The morning started out normal enough- a sunny Sunday morning with pavement waiting to be ridden on. About 25 members of the Impatient Triad Riders met at the usual spot, the Shell Station in Oak Ridge at 68 and 150. There was a great turnout for this ride in memory of Mason Levin, one of the founders of the group, who lost his life from injuries from a ride on July 18th.

So we rode out and hit Highway 66 near Danbury for some twisties and stopped here at the shack for a short break and then began the ride up to Hanging Rock.

When I got to the end of Lynchburg Rd I became increasingly concerned that, unlike a minute or two before, there were no riders in my mirrors. I hesitated (and shouldn't have) for about a minute and turned around to find out what was up.

It wasn't instantly apparent what had happened when I arrived on this scene, but I knew it wasn't anything good.

To make a long story short, the rider behind me, Chris, had a Tree Fall On Him!

His reaction to this completely random flying timber was absolutely spot-on. He cracked open the throttle, hunkered down, and hugged the gas tank as closely as he could. With his side mirrors ripped off and helmet scuffed, he miraculously kept the bike up.

Next in the formation, Richard, wasn't as fortunate. Seriously, what are you supposed to do when a tree falls into your line of travel? There is no amount of experience to prepare you for that kind of thing. He did all he could with the brakes and limited stopping distance and reaction time, and laid it down before impacting the unexpected tree. He sustained some leg and knee injuries, but still made it out relatively unscathed for such a strange chain of events. He was taken to Baptist Hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Overall I was extremely impressed with how the other ITR members reacted on the scene before and after medical personnel arrived.

Kudos guys, you're a top-notch bunch!

All photos