Sad news from Indy - another cyclist lost

[WindingRoad]

This was in the Indystar I thought I would pass it along to everyone because it makes you think.


Bicycle training crash kills attorney
John Tuohy

September 15, 2009 by John Tuohy | Star staff


Funeral services were scheduled Thursday for a 48-year-old lawyer and father who died after he crashed his bicycle in training ride last week.

Charles Avery Kirk, a graduate of North Central High School and Indiana University, will be remembered in a ceremony at North United Methodist Church, 3808 N. Meridian St.

Kirk was on a fast moving, 20-mile training ride with about 40 other cyclists last Wednesday when several riders crashed, said Tom Schumacher, a member of the Central Indiana Bicycling Association, who was on the ride.

The accident happened on the 6700 block Hoover Road near the Jewish Community Center when the group of experienced riders was rounding a turn at about 30 mph.

A rider or two at the front of the pack lost control and caused about 12 other riders to go down.

Kirk was the most seriously injured but was conscious and speaking when he was taken to the hospital, Schumacher said.

He injured his back and underwent surgery but died last Saturday, friends said.

CIBA bikers take several rides a week and Kirk was on the group’s Broad Ripple Training Ride, which winds along several Northside streets in about an hour.

Kirk was an avid cyclist, a sailor, violinist, dog lover and architecture aficionado. He worked since 1993 as legal counsel for Indianapolis-based Dow Agrosciences Commercial Regulatory Group. He had previously practiced law at Locke Reynolds Boyd and Weisel and gradated from IU School of Law-Indianapolis in 1990

He is survived by his wife, Carrie Besore, and two sons, William and George.

[Mr. SR500]

Very sad.

[tulip]

Very sad, indeed. My thoughts go out to his family.

But I gotta ask, what were they thinking riding in a group of 40 at 30mph? That's just plain irresponsible. And please don't tell me this is blaming the victim--I am not. It was an unfortunate accident, but one that was most likely preventable. I just hope some good sense comes from this for future rides.

Our club is really trying to instill a sense of safety into all the group rides. It's hardest to get that across to the more experienced riders. It's a matter of policy and safety that we split up groups into riders of six or fewer. Nearly all of the accidents around here have resulted from high speed crashes in large groups, either with or without vehicular involvement.

[Mr. Bloom]

I believe his kids were 5 and 7 (based on an email I received through our local club) and I think that makes it even more devastating a loss.

I think that this underscores the importance of safety training in group rides and group riding techniques.

Indysteel? Did you know him...weren't you at IU Law about then?

[WindingRoad]

Here's a bit more information on that accident. It's a nice story about what happened but unfortunate that our club has to gain recognition from such a terrible event.


http://www.wthr.com/global/video/fla...=&rnd=98701527

[PscyclePath]

We all... especially the "fast" club riders, tend to overestimate our skills in the midst of the joy of a fast paceline or club ride. And only a very little bit of inattention can get you into a lot of trouble. During the "training rides" for a charity event early this past summer, some of the local fast riders kept pushing the pace, and for about the last four or five weeks before the ride, they were putting one or two people in the hospital every week, all for little errors.

Sure, pro riders do that stuff all the time, but very few of us have the sort of expereince they do.

[WindingRoad]

Tulip I totally agree with what you are saying. I actually stopped going to this ride as much because of how insane it was becoming. It's scary because the only reason I wasn't there the night of the accident was because my schedule changed this semester so I wasn't able to do Wednesday nights anymore. Feeling a little heavenly intervention in hindsight. It sounds like your club is having the same problem ours is with the more experienced riders getting out of control on some of the rides. The ride in this story has been notorious for running stops signs, stop lights, and just being plain rude on the roadways. As someone who has ridden with this group it is real easy to get sucked into thinking it's OK to act like that but it's not. That's where the 'group mentality' issue comes into play.

I love to ride fast too but in a dense urban area? at 6pm? during the week? during the afternoon rush? I don't want to give it up but I have to ask myself how smart this really is? I'm completely torn at this point

[indysteel]

As another Indianapolis cyclist/club member, I'm saddened--but not terribly surprised--by the accident. The club's training rides, and that one in particular, are often pretty crazy. I stopped going to a different training ride, in part, because I felt that there were riders who had no appreciation for safety. I also felt that the rider leaders themselves, in an effort to avoid confrontations, weren't addressing the situation. Sadly, in an effort to hang on to the group, riders do some idiotic things and lose all sense of perspective. Granted, those rides made me stronger and faster, but for what purpose? I don't race; I just want to live to ride another day. I also find the bravado of some of the (mostly) guys I talk to who regularly do those rides to be rather off putting.

I hope that the club makes some changes to the rides. Some of them have A, B and C groups now to address various skill levels and speeds. Still, I think many of the riders who do the rides need to carefully consider the risks they take to do the training rides (or to race for that matter) and determine whether they're worth it. The sad truth is that our sport is inherently risky, although I do think you can minimize the risk to some extent.

An accident like this is always possible when riders are in a tight paceline, but the injuries don't typcially result in death. I'm not entirely clear what went wrong after Charlie's surgery. He was reportedly alert at the scene and the surgery itself seemingly went well. It's not clear from what I've read why he stopped breathing.

Regardless, I'm heartbroken for Charlie's wife and children.