Ice, Salt and Motorbikes

It was cold on the bike this morning. Very cold. -6 degrees, in fact.
I ride a BMW, which has heated handlebar grips - a real help. I had
to stop for fuel at a motorway services, and felt the bike slipping and sliding about as I rounded the turn-off into the service station. Upon paying for my fuel (a slightly more pleasurable experience than this time last year), I informed the staff that the road was extremely slippery, and could they get some more grit down, or there would be an accident.

I got back up to the roundabout, and was shocked to see a motorcyclist lying in the road about 20 meters away from his bike. Fortunately a fire officer on his way into work had stopped to help. In fact it was him who made the 999 call! We waited for what seemed like ages for the emergency services to arrive, so we talked to Matt (the motorcyclist), mainly to keep him conscious. We learned that his bike had slipped from under him on the ice, despite copious salt and grit. He'd hurt his neck quite badly and was unable to move his head. It was a humbling feeling helping the paramedics load him onto the stretcher. My dislike of icy roads has now developed into a hatred. The exposed metal work on my bike is also rapidly developing a hatred of the salt on the road. Looking forward to spring, and therefore a resolve to the current conflict of interest which exists between my bike and me. My thoughts and prayers are with Matt, a fellow biker, this evening. My thoughts also include the fact that I have yet to do the free first aid training course I've been offered - now top of my list!