July 03, on my way home from work, I stopped to help at an accident. A couple from Colombia had crashed when the rear tire on their BMW F800 blew-out and sent them into a ditch at speed. So many 'what-if' and 'could-have'. If one can say 'this was a good crash'; this was it...
They missed a sign post by 2 meters and were headed straight at a telephone pole. He tossed it, or luck did, because they hit the deck on pure sand just four meters in front of the pole. Could have been ugly.
Ironically, they had decided to visit a friend in Whitehorse rather than risk riding the Dempster. Today their friend contacted me about picking up the bike (it's in a trailer in my yard) and to let me know that both riders were fine. The guy has a fractured disk and she has lots of soft tissue damage. They will fly home to Colombia next week for three months of recovery.
These people were wearing full kit. Their bike is well maintained. The bike has stickers from rides and events I've never heard of; not newbies.
Shit happens.
So... if you plan to ride north: have medical insurance in place, have contact with potential support people in the area, spend dollars on gear that will save your life, and, please, don't crash near my house... I missed dinner.
A small price for the comfort I was able to give to those travellers. So glad they are safe.
