Soon after riding into Guatemala City, looking for the route across town, I hit some traffic that was very slow, and mostly stopped. I pushed my way to the front to find an accident - a motorcycle was laying on the road and a lane was closed, with emergency vehicles all around.
As I passed, I saw that they had laid a stretcher upside down over the rider's body. All I saw was his helmet, his arm out the side, and the blood trickling down the hill on the pavement. A very sobering image.
I take this as a reminder that this can happen to anyone, regardless of where you are, what type of bike you ride, whether or not you wear a helmet, etc. I am also reminded that sometimes we ride carelessly - we pass trucks on blind curves, change lanes without signaling, go fast around curves, and take in the scenery when our concentration should be on the road. All riders are guilty of these things to an extent, and it could have been any one of us on the pavement in Guatemala City.
I'm not taking this experience as a sign to do anything different than my normal riding style, routine, or anything else. It is only a raising of my awareness.
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