sad sad sad

[Beth-Ro]

Yet another cycling tragedy reminds me...this cycling thing is dangerous. Let's be careful out there.

http://www.greenvillenews.com/apps/p...510260320/1004

[jobob]

Life in general is dangerous. Accidents happen.

The best thing a cyclist can do for herself is to take a road cycling skills course.

The League of American Bicyclists (LAB) offer such courses. So do local bike clubs.

Yes, of course we need to be careful, and even with all the training in the world, accidents can and do still happen.

But being trained in how to properly ride in traffic, and being familiar with steps you can take to avoid being another statistic, is a step in the right direction.

- jo "feeling preachy this morning" bob

[Trek420]

what jobob sez.

sitting here working on a memo for our building's safety committe, looking at my binder cover which says "for every 600 unsafe acts there are 30 accidents, for every 30 accidents there are 10 personal injuries, for every 10 injuries there is 1 fatal or disableing injury"

accidents happen, idiots abound, some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed but let's be careful out there.

I'm afraid to some * I come off as a geek, woos (sp?) arrogant, chicken or something because I wear a helmet, obey traffic laws, am lit up like a menorah but let's be careful out there.

*including date mentioned in other thread

[profàvélo]

This is my hometown. We have a very active cycling community that has been hit very hard by this news. The following is from the news article:

'Menard had her own philosophy about protecting cyclists; start young. Menard spent hours at this year's Fall for Greenville fitting children with free helmets from the Greenville Spinners. She was an active part of the Greenville Spinners Safety Foundation, and friends said she could always be counted on to volunteer for educational workshops.

"It was her transportation by choice and her preferred method of getting around," Edwards said of Menard.'

What a terrible, needless loss. This is not someone who did not know how to ride safely. Other reports say that the sun obscured the driver's vision. Of course, if you cannot see, you should not be making a turn. We as cyclists must do everything we can to ride as safely as possible, but we also need to encourage more education for motorists, at least in SC.

[Trek420]

very sad

[WarriorPrncs]

This is very sad to hear that the poor woman's life was taken because either someone was not paying attention or couldn't see with the sun in their eyes. That is no excuse! The drivers around our area are really bad. They are either on their cell phones, eating, or whatever so we always have to be one step ahead of them. They run red lights, run you down in the bike lane when they are turning right, or use you as a moving target, etc., etc.

I'm a mountain biker and road biker but feel safer in the woods (even with all the mountain lions we have around our area) then on the streets.

BTW-- We've seen the kitty cats and they don't have road rage!

[kmoty]

To add insult to loss, so many of the cycling victims seem to be such wonderful people. Not to say the drivers aren't of course, and their contributions to the community probably don't make "news." On the other hand, a significant number seem to be driving drunk, without a license, otherwise suspect or just not paying attention.

In re the "kitties," no, they just do what cats do, and much more rarely than drivers, but be alert. See http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...ain-lion_x.htm.

Be careful out there...

K

[WarriorPrncs]

In re the "kitties," no, they just do what cats do, and much more rarely than drivers, but be alert. See http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...ain-lion_x.htm.

Be careful out there...K

K, I didn't mean it to sound careless when I said the kitty cats don't have road rage. My hubby and I know fellow riders who were close friends of Mark Reynolds and are friends of Anne Hjelle. We actually rode that trail a few days before this happened so we were devastated when we heard what happened to them. It was a huge thing here and we all participated in the memorial services, etc. to support them and their families. It was a real tragedy and I didn't mean to make light of it. I realize it could happen to any one of us but we try to stay together when we ride so we aren't isolated. I also carry a whistle since the rangers said they don't like loud noises.

I hope I didn't offend anyone by what I said.

[Trekhawk]

K, I didn't mean it to sound careless when I said the kitty cats don't have road rage. My hubby and I know fellow riders who were close friends of Mark Reynolds and are friends of Anne Hjelle. We actually rode that trail a few days before this happened so we were devastated when we heard what happened to them. It was a huge thing here and we all participated in the memorial services, etc. to support them and their families. It was a real tragedy and I didn't mean to make light of it. I realize it could happen to any one of us but we try to stay together when we ride so we aren't isolated. I also carry a whistle since the rangers said they don't like loud noises.
I hope I didn't offend anyone by what I said.

Hey WarriorPrncs - I dont think you have offended anyone mate. Even though mountain lion attacks happen you probably do have more chance of being hit by a car. I live in an area where lions roam and being from Aust they scare the bejeepers out of me. As Kmoty said we just need to be careful whether that is on the road or trail and thats about as much as you can do.

[bluerider]

How tragic and how devastating for her family and the cycling community. I think driving with cyclists on the road should be a more heavily emphasized requirement before you get your driver's license. Most cars avoid cyclists as much as possible when driving with them but they don't get that we are like any other vehicle.

[Deborajen]

Very, very sad news. To think this could happen to someone with the experience to take the best precautions makes it especially hard to accept.

It's too bad that safety of non-automobile traffic isn't taken more seriously in this part of the world. In August of last year, my husband and I spent a week in Germany and we were really impressed with their whole transportation system. Although we've always heard plenty of jokes about the "crazy" drivers on the Autobahn, we found them to be very skilled and very serious. They have a slow, a moderate and a fast lane and everyone keeps right except when passing. There are lots of bike paths in Germany but in any shared space, cars yield to bicycles and pedestrians, bicycles yield to pedestrians, etc. It's efficient, organized and safe. It would be a good example to follow here.

Yes, we cyclists do need to be careful, and accidents will still happen. But it sure would help to see some penalties against the bigger "bully" traffic that doesn't take the safety of the smaller & more vulnerable traffic seriously.

Deb

[kmoty]

Gosh, no, I wasn't offended. Just wanted to remind people to be alert on road or off. Deborajen's message is another reminder. Many Europeans do seem to be more bike and driving safety conscious, but you'll remember the tragedy to the Australian women's team earlier this year. The teen driver may have been on a cell phone (from a diary reference from one of the recovering riders). Leads me to agree we don't pay enough attention to training and penalties on the driver side. I can't remember ever seeing a reference to cyclists in a driving test or driver training (motorcycles, yes). Some opportunities for consciousness raising here.

Continued sympathy and concern for everyone impacted by these events.

K

[jeannierides]

Such a sad thing. I was just talking with my mom, who lives in Greenville, and she told me of the incident.
My heart goes out to all involved...