Death On The Road

I left early for my ride this morning, but not as early as I normally do. I had to stop suddenly on the road because a stinging bug got into my eye. I quickly poured water into it to flush it out. That took almost five minutes to do.

Five minutes. In another five minutes as I came up to the National Tennis Center I saw a group of people standing near a fallen bike rider. I saw his bike, in pieces, laying upon the guard rail. I spoke to another rider and asked if he needed any help. He then told me that the rider, who he did not know, was already dead.

I won't describe the body, but he was laid out almost peacefully on the side though there were the obvious signs of massive trauma. His shoe lay in a culvert nearby. When his words hit me I began to sob. Those of you who know me, know that I do not normally cry but this, this was overwhelming. From what I could tell, this fellow rider who looked to be about my age, was doing what I always do on a free day...ride. I sobbed on the shoulder of this unknown rider who had given me this news, and then sobbed next to the guard rail. After several minutes an ambulance arrived and I realized I could not continue my ride. It was not that I was "scared" to continue on the road, I just could not make myself go past this scene and pretend that everything was okay.

So I put my bike on my shoulder and headed into the culvert. I walked towards the tennis center pushing my bike and then out of the culvert into some agricultural fields. I walked for twenty minutes crying, sobbing, thinking about how quickly life can and does change for us. Then I found some side roads and made my way home.

I think now about the phone calls that must of come: to a wife, a child, friends, co-workers all the people who knew this man. It hurts me so to think how sudden his death came and how many people will be affected by it. It never makes any sense to me.

I don't want to ride on these roads any longer though. There are quieter places that one can travel to on Saturday mornings, where many riders go and at least there are some warning signs. However, when bike riders and cars mix, there will always be danger. The share weight of automobiles alone, even traveling at slow speeds, put us at risk. People want to go fast. So many are in a rush to get somewhere at the risk and at the expense of a totally innocent person's life. Their agenda is more important the safety of others. That too does not make sense to me. So many things don't right now.