Filled me boots

[bayonet]

My mate Sidge has had a serious back operation and was slowly going insane with boredom, as he was recovering indoors. I offered to call in on the way home from work with some DVDs on two consecutive nights. The first night I tried to take a direct cross country route (Blackwall tunnel to Good Easter) using only a printed out map off the internet, got a little lost and ended up riding lots of interesting lanes that went the wrong way. The second night I had a proper OS map with me and I was bombing along lovely, but failed to notice the word 'ford' on the map in my hurry. I was on a tarmac road only just wide enough for the AT when I turned a corner to be confronted by the ford below (photographed on an earlier ride out on my DR) although this time I arrived at the opposite end shown.


http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b165/yen_powell/GOODEASTERFORD.jpg
Now unfortunately I stopped just short of the water and the tarmac leading in, which has a bit of a slope, is very slippery with algae. I could see the bottom was muddy and it looked quite deep so I decided to turn round and take an alternate parallel lane. When I got off the bike and tried to pull it backwards it was like a skating rink with my feet going everywhere. Instead I decided to turn the front wheel and attempt a 3 point turn. The front wheel just sunk in gravel at the waters edge so I thought f*ck it, I'll have to go through, how bad can it be.

Well it was deep and my back wheel started to sink into the mud about 3/4 of the way through but I got out no problem. What was stupid of me was forgetting that because I wasn't wearing any waterproofs and my goretex socks are so long, I'd rolled them down to ankle length. I had to use my feet when the bike started sinking in the mud so I left the ford with two sloppy bulging bags of water on my feet. As I changed gear, water was squirting out of every part of my boots and my feet weighed a ton.

I emptied my boots and socks (in front of my mates curious neighbours) but still manged to leave puddles all over my mates kitchen floor. At least he appreciated the DVDs! His girlfriend, who is an avid horse rider, said the water came up to her horse's belly this winter and her horse is humongous, so looks like I got off lightly. still felt a **** though:D

[ant_vaz]

Unlucky mate...I'm guessin you were on the Africa Twin...otherwise you'd have been stuck good and proper!! Hope the boots turned out alrite :grin2

[bayonet]

Unlucky mate...I'm guessin you were on the Africa Twin...otherwise you'd have been stuck good and proper!! Hope the boots turned out alrite :grin2I was, had the boots upside down all night on a couple of axlestands (I'm told traffic cones do a good job too).

Noticed when I left work on Wednesday night, that it sounded a bit rortier than usual, seems a chunk of the silencer has decided to leave me.

Spent about 2 hours last night trying to seperate a stainless silencer from the downpipes of my last Africa Twin (kept loads of spares befoe selling on the frame and engine only) so I could swap it onto number 3. Hammers, heat, drifts, all done as quietly as possible cos next door have a day old baby, just to slide the silence off the balance box.

[falcophil]

I,ve been through that one a few times on my XR, and a couple in the navara (its on my way home from work if i detour a bit)
its very slippery, one my mates came off his DR going into it, just went out from under him! we didn,t even laugh.....................at first.
did ruin the starter on an Astra van there a few years ago, was ****ed coming home from my mates (a farm just down the rd) and told my missus who was driving that it was only a foot deep! thats what the depth bar said.
we started to float about half way through, stalled, & sank at this point I was going to get out and push (beer!) but eventually she got it started and we got out, had to replace the starter motor a few days later.

[NinjaMad]

talking about filling boots, when i came back from silverstone i had the put my feet in plastic bags and then put them in my boots as my feet were soaking

[Dal]

talking about filling boots, when i came back from silverstone i had the put my feet in plastic bags and then put them in my boots as my feet were soaking

You need to get yourself some army surplus socks from eBay you can fill your boots up with water and your feet stay loverly and dry :grin2

[bayonet]

I,ve been through that one a few times on my XR, and a couple in the navara (its on my way home from work if i detour a bit)
its very slippery, one my mates came off his DR going into it, just went out from under him! we didn,t even laugh.....................at first.
did ruin the starter on an Astra van there a few years ago, was ****ed coming home from my mates (a farm just down the rd) and told my missus who was driving that it was only a foot deep! thats what the depth bar said.
we started to float about half way through, stalled, & sank at this point I was going to get out and push (beer!) but eventually she got it started and we got out, had to replace the starter motor a few days later.Councils have a habit of removing the depth gauge for repair work and leaning it in a shallow part. There was a copper who had to climb out of his sunroof a few years back because of that.

[AlexG]

Sounds like you had fun :D!

[2E]

Call me crazy.. but..


Can i have a go?? :grin1

[bayonet]

Call me crazy.. but..


Can i have a go?? :grin1Course you can.
http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=561500&y=212500&z=3&sv=561500,212500&st=4&ar=N&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf

Hope the link works, it's just next to where it says Gurtons farm.

[bayonet]

Bloody hell, just seen the same place on the Essex Land Rover Club site, glad I went on a low water day. Tooeymaster, when you do it can I bring my camera?:grin2

http://64.17.155.181/070519/full/DSC09573.jpg
http://64.17.155.181/070519/full/DSC09574.jpg

[kasandrich]

That Landrover would handle another 8" of water no trouble.

I had a Pajero, that went through water that went over the bonnet once, I ended up with a tide mark, half way up the bonnet.

[Lateshift]

People are often surprised about how deep these things can go, the secret is being smooth enough with the speed to keep the bow wave from coming back :)

doesnt stop you getting wet though in a green and black one :D

[2E]

Why didnt you just go straight over it??

Like This Guy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHE4MRIjP1E

[bayonet]

Why didnt you just go straight over it??

Like This Guy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHE4MRIjP1E
I didn't have a soundtrack suitable for the occasion:grin2

Must take some balls to discover for the first time that that is possible!!!

[bayonet]

That Landrover would handle another 8" of water no trouble.

I had a Pajero, that went through water that went over the bonnet once, I ended up with a tide mark, half way up the bonnet.That'd be level with the top of your pants wouldn't it, or did the cabin stay dry?

[2E]

That'd be level with the top of your pants wouldn't it, or did the cabin stay dry?

I thought land rovers had 'snorkels' so they could do that???

My old teacher used to have a land rover with a snorkel on the bonnet :laugh1

[bayonet]

I thought land rovers had 'snorkels' so they could do that???

My old teacher used to have a land rover with a snorkel on the bonnet :laugh1I think that's just to give dry air to the airfilter so the engine can run submerged.