Thank you Bill Bigelow

[ROKRIG]

Bear with me as I'm a 'nobody' amongst all of the superstars that are being heralded but I did want to quickly share a story about a little event that I thought was going to foul up my 2012 KOH trip.

I started my trek from Lynnwood, WA to JV at about 10:30am on Sunday (2/5) all by my lonesome. Granted it was a beautiful day and I was so excited to get down to the lake bed, I didn't have a care in the world. Met my friend Brent at the rest stop 21 miles south of Modesto, hung out, took a few hours nap and then convoyed the rest of the trip to Lucerne Valley.

Gassed up, got my groceries at the Lucerne Valley Market (thank you to the young lady who packed my groceries so I didn't have to re-organize anything), and headed out on hwy 247 toward Boone Rd. Definitely a bit heavier w/ full fuel jugs, and LOTS of groceries/beverages at the front of the enclosed trailer (6000+ lb brick being towed by V8 Nissan Armada ).

All was going well as I was SOOO close now and it was only about 4pm so I'd be able to get set-up in the light.... Hmmm, what's that smell? Hot Semi brakes? another car's fouled exhaust? random smell i.e. dead mouse in my ventilation system? Grrr, I guess I should pull over just to double check... (about 15 miles out from Lucerne Valley)

Ahhh f*%#ing sh*t! Fluid all over the front driver wheel, dripping from the entire front undercarriage, oh and the rest of the length of the Armada. Great, all over the front of the enclosed as well.

Uhh, well I wonder what it is? (none of the gauges had gone bonkers). A little more examination and realized it was tranny fluid. But where did it come from? Had to remove the front skid/air deflector to get a better look.

Guess I should actually pull over further since I'm inches from the traffic passing me at 70+ mph and not moving over as a courtesy.

Once pulled up on to the soft sandy embankment of 247, I get under the rig w the motor running. Ahhhh, there's the culprit. Tranny cooler hose.

Just then, a gentleman pulls up as I'm still under the front of the Armada. I slide out and we introduce ourselves. He tells me he's Bill Bigelow, Doug's father. Hearing this gives me instant comfort as I'm fairly certain that he has at least a little familiarity w/ automotive issues and even if not, he's there, he stopped to check on me when no one else would. He continued to stay w/ me, chatting, holding a light wherever needed, etc.

Anywho, I had a bunch of random hose pieces and found a section of 5/16" to replace the punctured section of OEM crap. Fired up the motor, added a few quarts of tranny fluid (shhh, don't tell anyone I didn't use Nissan brand), and put away all my tools covered in slippery tranny fluid.

Bill said that he was heading back to Hammertown and would follow me back to make sure that everything went smoothly. I knew if I could get there, I would be totally fine as there are soooo many people that could help me if my temporary fix was insufficient.

I worked my way VERY slowly (not wanting to cause any more problems) to Boone Rd w/ Bill following. Sorry I was going so slow. It definitely takes a while when you're only doing 40mph.

Found Boone Rd, pulled into the registration checkpoint, got my stuff and continued on into the dusty world of Hammertown to get settled in for a fun week. Later in the week I found Doug and Bill and spent some time w/ them in their camp.

Such good people! I know others would have done the same thing but to have had a competitor's father, who was in the midst of trying to get his son's car ready for the toughest offroad race in the world, stop and completely focus his attention on making sure I (a total stranger) was able to get to my destination, has left a permanent impression.

Thank you Bill. I truly appreciate you. Next time I'm passing through Maryland, I'll have to look you up.

Terry Jones

[MilCrawl]

This is what makes it the best place to be for those couple of weeks in February.

[SiRMarlon]

That's awesome to hear!!

[homeboy]

awesome, good karma on the bigelow family for helping terry out.

even the police / highway patrol are nice in the states I found, police wont stop for shit up in canada if you are pulled over with a vehicle problem.

had my trailer brakes seize on bringing home my new chassis in September and within minutes oregon highway patrol showed up to help me, even though I had it all handled.

[PhillyFan55]

I have had several conversations with Mr. Bigelow...I say this as I know he hates being called Mr. but I refuse to show him anything but respect...and each time I feel that I walked away with something I did not have before. Whether it be knowledge...a funny story...or a story to live by it is something.

I had nothing but respect for Bill before this story and this just adds to the true gentleman that he is!

Great story and thanks for sharing!

[Gravel Maker]

I was able to spend some time with Bill also, great guy, obviously where Doug gets it from...

[DOUG38S]

Great to meet you too!