The Night the Iron Butt Rally Came to Town
So it was a random night in Los Angeles, California, a City of 10 million people. We had just finished watching the television game show "Jeopardy". I was disappointed because I got the Final Jeopardy question wrong. That can happen when you play the game.
You can choose to apply to try and ride in the Iron Butt Rally, but you don't get to choose what you will experience on the Rally that you ride and what the outcome will be. That can happen when you play the game.
I picked up my smart phone and saw that I had been tagged in a post on the IBA Motorcycle Riders forum by my friend
Brian Thorn. Brian was in the hospital recovering from a major operation. Brian lives in Phoenix and I last saw him a few years ago at a Pinks Hot Dog gathering organized by
Dean Tanji . Brian saw a post on the IBA Motorcycle Riders forum that said:
"Rider emergency. I'm on the shoulder of I10 east at the La Brea Ave exit with a cut in my tire on a truimph trophy and can't move. If anyone can assist with either a trophy wheel I can borrow or even a 190/55 17 tire please call me asap at 817-690-XXXX. Please don't call if you don't have a ready solution."
Brian knew I had a place in Los Angeles. The rider was stranded less than 30 minutes from my place. Brian could not know that I had a brand new spare tire in my garage that was exactly what the rider needed. I saw this about 5 minutes after the rider had first posted his request for assistance on the forum.
I contacted the rider by phone to confirm that the information about his situation was correct and that my tire, which was slightly wider than the tire he had requested would work. He picked up and confirmed that my tire would work perfectly for his needs. My GF and I left less than 5 minutes after I saw the post that I was tagged in.
When we arrived, we saw the LD motorcycle abandoned on its centerstand on the side of the Freeway and the rider was not present at the bike.
I looked to the right and observed that a guy with a LD Comfort top and motorcycle bottoms was frantically trying to remove a tire from his rim using sticks and debris found on the side of the Freeway. He was fortunate that the Los Angeles Freeways tend to have LOTS of debris on the side. A passersby had stopped to assist him in his desperate efforts. Los Angeles certainly doesn't have a reputation for friendliness and charity but tonight showed a different experience.
I met with the rider and we quickly decided that tools from the Lowes Hardware Store located 5 minutes away might produce better results than the sticks, trash and debris he was currently flailing at the tire/rim situation.
Now some of our LA residents happen to be experiencing Temporary Unshelteredness . The rider let me know that there was a camp of these people just beyond the Freeway breakdown lane on the right. We quickly requested that my GF provide temporary security for the stranded motorcycle as we left to obtained the required tools. She has attended the November Pinks Ride to Eat and Gathering last year, which was just minutes away from our current location, as well as my Alamo, Nevada motorcycle gathering last May and has so far appeared to enjoy meeting my motorcycle friends. She did not know that this would result in her left standing by herself at a broken down motorcycle mere feet from a large group of people experiencing homelessness.
The rider and I were able to socialize on the brief ride to the hardware store. I had never met the rider, but we were close with many people we knew in common. I always say that any friend of
Wayne Boyter is a friend of mine.
At the store, we quickly and expeditiously found the necessary tools. He did a mock run-through of the process and procedure to get the old tire off and the new tire on. This was a very intelligent step designed to ensure we had all supplies necessary to effect the tire change. In the face of this adversity, I must say that he was as cool as a cucumber. While he had never done this procedure before, he had the skills and abilities to figure it out on the fly.
Upon our return, we found my GF safely standing guard over the stranded steed. She said that another anonymous passerby had stopped to offer aid and assistance but she let him know that we were on our way back with tools. Another experience to show that Los Angeles, California may not be as unfriendly as you imagine.
After I escorted my GF to the car to warm up, I was quickly back to function as a mechanic's assistant. We successfully got the old tire off using a utility knife, C-Clamps and pry bars, along with a healthy dose of cuss words.
We got the new tire on the rim extremely quickly using the alternative technique of strong doubled up Zip Ties compressing the new tire and some liquid hand soap. It almost literally fell on the rim. I was surprised to witness that we did this more quickly than I had previously experienced a tire change on a summer day with a fully stocked home garage shop.
His portable compact air compressor successfully popped the tire into place on the rim and held air. We policed his tools and he reassembled his bike.
We stayed on site until we witnessed him safely pull out on the still busy LA Freeway to continue his IBR adventures and experiences. I took my GF back home to warm up and get some rest to conclude our exciting Friday night rescue mission.
