well we finally made it to colorado,we had problems in both western panhandle oklahoma and in eastern new mexico. i took a bad spill in a bad sandy area in oklahoma, the ruts were too deep to do any thing with it. i fell and my right leg was pinned under my right pannier and the bike and i were weighting it down so much that i was just pinned. i waited probably a good 10 minutes for daniel to come and help lift the bike off of my leg so that i could be freed and stand up. i have been wearing my motorcross boots for that very reason, i will have a pretty good bruise and will hobble about for a fell days but no broken bones. it took daniel a while to come back and help because he fell with his also just over the hill from where i was.

in new mexico later that evening daniel broke his shifter lever it has been cracked and finally gave way. he used my small vise grip pliers locked down on it to get him to branson co. i flaged down one of the locals for help finding a welder. he directed us to the house of a welder that was not home, that guys wife directed us to another welders home, he wasn't home so this ones wife called someone else who was there in under 5 minutes to help, he said that he wasn't much of a welder but would do what he could. we went over to the school and opened the door to the ag dept where the schools shop was located, we heard that the teacher was on vacation. what he did was not pretty but it held for the 35 miles of offroad riding to trinidad co. he wouldn't take payment for his services, daniel forced him to take 1o bucks for his time. we have met the best people this country of ours has to offer on this trip.