Hardscrabble Hill Climb / Caught Out After Dark / Series Ep 2

Hey guys, welcome to episode two of my White Rim Trail Adventure Ride. Along with me and my friends, glad you could join us. Episode one, we started the day with high energy, awesome riding, and epic canyon scenery. After all, our jeep was going to meet us at the end of the day and we would camp out along the White Rim Trail. We really looked forward to that. That was going to be awesome, but the trail becomes more difficult, progress slows significantly, and the prospect of darkness overtaking us becomes real. So here we go guys, welcome to episode two of my ride on the White Rim, Moab, Utah, Men That Don't Give In. Deep, deep powder up this rise. Anyway, we're waiting on some guys that went down and some deep stuff back there behind us. My good buddy here in the white jersey, Brock. Check out his channel, Moto Mission with Brock Gill. I'll leave a link down below. He's giving a pep talk. He has gone back and picked up some guys bikes and ridden it for them through this tough sand. These mountain bikers out on a multi-day riding and camping trip through the White Rim Trail, along with their support vehicle, are giving us inspiration. And we need some inspiration because we're getting fatigued, but there's still a long way to go. We just had another biker go down right there. Just how steep these hills are is disguised by these action cameras and their wide-angle lens. It doesn't really depict the vertical challenge that's before us. You throw a bunch of sand and ruts into the mix, and if you lose your momentum, it is very difficult to get going again. Let it rip. Brad made it up and around them, and then I guess he went down. Yeah, you got to keep some momentum here. You got to wait till they get out of the way. Keaton is talking on the scene of comms with those up ahead, which I do not have. He's on a stock CRF300L. Fantastic little rider. Young man. Excellent guy. Brock, hearing all of it. Okay, yeah, I didn't want to get down in this rut, but it's where I ended up. Dad, your dad okay? But we got a long ways to go yet. It's probably, if we're lucky, it'll be seven o'clock. Keaton takes off, giving it the beans after telling me that up around the corner up here becomes even more difficult with a huge climb in boulders. Just what I needed to hear. Your dad needs somebody to help push him. I'm going to get up here behind Brad and ask him how he's doing while his son Bradley, former motocross rider, takes his KLR up there like a champ, which he is. Brad here in front of me is a professional EMT and our designated medic for this trip. But his back is going into spasms and he is just getting toasted on this hill. And he tells me to just go on ahead. He has to let that back spasm die down before he does anything else. If we're not careful, we're going to get caught out here after dark. We still got miles to go. I think the recent rains have changed this trail dramatically. But how should I know just from the videos I've watched? But this is tough. It's slow going. We've all made it to the top with a team effort. Some worse for wear. Man, I never saw the sand coming. And there may be some of you that are watching this and saying, you guys just don't have the skill set to be out here. You didn't do your due diligence and know what you were facing. And you would be wrong. Everybody can improve their skill sets. But we are men who do not give in. We are facing the challenge. We are going to be better for it in the end. And we'll have a story to tell. If you sit on your couch until you have perfected everything in your life, your life is over. The imperative to put some more miles behind us and get to camp as soon as possible is pressing upon us. And some of us are a little more rested and ready to go than others. And Brock gave the nod. Get going guys. At least someone can get to camp. Let the camp know that everyone is coming. I head off into the lead with a couple of guys following behind. And this song just keeps going through my head. Time keeps on ticking, ticking into the future. As I navigate this trail, look at the astounding beauty and ruggedness all around me. These drop-off cliffs. In my mind, I keep thinking, man, what is this going to look like when there's nothing lighting it up but a headlight? Well, guys, we got a long ways to go yet. And the sun is setting. It's not going to stay up there waiting for us forever. Some of the guys are really struggling. You know, when you drop your bike, you just expend so much energy recovering from all that, it really saps you. And some of them have dropped it a couple of times. So they're feeling it. Fortunately, temperature isn't bad. It's cooled off a fair amount with the cloud cover and we've 35, 40 minutes. I saw headlights back there behind me. I wait and do a check-in. Since catch a flat. What an awesome view. But the sun is setting. I will wait up on the other guys here. Hey, we're all here. Yeah. If anybody gets through this whole ride and doesn't drop it, more power to them. More power to them. Yeah. Well, the sun is sinking a little farther. We've got a little farther to go. Camp is calling and we're just guessing it might be about 25 more miles. We've got GPS's, but wide lookout, it might just discourage you. Sand, baby, sand. Whoop-de-do's, sand. Sit back and pin it. Dang, this is a long sandy section. Oh, man. Work your arms. Work your arms. Sand will fatigue you. Sandy descent. There's Dave and Anthony. That's 625. I'm taking a break. We just came down this. I think it's called Hogback Ridge. I'm waiting for my buddies following me to catch up or to come over that ridge. It is 647. At least it's cool. And it is so peaceful and quiet. It's been a little while. My buddies haven't caught up with me. They weren't that far behind in the past. Waiting for them to come over that hilltop. But I'm welcoming the break. Hydrating some more. I was starting to get a little bit of charley horses in my left inner thigh. So walking around is helping that. They seem to be abating. Throttle grip, clutch grip, it's all starting to take its toll. It's just awesome though. One-of-a-kind place. And what a privilege to have been able to come out here and witness it. It'll definitely be one from my memory books. I hope that everybody's okay back there behind me. That's the question right now. Finally a light up above. Can you see them right there? Let me remind you that Dave is riding without his left arm. Recluse clutch and a lot of skill. Incredible. Glad to see these guys. I guess they're not glad to see me. Inevitably the shadows turn to darkness. And nothing but me and the trail. Two guys ahead of me. The majority of the pack are somewhere back behind me. Solo down the trail in the dark. It's definitely nerve-wracking at times. Thinking about where those drops might be off to the side of me unseen. 11 hours after the start at 9 15 we rolled into camp. How great to see them with a little bit of food. We tried to pitch our tents amid the wind and the blowing dust. Filming was the last thing on my mind. Just crawl into the tent and go to sleep. Welcome to day two of the Great Ride Open. We've just spent the night in Canyonlands on the White Rim Trail. Rode 11 hours yesterday. A lot of difficulty in some very difficult sections and that took us way longer than we expected to. But here we are waking up to a fantastic day in the desert of Utah. Okay a little coffee, a little breakfast, and some fellowshipping. We're ready to hit it again because we are men that don't give in. I hope you've enjoyed this video. If you did, please give it a thumbs up, like, and subscribe. We'll see you on episode 3 as the adventure continues.