Face caught in telephone wire hanging across the road in the Tankwa

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Location
Hout Bay
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KTM 890 Adventure R Rally
Last week my friend Alan, my son Bas and I decided to go for a mid-week Cederberg ride.  Day 1 was supposed to get us from Cape Town to Tankwa tented camp.  Weather was a bit miserable to start with but improved greatly once we were past Ceres.  We had a route that would not take us straight up the R355 as that is a boring route.

As I have the GPS I rode upfront.  All was going great and just before 3 PM we turned into a small track off the R356.  We were going at a reasonable 65 kph.  To be able to see better I had my visor open.  This is a nice track that requires you to keep your eyes on the path. And that is what I was doing when suddenly my head got whipped up. 

I immediately realized what was happening to me.  My helmet was caught on a wire.  Two thoughts went through my mind, neither of which were pleasant:
1) My son is riding behind me; I must stop and warn him.
2) I am going to get decapitated.

But there was nothing that I could do.  The bike had veered off the road and I was now bouncing along through the veld.  As the wire tightened up I was looking at the sky and I was pulled back onto my luggage.  My hands were no longer on the bars.  And I kept thinking that I had to stop and warn them.

Just as sudden as I had been caught, I was free again.  But still lying back on my bike and not in control.  I quickly sat up straight, grabbed the bars and somehow managed to stop without falling.  The moment the bike had come to a stop I could taste the blood.  I turned the bike and rode out of the veld and back onto the track.  Bas and Alan had come to a stop without getting caught as my escapades had pulled the wire a long way along.

After removing my helmet the enormity of it all really struck me and I had to sit down for a bit.  Well, lie down really as there was quite a bit of cleaning up to be done.  Alan performed roadside first aid as Bas checked the GPS for the nearest hospital (Sutherland, 70 kms away).  Once cleaned up it was clear that a few stitches were needed.  My guardian angel can clearly fly at 65 kph as I only had a short deep cut between my nose and my top lip.

While we were recovering from the incident a local family suddenly appeared out of nowhere.  “Yes” they say, “this also happened this morning.  A guy was pulled off the back of a bakkie”.  Alan decided that twice in a day was enough and he cut the telephone wire to make it safe for anyone else that would come along.  The wire was hanging low as one or two poles were missing.  It was not a deliberate attempt to catch anyone.

Next stop, Sutherland hospital where I got good first aid.  Just 3 stitches and a tetanus injection.  Not bad at all for something that had a far worse potential outcome. 

As we were discussing the incident in the pub that evening Bas said that he had slowed down as he saw me bouncing across the veld.  He said that he was wondering what on earth I was doing waving at the sky.  The bike bounced 3 times completely above the bushes with me lying flat on my back on it.  And all that without moering into the ground. 

I wear an Arai TX4 and the wire caught me in the open part of the helmet.  It cut into the visor and that is what trapped the wire until I was leaning back far enough and the tension pulled the wire free.  Just 5 cms lower and it would have got caught underneath my helmet and against my neck.  How lucky can you be?

Next day we carried on with the ride and completed the loop via the Postal route.  Nothing to report on that that can compare to day one.

The coordinates and a map are included below.  Just in case anyone is heading out that way and the wire is reinstalled without the poles.  You can see how I veered off into the veld from the close up.  It took about 8-10 seconds in total and around 100 meters before I stopped.


 

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  • Phone wire incident - overview map.jpg
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  • Phone wire incident - coordinates.jpg
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  • Phone wire incident - speeds and distances.jpg
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