On Cholla, had a close friend take a mature thorn through a heavy leather M/C riding boot w/a 7/16" thick plastic shin protector straight into the bone. Admittedly he was probably going faster than Chuck's dog when he made contact. We had to break it off when the boot was removed & extracted the remainder w/a pair of needle nose pliers, all that was readily available at the time; he went on to win the Baja 1000 that year. Bruce O., as fine a guy as you'd ever meet. I always preferred the older metal shielded boots when desert ridng for just that reason. It was a while ago.
To keep this double gun related, no one would believe the numbers of birds in coveys sometimes surprised on M/C's and hunted at other times as the guest of friend(s) made south of the border, whose properties we rode through and across doing those SCORE races. I still retain a Carte Blanche 'pass' from the Gov. of the state at that time as a momento of those days & fond memories of coveys in numbers that most people would not even dream about in country that remains both remote & not readily accessible .. unless you are a guest or just passing through as a pre-runner, pit operator or competitor. The birds there had not been subjected to over grazing, inscecticides, population density or people calling 20 acres a 'ranch'. In parts of W.Texas, twelve sections is sometimes considered a 'trap'. In Baja, it can be larger.
