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To the Weestrom rider I met at Indian Creek


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Dear Weestrom rider,

     I forgot to introduce myself properly the other day but hopefully you'll recognize me from this post. I was the Tiger operator you took the time to walk all the way over the campground to introduce yourself to and I probably acted like I really wished you hadn't. I was way too wrapped up in my own thoughts and affairs and probably didn't greet you with any particular enthusiasm. For that I am sorry. 

    Hopefully you will recognize that my demeanor was in fact the dual natured beast of the solo rider. I want fellowship and comaradery, just not in great amounts. You yourself were traveling solo and looking for the "route less travelled" back to Idaho and hopefully the route I suggested turned out well for you. I can only hope you enjoy it as well as I do, as it was my second trip in as many weeks trying to see if the southerly piece of the same FS road over the Cascades was traversable (it wasn't).

For me the "adventure" part of riding is that sense of the great "ughknown" as General Yeager put it. When I have an off in the middle of nowhere it's down to me and my SPOT so to speak so I'm damned cautious of my backside. I plan extensively. I pack conservatively. I won't lie and say everything's been peachy but that to me is part of the adventure in managed risk that is riding in general.  I'll take my chances with my race lights and the elkosauruses on the FS roads as opposed to commuting it on the slab any day. Granted cars don't break across your trail at dusk in groups like elkosauruses but at least the elk move at a predictable speed and if you don't exceed 35 right around the hours of dusk you'll be fine. 

But managed risk, fellow solo rider, managed risk.

    Part of my expression towards you mayhaps Mr. Weestrom rider might have been my incredulousness that all you possessed by way of maps was your phone.  And then you asked me if I had any paper maps. As it so happens I didn't but with two handheld GPS's with backup batteries I might be forgiven. I travel light but hopefully effective, I've had cause to have a backup GPS on occasion when the primary failed so I never have sold my old one. There's another tip you get for free like when and how to travel in elk-infested areas. Slightly north of where I encountered you in darkest Clackistan as we locals call it they will charge you for the cost of your own rescue if necessary. That's if you don't get cute and wander off into tribal lands by mistake. My Native friends won't tell me WHAT exactly they do to people caught trespassing there, but I'm sure it is neither cheap nor pleasant.

Hopefully hailing from Idaho I don't have to hold forth on wildlife and the advisability of personal defense weapons and noisemakers as a defensive strategy in dealing with their potential interruptions of your reverie.

Additionally fellow solo traveler may I remind you that as of sometime in 2010-2011 the US Forestry Service has moved to what are called MVUMS for all motor vehicle travel in the forests. They are the final arbitration of where you may operate motor vehicles in federal lands and they are totally free and downloadable to your phone. Additionally they are GPS referenced for map usage in a program called Avenza which is available in both Android and iOS flavors.

So in closing dear Weestrom Rider I'd just like to say: Please educate yourself in proper risk management and your responsibilities. You technically could be fined for being on Federal lands you knew nothing about. If you continue to operate on the FS roads it is entirely possible that you will be challenged to show a current Motor Vehicle Usage Map for the area you are in. And from personal experience I can tell you you DON'T want to rely on signage as inevitably the local teens think it's great fun to steal and or shoot them up. And let's not dwell on the fact that if/when you DO need help you will have no practical way of letting them know where you are other than cell triangulation. I'd like to mention the gentleman that froze to death with perfectly good cell coverage on Mt. Hood here, a very tragic case. It took some number of years until they finally found his remains IIRC, but it seems as if someone dies in the Mt. Hood National Forest every year.  I'm sorry Mr. Weestrom Rider if this seems harsh, but your lack of preparedness was very off-putting to me and makes me question my own wisdom in riding in the woods solo. 

But as I said a "spirit" of adventure if you will, a sense of wonder at what things might lurk just over that rise or around that bend and the marvel at the way it all unfolds as you ride through and "in" it. Just please for everyone's sake try to educate yourself a bit better and don't become another big bike casualty out there in the big empty for lack of education. It's all there for the taking and freely available to those who would look and can act on what they see.

And to the rest of you Big Bike types.....move along, nothing of interest here. Only of potential interest to the lone-wolf type rider who might be as amazed as I was at the way some of our brethren convey themselves out there.

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Sorry fellas,

      Was at Tim McGraw/Faith Hill show with Wife for 25th Anniversary last night so I didn't answer right away. Sorry to use this as a shout box, Eric but this kind of thing is real common here not just motorcyclists, either. Every year people die in the SAME relative ares due to lack of preparedness and just plain having any sense. Although I frequently act in the negative, I do NOT believe in the death penalty for stupidity or ignorance.

     I suppose I'm using the space to try to get people to think about what our responsibilities are out there. This guy got my goat because I feel it's kind of rude to be out in the big empty without a map. I wouldn't go to his State (I have already) without a map. Heck, they even post signs there that you are responsible for the cost of search and rescue. Here in Oregon, they don't bother. They just give you the bill. So viewed from a certain light, I'm providing a community service announcement for us big bikers. -" Have an MVUM on the forestry roads-it's the freakin' law". 

      Additionally, I'll be far more impressed at your acumen by having proper maps than by any Hepco-Becker gear you may be sporting.

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