The story made news across the province. A motorcycle hit a canoe that fell off a pickup truck and the rider and passenger, both 49, were seriously hurt.
That bike was one of 254 taking part in the London Ride for Dad that we were also in on Sunday. We were part of several groups that were riding behind the ones involved in the bizarre crash. You could feel the mood of everyone change as we approached the scene, especially once we noticed the bikes pulled over all had the telltale Ride flags affixed to them. Viewing two people lying on the side of the road by a mangled bike is a joy killer, let me tell you. They were both taken to hospital in serious condition which isn’t great but at least it’s not life-threatening. Some people who passed the scene after us came to our next stop with the news that the man at the controls of the bike had just been through back surgery and was on a comeback. He was airlifted to Victoria Hospital here in London. His female passenger wasn’t as seriously hurt, and transported by ambulance. OPP did charge the 20-year-old pickup driver with failing to secure a load. He pulled right over and was cooperating with police. If he’s a decent dude he’s probably devastated.
The ride itself is one of our favourites because it’s well organized and well attended.
And all of the money, every dime, goes to the cause of prostate cancer research and education. In fact the head of the research team here in London, Dr. Joseph Chin, comes to the ride every year to show his support and to give us an update on what they’re working on. He got a big laugh from the men in the crowd when he reminded everyone to get a prostate test and held up his hands to show “my fingers are quite small”!
I’ve started to wear my full-face helmet. Although I like the feeling of wind on my face I have skin issues because of sun exposure so this just makes sense. It’s also safer in many ways, even just from bugs! One of our friends said I look like The Great Gazoo! Judge for yourself. Hey, the Great Gazoo doesn’t have to worry about getting hit in the nose by a June bug at 80 km/hr.
The helmet looks fine. Just wondering how you were getting hit in the face by bugs behind that ginormous windscreen. Are there holes in it? Do you frequently peek around the side of it? Do you stand on the pegs like an mx rider while you cruise? Lol! Just wondering!
Not all bugs respect the windscreen. Sometimes they fly around it, over it, beside it or they attack from behind while one is cruising at a low speed or stopped. I don’t understand how anyone rides without a windscreen. And since my car accident in ’12 it’s a necessity if only to keep my head from snapping off my tender neck.
Years ago, I was riding in Quebec and felt as if I was being pelted by stones. I had driven into a flight of gyspy moths and those little buggers hurt!
Ouch! Hubby once had a bee fly into his helmet on a group ride. He had to very slowly and safely pull over while the little buzzer was trying to find a place to sting!
In many years of riding I had never once been stung by a bee. One nice day a while back I was out taking the long route to a friends house when I saw a bee at the last second before it hit my cheek and got lodged just inside my helmet. Apparently it was as unhappy about it as I was so it stung me. No biggy. I pulled over for a few minutes to make sure I didn’t have an allergic reaction to it then back on the road I went. A couple hours later after leaving my buddys place, I’m cruising along and I see a big bee way ahead of me executing lazy aerial maneuvers as only bees can do. In the 2 or 3 seconds before we met I had time to think to myself `wouldn’t it be funny if I got stung again the same way on the same day?’ and then `NO F%*##$^G WAY!!’. Sure enough, the last minute evasive action I took only ensured our fate! The bee hit my cheek in almost the exact same spot, then lodged between my helmet and head less than one inch from where the first one did and this one must have been working out because when he stung me it hurt like it’s supposed to and the whole side of my head swelled up enough that I had to adjust the straps on my helmet just so it would fit back on my head!
That is just bee-zarre!