Woman cyclist missing on Silver Comet Trail

[Pedal Wench]

The latest news isn't good. It's very upsetting, so read with caution: http://www.11alive.com/news/news_art...?storyid=82521

I can't shake the sadness either. I've been crying all day, for a woman I've never met. But again - I know her - she could be me, or anyone of the other women I know and ride with. Skibum and I have run into each other on that very trail - good god, right in that area of the trail - each of us, riding alone. It could have been any one of us. I'm sorry, this has really shaken me to the core.

I know they have a few suspects, and I can only hope they catch him. Will I be able to ride alone again? I just don't know.

I hate to use this opportunity to advertise the club I'm in, but Sorella is up to over 85 members. It's open to women who ride on other teams - encourages them actually. It's just a good place to find someone to ride with. With so many women, you can always find someone to join you on a ride. Unfortunately, I don't always want to ride with people. (Yup, painfully shy and horribly introverted.)

I'm still just shaken about this. I was going to do a century out there on Sunday.

Skibum, please try to find someone to join you on your ride. A bunch of folks are meeting in Helen on Saturday to do the back 3 gaps, with a detour to Wolfpen too, so a modified 4-gap (Hogpen, Wolfpen, Jacks, and Unicoi) and there will be a vast variety of speeds, with regroups on teh summits. Think aobut joining us. A few of us are also riding on Sunday - not sure where, but I'll let you know.

[velogirl]

I don't ride bike paths, but I do mtn bike on deserted trails. On our women's mtn bike ride the other night, we were having a discussion about riding alone. Most of us do it on the open road all the time without any fear or hesitation. However, most of us also said that we wouldn't mtn bike alone. Why? Safety. The overwhelming feeling is that too many bad things can happen to you when no one's around to see. And, if something bad happens, no one might pass by to find you.

I know many less experienced riders like to ride on bike paths because they don't feel comfortable riding on the road. However, don't lull yourself into a sense of safety.

This is a tragic event and I hope you're all safe and aware when you ride!

[Brandy]

I know many less experienced riders like to ride on bike paths because they don't feel comfortable riding on the road. However, don't lull yourself into a sense of safety.

You're absolutely right. I was terrified to ride the roads and stuck mainly to the paths in the beginning. Fortunately one of them is a very and heavily travelled beach path. I did however, take off up the Santa Ana River Trail by myself once and reached an area that I wasn't comfortable in, and turned around quickly. It wasn't smart of me to be out there alone.

[dobielover1]

How tragic for her family. My heart goes out to them.

[Cindyloo]

I'm still very much bothered but have made peace with the situation overnight as it was tearing me up inside.

PW and skibum, are you the gals that blew me off the trail the other weekend? I would love to ride with you all sometime. I live on the south side of ATL and make it up to the trail 1-2 times a month right now.

[Pascale]

My thoughts go out to the family and to the local cycling community - it is indeed a horrific tragedy.

I know many less experienced riders like to ride on bike paths because they don't feel comfortable riding on the road. However, don't lull yourself into a sense of safety.

Again, we have a risk issue. Relatively, how many people are attacked on trails vs hit by cars each year? One incident hit us at our very souls, because it is an personal attack, I totally agree. But realistically, is one statistically safer than the other? And please, don't misunderstand, I am not trying to minmize this incident in the LEAST or imply that this woman is a statistic, or anyone else who is a victim of crime or accident.

I agree that nobody should be lulled into a false sense of safety - what we do have to do is decide which risks we are more willing to take on and are more comfortable with.

[skibum]

Skibum, please try to find someone to join you on your ride. A bunch of folks are meeting in Helen on Saturday to do the back 3 gaps, with a detour to Wolfpen too, so a modified 4-gap (Hogpen, Wolfpen, Jacks, and Unicoi) and there will be a vast variety of speeds, with regroups on teh summits. Think aobut joining us. A few of us are also riding on Sunday - not sure where, but I'll let you know.

PW, I will find someone to ride with Sunday or will make other plans. I'm sure I'll ride alone sometime in the future but I'm still too shaken up about this to go out alone this weekend. Most of my riding buddies are doing the gaps on Sunday but it just won't work for me this week (or Saturday for that matter, but thanks for inviting me along). My goal for Sunday is to ride Silk Sheets starting around 11am. We can chat offline... if I don't find someone to ride with me on Sun, I may join in with whatever your group decides to do.

