After a bicycle crash, some motorcyclists stopped to help

0:00Time now for my unsung hero, our series from the team at the Hidden Brain podcast. My unsung hero tells stories of people whose kindness let the lasting impression on someone else. Today's story comes from photojournalist and educator Gary Knight. He spent decades photographing wars and conflicts around the world. Knight is also an avid cyclist. And a few years ago he went on a biking trip to Scotland. He was cycling on a remote mountain road when a camper van drifted into his lane. He swerved to avoid it and crashed into a boulder. His shoulder was badly injured and he realized he had no cell service. So he stood on the side of the road alone hoping someone would stop. And then after a few minutes three motorcycles came down the road and these were the motorcycles that I passed earlier in the day and we've been waving to each other. The first two started to slow down and the third one. He stopped his motorbike and he asked me what had happened. And then said, look, sit down and we're going to check you out.

1:04And he explains, his name is Martin. He explained that he and his friends Max and Anita were all trained paramedics and they just the week before finished all of their training. So I couldn't have wished for more. And so they sat me down, wrapped me up in a space blanket. Anita then sort of undid my shirt, checked me out, did all the tests to see if I had concussion. They then took out bandages, strapped me up, immobilized my arm and sat me down. Martin had a phone that worked and he called the 911, the emergency services in England. And then Max Martin and Anita stayed with me until the helicopter arrived. So I'm hugely, hugely grateful for them. And just talking about it makes me very emotional. Sorry.

2:04It's ironic because I've had a very dramatic and violent career. You know, I photographed wars for 20 years and closest I became to diagnosed on my bike. And you know, I felt very alone when I came off the bike and having three strangers, and then I stopped at the side of the road and take care of me. There's no credible act of kindness. I hope I have the opportunity to do the same thing for somebody else one day.

3:06Gary Knight lives in Salem, Massachusetts. He is the co-founder and executive director of the Seven Foundation which provides free training to visual journalists from the Global South. You can find more stories of unsung heroes at hiddenbrain.org.