Raise a toast and say a prayer for a San Diego,Ca. Los Ancianos club member Dave Olen. We will be riding with their club this weekend down south. sourced from Yakima Herald ELLENSBURG, Wash. — A Morongo, Calif., man died when his motorcycle plunged off a cliffside trail this weekend, Kittitas County sheriff’s officials said. David Olen, 62, was killed Saturday afternoon when he tumbled hundreds of feet from the trail on the north side of the summit of 6,245-foot Mount Clifty, 30 miles southwest of Ellensburg, Undersheriff Clay Myers said in a news release issued this morning. Olen was part of a group of experienced riders who were traveling from State Route 410 in Yakima County to their weekend camp in Cle Elum. They topped the summit and had just started down the north side when Olen passed through a narrow part of the trail and lost his balance. Another rider told deputies that his right handlebar touched the cliff and his left leg was over open space.
Really sorry to hear this. It's always sad when we lose a rider. It also drives home the point that we engage in a dangerous sport and even the most seasoned veteren should never become to casual about it. The only real consolation is that he went doing something he loved.
there is a sizable post in the NW section talking about this with some freaky pix... http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=824394 there is a lot of cliff stuff in the NW Cascade range. You have to be very careful here in sections. RIP.
K, I followed the link, man those slide away side track hills are very scary even to hike wow, if you lose the ground its a long way down and steep enough to not get a hold of. The beauty is intoxicating but the danger is definitely there. Glad Dave had those vistas to view on his last day. PS I did not know Dave but have been on many rides and events where he was present with the Los Ancianos crew. All of their club riders are accomplished vet/sen riders. Godspeed Dave!
I know that trail well, it's one of my son's and my favorites at Taneum-Manastash (Scott rode it the first time when he was 10, on a TT-R90). While it's a very technical trail, there is really only one place that could do this to you, and unfortunately for Dave he made a slight error at that spot. It's not suicidal, it's not even particularly difficult (other parts of the trail are much more technical), there is just a short length of narrow trail with a very, very steep dropoff on one side, and there is this one rock knob that you have to squeeze around. I don't walk the bike, but I do come to a complete stop and make DAMN sure that I don't clip that knob and tip over. Godspeed, Dave. I've sat at that point many times and wondered "what if?". I'm truly sorry that you had to find the answer to that one. Tim H
