'The Lamonster Chronicles'

[BajaRon]

Thank you, Lamont, for filling in the holes I left in these stories. Between us, I think we covered things pretty well!

#13 - Boating Adventure!
Lamont and I (and others), used to go to Baja quite a bit. (This is how I got my handle of BajaRon) I had a 14' aluminum boat that I carried on top of my Chevy Suburban. And Lamont had a similar boat of his own (not the one he built)

We would go down through San Felipe. Then travel South another 55 miles of the roughest road you've ever endured to Puertecitos. (This stretch is part of the Baja 1000 race).

We always went together, except for one time when Lamont decided to go without us. He had a Jeep (a Cherokee I think). And I might get some of this wrong, but I wasn't there. So, as I remember the telling, this is how it went.

You have to be very careful on the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California), because just a very short time after the wind comes up, this otherwise very calm body of water develops a wicked chop, which will prevent you from traveling above a crawl while swamping and sinking your boat. Chop can be worse than waves. Believe me, it's serious. You have to Run for Home right away or risk total devastation.

But when you're engrossed in fishing, sometimes you don't pay close attention and things sneak up on you. Well, Lamont got caught out on the water and the chop was driving him in the wrong direction. After determining that he was not going to make it back to the cove where we camp and launch our boats, he decided to beach at the first place he could find. Which is also problematic because most of the coast line in that area is covered with, 'Put a Hole In Your Boat' jagged volcanic rocks. Fortunately, he did find a very small, sandy (though steep) beach just big enough to get his boat into. He then walked back to where his Jeep and trailer were parked.

He backed the Jeep down and got the boat loaded on the trailer, but buried his Jeep in the sand when he tried to pull out. At which point the next dangerous condition raised its ugly and unavoidable head. The tides at the upper end of the Sea of Cortez are extreme. 14 vertical feet between low and high tide swings. And this happens very quickly. That much vertical rise translates into a great deal more in horizontal distance. Now Lamont stood to lose both the boat and the Jeep.

During those days it was extremely rare to see anyone, ever. I think we saw maybe 1 or two other vehicles in all the time we spent there over several years. But on that day, there was a 'Road Crew' working not too far away. They had a truck, and Lamont set out to see if they would help. They agreed, but by the time they got back, the ocean was lapping at the rear wheels on his Jeep and rising fast. If they were not able to pull him out quickly, all would be lost.

They were successful, and the crisis was averted. Lamont certainly dogged a bullet that day. If things had not worked out perfectly, as they did, he could have lost everything and ended up having to walk the 55 miles in the red hot, scorching desert, all the way back to San Felipe to get help.

He never returned to Puertecitos alone again. Smart man!

 

[BajaRon]

#14 - Mission Valcourt, Canada.
Somehow, Lamont got in tight with the engineers at BRP very early on in the Spyder experience. A typical event in his life. I was impressed, of course, but by then, not really surprised. It just seemed to be the natural progression when he got into a particular machine.

He got involved in Can-Am's first 'Homecoming' event for the Spyder, to be held at their Valcourt, Canada manufacturing facility. The plan for the group that wanted to ride up with Lamont was to meet at a rest stop several miles south of the Canadian border on I-91. We were to hook up with BRP employees that would lead the group, facilitate us all getting through customs quickly, and then shepherd everyone to the Valcourt facility. If I remember correctly there were about 70 of us gathered there by departure time.

I'll bet Lamont remembers what year that was. I don't. And amazingly, Google does not even record that event. But believe me, it was memorable. Maybe one of you SpyderLovers out there who attended that event can help me out here.

The BRP people were waiting for us there at the designated rest stop. I'd expected just 1, but there were 3 of them. And they were riding Spyders! That put a smile on our faces as we really didn't know what they might show up with. Makes sense, of course. But with these kinds of events, you just never know.

One of them addressed the group with the usual 'Thank You's', etc. Then requested that we group ourselves into 3 riding categories. Fast, average, and slow (I mean 'Conservative'. I'm pretty sure he did not use the word slow). Of course Lamont placed himself firmly in the 1st group. And so did I. While waiting until the appointed departure time, it began to drizzle rain. And then it was time to go. It's kind of exciting when 70 Spyders fire up their engines (all were V-Twin 998's then).

Lamont and I dropped in #1 & #2 behind our BRP guide. The posted speed limit was 70 MPH, which our guide adhered to exactly.

I was pretty sure that Lamont was not going to last very long at that speed, and I was not wrong. We were on a long sweeping curve in light traffic when he jumped out around the BRP leader at 85 or 90 mph, throwing a good rooster tail of liquid sunshine from all 3 tires. Like I said. I was always with Lamont regardless of any other commitments or concerns. So, you know what I did. I glanced at the BRP leader as I went by and he just looked surprised, not angry, as I'd expected.

There were probably 20 in our group, most having chosen the 'Average' category. If it had not been raining, I suspect more would have opted for our 'Fast' group. I was somewhat amused noticing that several others were quickly moving around our BRP guide. With Lamont as our new leader, our guide quickly fading to the back of the pack, and the rain increasing, it was an, how shall I put it? An invigorating ride!

Anytime you ride with Lamont, you need to be ready for some dynamic adjustments. He is not going to watch his rear view mirror to see if you are keeping up. Everyone has a riding style. That is his. And other than one single time in all the thousands of miles we put on together, it was always fine with me.

I was later to discover that most, if not all, BRP test riders are X-Professional Racers of one sort or another. Which made sense of what happened next in our unique ride to the border. Because soon, our leader was back in front of Lamont, (and you can imagine how fast he had to go to get ahead of us). Once there, he did not attempt to change our pace. That was also a surprise to me.

It didn't take long to get the border at that speed, where our guide had us pull over and group up for instructions as to how we would proceed through the customs process. Frankly, I expected the man to come over and chew Lamont out for the stunt he pulled. He did march right up to Lamont with purpose in his stride and I thought, "Here we go! I might have to jump into a fistfight". But to my utter surprise, the BRP leader exclaimed, "That was the best group ride I've ever been on!" And shook Lamont's hand with a big smile on his face. But he then asked the entire group that no one tell his boss, explaining that he'd been given strict orders not to exceed the speed limit.

It took the other 2 groups quite some time before they arrived. Some in our group would laugh when asked how long we had been waiting.

I heartily agree with the BRP leader. That was, by far, the best group ride I've ever been a part of. But really, it was just another average day with Lamont.