[Pedal Wench]

I woke up today, thinking that this whole situation was just a nightmare. That some maniac who attacked a woman I don't know couldn't change me, couldn't change how I go about my day. But it did. I know that we all take risks. The difference is that I know cycling is inherently dangerous. Accidents happen all the time. But, they're accidents. This was no accident. This shouldn't be on my list of risks. Flat tires, blow outs, falls - those are the risks we should just accept. This is different, and need to be dealt with differently.

I'm sure that in time, I'll be able to ride alone. I love my 'alone' time. I can feel like Superwoman, because I have no one to gauge my speed against. I hope that when they catch this monster that I'll be able to feel that way again.

Thanks everyone for letting us vent about this. It has really affected the local community. This is a very popular trail, and if people stop using it out of fear, then it really will become more of a problem.

SB - we'll talk.

Cindylou - it wasn't me blowing by you. First, I don't blow by much, except perhaps a turtle or two, and second, I haven't been out there in a month or so. And when I was there, I was alone - as usual!

[mimitabby]

Well, they're probably going to catch the moron who did it.
Sounds like he doesn't make real good choices in life.. and she fought
like a wild cat... Because she fought, there is probably lots of good DNA
evidence that will hang this guy.

[cherinyc]

I agree with you mimitabby - when i was updating my bf on this tragic story - (and he was again saying why I shouldn't have gone out on a new 20 mile route last night so close to dark)
I saw the positive being that she fought like hell. Good for her - I find everything I have read about her to be extremely inspirational - and sadly, had this tragedy not occurred, I would've probably never even heard of her.
Even inspiring through tragedy is still....inspiring.

And - the fact that she fought - will most definitely mean that there will be exclamatory evidence against this freak show that killed her. Granted I get a lot of my crime evidence info from my favorite shows (Law & Order, CSI, and Cold Case) but a lot of that stuff is still partially factual - right?

[DebW]

What a tragic event. My thoughts are with the family and those of you who live in the area.

Was this an area that someone could only get to by bike or foot? Would the perpetrator likely have been on a bike too? I usually assume that criminals are too lazy or out of shape on unskilled to commit crimes more than about a mile from a road. This rule seem to work pretty well for hiking and backpacking. Areas frequented by locals or accessible by car or ATV are considered unsafe for overnight stays by hikers. So is anyplace a road bike can get to potentially unsafe if not in a well-populated area?

[Pedal Wench]

From what I can figure out (and understand that I've done easily two thousand miles on this trail) this happened at a point that was about 1, 1.5 miles from parking lots/trailheads in either direction. I believe it was near a railroad crossing. There are houses right up along the trail in that section too.

Now, here are two thoughts that i'm putting together. A few weeks ago, I was out there (alone, again...) and right in this area was a bunch of police activity. Nothing like cruising along and coming around a bend to see a police cruiser in the middle of the trail. There were a few unmarked police cars off the side of the trail. I never heard what they were doing or what they were looking for. I wonder if something occurred then that gave them a clue to what happened on Tuesday, since they seem to already have a 'person of interest' in this case.

Edit to add: I always thought that this trail was pretty off in the woods, but I've recently realized that a major roadway runs right along side of it in most areas - probably just a couple of hundred feet away. The dense foliage keeps the road hidden from the trail, and unfortunately, the trail hidden from the road.

[cherinyc]

The area that she put in is very populated and is right near a Publix shopping center but as you get out about 20 miles it becomes a little more rural, crosses a couple of small dirt roads, passes a water treatment plant, and wooded areas. It also passes behind many houses along the way.

Hi Deb - I understood from what Cindyloo was saying above, that the trail was a mix of areas - some populated, some not. My bf made a good point saying that (since the news says Jennifer rode this same route 3x/week) someone could've known about her routine - and was waiting for her at a certain desolate spot where they could strike w/o being seen or heard.
Often, the people who commit these types of crimes are very good at planning/strategizing their attacks.

[Nanci]

I've had scary encounters on three of the four trails I ride on. I don't know what the solution is. All of them are in populated areas, with roads very nearby (adjacent to, in sight of) the trail.

http://tinyurl.com/k94b9

This incident (only time I ever rode without a helmet- now have figured out how to get my hat under it- so you don't need to comment on that!) took place after I quit riding on another trail after I had a scary incident with a couple big teenagers (who were probably only thinking of robbery, not murder).

The creepy guy never confronted me, never harmed me or anyone that I know of, and I continue to see him at various points along this 46 mile trail, including within a couple miles of the isolated parking lot. I am still very unnerved by and very afraid of him.

[cherinyc]

Nanci - I always see on your avator (anyone know what that stands for?) that your location is North Central Florida. I spent most of my life in FL - Boca Raton, then Tallahassee, then St Augustine. I am curious about where you are referring to. Gainsville maybe?