just when you turn the key off. So several minutes earlier when I started down this single track trail that I had never been on before started to get steeper and steeper to the point I couldn't see what I was getting into, I stopped and shut off the bike to help hold me in place while I pondered my options. There was zero chance to turn around, to my right was a 50% grade hill and to my left was a straight drop into a deep rocky creek, and no real idea what laid ahead, it was clear I had to go forward. So even though I had earlier turned off traction control and ABS, the computer had decided to turn them on again (but I didn't know that at the time)
As slowly continued on, I crested the final rise that dropped me into the rocky, slippery, chute from HE##. Picking up speed I tried to use the breaks to slow me down, but the computer kicked in and said (Sorry, I am confused so I am going to override your desire of self-survival and only give you 5% brakes until you are able to make smarter decisions and avoid situations like this)
All I could see (from the opposite side as the picture) was this bolder in the middle of the cute with yet another drop off. I was sure I could survive hitting it at 20 MPH but by now with maybe 5% brakes I was traveling at least 40 MPH which I calculated would case a wonderful endo with my brand new bike ending up in the cold water creek below minus at least 30% of her exterior parts. No time to think about where I might end up. I finally had to lay her into the side of the hill to scrub off speed, but luckily for the shinny new plastic and crash bars the cute was so narrow I couldn't lean over far enough but the left side foot peg seemed to grab enough earth and rocks to slow me to perhaps 20 MPH when the front wheel tried to mate with the rock above.
The momentum seemed to last for minutes, but I am sure it was less than a second, but somehow the bike stayed wedged behind the rock as I kind of crumpled onto the bars.
I sat there for several minutes contemplating if that was skill, luck, instinct, or something else that prevented this beautiful day from becoming a nightmare. With gravity doing such a good job holding the bike into the back side of the rock above, I found myself with time on my hands to think through my options. You really cant understand just how steep and lose it was going to be getting around this rock into the next rocky section.
That is when I remembered learning something from the old timers back in the desert racing days, they called it bulldogging. So climbed off on the up-hill side (thankfully was the left side), made sure the key was off, that she was in first gear and worked the front wheel back and for several minutes nudging the gal over to the side of the rock. Then using a combination of clutch and front brake we two slid down the next 50 feet or so till it became possible to get back on and try riding again. Even if my shorts were a bit moist by now.
This is what I called the good part. I was able to start riding from here and returned safely to the vendor area for the event.
When I talked to one of the KTM mechanics about the lovely computer feature that help increase my fun for the day, he laughed and said "Why don't you have the dongle" I wasn't sure I heard him correctly and wondered why he was asking if I was still really a man. Could he tell the events earlier in the day did cause a certain amount of shrinkage? How could he tell? He must have seen my face searching for a response, then he said KTM make sand sells a "dongle" the plugs into the computer that will save all over your settings from power cycle to power cycle. Ahhh, now he tell me. Trust me I was going to mention this to Tom from TJ's I knew he was coming to the event later in the week.
On a happier note, on a fresh morning, I discovered that KTM has a great sense of taste when it comes to coffee bars. How cool is that.
Here is a pick of some of the Texas guys we road with. Sorry I am bad with names and can't remember any of them except RG.
Note, if RG ever tells you he doesn't like desert, I have proof that he does and he went back for seconds!!!. How can a guy eat like that and be in such good shape?