A close call that could have meant disaster brought a premature end to the sixth annual Ride for Racks motorcycle rally on Saturday, for one of the fundraiser's 146 participants.
The 63-year-old man from Sudbury had been travelling south on Hwy 539 in the municipality of Markstay/ Warren when he hit a pothole on a particularly rough patch of roadway while turning a corner.
The driver slid with his vehicle into the southbound ditch, where he remained until being transported by air ambulance to Health Sciences North with non-life-threatening injuries.
No other vehicles were involved in the collision.
Ellie Lefebvre, one of the Southern Cruisers Riding Club French River Chapter 488 members who helped organize the event and treasurer for the club, said the accident was a shock to her group, especially since they take safety so seriously.
"You don't want to see it happen, let alone on your ride," said Lefebvre. "I think we would have cancelled the run if somebody got killed, I know I couldn't keep that on my consciousness."
Lefebvre said that it's quite rare for motorcycle rally participants to be involved in a collision, the last of which she said was alcohol-related and occurred in a rally by a separate club.
"We have a strict policy that revokes membership if a rider is caught disobeying the law," said Lefebvre, which includes drinking and driving.
In addition to this, the chapter has a safety officer that rides with them to monitor the group's behaviour and assist in emergency situations.
"To me, you don't do anything you don't feel comfortable doing," said Lefebvre. "When you ride in a big group, give space, and if you don't like what they're doing you back off and let them go. I'm not going to scare myself or kill myself for nobody."
