Letter to the Editor -
Dear Editor:
This morning I read the article, 'Gravel surface causing accidents', in the Aug. 24 edition of your newspaper with a sense of recognition. I was waiting for my wife to come out of orthopedic surgery on her fractured ankle at Curtis Memorial Hospital in St. Anthony. She had her motorcycle accident in almost the same spot as Mr. Burgyan, just six km before Red Bay on Highway 138.
We started our adventure a month ago from our home near San Francisco, California, each riding our own BMW bikes up to Vancouver and then wandering east across Canada. We had completed well over 1,500 km of gravel roads in Quebec, Labrador and other provinces, before meeting a combination of high winds, heavy rains and loose gravel on a Wednesday afternoon in August.
We had started out in Cartwright that morning with beautiful cloudless skies, but quickly ran into the developing storm as we headed south. We had reduced our speed to about 35 kph but a gust of wind and a built-up section of wet gravel sent my wife's bike into a front wheel skid into the guardrail, just six km before the pavement began at Red Bay. Fortunately, all she broke was her ankle. We can attest to the truth of Mr. Burgyan's "worst road" label!
However, the experience won't leave a bad taste in our mouth because the response of everybody we have met has just been extraordinary. Elijah Way kindly took my wife in his van to the Labrador-Grenfell Health clinic in Forteau, which meant he missed his ferry that night. Since the storm cancelled the next day's ferry it was a kinder act than even he knew!
The nurses and staff at the clinic were fantastically helpful, especially Morenda, who took home my wife's clothes and washed them. Wade Jones and Tanya Keats let us store our motorcycles in their garage and Frieda helped us organize a way to get my wife to the hospital in St. Anthony after the ferry was cancelled. When I returned to visit my wife, a full meal was there cooked and delivered by Graham French, Morenda's husband. Of course, the kindness has simply continued here in St. Anthony.
No, we will come away with a very good feeling about the people of this region, happy in the knowledge that here in Newfoundland and Labrador the values we ourselves hold - kindness to others - still hold sway.
Alex Frick
Glen Allen, California
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