One of the greatest things about the riding community is that most riders are more than happy to help another rider out. As you may already know (or have guessed), having a shared interest you’re passionate about is a fantastic way to make new friends. However, there’s always a special place in my heart for the ones who will rescue you when you’re broken down by the side of the road—or worse, if you’re injured.
As it turns out, that old line about how you meet the nicest people on a Honda? It’s ALL TRUE, and here’s proof. When Noraly, the rider behind YouTube channel Itchy Boots, twisted her ankle on a hill climb in Nevada, who drove over 400 miles to come pick her and her bike up and help out? None other than Mr. C90 Adventures himself, Ed March!
It’s the Itchy Boots x C90 Adventures crossover episode you never knew you needed—but once you’ve watched it, you’ll be so glad that you did. See, Noraly found herself in a tiny little Nevada town called Overton, where she managed to get herself and Alaska (her Honda CRF300L Rally) after her crash. Her ankle was only partly swollen because she moved as quickly as she dared, but it of course swelled up even more as time went on. She put ice on it, sought medical attention with help from someone else staying in the hotel, and found out that it was thankfully only twisted and bruised, but not broken.
Then, Noraly called the only person she said she knows in America—who is apparently Ed March. If you also watch his C90 Adventures YouTube channel, you may recall that he had an absolute blast riding around Moab, Utah in a video not too long ago. Lucky for Noraly, he was in Moab at the time of her crash—and was also happy to make the extremely long drive to come rescue her and her bike from that motel in Nevada.
When Noraly crashed, she noticed afterward that her bike was making a strange sound that she couldn’t quite place. As an experienced adventure rider, this of course isn’t the first time she’s crashed—but she hadn’t had a crash that actually injured her in some time, and so this was an added wrinkle in her journey. While she’d managed to get medical help for herself, the next thing was to diagnose and fix whatever was wrong with Alaska.
Ed collected Noraly and Alaska in his 2004 Toyota Sienna, which required disassembling Alaska somewhat so she would fit. With the help of some hand tools, ramps, and elbow grease, Alaska was safely loaded into the back of the minivan, and the trio trundled off to Moab, to visit a great repair shop that a friend of Ed’s runs.
It turned out that Alaska’s tool kit had become bent, and was scraping the rear tire whenever the suspension would compress. The crash bars on the front left were also bent in quite a bit, so Ed worked to pry them back out to where they should be (although they’d clearly done their job in protecting the bike during that crash).
Thankfully, fixing Alaska seemed like it was pretty straightforward, and didn’t require waiting for parts to be delivered. Still, Noraly’s ankle wasn’t up to off-road riding on two wheels just yet, so the pair made a plan to go explore the trails in Moab another way: Via side-by-side. That, though, is for the next video. Does this mean we’re getting an Itchy Boots x C90 Adventures miniseries?! Hey, we are here for it.
