And then there were nine!

We are in Jiayuguan. It is high Gobi Desert, about 5500 feet. There are snow capped mountains around us, but we are not in them. Today we saw, up close, the unretouched Great Wall. Not the same as for the tourists. (by Randy McClanahan)

And-then-there-were-nine
And-then-there-were-nine
It had been a tough couple days on the Epic Adventure. Three riders are now headed home after tough accidents, and we are down from the original twelve, to nine motorcycles. Yesterday our 76-year old colleague, Andre Lacy, was riding in the group on a busy city street during morning rush hour, when a heavy farm truck came across three lanes and struck his motorcycle, throwing him 30 feet in the air. Andre got up, had a few scratches, but the bike is totaled and is being shipped to the port. Andre has decided to head home to Indianapolis, where he runs a large company. He is taking it well – and understands risk as the Chair of both the Indianapolis 500 and the Indiana State Fair. However, it is still a tough thing to invest so much time and effort in an adventure like this, to have it end before it is over.

Today was an even tougher day. We were out early on the bikes in order to head northwest along the Great Wall of China, where it is possible to ride next to, and even cross over the wall, for many miles. After pictures by the wall (which is more mud here than stone, and very eroded by the centuries), we decided to take a scenic dirt road route rather than return to the paved road. (by David Fick)

And-then-there-were-nine
We encountered some mud and deep ruts, which caused Alex and Ida Lunardi to crash. They are from Jakarta, Indonesia, where they are investors, and Alex is a retired senior executive. We were directly behind them, so Lee-Ann jumped off and ran to their side while the rest of us secured the bikes. The riding medic, Mike, was by Ida’s side immediately. Her twisted leg told the story. She is very small, and Mike stabilized the injury and carried her to a break in the wall where the support van could pick her up for transport to a hospital in the next town. We all rode there and waited for the confirmation that it was broken in two places, and that she will be okay, but needed a flight to better care in a major hospital. (by David Fick)
And-then-there-were-nine

We were all able to go into Ida’s room to say tearful goodbyes to both of them, as they headed later today for an airport. We loaded their bike into the van, and it will be shipped from the next major city.
That’s three bikes with four riders down since we started riding in Riga, Latvia on July 31. There are a couple messages in this. First, everyone will be okay because all riders are wearing protective gear all the time. Ida’s injury is bad, but her biggest tears today were in saying goodbye, not because of the injury. Marilyn went down at high speed on a wet Russian road, and her bike was totaled, but she popped right up due to great Klim riding gear. She’s now riding the rest of the tour with one of the guides on the back of his bike, no worse for the wear, except maybe a little pride. Likewise, Andre was thrown a long distance yesterday after a very hard hit, which ripped the fender off the other vehicle, and his bike was severely damaged, cannot be ridden, but he has only a scraped leg.

The first lesson is that accidents are part of adventure motorcycle riding, so proper riding gear is essential.

The second lesson is that trips like this are much safer done with an organized group than individually. We are literally in the middle of nowhere much of the time, in deserts, on remote mountain roads, and far from the nearest emergency services. Having a support van somewhere nearby has been invaluable in every incident. Having a medic and professional guides to handle logistics and foreign laws was priceless.

In Russia we had two native-speaking guides. We have two Chinese guides assisting us and the lead guides here in China. Whether speaking with police or doctors, arranging for transportation, dealing with hotels, or just helping with restaurant menus, this trip would be nearly impossible without them. It is also infinitely safer than going solo. Kudos to John Jesson and his team for keeping good spirits through these challenges, and to Ron Ayres for building a great company that will carry on his tradition of upbeat adventure travel.

We’ve ridden about 8,500 miles of the planned 13,000-mile route. Tomorrow is another day, and we will miss our companions, but will mount up again in the morning and head further west, towards the Himalayas. We expect nine bikes to arrive in Hong Kong safe and sound in early October – with four couples riding two-up, three solo riders, and the two guide motorcycles, (also two-up), plus the support van containing two guides. There’s a lot more adventure to come in the interim. (by David Fick)

I’m a little bummed to have lost so many riders. It is, of course, expected in this sport, and I have been injured myself, but I’m bummed anyway! I’ll try to be happier tomorrow! (by Randy McClanahan)