Post by luvmyjeep on Aug 12, 2009 17:24:53 GMT -4
August 12, 2009
A collision with a bear while riding a motorcycle in Nova Scotia has left a New Brunswick man battered and bruised — but the injuries could have been a lot worse if he hadn’t been wearing proper safety gear.
“I see people riding with shorts and a T-shirt and that’s crazy. I hit the ground at 90 kilometres per hour and I only got a few scratches,” Lee Dale of Riverview, N.B., said Tuesday as he sipped a coffee from a straw in his hospital bed.
Dale has a broken left foot, five cracked ribs, a damaged shoulder and a broken right thumb.
But he was in good spirits as he told the story of his bizarre encounter with a black bear Saturday afternoon on a secondary highway between Springhill, N.S., and Amherst, N.S.
The 40-year-old woodworker has lots of experience riding dirt bikes on trails, but only got his motorcycle licence a year ago.
“I took the motorcycle safety course and they told us to expect the unexpected, so there you go.”
Dale and two friends were on a Saturday cruise from Riverview to Nova Scotia.
On the return trip through the back roads of Nova Scotia along the Northumberland Strait, they stopped for a break at a roadside motel and spoke to the owner, who told them about how the black bear population seemed to be higher than normal this year.
Heeding the warning, the three friends mounted up and continued on their way.
They were making their way home along Highway 2, west toward Amherst. The two-lane secondary highway has many rolling hills and curves — the kind of road that motorcyclists love.
Dale says he was riding along when a young black bear ran out of the woods from his left so fast that he didn’t have time to react.
“It was just like he was shot out of a cannon. He came across that road like he was on a mission. He wasn’t that big so I guess he was a cub. He was about the same height as the bike.”
“He came out just like a shot, it was unbelievable, and he ran right into my left leg.”
The impact of the bear’s body against Dale’s leg at 90 kilometres an hour resulted in Dale’s body being thrown up into the air and away from the big Yamaha 1100 V-Star.
“He hit me and it took the bike right out from under me and I flew right off the bike.”
The bike kept going on its own and Dale struck the road with full force.
Dale says he remained conscious but he was dazed.
His friends stopped to help, as did an RCMP officer.
Friends say the RCMP officer turned on the car’s lights and siren to scare away the bear, which appeared ready to attack Dale after the impact.
The bear was last seen running into the woods. Dale says he was conscious but unable to move after the impact.
He was taken by ambulance to hospital in Amherst, where he remained Saturday and Sunday before being transferred to The Moncton Hospital.
On Tuesday, he received a few teddy bears from friends as tongue-in-cheek get-well wishes.
Dale’s motorcycle was taken to a local dealership with minor damage from the impact and from falling over on the side of the road.
Dale was wearing a motorcycle jacket with padded back, shoulders and elbows, along with a helmet, gloves and a new pair of protective riding pants he had just purchased.
“I always wear my helmet and gloves and it’s funny because I was thinking about buying a pair of pants and then when they came on sale for $169 I bought them. It’s a good thing I had them or I would have been worse off.”
He says he plans to get back on the bike and keep riding after he has healed up.
A collision with a bear while riding a motorcycle in Nova Scotia has left a New Brunswick man battered and bruised — but the injuries could have been a lot worse if he hadn’t been wearing proper safety gear.
“I see people riding with shorts and a T-shirt and that’s crazy. I hit the ground at 90 kilometres per hour and I only got a few scratches,” Lee Dale of Riverview, N.B., said Tuesday as he sipped a coffee from a straw in his hospital bed.
Dale has a broken left foot, five cracked ribs, a damaged shoulder and a broken right thumb.
But he was in good spirits as he told the story of his bizarre encounter with a black bear Saturday afternoon on a secondary highway between Springhill, N.S., and Amherst, N.S.
The 40-year-old woodworker has lots of experience riding dirt bikes on trails, but only got his motorcycle licence a year ago.
“I took the motorcycle safety course and they told us to expect the unexpected, so there you go.”
Dale and two friends were on a Saturday cruise from Riverview to Nova Scotia.
On the return trip through the back roads of Nova Scotia along the Northumberland Strait, they stopped for a break at a roadside motel and spoke to the owner, who told them about how the black bear population seemed to be higher than normal this year.
Heeding the warning, the three friends mounted up and continued on their way.
They were making their way home along Highway 2, west toward Amherst. The two-lane secondary highway has many rolling hills and curves — the kind of road that motorcyclists love.
Dale says he was riding along when a young black bear ran out of the woods from his left so fast that he didn’t have time to react.
“It was just like he was shot out of a cannon. He came across that road like he was on a mission. He wasn’t that big so I guess he was a cub. He was about the same height as the bike.”
“He came out just like a shot, it was unbelievable, and he ran right into my left leg.”
The impact of the bear’s body against Dale’s leg at 90 kilometres an hour resulted in Dale’s body being thrown up into the air and away from the big Yamaha 1100 V-Star.
“He hit me and it took the bike right out from under me and I flew right off the bike.”
The bike kept going on its own and Dale struck the road with full force.
Dale says he remained conscious but he was dazed.
His friends stopped to help, as did an RCMP officer.
Friends say the RCMP officer turned on the car’s lights and siren to scare away the bear, which appeared ready to attack Dale after the impact.
The bear was last seen running into the woods. Dale says he was conscious but unable to move after the impact.
He was taken by ambulance to hospital in Amherst, where he remained Saturday and Sunday before being transferred to The Moncton Hospital.
On Tuesday, he received a few teddy bears from friends as tongue-in-cheek get-well wishes.
Dale’s motorcycle was taken to a local dealership with minor damage from the impact and from falling over on the side of the road.
Dale was wearing a motorcycle jacket with padded back, shoulders and elbows, along with a helmet, gloves and a new pair of protective riding pants he had just purchased.
“I always wear my helmet and gloves and it’s funny because I was thinking about buying a pair of pants and then when they came on sale for $169 I bought them. It’s a good thing I had them or I would have been worse off.”
He says he plans to get back on the bike and keep riding after he has healed up.
Set up another site on the other side of the brook to see what happens. Only been a week.