Who are you?

Most of us that ride motorcycles know sooner or later we will have been in, been with, or seen a motorcycle accident up close. It's one of the ugly truths we live with when it comes to riding. It's the reason some decline when given the opportunity to ride. Not riding isn't an option for many of us, but being prepared is.
I was riding a lonely stretch of two-lane road in the rural Midwest and I came to a reduced speed curve. Halfway through the turn I noticed a short, single tire skid mark leading into and out of the ditch. Shoulder gravel was freshly displaced and past the ditch the tall grass was parted in an unusual manner leading into a field. At the end of the landing strip shined the unmistakable chrome of a motorcycle. I slowed and did a U-turn back to the skid mark to check it out. I shut Pearl off and walked through the ditch toward the bike and that's when I heard John Doe moaning.
I called 911 and got help on the way via GPS and Google Maps on my iPhone. They had more questions than I had answers. "Who is he, what happened, is he breathing," they said. "Who are you?" I asked him as I knelt over his face looking into his helmet. "Who can I call …can you breathe …help is coming," no reply. He was twisted up lying on the ground and his left leg had a bone protruding. JD was going into, or was already in shock. His eyes rolled back and he quit moaning, but was still breathing.
No answers from JD, now what. Then I remembered the Rider ID Card our ALR post had printed up for each of us. Could this rider have something like it? No way was I going to move him to look for ID; I'll let the pro's do that. So I searched his bike. I felt like a bag lady going through other peoples stuff but surely someone out there would be missing this rider. Lifting the trunk lid on the crashed scooter I found a card taped to the lid on the inside. On the card I found his wife's name and phone number, his blood type, and that he was diabetic. When the first responders arrived this info helped dictate the treatment used to help JD. The information on the Rider ID Card led to a sugar test and that told us the rider had probably had a diabetic reaction while riding and that's what put him in the ditch. The first responders treated JD immediately for the low sugar reaction as well as his leg injuries before and on the ride to the hospital. The last I heard from his wife "Biker attitude" was prevailing with 'ol JD. He's worried more about getting his scooter in shape than he is getting himself together.
Having a simple laminated Rider ID Card taped to your bike (not you) can help out in the worst of times, when thinking isn't going too well. Don't fret about the world knowing too much about you. The Rider ID card isn't about you, it's about those willing to help you, it's about the family, and it's about living to ride another day.
Hammer
ALR Road Captain, Omaha Post 1