Racer Dies in Local Crit

[Uncle Jam's Army]

http://centerlinerule.blogspot.com/2013/05/chris-contreras-rest-in-peace.html

I didn't know Chris Cono (Contreras), but I've been thinking a lot about him ever since my team posted his passing late yesterday afternoon. I know there have been deaths in other races before, but I can't seem to remember one locally. Having recently crashed and injured myself in my bid to come back to racing, this certainly causes me some pause to think why I want to race and whether the risks are worth it. (A long-time racer I have known since the 80's just crashed in a race the week before and broke his pelvis, clavicle, ribs, and punctured a lung.)

Condolences to Chris' family, friends and teammates. May peace be with them.

[William]

Man that's rough. My condolences to his friends and family.

The thought about what could happen on a ride or in a race is something you always push to the back of your mind....but it's always there. Crits can be especially dangerous with many more opportunities for something to happen. That fact that you make the choice to line up at the start means that at some level you accept that the possibility is out there....and do your best to be competitive and yet as safe as possible in that situation.






William

[eBAUMANN]

thats really unfortunate, my thoughts are with his family and friends.

while racing is certainly a dangerous activity to partake in...you can still have a lot of fun with it, challenge yourself, get in shape, etc...while also minimizing your risk of injury during competition.

here is how i stay out of trouble:

1 - ride/race within your abilities
2 - avoid crits like the plague
3 - never trust the guy in front of you, always be able to see the road ahead
4 - identify the squirrels in the field, avoid the squirrels

i guess it all comes down to what you are trying to get out of it though. for me its about challenging myself on the bike, riding/racing with friends, seeing amazing roads/places, weekends away...etc, not really about the COMPETITION.

the more serious/competitive you get, the more likely you are to take those risks, put yourself in dangerous positions, and ultimately crash.

in the end, IMO, winning is fun and all, but so is riding a bike for the rest of your life...

[beeatnik]

Chris was a great guy. I'd see him on the big Pasadena area training ride every Saturday, and at the Rose Bowl "training crit" on Tue/Thurs. He also worked at one of the better bike shops in the area. He was a passionate cyclist and at 48 had the enthusiasm and intensity of a 20 year old.

RIP

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7438/8868999663_bf3f9533a3.jpg

[d.vader123]

Rip. Sounds like a wonderful cyclist and an even more wonderful person.

[eBAUMANN]

Rip. Sounds like a wonderful cyclist and an even more wonderful person.

agreed.

[MattTuck]

The story of Chris is tragic.

To UJA's larger point, I think that each person has to find the right level of risk that they are comfortable with. I know some folks on this forum have given up road biking completely because of the risk of being hit by a car, and now do all their biking off road on mountain bikes.

That said, humans are notoriously bad at judging risk. We suffer from so many biases that entire books have been written about them. To name a few, representativeness bias, recency bias, availability bias all pertain to this very situation.

How many racers go out for a ride or race and return home totally safe, having had a great time? Those events don't get the kind of press that a tragic accident does, and it makes it really hard to estimate the true risk involved.

That said, the old adage goes: "If you race, it is a matter of when, not if, you will crash."

[Likes2ridefar]

The story of Chris is tragic.

To UJA's larger point, I think that each person has to find the right level of risk that they are comfortable with. I know some folks on this forum have given up road biking completely because of the risk of being hit by a car, and now do all their biking off road on mountain bikes.

That said, humans are notoriously bad at judging risk. We suffer from so many biases that entire books have been written about them. To name a few, representativeness bias, recency bias, availability bias all pertain to this very situation.

How many racers go out for a ride or race and return home totally safe, having had a great time? Those events don't get the kind of press that a tragic accident does, and it makes it really hard to estimate the true risk involved.

That said, the old adage goes: "If you race, it is a matter of when, not if, you will crash."

I've played sports my entire life since I could participate at age 5 (30 years of various sports) and the last 3 years of road racing were, in my opinion, by far the most dangerous sport I've ever played. It is the primary reason I stopped.

I crashed 3 times in those 3 years. One was high speed and I'll have scars for life all over my body because of it. The other two fortunately just broke my bike and did little damage to me.

My last year I raced at the pro UCI level in Asia and there were just as many crashes as the lower ranks, and I don't think it was because people were pushing their boundaries. Crashes simply happen at high speeds when you throw 100 guys on a road together shoulder to shoulder.

[beeatnik]

The story of Chris is tragic.

To UJA's larger point, I think that each person has to find the right level of risk that they are comfortable with. I know some folks on this forum have given up road biking completely because of the risk of being hit by a car, and now do all their biking off road on mountain bikes.

That said, humans are notoriously bad at judging risk. We suffer from so many biases that entire books have been written about them. To name a few, representativeness bias, recency bias, availability bias all pertain to this very situation.

How many racers go out for a ride or race and return home totally safe, having had a great time? Those events don't get the kind of press that a tragic accident does, and it makes it really hard to estimate the true risk involved.

That said, the old adage goes: "If you race, it is a matter of when, not if, you will crash."

