Dealing with the situation – our first proper incident
Added on Tuesday, June 14th, 2011 by Carole Nash Editor
Dealing with the situation – our first proper incident
Our first proper incident took everyone by surprise. Again, even though we all kept talking about the dangers of the Namibia roads – and how they can catch you out with tightening corners that seem to come out of nowhere, we were all given a wakeup call. Ingrad overshot a corner that crossed a railway line and although it ended up as just a quick foray into the roadside rubble, he managed to stay on and learn a sharp lesson. Unfortunately for Nathan coming up behind, he was so distracted by the bikers assisting, he just lost that focus for a split second and totally overcooked it.
Moving at a pace, he had no chance of actually taking the corner and in simple terms jumped the GS 1200 into the air over the railway track and across a drainage ditch – a distance of about 30ft. All held their breath and watched in disbelief as a quarter of a ton – and an 85kilo pilot hurtled through the hot Namibian air. I was shocked by the noise, the crunching of metal against the rocky ground – it didn’t look good – and our hearts were beating furiously waiting to deal with the aftermath. But out of the dust and I mean dust – a cloak of thick Namibian desert dust, came our hero, walking towards us, smiling, dishevelled, dusty and remarkably – in one piece! It would have made a great film piece! Spielberg would have loved it!
Although the bike had cart wheeled through the air, Nathan, our top gun hero, managed to get nothing more than a bruised big toe and a great deal of attention! The GS didn’t look happy – with its neck sort of broken, some square wheels and a lowered rear suspension, it was a complete redesign and we believe, close to a write off.
The sweeper truck arrived after a quick SAT phone call and within a short space of time, we’d loaded the wrecked bike onto the trailer and Nathan was riding again on the spare one – a legend was born indeed. Of course it was the talk of the day – in fact days… but we were all so happy that it ended well. Any bike-trip has its dangers, it sort of goes with that type of territory – I think it’s being set up to deal with the incident that makes the difference. SAT phones, proper medical kit, spare bikes, proper procedures and a calm organized approach. Su and John from Moto Aventures have been in the business for more than 15 years – so we can rely on them having the right emergency process built into the trip. Phew, a very, very exciting day. Now to the lodge and the bar!
The first picture here is Nathan – just a few hours before the crunch – looking very dapper and professional!!! The next one shows some of the guys inspecting the damaged GS 1200. For those BMW aficionados, you’re dead right, the front of the GS does not sweep back like that and the rear shouldn’t be that low, but this one’s been ‘redesigned’ as it tumbled literally head over heels into the ground! And the final one is Nathan having a look at his work! Thanks Nathan – and yes we do have the head cam footage!
