While participating in the Walcha motorcycle rally, we headed out on the second day to complete the rally section.

Conditions were very dusty as we were riding unsealed dirt roads. The pace was fast, as the tracks from the day before were open and flowing.

About 10 km into the section, four riders bunched up, and visibility became difficult. I was the fourth rider in this group, taking it easy as I had fallen the day before and later found out I had two broken ribs. I was actually considering not riding that day because of the pain.

We were traveling at 110 km/h on what seemed to be a reasonably straight dirt road when, due to the dust, a sharp left-hander appeared out of nowhere.

I barely made the corner, and once the dust cleared, I could only see two – out of the three – riders in front, realizing someone didn’t make it. I turned around to look for the rider who had missed the corner. The bike had hit a tree, and Hernan was lying about 10 m from the bike to the left. I checked on him, and he was not in good condition. He was unable to feel his legs.

So, I activated my ResQLink 400 PLB and placed it in clear view of the sky.

At this time, a UTE of pig hunters emerged from the bush, having witnessed the accident. One of these guys was an ex-paramedic, thank goodness! Once we established a plan, the ex-paramedic stayed with Hernan while a marshal from the event, who had stopped, and I rode to get phone reception to call 000.

The Westpac rescue helicopter, ambulance, and rescue all arrived around the same time. They were able to arrive half an hour after they activated the locator beacon.