Don't know if anyone else is following this story...
Those of us in the SF Bay Area may have heard about this. What chills me to the bone is that, as far as I can tell, these cyclists were doing everything right. Stirs up the old road-riding fears in me. Yes, it was a fluke, a rare occurrence, but as one of the op-ed pieces points out, that could have been me, or my husband.
I just wish I could get over the fear. :(
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/local/n...yclist_b1.html
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/local/news/14bike_b3.html
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/coursey/14chrisc_b1.html
Dealing with Fear from an accident
Spokes,
I'm not sure if I have a good answer for getting over fear, but I'll share some observations.
I broke my femur back in 1990 while riding my old road bike. I had no desire to get back on the bike, even though the surgeon said I could ride six months after I broke my leg. No thanks.
I got back into riding in '94, trained for a century, then did a weekend bike tour. It was fun and all, but I found that I was leary of turns, and descents were absolutely nerve-wracking. So, I put the bike up again -- sure, I'd ride occassionally, but there wasn't much passion there.
Last year, I decided to it would be fun to have a mountain bike, so I bought one, took a few WOMBAT clinics, and got a little bit comfortable with the idea that you don't break your femur everytime you fall. I tried a few "crazy" descents off road, and got used to the idea of the bike being "loose" (as in, not under my complete, rigid control.)
This year, I decided to get in shape by doing a century, which meant dusting off my road bike. I signed up for the Cinderella group training rides, where they did some teaching on skills (including my bugaboo - descents). I also bought a new bike, which has fabulous brakes! My first descents were tentative, but I've improved.
I credit the group rides for my improvement. Yes, the skills training helped, and yes, I just feel safer with a group. But the big benefit for me is that I am a lot less likely to flake out if I'm riding with a group. Plus, they determined the route -- on my own, I might opt out of a route with a lot of descents. The more I got out there, the more confident I became, and I got better at descending, which, in turn, boosted my confidence. A very nice cycle to get into. Oh, and the new brakes helped a lot -- confidence inspiring to know that you can stop without exerting a ton of pressure on the brakes.
Another thing that helped with descents was that I applied some knowledge I've gotten from another passion of mine -- high performance driving. I found that a lot of the principles crossed over -- apexing the turns, weight transfer, etc. It was kind of fun to experiment -- I was thinking about experimenting instead of how worried I was about crashing.
I know this is long, so I guess I would summarize it like this:
* slowly increase your comfort zone
* figure out ways that will help you keep at it -- seat time helps a lot, and for me, the group rides helped to increase seat time
* think about ways to improve your technique to avoid the cause of your crash
-- Melissa
Drunk Driver get 8-plus years
From the San Jose Mercury News website:
Posted on Mon, Sep. 27, 2004
Drunk driver who hit bicyclists gets sentence of 8-plus years
By Connie Skipitares
Mercury News
The 69-year-old drunken driver who plowed into a bike-riding couple last Easter morning in Sonoma County was sentenced to 8 years and 8 months Monday for killing Alan Liu, 31, of Mountain View, and putting his girlfriend, Jill Mason, 27, of Cupertino, in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Elaine Rushing gave Harvey David Hereford, a Santa Rosa maritime-injury lawyer, the maximum sentence for vehicular manslaughter, drunken driving and other charges. Hereford had pleaded guilty to the charges in July, forgoing a jury trial.
The hearing lasted 2 1/2 hours, with Mason, her parents and brother telling the packed courtroom how Liu's death and Mason's crippling injuries changed their lives forever. Mason, who had been training with Liu for a triathlon, was released from the hospital Sept. 14 and now lives with her parents in Grass Valley. She also suffered a brain injury in the crash.
Liu's parents, friends and co-workers also spoke about the deep loss of the handsome athlete who coached the Mountain View Masters swim club and was an engineer at Applied Materials. They presented a 30-minute pictorial of Liu's life and through tears described what a bright and charismatic person he was, said Sonoma County Deputy District Attorney Bill Brockley.
Hereford spoke briefly, saying he didn't remember the events of that fateful day when he plowed into the couple on picturesque, winding Highway 12, a favorite route of bicyclists.
``He showed no emotion when anybody spoke or after he was sentenced,'' said Brockley. ``He gave a brief apology at the end of his speech, but I don't think he took any responsibility. That was disrespectful to the families. They were very disappointed.''
The most emotional moment was when Jill Mason spoke, Brockley said. She told the court how the accident devastated her and her family and that she will need care for the rest of her life.
Brockley said Hereford will serve 85 percent of his sentence because he was convicted of a violent felony. Under normal state sentencing rules, defendants often serve 50 percent of sentences if they have good behavior records.