WOW - keep your heads up, ladies!

[DeniseGoldberg]

I really feel for these cyclist's families.

But I have a question too. And that is, why were they riding in the center of the road? And were they really in the middle, or is the news report incorrect? (OK, maybe that's a dumb question - and I'm not trying to place any blame for this terrible accident - but I really don't understand.)

--- Denise

[KSH]

How tragic.

I think I drive by that location they are mentioning... on my way home from work. I always see cyclists out there and it looks like they are warming up for some *racing*. I have never stopped because I am too slow to bother with any of that.

It is very sad that someone died. Very sad.

[Steph_in_TX]

If I were guessing and that's all I'm doing, they may have been in the middle because they thought they were alone. There's truly no traffic there after work hours and on weekends. It's just a quiet loop and I'm guessing they just got too lax, but who really knows.

KSH - it's at 190 and Renner. The crits are on Tuesday night...you are right, too fast for me, but fun to watch.

[Technotart]

I saw at white rock a couple of weeks ago where an older gentleman plowed into a kid on a bike - the fellow was down in his tri bars staring at his feet I guess and never saw the kid. Then he proceeded to yell at the kid for being there and made a real jerk of himself. I had stopped to see if he was ok - then wished I had taken the kids side!

The assumption is that both of these riders had their heads down although I don't know that for a fact. It's just the best guess some of us were able to come up with. There was also some surmisement that they may have been going as fast as 25 mph each - that would total out to a 50 mph impact helmet to helmet.

It is tragic, a great reminder to look around and be aware of evrything around you.

[Technotart]

Ok - more info...this is hear-say mind you and not a first hand witness account, but it explains how the two riders might have met in the middle of the road perhaps.

One rider - the older one who died I am told - was riding the crit course in the same way you would ride it if you were racing on a closed course. IE, swinging corners wide, taking turns in such a way that you would enter what would ordinarily be an oncoming traffic lane IF there were any traffic. He had probably done this any number of times on any number of occasions - and there was probably never any traffic out there. He took a wide turn, and upon coming out of the turn the oncoming (younger) rider saw him and tried to move to the center to allow him to pass on the outside of him. The older rider corrected his wide turn a bit too late to attempt to miss the rider in his path and both met in the middle with the older riders head striking the younger riders shoulder with his head tucked as if to duck from injury. The top of his helmet made contact, resulting in a broken neck.

This is NOT fact nor is it exactly what happened I'm sure, but it is one possible explanation.

What an awful awful thing for both riders and both families - my heart goes out to all of them