In the days, weeks, since my accident on the Great Central Road it's been a great time to reflect. Questions have been posed and answered, initial disappointment turned to thanks and planning for the future.
Immediately after the accident, I came around in the trauma ward of the Royal Perth Hospital. Initially I was confused and worried about what lay ahead. Apparently whilst laying in the Western Australian desert I had made mention that that was it for me and bikes, there was no doubt now that the BMW F800GS would be written off, and with that I had announced I would buy a 4wd and caravan.
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| The good doctor ... watching Valentino Rossi win yet another MotoGP race was enough motivation to get up and get on with it! |
I had taken a pretty serious blow to the head. My GPS tracker said I had gone from around 100 kilometres per hour to zero in the space of 2 metres. I had gone over the handlebars as the forks had compressed. The top and right handside of my helmet (Bell MX-9) indicated that I had landed on my head and also right shoulder however, it also seemed that as the 300+ kilogram bikes forks had rebounded from the severe compression the bike had been sent skyward and then came down on my head as I lay on the track. The evidence from the large fist size indentation on the back of my helmet suggests that the right handlebar and brake fluid reservoir and hit me.
The helmet had certainly done its job although, it had been turned around on my head, with
such force that it had actually cut my head in a number of places - I've never had this happen before but would suggest that a well fitting helmet should move so much.
Obviously the talk of never riding again and turning to a caravan was down to the concussion ... it was never really going to happen, NEVER!
Diagnoses at the Royal Perth Hospital was indeed a concussion, severe enough to burst a number of blood vessels in my right eye. There was also a few cracked ribs, can't do much about that. A broken right collarbone, at both ends meaning the bone was floating. Again, not a lot can be done about that and having had one before I knew it was just a waiting game. The main injury was diagnosed as severely torn ligaments down the entire length of my neck. The doctors had said that I was extremely lucky to have not severed my spinal column, no need to explain what that means. I would be confined to a pretty restricted life for at least the next three months. Initially I was quite depressed but over a week it dawned on me just how lucky I had been.
Once home from Perth, the recovery began in earnest. I told myself I needed to get back on a bike as quickly as possible and so the plan was to let the neck do what it needed to do, I can't tell you how much you use your neck until you can't, in many ways it affects your whole body but there was nothing I could do about this just yet.
The shoulder on the other hand was a different story. Immediately I started movement exercises to try and keep the muscles active. This definitely helped when the rehab began at six weeks after the accident, at the point of writing this (9 weeks) the movement is certainly coming back.
The mental rehabilitation was kept on track by planning a new ride back to the scene of the accident. Many people mentioned to me that riding a motorcycle should be off the list, at least in remote areas where the track conditions might not always be favourable. This was never an option.
While I could've sat at home and wondered why I had let a desert track cause such injuries and destroy my bike, and to be honest a few times it did cross my mind, I didn't let this become a demotivator instead using it as a reason to go back and finish the ride across one of the worlds largest deserts.
A great motivator were the people of the town of Laverton, nearest to where the accident had taken place.
From the scene of the accident to getting home and the weeks after, this great little community have been wonderful in helping, often giving up their own time and money to ensure my fellow riders and myself were looked after.
I can't thank Gary, Lorena, Denise, Ellie and Rex enough for what you did for me and the others. You not only helped get me out of the desert safely but also ensured everyone was looked after and not having to worry about themselves.
The staff at the Laverton Hospital also need to be mentioned. They were fantastic in looking after me, I'm sorry, I don't remember any of your names, you know who you are and how wonderful you all are.
A very special thank you has to be made to Rabbit (Les Hitchcock). Mate, what you did to help get the bikes back to Melbourne is simply one of the most generous things I have ever seen or heard of anyone doing. Your generosity just can't be thanked enough, but I'll bloody well try.
In the lead up to the ride to Laverton I had heard so many bad things, many of it from blogs written by caravaners, 4 wheel drive clubs and just tourists in general, about this small community. I have no doubt it has some issues, like most places do, but if you are reading this then please don't believe anything else you read about Laverton. It is the most wonderful place, made so by the people who live and work there. Every single one of them.
It's places like Laverton why I ride, and especially ride into paces many other people don't or won't go. It's not a tourist hub, it's not commercial, it's a little worn out and dirty, but it has something special, something very special. The people, the community. They look after each other and look after complete strangers, giving much more of themselves than what they receive.
The people of Laverton have a special pride, a special respect, a special sense of community. I can't thank them alll enough but to say I will be back.
To thannk the people of Laverton as best I can I am planning on riding back in 2017. A 3,500 kilometre ride from Laverton (suburb of Melbourne) in Victoria to Laverton, Western Australia. Across the Nullarbor Plain and up into the goldfields. This is an invertation for you all to join me. More details will follow however, if you are interested now please contact me at leigh.wilkins@bigpond.com, I can guarantee it will be a great ride across a unique part of the world and we'll have a hell of a lot of fun along the way.
