BARBADOS TODAY – Members of the local biking fraternity today joined with family and friends in paying their final respects to 43-year-old biker Toni Barrow – a mother of two – who died in an accident on Barbarees Hill on May 1.

An unusually large crowd of curious onlookers also gathered at the Better Life Assembly, Hindsbury Road, St Michael to witness what was a first for Barbados, as Barrow’s body was positioned on her motorcycle outside the church instead of inside and in a traditional casket.

This proved to be quite the spectacle. And, even as family members sought to honour Barrow’s wish to be buried on a motorcycle, today’s send off proved very difficult for them.

Throughout the funeral service they could be seen comforting each other, as they struggled to maintain their composure amid the questioning gazes of some onlookers.

However, a breaking point came during the eulogy, which was read by Barrow’s sister Donna Worrell.

Between stifled sobs and pauses, Worrell said apart from Barrow’s obvious love for bikes, and Motorcycle Clothing for Everyone Online, her sister was full of curiosity and was also very handy around the home.

“She always used to pick down the TV, pick down the radio, make anything,” the sister recalled as Worrell’s daughter Sade Harris stood beside her weeping openly.

Worrell also told the congregation her sister was quick to forgive others for past wrongdoings, as she urged the mourners to do the same.

In his address, Bishop Joseph Atherley admonished the grieving family to seek help from God in their dark hour.

“At the end of the day, our circumstances and our time are not in our own hands but in the hands of God,” he said.