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It all happened on the Yellowhead Highway right at the intersection of the town of Colonsay. Someone coming out of town stopped and offered to give me a ride to the local co-op store where I could get first aid. My main concern was to get a replacement front tire as quickly as possible. Being Saturday of the Civic holiday weekend made it even more urgent if I wanted to get back on the road soon. Also, Tom Connors jr. had given me free tickets to see his dad in concert in Winnipeg on August 1st and I sure did not want to miss that. That is when Allan walked in the store and asked me what I planned on doing. I just said that I was to remove my front wheel and go hitch-hiking to get a new rubber. He then suggested he could perhaps help me and that is how we ended up loading my bike on his truck, dropping it in a bike shop in Saskatoon which was 45 minutes drive from there and, went to the hospital in the meantime."

Despite my hand condition, I had my guitar in the cab and sang a few songs on the way to the repair shops. Prairie songs like "Roll on Saskatchewan" and "Manitoba" were in order among others. Things could have been worse. The doctor told me the thumb was broken and needed to be put back together. After some negotiation, it was agreed I could have it left broken in a temporary cast so I could keep on riding and ultimately have it operated in an Ontario hospital. Being on a bike I did not want to stay around for weeks. In all, with a new tire and no major damage to the bike, I could have gone back on the road 7 hours after the crash. That is when Allan offered that, if I wanted, I could stay in a bunk house over at his farm for the night. He even opened up his repair shop so I could fix anything that needed attention on the bike for safe riding. That is when the idea struck me to build a shield of the type you see on motocross bike handle bars to protect my cast hand from the weather wich turned out to be very useful in the circumstances.