Betty 2.0 Gets Stuck

November 18^th, 2019

Travelling in unknown lands is so easy these days with the advent of smartphones.  Even back in 2010 when I hit continental Europe with the original Betty I had a Garmin GPS, a dedicated device that quickly went the way of the Dodo when smartphones arrived, but it sure helped.  That’s in contrast to when I backpacked in 1996 after university where the tool of the day was “Lonely Planet” guidebooks.  I lugged around a couple of these big books, one of which I never ended up using as my trip took an unexpected turn and I didn’t end up in that region.  Although I have to say that with the modern devices you end up being quite independent and don’t need to interact with the locals to find out if you are on the right track…a part of the adventure is lost.

Even so, with our smartphones guiding us we can make mistakes.  Google Maps was showing me the way to my next Freedom Camping spot but I had turned off the sound as I was listening to a podcast.  I mistakenly passed by a dirt road I was supposed to turn down.  I went another 100 meters or so and since it was a quiet country road I figured I’d just do a U-turn.  Betty 2.0 has a long wheelbase which I have to admit I’m still getting used to, which sometimes shows in my slightly angled parking at grocery stores.  I had turned the van 90 degrees, perpendicular to the road, when the back wheels just rolled of the pavement onto the gravel and that’s where it started to go bad.  It’s a rear wheel drive and the tires are not what I’m used to with my 4x4 truck back home.  Well they spun and dug in an inch or two.  I got out an checked out the situation.  I hopped back in and tried rocking her back and forth…no good and in fact my back wheels worked their way a little further down the 2-3 foot embankment and entrenched a bit deeper.

It didn’t look like Betty 2.0 was going to make it up the incline of the ditch anymore so I thought that I would try backing up more while turning so that I could end up more parallel to the road and drive sideways up the edge.  It almost worked but I was concerned that I was compounding the problem now as I got closer to a fence and into a bit of tall grass.  At least I was mostly off the road as I was only 100 meters from a hill so oncoming traffic wouldn’t see me until last minute.  Okay, it looks like I need help.

It doesn't look that bad does it...

I walked past my intended turn off to the next farmhouse, but no one was home.  While I was away from the vehicle, a few cars passed me and I realized that I should stay by Betty and flag someone down from there.  About 10 minutes later a random convoy of a campervan and a few other vans drove by.  I waved my arms over my head (I think the internationally recognized “I need help” sign) and pointed at my van and made a pushing motion.  The message was received and understood.  It was an older German couple in the big campervan, a younger German couple in one of the vans and I think the other two were French.  They tried pushing from the back but that only dug us deeper.  We then tried pushing from the front, no go.  Amazingly the young German woman returned from her van with a small shovel so I did a bit of digging but that didn’t solve the issue either.  After about 10 minutes of attempts, it looked like I needed bigger help. 

Earlier I had looked on my phone and unfortunately the nearest tow truck was over 2 hours away.  The older German man suggested finding a nearby farmer and I asked if they could give me a lift to the next one down the road which was only about ½ a kilometer away.  I thanked everyone for their help and they were on their way.  Luckily there was a woman on an ATV spreading out some hay in a field at that farm.  She came over to see me and I sheepishly explained my predicament.  She asked where the van was and then mentioned that she was just clarifying as she had recently received a call about another stuck vehicle.  I introduced myself and her name was Justine.  “I just need to bring in the calves and I’ll be with you.”  Awesome.

Ten minutes later she was back with her black herding dog on the back of her quad and the calves munching away on the hay she had laid out.  She went to get her tractor while I walked back to Betty 2.0.  Well was I surprised when her tractor appeared over the horizon, coming up that hill just 100 meters away…it was a monster with big dualie wheels on the back.  Here comes my knight in, well not shining armour, but muddy jeans…yes I did feel like a damsel in distress, well I guess a “Dave-sel in distress”!

Help arrives!

 Getting towed out.

We hooked up a chain to the front and she easily pulled me back onto the road.  So nice of her to help me out.  I thanked her profusely and insisted she take some cash I offered her and she was on her way…and so was I.  I have to admit, these little mishaps/adventures are what make travelling so amazing.  You feel low and sometimes stupid at what you’ve done or could have done better, meet remarkable people that help you out and then revel in the joy of conquering the problem.

Betty 2.0, if this is one of the biggest issues we have on this trip…you rock!