How my Tudor saved me when I hit a kangaroo on my motorbike at 90km/h

Time+Tide

One of the coolest things about vintage watches is how they show their age, the lustre of that patina, and the scars and scratches they develop over their life. When I handle an old watch, sometimes I stop and wonder what happened to cause all those marks.

But before I really got into old watches, I was, and still am, into motorbikes. And for me that was always old BMWs. Their horizontally opposed twin cylinder engines looked like they belonged on an old propeller plane. Great to tinker on, and full of that same personality that I find so endearing in vintage watches.  They promised adventure and fun. Sure they are a bit edgy when it comes to safety, but isn’t that what your 20s are for?

A few years ago I was lucky enough to get a job as a news reporter in Australia’s island state of Tasmania. And besides the job, it was a golden opportunity to really explore one of Australia’s most beautiful places – on an old BMW bike. As anyone who has spent time in Tassie will attest, it is a very picturesque place. And really a promised land for riding motorbikes.

Over the two and a half years I worked and lived in Tasmania, I must have ridden every other road, fire trail, nook, bend and cranny. I was addicted to the hum of that engine and the wind on my face. I travelled from places called Penguin and Paradise and Nowhere Else to Snug and Eggs and Bacon Bay. Seeing migrating little penguins waddle up a beach as I rode along the Bass Highway was just one of many highlights.  Along the way I met some great people and heard some fascinating stories. Some of the best people I have ever met. At this time I had a trusty Tudor Heritage Ranger as my watch companion on these adventures. It reflected the sort of adventurous existence I was carving out for myself on that beautiful island.

I have always been a careful rider, and that includes avoiding riding at dusk and dawn, when Australia’s wildlife is in full swing. Nevertheless, on a trip in 2018 my luck ran out. I hit a kangaroo at two o’clock in the afternoon on my way to visit friends in Hobart. There was no time to brake. I collided with the kangaroo at 90 km/h (the speed limit on that road was 110 km/h).

 

The last thing I remember before hitting the road is seeing the motorbike flying in the air above me, and thinking: “I must be airborne.” I landed on my left side, and my body skidded along the road for a good 15 metres. I didn’t lose consciousness as far as I can recall. And my trusty Tudor Heritage Ranger had taken the brunt of this. Honestly if it wasn’t for that watch I would have had a broken wrist. I was wearing the full suite of gear and ended up badly shaken and bruised, in shock but with no broken bones. I was most upset at being involved in an accident that had been fatal for a kangaroo.

A few weeks later and still sore I was in Sydney with the watch, the sapphire had been smashed up but the watch still ran. Rolex in Sydney fixed it for me. The gentleman that did the repair was himself a rider, heard my story behind the damage to the watch, and actually fixed it for free, for which I am forever grateful.

The watch is still in the family, with a big scratch on the case. A forever reminder of that moment in space, flying through the air, and my own luck.

So is the bike, which I fixed myself in the months after that accident. A process in coming to terms with what happened and appreciating the battle scars on that old bike too. I still ride old BMWs to this day.

Watches, and bikes, like people, show their age over time. And age reflects moments and experiences in time. Moments that can be life changing. That personality is to be celebrated.