A series of unfortunate events (LONG)

[phenrichs]

Every year, on the last weekend of July, we have a memorial poker run in honor of a friend that died. He was 23. He had fought and beat cancer at age 10 but it left him weakend with permanent lung problems. He passed away 2 weeks before his wedding day and left behind a 1 year old son.

This is the fifth year that we have held this run and all the proceeds go to a local children's hospital fund that provides help to families that have children in need but can't afford things like a place to stay while their child is in the hospital.

The run is held in my hometown of Watertown SD which is 100 miles from where I live now. There was a group of five of us this year that went up for it. 2 of them were attending for the first time. We left Friday and had a great ride up. Saturday morning however my wife was feeling well and decided that she would rather ride in a car with some of our friends than on the bike. A short time later she decided just to go home and go back to bed. Some of you may know that she has been suffering from anxiety problems that became apparent in Custer. Another friend that rode up with us woke up Saturday with the exact problem but much more severe. He actually ended up leaving that day to return home for medication that he forgot.

Well the rest of us got under way and the turnout was good. A little over 100 bikes. Weather was perfect. 75, all sun, little wind. Fast forward to the third stop. One of the riders, while parking his bike, was stung by bees twice, once in the neck and once in the side. Immediate allergic reaction. Small town USA scenario, EMT is 15 miles away in one town, Ambulance is 15 miles away in another town. Run delayed for obvious reasons. Fortunately a local citizens was there and had a kit at his house and got it which I think was great.

Fast forward two more stops. We stop at a lakeside resort. Beautiful. Leave and head south. I am near the back of the pack and see some nice big sweeping curves ahead. Nothing great but a nice little 45 mph set of S curves. In the middle of the first curve a gal riding a heritage HD got too close to the edge and caught some sand and went off the road. Fortunately for her the second the back tire hit grass she was thrown forward into the thick 3 foot tall grass while the bike continued to flip 2 times and land down in the ditch. She had a couple of cuts that should have had stitches (we don't know if she went to the hospital) she was a little disoriented from being tossed but never knocked out and she was coherent. Her bike, even though only going 30-40mph was destroyed. All the lights ripped offf the rear fender.

Her friend,who was riding next to her, tried to stop as soon as all this happened and ended up laying her heritage down too. It only went once on its side and she just had a scrape on her shoulder. I was immediately behind them and myself and a friend were the first on scene other than the one other girl that was riding with the two that went down.

Fast forward to after the run. The girl that rode up with us on friday lost the only key she had for her meanstreak. Missed the band as we spent the whole night looking for key. Next day I rounded up a truck and trailer and prepared once again to haul my bike home because I wasn't going to let someone else ride it and I was going to have to haul hers home. The local locksmith is my new hero. As I was pulling into the hotel with the trailer he was pulling in. I stripped the ignition cylinder out of her dash and he was able to make a key. We all saddled up and headed out. We ride for 1.5 hours and stop for a drink of water and some gas and I got a call from my wife. She left her car keys in my saddlebag. So I turn around and ride back 1.5 hours to give her the key.

I leave. I get home and get a call that she had a panic attack and is parked on side of the interstate. Her mom is there with her. Their brilliant idea was to have her dad drive our car with the kids home, and her mom would drive her in their car home. That would have worked but her dad left in our car with their car keys in his pocket. EMT chase him down and got keys. It is now 9pm Sunday and getting dark. Her mom can't drive at night. So I drive another hour north to pick my wife up and then come home.

This is the first time in 5 years that the girl my friend was supposed to marry when he died didn't come on run and she didn't bring his son either. I am firmly convinced that she put a hex on the whole thing.

I told his mom that I think that my friend was up in heaven watching over his son instead of watching over the group as usual.

I have never been so glad to be back at work.

[abbo]

??? Holy Crap Op- Never saw that much bad luck in almost 35 years of riding!! Your lucky to be safe and back to work. Abbo

[phenrichs]

I have come up on accidents afterwards and the rider was either taken away or was up talking but have never actually seen it. When the bike flipped there was so much dirt kicked up I could not see the machine or the rider. had the wind been blowing the other direction I would have gotten a face full of dirt. I won't be losing that mental image anytime soon.

[egetaseb]

Wow, the title of your thread is probably the understatement of the year. I bet that day could not end fast enough. I hope your wife is feeling better.

[phenrichs]

The whole weekend was a bust except that I got alot of miles on my nomad.

[chainsaw]

Did that little black cloud over your head ever go away. When it rains it pours.

[bobhamlin]

Might not seem funny now, but can you imagine Jeff Foxworthy or another good storyteller basing an act on this?

It's got all the ingredients.

[phenrichs]

kind of a Clampetts go to Maui thing, I know.
Bad part is I still can't get the images out of my head. It is odd though because I also have a chuckle stuck in there as well. A friends uncle told me a joke to cheer me up and I still get a laugh when I think about it.

[patmahoney]

I admire your tenacity, I would have given up.

[phenrichs]

Wow, thanks Patrick. Tenacity. might be the nicest way it has ever been described. Usually its pig-headed stubborn.

I am glad to have it behind me though. One of our riding companions that weekend (the girl that lost her key) is on her third riding season and is leaving for Sturgis this weekend. I believe she was seriously reconsidering that trip after witnessing all the events. I told her that now she has that crap out of the way and her trip can be trouble free. Ya gotta stay positive when riding.

[jastearns]

Sorry for the lousy ride. I hope Jen is feeling better. Did your friend ever get a windshield as she would appreciate it.

[phenrichs]

No she bought a helmet with a visor. I told her that was better for safety but would most likely be worse for comfort because of buffeting, a term I spent the next half hour explaining to her. It is only her 3rd year riding. She is a very good rider, very observant and maintains excellent control of her meanstreak but she still has a lot to learn. Of course we all do. I never stop learning.

[cactusjack]

Sounds like if something could have gone wrong, it did. Sometimes things just turn out that way.