Ironbutt rally USA Aussie Davo Jones down maybe out

Some of you may know Davo Jones from the Far riders forum Netrider, or
Bike me forums and Austouring, He also writes for Australian Roadrider
I'm not sure if he posted here but bad news.

This from the bike forums.


"On behalf of Wil, Kristy, Desley, Morgan and Mitchell - I would like to
say thank you from the bottom of my heart to the support that has been
shown thus far from the LD riding community. The last 8 hours since we
received the phone call have been 8 hours we all wish we didn't have to
endure.

Davo was flown to the ICU unit at Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. He is in a
critical condition and has sustained serious head trauma. We just placed
another phone call to the ICU unit and his condition is unchanged over
the last few hours, and we have been advised that 'Davo's Adventure of a
Lifetime' will most likely be his last. He is not expected to pull
through to tomorrow morning.

Again, all us family are monitoring the various forums and thank
everyone at this most upsetting time for their support. When we have
some more news, I will come back on here and post it. For those that are
wishing to call or to arrange anything, feel free to contact me on my
mobile (0437 600 943).

Jim

AND FROM PETER MAGUIR
Just heard that 'Davo' Jones has had a serious accident, hitting a deer
in Idaho, USA, whilst attempting the Iron Butt crossing of the USA. Davo
is one of the characters of motorcyle riding in Australia and this was
his ride of a lifetime.... He had ridden across Australia and recently
done a 50 hour ride in the USA. He has serious head trauma and is not
expected to pull through"

 

it all doesn't add up...

thoughts to his family, hoping for the best

mh

 

http://www.davojones.com/ibr09.htm

 

This post made me feel sick to my stomach. Wishing his family all my best.
****, I hope he pulls through. : (

Fraser

 

Just heard sadly he didn't make it , condolences to his family and friends.

 

Yes, a great shame. Davo was totally focussed on this ride and had
spent months preparing himself and his bike for it. The Rally was on
it's last day, and he was only 110 miles from the finish after having
probably ridden in excess of 16,000km over the previous 11 days. The
police who attended the accident scene reported that he didn't appear to
have been wearing his helmet when he hit the deer, which probably
accounted for his serious head trauma received. His helmet was said to
have been strapped on the back of the bike.

Nev..
'08 DL1000K8

 

On a brighter note, the other Australian rider in the Rally, Tasmanian
woman Margaret Peart managed to finish as the lowest ranked official
finisher. She had collected enough points to be counted as a finisher,
despite having had a camchain skip a tooth which resulted in a
valvebending episode on her R1200GS which saw her bike off the road for
46hrs while being repaired. She got mobile again with just enough time
to get to the finishing checkpoint within the allowed checkin time window.

Nev..
'08 DL1000K8

 

That sucks. On the last day of my round-Australia ride (Talbotville-

guard down on the home stretch. That seems like particularly good
advice now.


BTH

 

That's the part I have great difficulty with. It seems incomprehensible
to me that he would not wear a helmet - EVER. Especially when, despite
the lax rules in some of the United States, it is compulsory to wear one
while participating in the IBR.

And yet the cops and the few competitors that came across the scene all
supposedly reported that the helmet was secured to the back of his bike.
The trauma nurse (from reports I've seen) indicated that the head
injuries were consistent with not wearing a helmet.

I don't understand. Can extreme fatigue do this - cause uncharacteristic
actions? Again, I would've thought that Davo was well rehearsed in
coping with the issues of fatigue. He's made some pretty good judgement
calls in the past - for example when deciding to abandon the return leg
of his Australian CC100.

 

In aus.motorcycles on Sun, 06 Sep 2009 08:53:52 +1000

What it can do it interrupt routine.

If, for example, he'd got off the bike for some reason that meant he
needed to remove his helmet, perhaps listening to a motor noise, even
scratching his head, he might have strapped it to the back of the bike
so as not to leave it by the side of the road, done what needed doing,
then got back on the bike.... And really not realised.

I've hopped on a bike sans helmet and got to the end of the street
before realising what was "wrong", why things sounded and felt
different.

If he was focusing on something else, he might not really have
processed the odd feeling. He was not far from the end, that "it's
only another couple of hours, I can do that" is very seductive. If
he'd removed the lid for some reason, was riding without it, and
focusing on getting where he was going he really might not have
had processing power to spend on why things were different.

It might not have been any kind of deliberate choice, just an
interruption to routine and him not being in a mental state to
realise.

Zebee

 

The only explanation I can think of, and this is pure speculation on my
part, is that he had secured his helmet to the back of the bike for the
border crossing from Canada back into USA rather than leave it sitting
on the bike or carrying it around, and then when he got on the bike and
started riding he has forgotten to put it back on, which you would
notice almost immediately, but, he was in a hurry to reach the finish,
as he had only a few hours to go, and unknown roads to travel, and the
GTR14 has pretty good screen protection so he would probably be well
protected from the elements even in the early morning, and after the
days of riding and sleep deprivation, probably felt better riding with a
bit of cool wind around his head to keep him awake. Maybe he decided
rather than to stop again just to leave it until his next scheduled
stop, perhaps 100km down the road or so.

With regard to extreme fatigue, on the IBA website, they have a link to
the archive of wisdom, a list of 29 tips for riding. "Tip 12
Indecision. Can't decide to stop for gas or continue? Can't decide what
turn to take? these are all a result of fatigue" Cant decide whether
to stop and put your helmet on or not?

I believe he had chosen a very demanding route for that leg of the
rally, similar to the route which the top riders chose. He may have
overstretched himself knowing that his first two legs had not left him
with much chance of a high finishing position.

It's all speculation. We'll probably never know. I met him at the
rally he organised near his Qld home in July for Australian long
distance riders and had spoken to him on the phone. He was well liked
and a very charismatic chap. Absolutely enthusiastic about his riding,
other people's riding and this IBR.

He posted on ADVRider a few months ago "Who wants to be sane when there
are so many fun things to do in life. I don't want to die in bed."
He'll probably be remembered by those words by many. I'm sure his wife
and (4?) kids would rather he hadn't died.

Nev..
'08 DL1000K8

 

That's the part I have great difficulty with. It seems incomprehensible

while in shitville... do what the fools do.. but nobody will ever
know.

Check Youtube for Deer and bike accidents.. They happen in an instant.

 

Of all the people in the world, only Biggus could have read PC's
comments and thought that the uncharacteristic action he was referring
to was hitting a deer...

Nev..
'08 DL1000K8

.....yeah, I know.. and Atec77