Good to hear that Mark and Cindy are not too damaged. Really great news! Everything else can be repurchased.
I remember the rider briefing on the first ride that Lisa and I rode with the Club. The instructions were to keep the bike behind you in your mirrors. If you lost them, slow until they caught up. If you think this through, it means that the pace is set by the slowest bike and that the group stays together. Bill was always good at implementing this policy.
But this system did not make everybody happy. The more sporting riders wanted to go faster to enjoy their bikes. For a while we solved this problem by splitting into two groups, one faster. one slower.
Than the rule in the fast group morphed into try to keep up with the fastest. Great fun as long as you don’t get hurt! But competition being what it is sometimes you do get hurt.
Maybe it’s time think these things through again in an attempt to reduce the accident rate on Club rides. Motorcycles are dangerous and I have always told Lisa that it is when we fall off, not if. Having said that, it still makes sense for the Club to implement reasonable measures to minimize accidents.