Posted by Monetta Roberts on September 03, 2007 at 22:29:50:
Gang:
Today's Channel 5 News reports that this morning two more athletes on bicycles were mowed down and killed, this time on a County Road in Baldwin Co. by a 17-year-old speeding in a pick-up truck (where the speed limit is 25 mph) who subsequently landed upside down in a ditch after killing the bikers. The report I heard earlier today said he and his 15-year-old passenger were ejected from the truck and that he (the driver) was hospitalized and she was basically Ok. Tonight's version didn't mention the ejection, or the girl, but did say the driver is in fair condition in a local hospital. The bikers, a guy and a girl, whose names sound familiar to me, but I can't recall them, apparently were dead on impact.
Everyone I know who bikes thinks I'm a old ninny, because I'm always preaching road safety to them. But the reason is that I've long ago lost count of the area bikers who've been killed or maimed or run off the road by cars or trucks. If you bike on the roads and you think you have as much right to be there as that SUV coming up behind you, you are absolutely correct, as far as I can tell. BUT you'll be every bit as mangled when it runs you over or bumps you off the road because the driver (a) was too busy cell phoning a client/family member/buddy to see you; (b) firmly believes he/she doesn't need to move over even 1" because the roads are meant for CARS, not BIKES; or (c) truly could not see you because you were directly between the rising/setting sun and the driver's line of vision----and some of those blinking bike lights are relatively useless compared to the rising SUN, so don't let them give you a false sense of security! I know, I've been ahead of a training partner and turned to look back and said training partner was for all practical purposes invisible, and I KNEW she was there, somewhere!
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: All this stuff we do is supposed to be FUN, hard maybe, but fun. It is NOT supposed to kill us, so please, especially when you're biking on area roads, never let safety slip your mind: Your family, your friends and your training and racing partners will ALWAYS miss you!
A concerned and saddened citizen,
Mo