By Lori Thompson
LITTLE CURRENT– Ron Steeves was riding his 2015 Harley Davidson Heritage Classic motorcycle May 28, heading north on Highway 6 towards Espanola, when he experienced a near catastrophic encounter with tent caterpillars.
There is a sharp curve just before Whitefish Falls. “I always pay attention at that curve,” said Mr. Steeves. “I’m very careful to not exceed the 70 km/hr speed limit there.”
On that ride, however, the road surface was virtually covered with a seething brown mass of tent caterpillars.
“You couldn’t see the centre line,” he said. His motorcycle began sliding. Fortunately, he was able to push himself away from the guardrail. “If I was going any faster I would have gone right over.”
Mr. Steeves is a seasoned rider with 53 years of experience and only one accident to his name in all of those years, but he’s never seen an infestation of caterpillars like this.
“It’s a hazard,” he said. “It’s dangerous for bikes. With the rain we just had, it’ll be like driving on grease.”
“If the highway’s brown (with caterpillars),” warns Steeves, “bikers really need to pay attention, because you’re going to slide.”
He will certainly be more cautious this summer.
