8 second whistle

We didn't make the 8 second buzzer.

First things first. We're both okay!

It was a beautiful day, and we were more than ready to head on home. We made it to within 60 miles of the house and ka-PING! * whap *...!@#$%^!
Not good. Oh. Crap. This is going to hurt....
Still not sure just what happened. Whether the tire blew first, then the primary belt got full of mud and broke...or?

Anyway, Gus did a great job of getting Spot headed off of the asphalt, and into a grassy ditch. That's the first choice, always. Road rash hurts like hell, and hard pack can do some major damage, or death in a
hurry.

And it bucked. And it slid. Colleen hooked her heels to the pegs, balled up, and got ready to rock and roll. Instead, the first bump stood her up, the second flipped her into the air, then the sissy bar smacked her in the butt, and flipped her end over end. Which possibly is the best thing to have happen, as she then landed sideways in some mud and soft grass.

Gus got to ride the bronc to the bitter end, which was within 1 foot of a culvert. Going any faster, and the front wheel would probably have smacked it, then sent him and the bike flying.
He did get his left leg trapped under the bike, but made sure to turn it off before trying to escape.

Are you okay?Yeah. Are you? Yeah.

Look at this...stuff all over, mud on us and all the bags,...dammit.

Sittin in the ditch.
Sittin in the ditch some more.

Colleen walked down the road to the nearest house to see about getting a way for the bike and people home. It's Sunday.

Nobody working to call, unless we have a wrecker come down.
In the meantime, some kids on crotch rockets stop by, and one of their friends with his 4 wheeler in the back of his truck.

They all manage to get Spot out of the ditch, and Gus has a ride to our house in the truck. He knows better about hooking up the trailer to our truck, and bringing it back. Colleen opts to stay and guard Spot. Not a bad duty overall, if it weren't for the friendly ticks.

Three hours. She cleaned out her purse, killed ticks, ate a muffin and some chocolate, killed ticks, nabbed some wild and wary iris plants from up the road. Talked to some people who stopped, waved others on, got up and walked once in awhile to make sure no muscles froze up. Really was wishing for a paperback book...

Meanwhile Gus is rushing to get back, (after a Hello Kitty to the animals. They weren't impressed), and his knee is getting more and more creaky. Not one drop of blood shed during the entire operation. Spot got a trailer ride, we
stopped at Wally World for pain meds, then a trip through the car wash to take a layer of ditch off. Tomorrow is soon enough to look closer, and try to figure out what happened.

We'll probably have some new sore places, and colorful bruises by then.

Our guardian crew was working overtime today.
Just wasn't our turn, and we're grateful.