Saturday Morning Motorcycle Mishap

There were four of us riding in a group this morning, heading through Springfield on our way to Agawam, Mass. Mrs. Moto, the most experienced rider, was leading. A woman I had just met today, K, was second, I was third, and Blondie was the tail gunner.  

Just after Mrs. Moto headed across a busy intersection, the light turned yellow. We were on a stretch of road that was loaded with "road snakes", those twisty,slippery asphalt patches. K hit the brakes to stop for the light and found herself in a nice skid. All I could think of was "Oh shit" as I saw her and her bike hit the ground directly in front of me. I move slightly to avoid running into her as I hit the brakes. It was then I saw Blondie on my left side suddenly slide a bit, hit the curb, and fall onto the island in the middle, her 500 pound bike landing on top of her knee. The "Oh Shit" was audible at this point.

Mrs Moto pulled over from her spot down the road and ran toward us. A woman, who happened to be a nurse, came running from across the street. Two folks passing by, called the police and helped me right the two bikes. Three cruisers, two motorcycle police officers, and an ambulance arrived within minutes.

The EMTs evaluated Blondie and K, who both decided that they did not want to go to the hospital. K's thumb was pretty swollen and Blondie had nice bruise on her knee. In addition, the EMTs had to cut her jeans to get a look at the damage. I would have opted for just pulling my pants down, but I'm cheap like that.

Mrs. Moto summoned her husband and son to the scene. Mr. Moto rode Blondie's bike back for her. Then he hopped on K's bike and rode it to her house. 

Thank you to all the really nice people who helped us out today. The police and EMTs, the woman who ran over to help, the two people who called the police, helped me get the bikes up, and brought us water, and Mr. Moto and Ben for coming out to help us get back home. And thanks to our guardian angels who made sure everyone was able to walk away.