Back in July I hit a moose, totalled my trusty old 2016 Africa Twin and left my spleen in Alaska, just 1 week into a 5 month Trans-Am trip. Bummer. Of course I bought a nice low mileage replacement 2016 Africa Twin online whilst I was still in hospital in Alaska and am now recovering at home and making it “adventure ready” to go again. Hard panniers are needed and since I now also have the DesertX for shorter trips I thought I’d go for a flexible set-up where I can use hard or soft panniers, swapping them from bike to bike as needed. To ensure the panniers will be easily swappable I wanted the same make of racks on both bikes. I have gone for Outback Motortek racks as they have a good reputation and are one of the few manufacturers who make a racks for the DesertX and the only one I can find who make racks for both bikes. I already have Enduristan soft panniers that will fit the racks and have ordered 3 hard panniers from Globescout in Turkey - small, medium and large - so that I can configure the bikes in a variety of ways. They were the only company with the variety of sizes that I wanted, they are clearly very well designed, and from what I can gather, very well made. They come with appropriate mounting kits for the Outback Motortek racks, and have great email support and online videos on how to drill the panniers to fit them. DHL are due to deliver it all today and tomorrow so we shall see how I get on with fitting them.
In truth there is more. I was very lucky to survive hitting the moose, thankfully I caught him a glancing blow rather than square on, otherwise it would’ve been a different story. I was knocked unconscious and ripped my hamstring in the accident and both I and the bike ended up in a ditch full of bushes. This was in the middle of nowhere up on the Dalton Highway (Ice Road truckers territory), 6 hours from the nearest hospital and with no mobile reception. The Alaska oil pipeline runs alongside the Dalton and every 100-odd miles they have a manned pumping station. By chance, just about the only other vehicle on the road at the time wasn’t too far behind me, and pulled over when he saw me and the bike go off the road down the ditch and disappear into the bushes. Even more luckily it was a pumping station security guard on his way to work, he was a trained oil company paramedic who was able to administer first aid and radio for an oil company private ambulance to come from his pumping station. That evening in hospital I was examined, x-rayed and scanned and then discharged with a pair of crutches and painkillers to await repatriation home by my insurance company in a local hotel. The next day I was feeling really ill. lightheaded, with stomach pains. I thought it was food poisoning from a dodgy delivery pizza I had ordered but I ended-up collapsing unconscious in my hotel room only to be saved by room service who called an ambulance. Back at the hospital they discovered I had a lacerated spleen and was bleeding out internally. I ended up having to have a transfusion of six units of blood and they had to remove my spleen as it couldn’t be saved. My wife flew out to Alaska and it was nearly another two weeks before I was finally repatriated home after post op recovery in the hospital and yet more time waiting in a hotel. It is now 9 weeks since the accident and physically I’m doing well. I can walk fine with just a little pain in my knee and hip, and physio is helping me rebuild the muscle mass I’ve lost in my thigh. My splenectomy wound is healing well, and I was able to drive for the first time yesterday without having to have a dressing pad in between the scar and the seat belt. For weeks I couldn’t even wear a shirt because of the soreness of it rubbing in the scar. I’m starting with a specialist cardiac physio soon so that will help minimise the effects of the scarring I hope. Psychologically it is all a bit weird. I’m not put off riding and bike travel … the chances of a similar thing happening again are minuscule … but I think I’ve realised for the first time just how short and fragile life can be. Carpe Diem as the saying goes!
My god... you are lucky... that could have gone completely wrong in so many ways.... Lucky doesn't cut it.
Y’know that is the #1 question I get asked LOL … This was a bloody big bull moose … they are as tough as they come. Not a sign of him after the accident, except for a few small tufts of hair on the road. My assumption is he ambled his merry way to the moose-bar and told the story to his moose-mates … “you’ll never guess what happened to me”
28 litre for RH side on SMALLER trips 35 litre for LH side on SMALLER trips or RH side on BIGGER trips 45 litre for LH side on BIGGER trips
