DEEP TROUBLE: Runaway Motorcycle on a Costa Rica Mountain Road
5/29/20261 hr
One of the most frightening situations a rider can face is realizing the bike won’t slow down on a long, steep mountain descent. That’s exactly what happened to Seth Cooper in Costa Rica. In this episode of DEEP TROUBLE, Seth shares how a rented KTM 690 Enduro R, an unfamiliar mountain road, and a series of seemingly manageable decisions combined to create a genuine survival situation. It's a story about risk, assumptions, bike condition, route choice, and how options can disappear faster than you expect.
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About the Podcast
Since 2014, Adventure Rider Radio has shared adventure motorcycle travel stories, Rider Skills, Deep Trouble episodes, tech and gear features, and conversations with riders from around the world. New episodes of ARR are released every Thursday, with new episodes of RAW released monthly on the 21st.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJim Martin· Host0:00
[upbeat music] One of the most frightening things that can happen to you while driving a vehicle is being partway down a long, steep mountain road with switchbacks and realizing that you can't slow down. I mean, that would be terrifying in a car or truck. They've got four wheels, a seatbelt, and a cage around you, and airbags. Now put yourself on a motorcycle in that situation, a rented motorcycle in a foreign country. It isn't your bike. You don't know the bike as well as you know your own bike, the controls, the way it feels. And there you are, hands gripped on the handlebars, tightening ever so tight. The road is dropping away in front of you. The surface is loose, the corners are blind, and the bike is literally running away with you. Your speed keeps building and your options quickly disappear. And at that point, you're not thinking about riding anymore. You're looking ahead, trying to figure out how much longer you can hold on while you search for some way, some place, some idea to get the thing stopped. But as the speed increases, this question changes again. Suddenly, you know you're not going to stop it. There is no safe way to bring this motorcycle to a stop. You are going to crash. So where can you crash and have the best chance? That is where Seth Cooper found himself in Costa Rica. Now, he's an experienced rider, grew up riding the dirt. He knows motorcycles.