Sandy, Glad to hear Dave and Alan were OK at your last report and that they have decided to go on up to Glenallen. I tried Dave on his cell phone the other day but couldn't rouse him. Where was it that they got caught in the snow storm?
Keep us posted. Roger Van Santen ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave Biasotti" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, June 08, 2002 10:10 AM Subject: Dave's Great Adventure - Post #2 > Well folks, I've got to say that I've talked to Dave practically every > day. It's so funny sometimes when I get calls because I never know what > to expect (or at what time). Below are are few of the calls I've gotten > over the past couple of days, along with my commentary. Keep in mind > that this is my first true ld jaunt as "command center controller". All > of Dave's other rides have been 1 - 3 days adventures but this one truly > is ld riding at its best (and worst sometimes) but all in good fun, here > are a few of the calls: > - First Call: "Hi honey, the stars are out and its really quite > beautiful" (must be one of the 'good days'), "I'm thinking of you" (hmm, > this is getting good!), "that ride through the valley coming back > Thanksgiving weekend when you were with me" (did I mention it's now 4 > a.m.?!). . . "I've been riding all day, couple of great bonus locations > and I stay awake by thinking of you" (ok, we'll keep this "G-rated"). . > . this was one of the more, shall I say, 'relaxed' conversations. . . . > unlike the previous one when it sounded like all HECK was breaking out . > . . > - Second Call: "You'll never believe this (this is going to be one of > the those 90 mph conversations), we've had a great day, picked up a slew > of bonuses, we're getting close to the checkpoint - and I got tired - we > pull over to the side, take a power nap, and make it to the checkpoint > at 8:59 a.m. - collecting extra bonuses because we made it by 9:00 a.m." > (cutting it a bit close!!), "did I tell you about all the bonuses??!!!", > "Oh, and the Fed Ex packages arrived, I got the new Valentine mounted (I > won't tell him just yet what the BILL's going to be. . .), "guess my > last one got fried from one to many 'saves'! Gotta get some sleep but > Alan and I are doing great. We're planning on sleeping a couple of > hours and we'll be back out sometime around 11 a.m." (not exactly my > idea of 'sleeping in' while on vacation but ya know, I'm sure none of > YOU ever do that, right?!!!) > - Third Call: "I'm on the ferry, it takes off at 3:24 p.m. and we arrive > at, you guessed it, 3:24 p.m. We are the last to make it, we would've > had to blow off the whole Orcas Island bonus if we hadn't made it here > on time, we've picked up some time and captured a lot of bonuses, I > think we're looking pretty good right now. It's another beautiful day, > weather is good and I'm getting to see some places I've never seen > before". (so he's made it from SF bay area, to Mexico - started the > rally in Mexico, back into the US and now getting to Canada, three flags > already, and a lot of miles). > - Fourth Call: "Honey, you'll never believe this, it's snowing right > now." (ok, so that is one of the few things I'm really not sure to > believe - given, its what, JUNE?!!), "yeah, we were heading up this > pass, making great time and it started snowing on us. . . not even the > truckers have chains at this time of year. We were about 100 yards from > a tunnel and couldn't get enough traction to keep going, I started > sliding backwards, so I maneuvered my back wheel into some tire tracks > and had just enough catch to get going forward again. Thank God for > this tunnel, I got off the bike and went back to push Alan into it. > (once again, I'm glad he and Alan are traveling together). He was over > in the far left lane and had no tire tracks to get into. Man, you don't > know how much you appreciate tunnels until you get into a situation like > this. I'm not sure what we can do except wait a little bit and see if > we can follow either the snow plows (is there such a thing is JUNE?!@) > or some car tracks. I took some pictures of us completely covered in > snow. . . us, our bikes, the landscape. It's actually quite beautiful > but treacherous at best. We're going to stay here and hopefully the > snow plows will be here soon." (at this point he sounds pretty hopeful > that they'll get some type of resolution soon) > - Fifth Call: "It's been snowing like HE _ _ , and we're not going > anywhere, seems that the government here in Canada used to provide > services but then they turned it over to a private organization. . . and > nobody's showing up. . . the cars are blocking the left hand lane so the > plows can't get here. . . the truckers are trying to get the cars to > stay out of their way, it may come to blows but Alan and I are safe here > in the tunnel, at least for now. . . times ticking though and I'm not > sure we can make up all the miles we need to in order to make the next > check point, it's starting to not look very good". > - Sixth Call: "well we finally made it out of the tunnel, we decided to > retrace our way back down the hill, there's a center cement divider so > we couldn't just turn around, we ended up going back down on our side > facing oncoming traffic" (glad I wasn't there! sounds pretty hairy but > I'm glad they're safe). . . Alan and I are going to get some breakfast, > call Joe Z. and let him know what's been going on. . . hopefully we can > find a lower area so that we can head to the check point but with 1300 > miles to go, bad roads and a freak weather storm, it's not looking > good. I'll call you later once we've had a chance to clear our heads". > (at least they're down off the summit and safe). > - Seventh Call: "We're not going to be able to make the checkpoint" (I > can hear the great disappointment in his voice). I think Alan and I are > going to get some sleep and when we wake up, decide whether we're going > to keep going or give it up and come home. (this is probably the lowest > point I've seen him for some time). I'll call you back when we wake > up." > - Last Call: "Hi honey, how are things going. . . (he seems pretty > rested). Alan and I have talked and even though we've DQ'd, we're going > to continue. Told Alan I want to get a picture of me at Santa's house > at the North Pole. We're going to head up to the area where we were to > check in just to let everyone know that we're ok (albeit a day late) > but, heh, we're on vacation and are going to enjoy the rest of the trip, > make it to the final checkpoint with all the other riders (if they > weren't caught in the same storm) and share a few of our adventures. > (I'm actually really glad to hear this. . . my horse was hurt traveling > to my last race which, ideally we would have finished top 10 if not top > 3 - so I know recovering from a 'disaster' can be very disappointing. . > . alas, sharing the time with your compadres at the end can do a lot for > the soul. I remember meeting Dave and the gang after the Northwest > Passage in '01 and hearing a 'newbie' - first time rider - tell his > stories about all the hotels he was going to stay in and the art of > discovering what bonuses were all about. I can't remember the guys > name, but he made us all laugh - even though he finished with NEGATIVE > POINTS!!!) > I'll try to continue to keep you posted . . . and although I could be > mistaken, Dave's great adventure has only just begun. Alan Barbic, > several years ago, got Dave interested in ld riding (when Dave 'helped' > him on one of the Iron Butt rides). . . and I distinctly remember Dave > saying "I'll never do THAT!" . . . at which point we did the Wine, Woods > and Water Tours (a great GTS gathering) and I could tell, it was only > the beginning. I'm sure one of these days, I'll be back at "control > central" sharing his adventures on the Iron Butt - although, I'm curious > what Dave will say at this point - 'never'?! > > Take care and safe riding, > Sandy > p.s. now that Dave has a little bit more time on his hands, don't > hesitate to call him on his cell phone. If he misses your call, please > leave a message. . . your words of encouragement might just be a pretty > good salve for his disappointment. > > -- > Dave Biasotti // Fremont, CA > hm ph: (510) 249-9429 > cell ph: (408) 309-1726 >
