Look Out For Bikers

5 years ago, in my hometown, a lady in a minivan turned left in front of a man on a motorcycle.  She didn't see him.  He left 12 feet of skid marks on the road and hit the front quarter panel of her van.  The EMTs said that he died instantly of massive internal injuries.

That man was 36 year old Tony Trammell.  He was bigger than life.  He was an adoring father.  His world revolved around his son.  He was a friend to anyone he ever met, and many people considered him to be the best friend they'd ever had.  He loved being outdoors.  He loved being active.  He loved his Ducati motorcycle, which was a gift for Valentine's Day 2002.  He lived for making people laugh - at him, at themselves, at whatever could possibly be made laughable.  If somehow, someone didn't like him immediately upon meeting him, he made it his mission to win that person over.  He rarely failed and usually, those were the people that became his biggest fans. 

Tony had been riding motorcycles for his entire life.  His bike was like an extension of his body.  I felt safer on the back of his bike than I did/do in most people's cars.  If any biker could have avoided or lessened the impact of that accident, it would have been Tony. 

Tony is buried in the corner of a small family country cemetary about an hour from our hometown.  The funeral procession was led by a parade of motorcycles and was over 6 miles long.  His son, Anthony, had a son of his own last fall, and is raising his own little family in the house that he lived in with his dad and, for a while, me. 

 

Please, keep an extra eye out, not just for other cars on the road, but for motorcycles.  And bicycles.  And pedestrians.  And small, darting dogs.  Look twice, then look again.