Because You Never Know What's Around The Bend

I promise after this one I’ll get back to the brighter side of my world of motorcycles. 

I received a phone message from my friend Marcel last Saturday.  It was one of those messages where it sounded like something wasn’t right.  “Yer gonna want to call me back…” he said in a tone that made it clear something was wrong.  Often when you get something like that your mind rolls a montage of potentials for what’s going on as you dial the number.  Nikki answered and put Marcel on the phone and his tone was the exact same as the voice mail.  Marcel had an accident on his motorcycle…news I’d never want to hear from anyone much less this great man.

On a nice day after a run to deliver some tomatoes to friends Marcel was minding his own business enjoying the twists and turns of his neighborhood way up near Barry’s Bay.  It’s incredible country up there with some roads that were meant for a bike.  As he entered a left handed curve a car approached from the other direction too fast.  The driver crossed the yellow line forcing Marcel to straighten to avoid the impending head on collision.  While his efforts solved the threat of certain death it also introduced a whole new problem…the soft gravel shoulder.   Marcel’s skills allowed him to fight the will of the stones for a moment. His other skills allowed him to identify that fact that the next stop was the trees if he didn’t take action.  He dropped the motorcycle and wasn’t able to get away from it resulting in a collar bone broken in three places, a bike scratched and dented and a love of motorcycles lost.

The driver of the car never stopped and may or may not know what he or she caused.  The speed and carelessness of that driver nearly cost me a friend.  That’s something I ponder as I also consider how I’d encouraged Marcel to ride again.  We rode once together…that’s it.  I can still see it, a bright cool spring morning his first time after a very long time.  I won’t see that again it seems.   

I had put off going up to see him to go for a ride a few times.  It’s nearly four hours away and I kept placing it in the TO DO pile never having made it a TO DONE.  I’ll regret that and take something from it.  Make the effort to do things you think of doing sooner than later.  The rest of life isn’t as important as family and friends.  That’s the part that matters. 

Go ride and be safe.