wave of baja executions continues

[Jud Jones]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "revmaaatin" wrote:

> > Two KLRista have been killed recently. I was (nearly) #3 last night, > except-- > > I am alive. And surprised to be alive. 107 GPS miles--52 gravel, > rest on Highway 14 in central SD....41F, clear dry roads, zero moon > illumination. > > I was 1.5-2 sec (maybe less) from being runover/head-on last night on > my way home on a flat, stretch of road with greater than 2 miles of > sighting distance. Some pickup truck decided to pass a car without > regard to my position; I managed to slow significantly and move to > the shoulder as the two vehicles fully filled both lanes--neither > making attempt to slow or move further right. > > It actually took me several seconds to recognize my position of 'in > extremis'; I could not interpret that both lanes were 'full' for > several precious seconds due to the traffic following the two > vehicles that were running abeam each other, etc. I remember > thinking, why are there 4 lights wide on the highway. YIKES! My lane > is occupied. Thankfully, (using MSF logic/training) as the traffic > approached, I had started from the left half of my lane, with an > offset to the right 1/2 lane as the traffic approaches. It was an > easy shift to the right shoulder to avoid impact during those last > 1.5-2 sec. > > In retrospect, I wonder if these two vehicles were NASCAR style road- > racing--as their closure speed was much faster than speed-limit, and > in the time I observed them, they still passed me neck-and-neck. > > Forgive me, my oral reaction/response was less than Christian. The > 41F had some effect on my early recognition of the the vehicle in my > lane (I was thoroughly chilled). 41F--It had no effect on my oral > capacities. > > MSF training and the grace of God--I am alive. > > maaatin. who occasionally is more Peter the Sailor than Peter the > Saint. >

Rev, I read somewhere that according to the in-flight-recorders, the pilot's most common last word is "Sh!t". You are a pilot. Can you shed any light on that? Glad to hear you dodged a bullet.

[martin glazer]

Wave of Baja executions continues By Omar Millan Gonzalez 1:04 p.m. October 19, 2008 TIJUANA The wave of executions by organized crime members continued Saturday night and early Sunday morning in the city and in Playas de Rosarito. Authorities reported at least five men killed, among them four municipal police officers and a district police chief, and the discovery of three metal bins containing human remains and chemical residue. The latest slayings bring the total to 134 in Tijuana since Sept. 24, a record number of killings for any month in the city's history. Officials attribute the wave of violent crime to a war between at least two drug cartels fighting for turf in Tijuana, a border city often used to smuggle drugs into the United States. The state attorney general's office reported at 9 p.m. Saturday that three slayings had occurred that morning in the eastern portion of Tijuana, including the execution of municipal police officer Rogelio Gonzalez. By 9:30 p.m., the municipal police of Playas de Rosarito received a report that agents Salvador Rivera and Froilan Olivares were on routine patrol on Guerrero Boulevard when they were attacked by a commando of armed gunmen. Two hours later, at 11:30 p.m., the state attorney general's office in Tijuana found the body of a man lying on the toll-free route connecting Tijuana to Tecate. The victim, who had been decapitated, was identified as Lott Mata Mu oz, a municipal police officer in Tijuana. Minutes later, about midnight, authorities said they received a report of an unidentified man killed and another wounded in a shooting in the eastern portion of the city near the Colonia Lagunitas. While municipal police investigated that incident, they were informed of three metal bins with human remains found in the neighborhood of El Dorado. Prisma Perez Chavez, a state attorney general spokeswoman, said another slaying victim was reported Sunday morning about 8 a.m. At the moment, there is no information about the latest victim or where he was found. Authorities in Rosarito later in the morning reported that a group of armed men stormed the house of the district chief of La Presa, Adan Inda Betancourt, 31, who was killed in front of his family about 9 a.m. According to preliminary reports, the hitmen forced their way into the home of Celestino Salceda Street in the Colonia Mazatlan when Inda Betancourt was in his living room. He was ordered to the ground and was shot by assault rifles. Millan Gonzalez is a contributor to the Union-Tribune's Spanish-language newspaper, Enlace. Find this article at: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20081019-1304-bn19tjdeaths.html

[revmaaatin]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Stephen Grisanti wrote:

> > But consider the advantages of being on a KLR when it come time

to dive off the pavement in order to save your bacon.

> > Stephen > > --- On Wed, 10/22/08, Reverend wrote: > > From: Reverend > Subject: RE: [DSN_KLR650] 2 secs from eternity > To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com > Date: Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 2:43 PM > > Or how dangerous it *can* be. > > We have the advantage of choosing our battlefield, so to speak.

Also, how

> well-trained we are for the battlefield we elect to take our skills

to.

> That we all ride grossly underpowered machines mean that we need a

larger

> buffer of safety as we can't power out of a problem. > >

Reverend and Stephen, You both enforce my point. Thanks. Training, training, training, and practice.... I was complimentary of the MSF course--but did have some issues (with the instructors) of using my bikes capabilities vs those riders of an chromed iron-sled, which most riders were riding the day I took the MSF. NO! You cannot stand up on your foot pegs when riding over the 2x4 obstacle, or stand on the pegs to make the 180 degree turn within the confines of the road. What? Just because 'most' of the street bikes had forward controls, or 'rear' controls of the sport bike, I could not stand up on the pegs and fully utilize my dirt-bike's capabilities--get this, "because this is a street bike MSF, not a dirt-bike MSF course." head shake. Unbelievable. (any MSF instructor--please feel free to comment.) Why wouldn't we want to teach/review any technique that might be helpful? IRT to Stephen's comment; If you take the option of 'the ditch', make sure you are standing on your pegs. All that said, doing it at night is a very, very dicey proposition, yet, better than a head on collision. Be very aware that almost every 'approach' (=that driveway into a field, road), has a metal whistle/culvert 18-24" through it and if you hit that, the ride is over as well! Whistle's are generally located at the midpoint, and certainly at the lowest point if there is a low point in the ditch. Where there are snowmobile trails, they are well marked with a little metal flag on two sides of the opening. The good--in this part of South Dakota, the ditches are usually gentle affairs with wide bottoms. Usually. Other parts of the state, as in most states, it could be water filled, a steep rut, or nearly non-existent. Keep the head on the swivel. and take that MSF course if you have not done so! revmaaatin.

[Jud Jones]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "revmaaatin" wrote:

> > > IRT to Stephen's comment; > If you take the option of 'the ditch', make sure you are standing on > your pegs. All that said, doing it at night is a very, very dicey > proposition, yet, better than a head on collision. Be very aware > that almost every 'approach' (=that driveway into a field, road), > has a metal whistle/culvert 18-24" through it and if you hit that, > the ride is over as well!.

Case in point. On a ride a couple of weeks ago, a friend took me past the place where he had recently run wide into the ditch, and attempted to ride it out. He went up an embankment and was coming back down when he encountered a berm that had much the same effect as a culvert. It stopped him cold and pitched him over the bars. Result: one totaled FJR, one bruised-up rider. With a little luck he might have ridden it out, but it might just as easily have been much worse.