You're Never To Old To Be A Dumb Ass

[AintSkeered]

It's 2am and I'm grateful to be able to tell this tale, knowing full well no verbal description will do it justice. Nonetheless, I'll try. Today, my buddies would not go riding our favorite spot in the Everglades because the SFL Jeep Club told them the place was too flooded. So, I talked Keeter into going with me. I quickly discovered that the Jeep Club was spot on in their assessment of the high water level, but, marched on anyway. About 1 hour or so into the ride, under cover of darkness, I decided to cross a 20ft wide drainage ditch which I'd crossed several times before, on previous trips. Keeter had not yet caught up to me. Well, when I was more than halfway across the ditch, my Outlander Max began to float and that was when the water current(I hadn't noticed) hit me sideways. The bike turned on it's side and sunk like a rock, dragging me 30-40 ft downstream. I could not touch the bottom until the ditch began to narrow and I could grab a tree trunk with one hand, while using the other to hold up the backend of my ATV. I knew that if I let go of my bike, it would wash down to the flood control damn and be destroyed. I was completely out of Keeter's sight. As Keeter came up on the ditch and didn't see me, he turned off his bike to listen for my engine. That's when all Keeter could hear was me choking on water, somewhere down the drainage ditch, but he couldn't see me. So, I had to tell him to quickly leave his  bike on the bank and swim down the ditch to help me. It's nighttime in the Everglades and the only light was coming from my headlights, which were at the bottom of a ditch we quickly-learned was 7-8 ft deep. So, Keeter's got some rocks folks! When Keeter got to me, I was physically spent, so all he could do was tie a couple of tow straps together to keep my bike from washing away and either go get help or wait for somebody to come by. After about 20-30 minutes, we heard someone coming. Turned out to be 4 ATVers. Three of them swam down to help turn my bike right side up, pull it back across the deep water to where we could touch bottom and helped push it 30-40 ft back up the ditch against the current. Of course, during the ordeal, one of them had to remind us of the potential for alligators. Once on dry land, I survived with only a lacerated finger, lost $500 eyeglasses and lost iPhone. Then, we loaded up and went to the Publix parking lot to get the bike started, after being totally underwater for a good 45 minutes. We spent another 1-1.5 hours doing that. But, although we got it started for less than a minute, it was only by pouring gas down the throttle body and it eventually went, "clunk". That was all she wrote. So, now I've got to determine if I've seized a piston or crank bearing or burned-out starter or other electrical component. I'm not really ready to trade up to the 1000cc Outlander or Renegade, yet. Besides, availability makes them extremely pricey right now.          

[patches206]

Glad you lived to tell the tail and just remember you can alway fix im or replace im but you can not come back to life you must have had a guardian angle looking down on you.

[Anoriginal]

Glad you made it out and you and Keeter are okay.

[MedicMudder]

Well I just popped my head out of my cave to see the brite thing in the sky (the sun its called ....or so I heard ) I am studying for a Captain's Test for the Fire Dept.
16-18 hrs a day yuck! Well nuf of that ,Aint, im veeeerrrrryyyy glad you made it out of that alive!!!! sounds like that could have went real bad!!!! (recovery teams stuff like that) .I can tell you one thing Skeerrtted is some thing I would have been then some.But as in any Emergency ,you kept you head,did what had to be done.Hopefully your bike will live to ride again, it is GREAT that you will. This is why we NEVER !!! ride alone if possible.This shows to that ATVers are 99.9% good folks ,them guys jumped in to the black, dark GATER INFESTED!! water for a stranger... cool huh??.You know most of the times this story would
have started ......We were drinking and,.....                             Glad u are ok, back to my cave,and the boookzzz.

[TNTaylor]

Glad you guys made it out safe!  That takes a lot of guts to go for a ride at night when drivers of larger vehicles have already warned about the high water.  Thanks for sharing your story.

[AintSkeered]

Yes sir, had I been drinking and/or had not recently lost the extra 35 lbs I'd been carrying, it would have been a different ending. Those 4 strangers saved my bike, but, only after Keeter jumped in and helped secure it from quickly going downstream in a flash flood type of scenario. Keeter never hesitated! And, after it was over, he couldn't believe how calm I was during the action. That wasn't calm, folks. It was quiet desperation and determination.

[pywacket1955]

Glad to you both got out okay.

