4 Jul 11:  This past Saturday we all went on our bike ride- walk on the trail in Giais.  The girls got so excited as usual, especially when they heard me rolling my bike out the front door.  I think they already know the sound that my bike makes, which is the free hub clicking.  The girls are intuitive little things.

Once on the trail we went on our usual way, stopping altogether a few times to share cranberry juice & water.  A few weeks ago, Bill had put a new rack on my bike which is a Blackburn expedition one with 4 supports on each side.  Why not have the best for my little jaunts?  It is lightweight, silver, which matches my bike, & is great for carrying my bike bag.  I am more comfortable having things in the bag than trying to wear a fanny pack.  I am hands free & “body free”.  

I noticed that the type of plants in the fields had changed since our last ride in June.  The purple, yellow, & red flowers had been replaced by small white daisies with yellow centers, & they were in abundance.

Toward the end of our trip, we all hurried back to the car because of an approaching rain shower.  Bill rode my bike home while the girls & I were on our way in the car.  As I was driving up the trail where it curves sharply to the right, I saw a man & a young boy crash their bikes on the opposite side of the road.  The boy wrecked first falling to the ground & then he started crying.  Very quickly the man wrecked behind him.  We had seen them on the trail earlier going in the same direction as us, & we had said the usual “buon giorno”.  I stopped my car & the girls started barking, hearing the commotion.  As I asked the man “va bene?” he looked at me as if I was crazy & showed me that his right arm was bleeding profusely.  So I pulled over & stopped my mini to get it safely out of the road.  Not panicking I thought “there’s got to be a first aid kit somewhere in my car”, never having used this mysterious thing before.  It is the law in Italy that all cars must have a kit.  It is also the law that drivers must stop & render aid to any injured people, but it mostly refers to victims of vehicle accidents.  So I put my driver’s seat forward & then saw a bright red, never opened case on the floor.  I walked towards the people & opened up the kit, & then put the it on the ground.  I tried to open a plastic bag containing a bandage & I couldn’t get it open.  So then I saw scissors & used them to open it.  Since the man was bleeding much worse than the boy, who was maybe his son, I helped him first.  I put the nonstick part of the bandage on the worst cut which was on his elbow, & then continued to wrap the super long mesh bandage around & around the bleeding part of his lower arm.  I was thinking something like “apply pressure to stop the bleeding”.  I was laughing not at the people, of course, but at how much I had to wrap the bandage.  Now I know that I could have cut off part of it & put it in the kit to use later.  The man pointed to my arm & showed me that some of the blood had got on it.  Then I went over to the boy & picked off some of the dirt & leaves on his cut, which was on his left knee.  The cut didn’t look as bad to me, it seemed to be more of a scrape.  Again I laughed at myself having to wrap the long bandage around, with me having to go behind & then in front of his leg to continue this wrapping.

In the meantime, the man called someone (his or the boy’s mama) to tell her what had happened & to pick them up.  This is one of the good things about cell phones which most Italians like Americans, now have.  The man lit a cigarette & started smoking.  I told him that this was the “prima volta” that I had used the first aid kit.  He said that they were going too fast down the hill & on the curve.  I was thinking how glad I was that they had not wrecked into my car, even though I was going super slow up the hill.  The man introduced himself as Michele & the boy as Mattei & said they lived in Malnisio.  Then I told him who I was & where I lived.  Michele kept thanking me & I said to him “prego” or “you’re welcome”.  I asked him if he needed me to stay until his ride came & he said no, & Mattei said that the mama would arrive subito.  So then I went on home. 

Before going into the house I told Bill, who was outside, what had happened.  He said that I was a hero & that made me feel good about helping the people.  Then I washed my hands & arms very well & changed my clothes.  We decided to buy some alcohol wipes to stock in the kit for future use, because we need something to disinfect wounds.  We had also noticed that the man & boy were not wearing helmets, so their accidents could have been worse.  It is required that children be protected with helmets.      

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