mailbu deaths today

[lnomalley]

any of you socal guys know the identity of the two male riders that were killed in malibu on pch today (near pepperdine heading north, around 11a...)?

all the locals are calling each other and no one has any details except that they were hit by a catering truck, that they were in their 40's and that they both died.... as big as los angeles is.. its small community and we are all worried for our friends... so... even if you know what club they were from.....

[SoCalSteve]

I'd like to know as well...

Steve

[lnomalley]

rumour has it that one of them was a la granger named steve... no details or certainty on that.

[SoCalSteve]

and most of the club riders start so early...

And, they were heading Northbound, I have a feeling that they werent on any club ride. Just a feeling.

Steve

PS: By then they would be heading Southbound back to Ocean & San Vicente or Westwood.

[Blastinbob]

Terrible news ! If they were LaGrange riders Tom B. or Kurt may have some more info. I've ridden that stretch a couple of times and i thought that area had a good wide shoulder ?

[Kurt]

Terrible news ! If they were LaGrange riders Tom B. or Kurt may have some more info. I've ridden that stretch a couple of times and i thought that area had a good wide shoulder ?

I don't know any more than I posted to the LG group - I rode back for doing 70 to the rock and passed pretty much after it happened, nasty - I could not even look. the guys that were around the vics were not in kits and had camels, so it did not seem to me that they were LG guys, also the late start. really a drag, hate seeing this, but also a reminder for all of us how life can change in a moment. Be safe.

[lnomalley]

and most of the club riders start so early...

And, they were heading Northbound, I have a feeling that they werent on any club ride. Just a feeling.

Steve

PS: By then they would be heading Southbound back to Ocean & San Vicente or Westwood.

yeah, i rolled out from sv/o at 8:15 (i'm one of the sotheby's guys).... there were lots of people out today that were clearly riding out to check out the course for the malibu tri... and lots of grupettos...

kurt, i dropped you an email.... let me know if you hear more. i hate this..... feel horrible everytime this happens. we rolled by but were down on old malibu road.. so we just missed it. they closed pch behind us .. and we didnt hear about it until we were already at state beach.

[MarinRider]

Always hard to hear this. I lost a good friend less than two years ago here in Nor Cal.

My heart goes to their families.

[Russ]

Many years ago, I was visiting LA and I lost a buddy on PCH near were this this fatality happened.... It was freaky as the (drunk) driver that hit her could have hit me and the guy that took off with me, ahead of the group, for a restroom stop.

I could not ride for a couple of weeks after this accident happened, I was just traumatized by what I saw.... :( :(

[Tom Byrnes]

Absolutely horrible news.

I have not heard anything about the cyclists' I.D. other than what Kurt posted in a group email last night to the La Grange members:

"The details are 2 cyclist were killed - both male, 41, 46 - hit from behind
by a catering truck of some sort, there was mention of the individuals being
throw forward for some distance.* This is from a Malibu fireman that I
talked with during lunch."*

That part of PCH is absolutely straight. The shoulder of the road along the climb up to Pepperdine is wide enough and the visibility unobstructed so that (assuming the cyclists were riding in the bike path) this accident could have only occurred because the driver was grossly negligent and not watching the road.

How unnecessarily tragic.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . the more disturbing possibility that he hit them on purpose.

I certainly hope not, but no matter the cause it is indeed a tragedy.

BBDave

[lnomalley]

bb-dave, lets not go there.... all of pch has risks.. the other side of pepperdine has seams, ruts and holes... cars drift (i had one drift into my at 50 mhp last year) as do riders.. and everyone that rides up pch understands the risks because you can't avoid them there. i was on pch 6 days a week this winter and had at least one close call every ride.... and as sick as it sounds.. i am ok with losing my life on a bike (it is a reality you have to comprehend).

regardless, 2 guys are dead, the somebody that was driving the roachcoach is probably not feeling too great *rumour has it they didnt pull over for a mile.. but.. you know when you kill two people i'm sure it takes a minute to two to process and i am not going to make any judgements about it.

i dont want to make any assumptions.. i just was trying to find out who it was... we've lost alot of good people out here over the years... but that's certainly because there are so many of us riding in a dense population environment and because every sport has dangers...
regardless.. i do think i might have known one of the guys in a kind of seen his face around town way.... and am humbled and heartbroken for his loved ones.

the other part that was touching was to find a message on my voicemail from the manager of a local bike shop making sure it wasnt me.... we are a small big town here.... and we are all hurt by this.

[Tom Byrnes]

. . . . all of pch has risks.. the other side of pepperdine has seams, ruts and holes... cars drift (i had one drift into my at 50 mhp last year) as do riders.. and everyone that rides up pch understands the risks because you can't avoid them there. i was on pch 6 days a week this winter and had at least one close call every ride. . . .

The Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Monica up towards Malibu is a very scenic ride. However, PCH is . . . a highway. While there are literally hundreds of cyclists traveling on PCH uptoward Mailibu and beyond every Saturday morning, there are also lots of vehicles zooming by them going 50 mph. It seems like at least one cyclist is killed on PCH every year.

I live in West Los Angeles and am fairly close to PCH. However, with rare exceptions, I do not ride it and instead choose to travel along the Santa Monica and Venice city streets and bike path south towards the Palos Verdes Peninsula. It's a lot easier and less dangerous to dodge careless rollerbladers than it is to dodge careless motorists travelling 50 mph.

As Inomalley stated, there are a lot of people cycling in our densely populated area. I do what I can to avoid the dangers while trying to enjoy our sport. So, as scenic as it is, the Santa Monica-Malibu section of PCH is too crowded and too narrow for me to enjoy. Cycling on PCH is too dangerous for me, unless it is up past Zuma Beach. But, I know many others who love PCH, and ride it all of the time.

Be extra safe out there.

[Tom Byrnes]

Here is the a link to an Los Angeles Times article about this tragedy.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pch14sep14,1,6215443.story?coll=la-h&ctrack=1&cset=true

I was wrong about at least one cyclist killed per year. But, it certainly seems to me like one cyclist a year is killed in our area on freeway-like streets.

Tom

[Needs Help]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pch14sep14,1,6215443.story?coll=la-headlines-california