Creek after puddle after mudhole after spongy grass after river....mix any which way, add generous serves of deep, soft silt and 3 quarries worth of rocks and pebbles of all sizes....repeat.
After years of ribbing Goodie about her submarining on the Nevis, luck is about to even things out
Seeing Dave and Gero past the exit of a long waterhole and the deep, muddy tyre-trenches around it, the quick decision is made: they made it through, must be ok.
Rookie mistake #2 is to not making SURE I'm in 1.gear. The bottom is soft, the DR bogs 3/4 of the way through, foot keeps going down in the deep, sloppy silty bottom, the now stationary front wheel finds an extra deep spot...splat, bubble, burp!
KILLSWITCH! ...done!!!
As the whole front end dives under, squashing the left boot deeper into the mud.
I can't get out from under the bike, every move pins the boot even harder .
Gero and Dave to the rescue, jumping into the brown, knee-deep slop, filling boots instantly.
Got the bastard out....
Trying to drain the headlight....gimme a Goldfish and there's your aquarium.
With working H4 underwater lighting!
"God bless Suzukis!"
Pull the cap off the airbox drain....nothing!
A hit on the button and we've got a runner.....ahem, rolling fishbowl that is.
The tools come out, it's a 15minute affair to drain the headlight, another 15 to drain the murky water out of the flooded boots.
Goretex is a beautiful thing, doesn't let any water out! I love gear that works.
Tally:
3 guys squelching around in their boots, water still running out of the left jacket sleeve/ liner and pants-leg/gloves, bike no water in airbox/engine/exhaust and running fine, the ~8 minute fully submerged left Nelson Rigg rolltop pannier (the one with the tools of course) had maybe 2 cups worth of water in the bottom, the old Kappa drypack rolltop across the rear was bone-dry.
20 mins later....Dave just ahead, no hesitation or slowing for this harmless looking crossing.
Nearly through and ....with water like glass and often quick-flowing, depth is a deceptive thing.
So are the big, smooth rocks.
Being next, I'm off the bike in a hurry, then quit to help as I see him get up again....but there's one of those "waterproof" rolltop bags floating down the wide creek....and a bike glove....and another glove.
The blue bag is about football sized and bobbing along quite quickly....Ant rolls up and jumps in to catch whatever is floating towards a narrow and picking up speed...while Dave, yet unaware of happenings, still wonders why everyone's running away from him and the Zook in the creek.
You couldn't make this shit up!
Chasing the floaters down along the riverbanks, all bits are retrieved in the end but boy, it was tight.
May have been better to have had the DR floating down the creek than that blue bag....which held all of his $$ trip-funds, passport etc.
"God bless....yeah,yeah, f'off..."
This one took a bit longer as the exhaust was full of water....as Dave found out standing behind the bike when the "firehose-gush" on the first crank hit him right in the crotch.
And now there are 4 "squelchers"!
Met those guys near the end of the valley
Back on the ridges....
...there ain't no more.
