Injured, Out of Water, and Lost in the Alvord Desert: 2021 Giant Loop Ride Day 3

On Day 3 of the 2021 Giant Loop Ride, we were on a mission: to see and ride on the Alvord Desert. We woke up early, hopped on our Honda Africa Twins, and started the long adventure motorcycle ride around the Steens Mountains, past Mann Lake, and down the long gravel road to the Alvord Desert. Along the way, I accidentally ran over a gopher snake who was just trying to cross the road (sorry, buddy). After a few hours of riding our adventure bikes, we finally made it to the Alvord! I was unbelievably stoked to get to ride my motorcycle on the Alvord desert and I got some amazing footage both from the ground and the air of our group doing top speed runs and just generally enjoying the wide, flat expanse of the desert. After spending some time enjoying the desert, we decided to take a more complicated route out through the south end of the Alvord, and that's where things got interesting. All was good at first, but we encountered some deep sand, which is not at all fun on heavy adventure bikes, and I dropped my Africa Twin and got pinned underneath, injuring my ankle in the process. Thankfully Mclovin was there to lift the bike off of me and we continued on our adventure bike sand riding trek. After about an hour of slow slogging through the sand, we decided to turn around and find another route out of the desert. Being lost in the desert with no water left is not a good feeling, but thankfully after some careful GPS adjustments and a bit of luck, we were able to get back to the main road and head to Fields Station for milkshakes, gas, food, and hydration. Afterward, he headed back to the Giant Loop Ride at Crystal Crane Hot Springs to enjoy the evening's festivities including prize giveaways and hanging out with friends enjoying delicious beverages. Finally, on day 4 of the Giant Loop Ride, we packed up and headed home, but not until we said our goodbyes and heartfelt thank yous to the Giant Loop crew for putting on such an awesome event!