Very good points. However, it's difficult for me to reconcile the risks of amateur racing with the quantifiable rewards. Which is to say that there are many more weekend warrior activities in which catastrophic injuries are just not in play regardless of the overall accident rates. There may be more incidents in weekend bowling leagues (due to higher participation rates and other demographic factors) but they're not necessarily related to manageable risk and more than likely not of a catastrophic nature.

[rugbysecondrow]

The story of Chris is tragic.

To UJA's larger point, I think that each person has to find the right level of risk that they are comfortable with. I know some folks on this forum have given up road biking completely because of the risk of being hit by a car, and now do all their biking off road on mountain bikes.

That said, humans are notoriously bad at judging risk. We suffer from so many biases that entire books have been written about them. To name a few, representativeness bias, recency bias, availability bias all pertain to this very situation.

How many racers go out for a ride or race and return home totally safe, having had a great time? Those events don't get the kind of press that a tragic accident does, and it makes it really hard to estimate the true risk involved.

That said, the old adage goes: "If you race, it is a matter of when, not if, you will crash."



It is not the rate of incidents which is bothersome to some, but the catastrophic/irreversable nature of the incident. I have been sky diving a few times. A great, relativly safe activity until **** goes wrong. Accidents are deadly.

I like riding my bike, I think it is a great hobby, but if I decided I was too risk averse to continue riding, I would stop tomorrow and never look back. There are so many other activities I enjoy doing that riding a bike is just AN activity vs. THE activity.

[redir]

It is very sad. People die in training and in racing, it's rare but it happens. I don't know Chris but my guess is that if he could talk to you from the other side he would say never quit because of what happened to him, that's the way bike racers are. I also would suggest that there are just as many bad crashes (in fact probably worse crashes) in road races then in crits. Fear can grab hold of you and get you to thinking outside of facts. It's more dangerous to sit on the couch and do nothing then to train and race and live a healthy active life style.

There is probably nothing that we can really learn from this tragedy. I have been involved in all kinds of sports from rock climbing, cave exploration, mountaineering, flying, skiing, and cycling and they all have there dangers and we do our best to mitigate them but it happens and for most of us it's worth the risk.

Best to his family and RIP.

[carpediemracing]

Having experienced a rider dying due to a crash at a race I promoted I've been here. It's truly tragic. I don't know the circumstances of the Chris Conos/Contreros crash but in Bethel it was an innocuous crash during a let up in the pace. People were talking, we were going a good 8 mph slower than on other laps, and one guy fell over on his own. A bunch of riders crashes in sympathy (avoiding him) but the solo rider was the one that perished.

However I feel the need to defend the relative safety of criteriums. The worst crashes I've seen where it's an actual racing crash have been in road races. I'm extremely risk averse - I drive with a dash cam and a rear view cam, I ride with a helmet cam (and am trying to figure out how to put a rear view cam as well). I train often indoors because I don't feel like dealing with the relatively sparse traffic we have around here. For my computer I have backups of backups of backups.

Yet I avoid road races like the plague. I've only done crits since about 1997, and typically do 20-40 races a year if you include midweek crits. I got taken out by a radical and intentional move in 2009 and broke my first bone in my life in my 27th year of racing.

I will sit up if things don't seem good to me, and I've done it as recently as last year. Nothing's happened when I've done that, at least in my memory, but if I feel something is weird I sit up.

I think cross racing would be the safest but the racing doesn't really appeal to me. Maybe it will, I don't know, but I've had no desire to try it since I first watched a cross race in the 80s.

[PQJ]

....given up road biking completely because of the risk of being hit by a car, and now do all their biking off road on mountain bikes.

That said, humans are notoriously bad at judging risk....

Speaking of which, the 4 worst accidents (by far) that I've witnessed were caused by dog, dog, goose and cyclist error. In none of them was a car even close.

No point I'm trying to make, btw, just an observation.

[denapista]

I semi lost it on my office at work today. I caught a late night flight from NYC back home to Pasadena, where I frequent Velo Pasadena where Chris worked. I'm on 3hrs of sleep and heard the news. I've known Chris Contreras since the mid 90's or so. Our friendship dates back to the So Cal VW scene, where Chris worked for multiple European car companies, Giovanna and CEC wheels most notably. I've been to countless car shows and dinners with that guy. We connected later in life in the form of cycling. I then found out that he was a cyclists even during those VW days, when I was a ratty skatepark BMX kid. I'd go into Velo, even last week I rode into Velo to buy some small stuff and chit chat with him or ask him if he misses the VW days. It's hard to fathom that he's not here anymore. Kind of eery.

I've dealt with death from a young age, growing up in Compton and Altadena in the 80's. Such a bummer to hear he's no longer here. I know that I'm going to face death one day, but cycling is one thing I'm not thinking of how I'm going to leave this planet. I know the risk of riding and racing, but it sucks that death can be the ultimate result from a cycling mistake. Bummed Chris is no longer here.

[beeatnik]

Sorry for your loss, DP, and thank you for sharing your memories of Chris.

[slidey]

I heard about this yesterday from a couple of friends who raced earlier in the day. Sad thing, really.

Here's a race whose proceeds are going to Christopher's family: http://www.scnca.com/2013raceflyers/Kool.pdf

[shovelhd]

To those who knew him, my deepest condolences. This kind of thing is very hard to fathom. I did the race after the one where Markus died and all I remember from that day was the large patch of Speedi-Dri soaked with blood. Every time I see Speedi-Dri anywhere it reminds me of that day.

[shovelhd]

Criteriums are not a place for the timid. By all means avoid them of you are afraid of them. You end up becoming a hazard.

I race all road events but like CDR I am a criterium specialist. It's a different mindset than a road race, for sure, but that doesn't make them more dangerous.

[carpediemracing]

i semi lost it on my office at work today. I caught a late night flight from nyc back home to pasadena, where i frequent velo pasadena where chris worked. I'm on 3hrs of sleep and heard the news. I've known chris contreras since the mid 90's or so. Our friendship dates back to the so cal vw scene, where chris worked for multiple european car companies, giovanna and cec wheels most notably. I've been to countless car shows and dinners with that guy. We connected later in life in the form of cycling. I then found out that he was a cyclists even during those vw days, when i was a ratty skatepark bmx kid. I'd go into velo, even last week i rode into velo to buy some small stuff and chit chat with him or ask him if he misses the vw days. It's hard to fathom that he's not here anymore. Kind of eery.

I've dealt with death from a young age, growing up in compton and altadena in the 80's. Such a bummer to hear he's no longer here. I know that i'm going to face death one day, but cycling is one thing i'm not thinking of how i'm going to leave this planet. I know the risk of riding and racing, but it sucks that death can be the ultimate result from a cycling mistake. Bummed chris is no longer here.

sorry for your loss, dp, and thank you for sharing your memories of chris.

+1

[echappist]

I heard about this yesterday from a couple of friends who raced earlier in the day. Sad thing, really.

Here's a race whose proceeds are going to Christopher's family: http://www.scnca.com/2013raceflyers/Kool.pdf

if you know of a benefit fund toward which i can make a donation, that'd be great. it won't be much, but it'll be something.

saddens me terribly any time i hear things like this.

[Louis]

Two years ago we had a tragic accident during a race here (crit). The rider (Randy Gillispie) was in a coma for quite a while, then there was disagreement within the family about removing him from the various life-support machines he was on. Married with kids. It was not a happy scene.

More details in a long thread here. (http://stlbiking.com/forum/index.php/topic/27387-webster-crash/)

[Ardan MacNessa]

This is sad. My deepest condolences to Chris's family and loved ones.

Tragic and sudden loss. I read the link and he seemed like such a great promoter and supporter of the sport, let alone a great participant.

[cleavel]

This sport brings us so much joy and such deep sorrow. I did not know Chris Contreras but we had many mutual friends and raced at the same events. I did two Masters races earlier in the day but I left before Chris' tragic race.

It's been a long time since this kind of tragedy was so close to home but every time I hear about an amateur racer who dies or is critically injured, I think deeply about why we love this sport. From the photos on Chris' Facebook page he clearly loved cycling.

Since echappist asked, you can make donations to Chris Contreras' family (wife and two sons) here:

http://www.gofundme.com/32wvko

RIP.

For those who are confused, his real name is Chris Contreras but he went by Chris Cono (which is also the name he used for his Facebook page).

[54ny77]

very sad to hear and our condolences to family & friends.

[Len J]

Sad. Thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.

Len

[LegendRider]

Condolences to those on The Paceline who knew Chris.

I’ve had a USA Cycling license since 1990, but I no longer race primarily because of the safety issue. The risk/reward trade-off simply doesn't work for me. Plus, in 20+ years of riding, I've been exposed to too many bad things:

• I broke my hip on an aggressive training ride. I left the house Saturday morning and didn't get home until Tuesday – the interim included an ambulance ride, emergency surgery and a Morphine pump…
• A friend was warming up for a race and was hit by a landscaping truck. He is now paralyzed from the waist down and uses a chair.
• Another friend was a multi-time state champ, Cat 1 racer and was killed by an inattentive driver while on a solo training ride.
• A teammate is an MD and he saved a rider’s life at a group ride. The rider veered into oncoming traffic and went through the windshield of a minivan. He lost an arm.
• There is a local training crit where a rider crashed and was taken away by Life Flight helicopter. It was “touch and go,” but he lived.
• Finally, there are countless other stories of death and injury among local cyclists riding on their own, in groups or in races.

[modernfuturist]

I've ridden with the guy when I lived in LA, and the community had nothing to say but good things about him.

It's a bit haunting to watch this video since Chris is providing the narration, but for those who didn't know him, the first few minutes really show his motivation for the sport and all that he tried to achieve.

https://vimeo.com/43622805

[Uncle Jam's Army]

I just received the following information from my team:

For those wishing to donate to the Chris Cono Memorial Fund, you can do so online at: www.gofundme.com/32wvko

[binxnyrwarrsoul]

"It's more dangerous to sit on the couch and do nothing then to train and race and live a healthy active life style."

Plus one.

To those who knew him, condolences.