During a solo motorcycle trip, Lloyd Curry suffered a transient ischaemic attack — also known as a “mini stroke.”

The 76-year-old was at a stop in Granby. He felt confused. He couldn’t speak or control his hands and he was frightened. Curry knew he needed help.

“I knew it was a stroke, but I couldn’t communicate,” Curry said.

He went to the office of the Trail Riders Motel, where he was staying that night, and found co-owners Mike Rice and Erik Solberg chatting. Curry couldn’t tell them what was happening, but Solberg understood what was going on.

“He just said, ‘Get in my truck,’” Curry said. “I got in and we went straight to the hospital there.”

Curry believes Solberg’s quick actions may have saved him from a deadlier outcome.

“I really don’t know if Erik saved my life, but I have to feel like no one else could have done what he did for me,” Curry said.

Curry was airlifted from Granby to a Level 1 Trauma Center in Lakewood for treatment. Visiting Grand County from North Carolina, Curry was 1,500 miles away from home, recovering from a medical episode, and all alone.

“I was scared to death constantly,” he said. “I didn’t know what was going to happen to me. I thought my future was looking pretty damp.”

The next morning, when Curry was coherent again, he found a note with contact information for Rice and Solberg informing him that his personal belongings left at the motel had been stored at the office. They even moved Curry’s motorcycle to the garage for safekeeping.

“They took care of it, and that took a big load off of me just knowing that,” Curry said.

Then, Solberg went above and beyond when he reached out to Curry and offered the stranded motorcyclist a ride back up to Granby from Lakewood.

“When somebody’s laying there feeling helpless, it’s a big deal,” Curry said.

Curry made it back up to Granby to retrieve his motorcycle. A friend was coming up with a trailer to get Curry and his motorcycle home safely, and Solberg and Rice ended up also helping with some repairs when the trailer broke down in Empire.

“It’s just things like that. It’s so hard to image doing something like that for a complete stranger,” Curry said. “I’m in the South — they talk about Southern hospitality — but you can’t beat what these two guys did for me. No way.”

Curry made it back to North Carolina and is doing well. He’ll be working on some health measures to hopefully prevent another mini stroke.

For Solberg, the actions he and Rice took were nothing unusual.

“We just did what needed to be done — nothing out of the ordinary,” Solberg said.

To Curry, the kindness the two extended to him went above and beyond.

“I just want to help them back like they helped me,” Curry said.