Aussie long distance bike race called off with death.

[Burning Petard]

Any more information about the death of cyclist Mike Hall? Is 630am local time daylight?

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cycling/cha ... 07-10--UTC

snailgate

[Bicycle Bill]

I wonder, first of all, what they mean by "unsupported".  This event sounds more like the exercise in sleep deprivation known as the Race Across America (or RaAM) where cyclists race each other and the clock while crossing the continental US west-to-east.  There is no traffic control, road closures, or other infrastructure set out by the organizers like we are used to seeing in races like the Tour de France, but the riders themselves will have a 'personal' support team and traveling pit crew, usually following closely in an RV, with spares, medical support, food, a place to grab the occasional lie-down, and other necessities (you are forgiven if you did not know of this; unless one is a member of the cycling community, it generally flies well beneath the radar of most people).  And there have been fatalities on RaAM as well.

As for whether or not 6:30 AM is daylight or not (and in general, it is), what difference does that make?  They put headlights on cars so the drivers can see (and avoid) what's in front of them, and I'm sure that Mike Hall also had ample lighting on his bicycle — have you ever seen pictures of some of the lighting and reflective gear participants in the above-mentioned RaAM employ?  Or are you going to put forward that tired old line of bullshit that "bicycles don't belong on the highway/roads are made for motor vehicles" and that cyclists, pedestrians, and other slower and more-vulnerable road users are personæ non gratæ when it comes to being on the pavement?

In any event, I'm sorry to read this, just as I'm sorry to read about any cyclist who becomes one more bit of roadkill because of aggressive, obnoxious, or impaired drivers.  I'm also sorry to hear that they did call off the race because of this incident, although like the decision to proceed with the Games of the XX Olympiad after the Black September attack against the Israeli Olympians they were probably going to be damned if they did and damned if they didn't.  It would have been better if they could have somehow made contact with the remaining riders and sought their input before arbitrarily cancelling the event.

-"BB"-

[Burning Petard]

If you look at the picture in the linked news story, the rider seems to be self-contained, with loaded touring bags.

snailgate

[Bicycle Bill]

If you look at the picture in the linked news story, the rider seems to be self-contained, with loaded touring bags.

snailgate

That link didn't work for me the first time.  After reviewing it, this does sound like a recipe for disaster sooner or later.... one man, one bicycle, one set of panniers, 5500 km, and nuthin' else except a GPS tracker?  I know damned sure that I probably wouldn't try it under those conditions.

But my feelings and remarks about aggressive, obnoxious, and impaired drivers and their bullshit line of logic still stand ... whether it's in this context or any other.

[Lord Jim]

aggressive, obnoxious, and impaired drivers

And let's not forget those aggressive, obnoxious, and self-righteous spokeheads who consider themselves morally superior to the evil fossil fuel consuming car drivers, and thus entitled to flout both the rules of the road and commonsense safety....

The folks who were the subject of my very first post at the Cafe Darte...

[BoSoxGal]

It seems very wrongheaded to have a race like that which doesn't allow for the participants to get adequate sleep each night - why is that even necessary?

Reading the full article, it appears this rider was having vision issues and admittedly riding all over the road - so might have contributed to the collision.

That said, I find the typical driver's approach to sharing the road with cyclists to be abhorrent. With warmer weather coming, I would love to ride my bike to my client's house every day as it would be excellent exercise - but I fear it would be too risky. Too many drivers refuse to move over for a bicyclist even with no traffic coming the opposite direction - I don't understand why, it is no bother to me to move over when driving, and I usually move into the opposite lane entirely, or I wait for oncoming traffic to pass to allow that.

Very sad in any case. Still, seems unnecessary to have cancelled the race entirely - not sure that honors the spirit of the deceased cyclist.

[dales]

The folks who were the subject of my very first post at the Cafe Darte...

And let's not forget this rectal orifice:



He smashed the windows on some poor woman's car.

That was one ugly Critical Mass scene Friday night. A group of bike riders, heading the wrong way down a street in the Marina, targeted a woman driving a Zipcar, shouted at her, and then blocked her path when she tried to drive around them. Eventually, one moron hammered the car with his bike lock, shattering a window.


The bike riders provoked the attack, escalated it and then used her attempts to escape as a rationale to batter the car. It had to be a low point in bike-city relations, right?

Not even close. Less than 20 years ago, Critical Mass was a rampaging, hood-pounding, horn-honking confrontation. In July 1997, some 5,000 bike riders took over the streets for hours, blocking intersections and getting into screaming matches with drivers and police.

Some 250 cyclists were arrested, fist fights broke out and two officers suffered broken ribs. It was, the Chronicle story said, “chaos.’’

Which is why this week the Bicycle Coalition nearly fell over its kickstand backing away from both Friday’s incident and Critical Mass. As far as they’re concerned, those were the bad old days.

Because about 10 years ago the Bicycle Coalition wised up. Understand, they never sponsored Critical Mass, but in the early days of the event (it began in 1995) they attempted to mediate between the ride and public officials.

They knew they had a passionate group of true believers, they just needed to mobilize them to do more than block an intersection. So rather than stage another tired rally on the steps of City Hall, the Coalition went inside, worked with politicos and got things done.



Critical Mass criticized

A Critical Mass cyclist who attacked a Zipcar with a metal bike lock was wearing a shirt that said, "Non-violence is our strength."
Window smasher wore T-shirt advocating non-violence

A YouTube video showing an altercation between Critical Mass cyclists and a driver in San Francisco’s Marina District on Friday August 28, 2015.
Critical Mass event turns ugly in the Marina district

“The bike coalition will sit down with you,” said Supervisor Scott Wiener. “They go out of their way to form relations. They don’t go around casting people out of the temple.”

The result? Today, bike lanes are commonplace and increasing, the number of people biking in the city has doubled since 2007, and San Francisco is consistently mentioned among the most bike-friendly cities in the country.

Until Friday, Critical Mass had turned into a pleasant cruise of the city, with a boom box playing dance tunes, good vibes and even a police escort. Because the cops got the message too.

Police Chief Greg Suhr remembers those pitched battles in the ’90s, when the cops would crack down, make arrests and return to their cars to find the tires slashed. They finally realized they were prolonging the conflict, not curbing it. They backed off.

More Here: http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/nevi ... 481511.php

[Jarlaxle]

I have had several idiots holding the dock steps on my work truck in Boston. Fucking idiots.

[Joe Guy]

aggressive, obnoxious, and impaired drivers

And let's not forget those aggressive, obnoxious, and self-righteous spokeheads who consider themselves morally superior to the evil fossil fuel consuming car drivers, and thus entitled to flout both the rules of the road and commonsense safety....

The folks who were the subject of my very first post at the Cafe Darte...

I don't think I was there when you made your first post but I would have agreed with you 100% even though you're a republican...