Hog Wild testing in the dunes and more

[Scott]

We went out to El Mirage on Saturday, and Dumont Dunes on Sunday. We needed to do more testing of the tires, suspension, and steering. The bike performed great in the hard rocky areas of El Mirage. At Dumont, the big tires worked really well, allowing us to climb to the top of the highest sand dune. Later we had a big crash, unfortunately I found that my shoulder is not as strong as the ground that I hit, so you can see the result in the X-Ray. Three hours from now I go into surgery for screws and a metal plate in my collar bone. This is just a minor bump in the road. No change in plans other than no riding for several weeks.

El Mirage:


Dumont Dunes:


My left shoulder, broken and separated bone:



Below are a few videos from El Mirage. The sad thing is our buddy was right behind us when we had our nasty crash on Sunday, and he had the helmet-cam running, but we later found that the power wire had come unplugged, so the video was blank. Major bummer, as it would have been a great video with my feet going over my head just before slamming the ground. Enjoy the somewhat less dramatic videos!

Videos approximately 5MB and 1 minute each. If anyone wants to see more, let me know.

In_The_Dust.wmv

Pit_Trail.wmv

Ride_Behind.wmv

Somehow in our crash the engine cover got a huge dent. I don't think my balls are big enough to do this, so I'm not sure how it happened. My broken shoulder was over the bars, so it could not have been that.

[Thorina]

[Pascal]

Nice pictures! Nice X-ray

Go well soon, Scott! Don't overdo to early

Best wishes from Switzerland

Pascal

[Scott]

Thanks Thorina and Pascal for your kind words. Because I had a steel plate and screws installed, my bone is already pretty strong. The doctor told me I could go riding anytime I wanted. But he was smiling when he said that, knowing the pain in my ribs and elsewhere would prevent me from riding for a while. So, I'm hoping I'll be ready in two to three weeks.

[Scott]

Two weeks after the crash things are going very well. My whole upper left side is still pretty stiff, and my ribs seem more sore than my shoulder. But overall I feel pretty good. On Saturday I took a short ride on a street bike, and it went quite well. I'm not ready to get on the sidecar, nor go off-road, but I see that coming sooner than expected. Maybe another two weeks and I can take it out for a light off-road ride. Hopefully by then Doc will pull these damn staples out!

[Don Harte]

Good news Scott, steel staples are in this year. You would fit in at any tatoo convention. Get well. Don Harte