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I went for a ride with a motorcycle buddy last Thursday. We met a few years ago while riding our bikes. I hadn't known him long in the grand scheme of life but we had become friends through our common bond of riding. He loved to get together for local day rides to predetermined lunch spots. He always picked the place for lunch. We left for our 3 hour lunch ride on what was a beautiful morning. The day was perfect for our adventure. We had lunch at a little cafe / diner that he liked to frequent. We talked about all of the things two older riders would talk about; life and death, politics, economy, friends, family and of course our shared enthusiasm for our two wheel pastime.
On the ride home while traveling north on a 2 lane road with narrow shoulders in a staggered riding position (him in front and me behind by about 150 - 200 meters) I observed a line of vehicles traveling south when one of the south bound vehicles crossed into our north bound lane and attempted to pass when it was unsafe to do so. His dangerous pass placed my friend in a head on situation. I cried out to myself inside my helmet as I watched my friend as he left the road to avoid an imminent head on collision by veering onto the narrow shoulder to his right. I watched as he crossed onto the shoulder and I heard myself say "stay up, stay up" as he left the road into the ditch on the right. Luck was not on his side that day, he crashed in the ditch and died on impact.
We had an amazing team of witnesses with medical training who sprung into action and offered the best assistance one could ask for until the Emergency Response Team arrived. They continued with life saving measures including CPR and several defibrillation attempts for almost an hour until finally proclaiming him dead on the scene. The offending vehicle never stopped, he carried on southbound as the horrible tragedy unfolded. Fortunately witnesses followed the individual and were able to get photos of the vehicle and the license plate number, they then returned to the scene to provide the details to police. I was able to safely come to a stop on the shoulder and was at his side within a minute of him hitting the ground. I sensed immediately that he was already gone. He did not suffer and he died doing something he loved.
After several hours at the scene with the police and response team I got on my bike to ride the last hour home. Once safely home I told my wife of the tragedy and that my friend did nothing wrong, he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. I believe in fate, when our time is up, it is up.
I had to go to the small community police station the next morning to do a recorded witness interview of the accident. It was another beautiful day and my wife asked me if I was going to drive or ride the 45 minutes each way to the police station. My first thought was to drive but after some reflection I decided to ride with thoughts and memories of my friend. He was not a part of our online community and because of privacy concerns I have intentionally left his name out of my post. As I said to my wife, my friend did nothing wrong, he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was his time to go.
My final thoughts are, always be careful out there and remember to; "Say I love you often to those that matter." Whatever our activity, we may not be coming home that day or waking up that morning.
RIP my friend.
On the ride home while traveling north on a 2 lane road with narrow shoulders in a staggered riding position (him in front and me behind by about 150 - 200 meters) I observed a line of vehicles traveling south when one of the south bound vehicles crossed into our north bound lane and attempted to pass when it was unsafe to do so. His dangerous pass placed my friend in a head on situation. I cried out to myself inside my helmet as I watched my friend as he left the road to avoid an imminent head on collision by veering onto the narrow shoulder to his right. I watched as he crossed onto the shoulder and I heard myself say "stay up, stay up" as he left the road into the ditch on the right. Luck was not on his side that day, he crashed in the ditch and died on impact.
We had an amazing team of witnesses with medical training who sprung into action and offered the best assistance one could ask for until the Emergency Response Team arrived. They continued with life saving measures including CPR and several defibrillation attempts for almost an hour until finally proclaiming him dead on the scene. The offending vehicle never stopped, he carried on southbound as the horrible tragedy unfolded. Fortunately witnesses followed the individual and were able to get photos of the vehicle and the license plate number, they then returned to the scene to provide the details to police. I was able to safely come to a stop on the shoulder and was at his side within a minute of him hitting the ground. I sensed immediately that he was already gone. He did not suffer and he died doing something he loved.
After several hours at the scene with the police and response team I got on my bike to ride the last hour home. Once safely home I told my wife of the tragedy and that my friend did nothing wrong, he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. I believe in fate, when our time is up, it is up.
I had to go to the small community police station the next morning to do a recorded witness interview of the accident. It was another beautiful day and my wife asked me if I was going to drive or ride the 45 minutes each way to the police station. My first thought was to drive but after some reflection I decided to ride with thoughts and memories of my friend. He was not a part of our online community and because of privacy concerns I have intentionally left his name out of my post. As I said to my wife, my friend did nothing wrong, he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was his time to go.
My final thoughts are, always be careful out there and remember to; "Say I love you often to those that matter." Whatever our activity, we may not be coming home that day or waking up that morning.
RIP my friend.
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