Bike Florida - Looking for Riding Buddy

[kmehrzad]

Is anyone in the MD/DC/VA area interested in joining me on a Bike FL trip? I'd be driving down early morning (3:30 am) March 26th to Gainesville, FL. Saturday and Sunday are registration days with short rides in the area. The actual tour begins on Monday morning in various cities around Gainesville - approx. 300 mi. in a loop back to Gainesville, ending on Friday, April 1. I'd drive back on Saturday, April 2.

Looking for someone to help share the cost of gas, cost of hotel room if you prefer to stay in hotels vs. camp, and share the experience.

Here's a link to the site: http://www.bikeflorida.org/bf2011/2011.php

[kmehrzad]

I finished the Bike FL event last week in Gainesville. It was a nice time of meeting new people and riding in warm, sunny weather for just a couple of days before the overcast skies, rain and threat of tornadoes came upon us. The bad weather (lightning and tornado warnings) kept us off the bikes one day. On Wednesday there was a fatal accident where one of the cyclists was hit by a distracted driver. We were all so saddened after learning about this gentleman's death.

http://www.gainesville.com/article/2...CLES/110339903

[owlice]

Wow, kmehrzad, I'm so sorry to read about the fatality; that's awful. Glad you got to ride in the event and had a nice time despite the weather and the tragedy.

I hope the driver is charged.

[kmehrzad]

Wow, kmehrzad, I'm so sorry to read about the fatality; that's awful. Glad you got to ride in the event and had a nice time despite the weather and the tragedy.

I hope the driver is charged.

It was very tragic. I don't think any decisions have been made yet whether there'll be charges. The details all pointed to distracted cell phone usage so I'm curious to see what penalties are in store for the young driver.

[OakLeaf]

I'm glad you had a good time in spite of that.

I doubt there will be charges. I'm surprised it wasn't more publicized among the cycling community in Florida, but the fact is that you can pretty much kill someone with impunity here if you're in a car and they're not. As I've mentioned before ... there was an incident where someone ran down a traffic cop in an intersection and wasn't charged (broken bones, but no life-threatening injuries, thank goodness).

[kmehrzad]

Actually it was fairly well publicized among the cycling community in FL, I believe. If you Google Cyclist Killed During Bike FL, I think you'll find numerous postings. I heard that the driver of the truck was crying hysterically after hitting the guy. I can only imagine how he felt having taken a life through careless distraction.

I'm glad you had a good time in spite of that.

I doubt there will be charges. I'm surprised it wasn't more publicized among the cycling community in Florida, but the fact is that you can pretty much kill someone with impunity here if you're in a car and they're not. As I've mentioned before ... there was an incident where someone ran down a traffic cop in an intersection and wasn't charged (broken bones, but no life-threatening injuries, thank goodness).