A Climbing comedy

I went to climb the standard 'Tooth Decay' route on the Tooth in the Organ Mountains one time (1970?). Mike Mcgoey was my roommate, and my partner. Mike was a fantastic climber with inherant natural ability. That he weighed 34 lbs was a bonus.
..... I had a BSA 441 Victor motorcycle, and it was my pride and joy. We rode it up to the Tooth and hoped to shorten the approach as much as we could, so I drove us up the ridge, well above the Modoc mine. The BSA was in it's element (finally!). I poked the bike up and up as far as we could go, then we parked and started the approach. I cannot remember the climb at all. But, we were running late, and I remember that we reached the base on the retreat when it was completely dark. It was one of those truly black nights in New Mexico... the clouds were completely overcast, and so there was no starlight (and no moon).
...... We stumbled down the ridge for 20 minutes, hoping to find the bike, and salvation. But, we were completely lost. We could tell up the ridge from down, but that was all. So, we made the decision to bivuoac. I threw my rope coil down and sat on it, preparing for the night ahead. (It was actually very lighthearted and adventurous!. It was a long night).
...... As the morning light came up, I could not believe my eyes! There in front of us, only 10 feet away, was the BSA. It was perhaps 5:30 in the morning, and as the light came about, it took a while to realize that it was indeed the bike. We got up, got on the bike, turned on the headlight and rode home. Just another adventure. My regards to Mike Mcgoey, wherever he might be. Lee Davis

My BSA
Mike Mcgoey

Great story Lee. Thanks for sharing.

Ooo that bike is sweet. I have a 72 Yamaha ds7. I took it off road once. It didn't like it.

1970 Moto Guzzi

Actually, The BSA was a piece of junk, but I loved it. I now have 5 Moto Guzzi's that I am restoring, all from 1970-72. That was the bike I should have bought (at $1,245 in 1970, the BSA was $1,049 in 1970). The BSA went 8500 miles before blowing up. The Moto Guzzi was rated at 100,000+ Km. But, I was also a poor chooser when it came to women. Of course, I miss the bikes far more than the girls. Lee Davis

Man I would kill for those prices to be around now. All the good conditioned bikes from the 70's are at least triple that price.

When I first went to Shiprock (the town) in 1968, we stopped at a Kentucky Fried chicken, and the big bucket of 20 pieces was $5.00. Now, that is what you pay for 2 pieces... From REI in 1966 or 1967, a Cassin piton was .35. Bedayn aluminum ovals were pricey at $1.75. Lost arrows were $4.00 from Chouinard, and you could get Dolt hammer holsters, the best ever made.