Cyclist, 77, Dies at Senior Olympics

[BumpyintheBurgh]

Excerpts from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
77-year old bicyclist, Paul V. Haase Jr. of Waverly, TN, who was competing in the US Senior Olympics in Pittsburgh, died of head and neck injuries at UMPC Passavant Hospital three days after he was injured while warming up for a cycling competition at North Park Lake. Cyclists said they were told Haase struck a gate and fell as he exited a practice area near the lake.

Officials at UPMC, the official medical provider for the 2005 Summer Games, issued a statement from Haase's wife, Margaret Haase.
"I am not sorry that Paul participated in this event," she said. "It was what he wanted to do."
"He was an enthusiastic cyclist who had participated in many competitive and non competitive cycling events over the past 20 years. He also helped organize races and lay out courses."
"If someone were to have asked Mr. Haase about participating in the Senior Olympics, he would have said, "Go for it!" This is the advice that Mr. Haase had often given to friends and acquaintances."

My prayers and condolences to his family.

[CalfeeFly]

It is too easy to miss a message so I'm posting.

What is the story about the cyclist that died? The paper said so little and the autopsy said a broken neck and head trauma. The paper mentioned hitting a gate leaving a practice area. Do you know where? Most of us were on the MS 150...working...or out of town or all three.

Spending occassions every season either sliding down the road or passing over my handlebars I know first hand how easy it is to go down. My assumption was he practiced hard and was "brain fried" as he left. Last year I managed to hit a speed bump at Station Square doing about 25 in a similar state of mind death. Just one other glorious point of my "cycling career."

I have a letter somewhere where one of the "old time" Bicycling Editors named me to the "official" Bicycling Clutz Hall of Fame. He felt my final qualifying moment was looking through my legs to see if my seat post had slipped....and then that curb just jumped out in front of me.

I and others I know and were around the MS 150 death. It was a sad time.
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[BumpyintheBurgh]

I was at the time trial race when word came down that a rider had died. The rumor was that he had a heart attack warming up for the race and couldn't be revived. Didn't hear anything on the news or see anything in the paper until three days later in Saturday's newspaper where it stated that a rider had died three days after collapsing due to a heart related problem. Then Sunday's newspaper said he died from head & neck injuries suffered when he struck a gate.
I'm not sure but I believe the accident happened around the boat house area where many of the racers had parked their vehicles prior to the race. There was alot of congestion and cyclist were warming up in the parking lot and on the road that goes from the boat house past the tennis courts. There are a couple of metal gates across the road in that area but I can't beleive they would be closed at that time.
Traffic control was a problem on the course as cars got in between riders during the 20 & 40 k road races. Somehow a car got in front of a group sprinting to the finish line during the 400k and the riders just barely missed overtaking the car before it was flagged off the course. The woman in the car panicked and didn't know where the hell to go as all the race fans were screaming at her. She finally pulled over and got a severe tongue lashing from everyone near her car which put her in tears.
Also, at the end of the 40k road race, a cyclist had a blow out just as he crossed the finish line in a group, he went down and took a few others with him. As soon as I heard that loud pop, I knew what had happened. Two guys were on the pavement for a long time before the ambulances came and took them away. The newspaper noted that they were treated and released.

[CalfeeFly]

Just curious was it the front that blew? That would really put you down fast in a sprint. My guess it was part of a broken beer bottle. If I were the Czar of all beer would come in containers that can't be pitched from car windows and give the drinker a "thrill" hearing the crash. :bike:

[BumpyintheBurgh]

Don't know which tire. I was near the finish line and watched the group sprint, after they hit the line I turned my head to see the next group coming, and bang went the tire. When I looked back they were already on the ground just past the finish line which made things dicey for the other riders coming in. What a bummer, you ride twice around the course for 40k then crash at the finish.
Two Pittsburgh guys, Edwin Torres and Herman 'Chip or Skip' Kamen came in 1st & 2nd in both the 20k & 40k races for my age category 55-59.