[Keeter]

The story is true. When I saw him disappear and then heard nothing and then heard him gulping; it was game on. Aint is a dear friend and adrenaline is the only thing that got me across that ditch. I am 6'5" and did not feel the bottom. The current was pretty strong. It took three of us to pull it back up stream and back to the trail so we could pull it out.

My bike which was pretty much just an anchor for his bike at this time because my winch quit and after sitting in water up to the seat for almost an hour my belt was full of water. After we got his bike on all fours and into knee deep water the new issue became how we were getting back to the truck. I was able to push my bike back to shallow water and drain the belt. Thank God the Polaris belt cover has an easy drain plug. So now my bike is working and the other guys left it was just me, Aint, a dead Can Am, pitch darkness, a water logged belt on my bike, and a GPS that I had forgotten how to use, having to deal with how towing his bike would work out, and finally no idea where the truck is. All of this in what the first rescuer said was "Gator water", after he said to leave the Can am and come back tomorrow to get it. This gave both me and Aint the giggles all the way home.

With the use of a flashlight and pushing some random buttons on the GPS we found where the truck was located. Thankfully enough it was less than a 1/8 mile away down a straight hard dirt road with very little water.

The 1 1/2 hour drive home after the time spent in the Publix parking lot was full of stories. Man oh Man I cannot wait to Ride with Aint again.

As always Aint "Another Successful Mission"

BTW. Aint did not know at the time I had forgotten how to use the GPS. Shhhhh

[AintSkeered]

I'm hoping to have my Canned-Ham autopsy report later this morning. I hope not, but, suspect it will need a MrRPM 975cc top end kit. http://www.mrrpmcycle.com/products/975.htm

[MedicMudder]

I crawled out of my study cave,to see how your zooter made out(canned Hamm) luv it kind of like  (pooolarizzz!).Glad you can look back on this a laugh(other than you wallet crying) ,tell the Grandkidzz well granpa was drinking and ......  ::)so hope the bike is not complety DOA.

[digginfool]

I'm hoping to have my Canned-Ham autopsy report later this morning. I hope not, but, suspect it will need a MrRPM 975cc top end kit. http://www.mrrpmcycle.com/products/975.htm

Hey Ain't.  You and Keeter should give the 'fool a call sometime when you're planning one of these adventures.  Don't forget; I'm only 5 miles away.     BTW, have you been to the Ranch lately?  Wondering what the conditions up there are like.  The family is bugging me to go up there.  We haven't been since Christmas so we are waaaayyy over due.  We're definitely going to be up there Thanksgiving week sometime and may go up for Halloween (met some people around town that have camps up there and planning to go that weekend).   

[AintSkeered]

Fool, will do. Next weekend we may do Labelle cause our favorite spot will take a few more weekends to dry out. Last weekend, RR Main Grade was impassable to 2WDs, so, give it a couple of weekends. Here's a shot from the Play Pen http://riverranchriders.forumco.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2747
We're not sure about Turkey Day, unless Camp Chestnut's open.

[AintSkeered]

Last nite, Keeter's and I got God's second shot across our bow in just the past two weeks. Tornado hit our neighborhood. Eight of my immediate next door neighbors lost their homes, but, our's was spared. Watch on local and national news, today.

[Keeter]

Last nite, Keeter's and I got God's second shot across our bow in just the past two weeks. Tornado hit our neighborhood. Eight of my immediate next door neighbors lost their homes, but, our's was spared. Watch on local and national news, today.

The news interview with your wife was very nice. 

[AintSkeered]

Back on topic, our marinated 800Max XT is back up and running, strong for now. It smoked like an old coal train for a while. But, before the EPA or fire department could notice, the smoke settled down to look more like that coming from a car's exhaust on a very cold day. Now saving my lunch money for the 975cc BBK. Saturday morning update = no more smoke, strong now.

[MedicMudder]

GLAD its going :} you gonna have to much to it to get her going.??

[Keeter]

Back on topic, our marinated 800Max XT is back up and running, strong for now. It smoked like an old coal train for a while. But, before the EPA or fire department could notice, the smoke settled down to look more like that coming from a car's exhaust on a very cold day. Now saving my lunch money for the 975cc BBK. Saturday morning update = no more smoke, strong now.

Whew!!  that was close.  But now we know what not to do and what we can get away with.