D10 Saga. How far would you go to reunite?

The following is a story of the perfect day gone bad.

My question is: How long would you search and how far would you drive?

So...Buddy buys new bike (Suzuki DRZ400). Buddy and I (Suzuki DR350SE) go out on an "epic" journey (100 miles and 6 hours of pavement, gravel, trails, and playground). Life is beautiful. I'm introducing a friend to an awesome past time...

Click thumbs for big version.

Let the rampage begin.


I said pose for a picture and this was the result...


On the way home (the best).


Anyway...

Just about dusk, we roll back into my driveway. Grins from ear to ear. I'm putting away stuff, scrounging around the house for food and beer and I reach for my D10 in my back pocket.

It's not there. A dark cloud surrounded my head, and I went from riding high to meloncholy. My faithful, daily companion of 18 months was gone.:mecry:

Today, I drove 110 miles. First I stopped at the 3rd picture (30 miles) since it was the last place I remembered putting my gloves in my back pocket, which was the only possible explanation for the jettisoned D10. I searched the grass where we parked the bikes for 30 minutes. Gutted, I began a U-turn, about to give up (since the world is so big and a D10 is so small), but my heart hardened and I continued my search.

25 miles later, I searched the 2nd picture. After 15 minutes I drove away (cattle grazed grass = quick search).

I decided that it might have been lost early on, so I scoured the 1st picture.

I got a little choked up when it wasn't there. I knew that I couldn't possibly search the several thousand square feet of areas we had stopped at. I also knew it might have been ripped from my pocket in some freak incident of physics during my 100 mile ride.

I lowered my head in defeat.

Then I decided to check our "pause" for dumping our packs and such, before rampaging around the offroad stuff. I figured I couldn't sleep if I didn't at least look. There's no way it could have just "fallen" from my pocket, but I had to look...

I found it buried in the soft ground. One of us had apparently ridden over it when we took off to play on our bikes.

So...?

Would you drive 110 miles and spend 5 hours looking for your favorite light?

Had I not found it at the 4th stop, I wonder how far I would have gone. Driving slowly along the shoulder for 40 miles hoping to spot it in the ditch?

WOW! You must REALLY love that light! :wow:

And to answer the question...I doubt I would go to that much trouble to track down any of my lights, though I would be heartbroken. Now if it had been given to me by someone special, I would definitely go the extra mile to find it...and who knows, maybe I would go to that much trouble, but I'd likely just start looking on the Marketplace for a close replacement.

Glad you got it back. :thumbsup:

Finding your light priceless, cost for the search :eeksign:
Norm

I only ever lost one light and it was my early cpf days, It was a brand new Nitecore Extreme R2, it was a beauty, my most expensive light at the time never mind brightest.

I lost it on a camping trip, got out car, set up tent reached into pocket and it was gone, I searched the car and the camp grounds and didnt find it, must have fallen out my pocket at one of the service stations along the road on the way down.

So hats off to you for keeping the courage to find it again, I couldnt do that.

I would have done the same for something I really like, especially if it's dropped at places that are desolated. Less likely someone else would pick it up.

I'm sure the D10 has bore some scars from the ordeal, come on, let's us take a look at it.

Great story, great result - the feeling of satisfaction must be immense!

You'll never change that light after this - it will always have a place of honor in your collection.

As Zeruel says, let's see some pics!

+3 for pics!

The light was undamaged by the motorcycle smushing. Well at least if it was damaged, it was indistinguishable from the other scrapes and bruises from daily duty.

Here's some pics. Click for big versions.

Notice the copper coloring of the "stainless clip". Several hundred days of pocket wear will do that.


Worn anodizing and quite a few bashes, but it still works like the day I got it. Better maybe, since the piston has better feel.


Some gratuitous knife porn.

Nice! :thumbsup:

You should post them HERE...one of my favorite threads. :naughty: