bocarider
10-19-2009, 05:03 PM
This happened in one of the groups that heads out on my Saturday group ride west of Boca Raton, Florida. I did not know the woman who was killed. My wife did as she rode in my wifes group a few times. We were out of town, so I do not have any first hand knowledge, beyond what friends from the Boca Raton Bicycle Club have told me and what I read in this article:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/west-boca-dead-bicyclist-101709,0,4406026.story
Riding east into the rising sun is pretty dangerous in South Florida the flat terrain and long straight roads are a hazard for cyclists as the car drivers cant see you. About 8 years ago, I was in a paceline that got taken out by a driver who could not see us due to the rising sun at 7:30 in the morning. Four of my best riding buddies got clobbered that day and spent a lot of time in the hospital (I got lucky and was able to ditch onto the grass next to the road).
Some of the reader comments that appear after the article are terribly disturbing there is such a lack of civility and empathy in our society these days and it makes me very sad. In both driving and riding my bike in South Florida, I see that lack of civility expressed in the way people drive their cars; there is a lot of aggressive driving and road rage. Everyone is in such a rush to get somewhere or talking or texting on their phones that there is no common courtesy on the road and expressions of anger prevail.
We have some great bicycle advocacy groups here in South Fllrida with great leadership. My fear is that their hard work yields little in the way of results. What do we do as a cycling community to protect ourselves and try and cultivate a more civilized society?
I'm very sad about this. I'll still get up tomorrow morning and ride, but this will be in the back of my mind my whole ride.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/west-boca-dead-bicyclist-101709,0,4406026.story
Riding east into the rising sun is pretty dangerous in South Florida the flat terrain and long straight roads are a hazard for cyclists as the car drivers cant see you. About 8 years ago, I was in a paceline that got taken out by a driver who could not see us due to the rising sun at 7:30 in the morning. Four of my best riding buddies got clobbered that day and spent a lot of time in the hospital (I got lucky and was able to ditch onto the grass next to the road).
Some of the reader comments that appear after the article are terribly disturbing there is such a lack of civility and empathy in our society these days and it makes me very sad. In both driving and riding my bike in South Florida, I see that lack of civility expressed in the way people drive their cars; there is a lot of aggressive driving and road rage. Everyone is in such a rush to get somewhere or talking or texting on their phones that there is no common courtesy on the road and expressions of anger prevail.
We have some great bicycle advocacy groups here in South Fllrida with great leadership. My fear is that their hard work yields little in the way of results. What do we do as a cycling community to protect ourselves and try and cultivate a more civilized society?
I'm very sad about this. I'll still get up tomorrow morning and ride, but this will be in the back of my mind my whole ride.