Day 70 - An accident!

It was an interesting start to the day. Woken at 3am by strange noises outside, one would assume Dingo? Crocodile? Upon further investigation the culprit was revealed to be a little wallaby. After some shooing away, he hopped over to the next campsite to continue his treasure hunt.

Leaving Katherine Gorge and heading to Roper Bar the boys knew today would pose a challenge. There would be a stretch ahead where the sealed road ends and the unsealed road continues. Having had 2 unpleasant experiences on unsealed roads, you have to admire the determination to give it a good go.

Getting the gear off to get the knobbies on

Preparation involved getting the off road tyres fitted and ready to tackle the unsealed road.

And we're off on an adventure!

As it turns out, the road tackles Ulick. Swapping positions, Torsten goes ahead. Ulls hits a soft spot and fishtails beyond control. Thrown quite a way Ulick does not sustain any major injuries. A few abrasions, some damage on his thigh from his racks and a few bruises (physical and emotional). The bike performed a series of flips in it's acrobatic landing. Torsten continued on without immediate realisation that Ulick had come off his bike and hit the dirt. A local store owner was only a 100 metres or so behind Ulls and approached quite quickly having seen a commotion in the dust ahead. He helped Ulls get the bike and bits and pieces off the road. By this time Torsten has turned around and approached the scene.

Where the rear came out and the front wheel dug in

The damage done

Instinctively going for the handlebars to push his bike off the road, Ulls discovers the headstock (where the headlight and handlebars are fixed) is pretty banged up, with some wires and things exposed. His wind screen is also smashed. It seems the purpose built racks that they had wielded on helped save the cowling as they took the brunt of the impact. However, the entire front of the bike is a bit worse for wear.

Glynn & Veronica, our guardian angels

The local store owner is fantastic in this time of need and helps them get to his store in Roper Bar. He arranges accommodation and even a few beers to help ease the situation. Not sure if it helps the headache.

A few bruises but nothing broken

Assessing the bike will have to wait till tomorrow. What will they do? Will this put their expected return date in jeopardy? Will they have to hitch a ride to Cairns?

The bike needs to be patched up, but Ulick is okay. A full face helmet, protective gloves, purpose made motorbike jacket and boots, and some draggin jeans pay off.

I'll keep you posted.