drama on t HE ar C ti C t U ndra

By Michael Ahlberg, Member # 4331

With this recollection I’ll share my experience with one of the more dangerous aspects of both driving and riding. It’s not to start a debate, but simply my experience and opinion, just take it or leave it.

Touring Europe in 2017 on the R1200 GSA, was slightly more ambitious than last time on our Harley. Four months and about 8,000 more kilometres. After touring around from London, Paris, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, France, Italy, Greece and all the small countries on the Adriatic peninsular and the rest of east Europe we were finally in the Swedish Arctic and then the Norwegian Arctic. So many memories and such awesome roads and nature areas. As always, Ann as pillion, was taking thousands of pictures every day. We were carrying 4 months of luggage including tools, camping gear and souvenirs, etc. The Arctic road was straight, levelled and with good sealed surface, so much more comfortable than the many hundred km rough gravel and road works in Alaska on the Harley towing a trailer.

Distraction comes in many more forms than you realise; checking your dash, with all the fancy trip computer readings, rear vision mirror (straining to see who’s behind you for instance), the GPS, reading road signs, checking awesome views and much more. We’ve all experienced it. Just at the split second when we take our eyes away from looking ahead, something sudden happens up ahead and we have to emergency brake, or worse. Today would be such an ominous day.

I noticed what I thought was a patch of snow down from the road to the left. Looking close, it’s a white Stag Reindeer, so I signal Ann to take a photo. Note we’re travelling on the right side of this narrow elevated road. My attention was diverted for less than 2 seconds, and the Reaper was smiling.

Picture the Arctic, with no trees or bushes just the tundra ground cover. The road is elevated with sharp drops each side. The gravel road shoulder is less than two feet wide, then dropping right down. It was a perfect ride and no traffic, well except for that sedan some 80 meters ahead of us. We’re doing between 80 and 100 kph. What can go wrong? Well, only the most dangerous cause of crashes (IMHO), namely Distraction.

Two reindeer were climbing up on the right embankment, almost already on the road. The car in front of us had hit the anchors to a stop at an angle, with another reindeer also on his left, and was blocking my way straight forward. It was stationary about 30 meter ahead of us as we’re doing 80-100kph. Heavily loaded where to go? in the split second we had? There was a gap on the right between the car’s rear right fender and the closest reindeer, but it looks too narrow and along that ‘less than 2 feet’ gravel shoulder. Still with no options I went for that gap and without slowing. We zip through like in a mad action movie, and got past before the gap closed and without hitting anything, talk about Angels.