Is road cycling dangerous?



Huffing generally does what it does because the propellant in the aerosol can is heavier than oxygen, so it goes into the lungs, displaces the oxygen and gives the user a high from the oxygen-deprivation. It's a fine line to walk. I had the distinct displeasure of attending the funeral of a daughter of a friend of mine back in February because (we think) she managed to stay off H--so she was huffing instead. 22 years old and already had a growing dossier with the local PD. Most of us weren't the least bit surprised when we learned of her passing--it was a slow-motion train wreck several years in the making.
 
JPR95,

The small towns near me have have several heroin deaths in the last couple years. Even in the drug-fueled 1970's that NEVER happened.

Cuyahoga and Summit counties have had record setting heroin deaths. There is more powerful and tainted stuff out there is what I read. The pictures of these stunningly beautiful young women and once athletic men in the obits is weird to see. These kids seem to have it all and they throw away their lives.

On the other hand, life is hard and even harder when you're stupid. They steal, rob, drive while out of their gourds, kill people to get more money to buy more dope and generally make society a more difficult place to live in.
 



CLEVELAND - A surprising number of bike-car collisions in Cleveland this month include five where the driver of the car fled the scene.

Juliana Cole was cycling home from dinner one evening last week when a car turned onto W. 102nd St. from Clifton Boulevard right into her path.
”I could have been hurt really bad,” she said.

Not wearing a helmet, her collision with the car sent her to the pavement. She scraped her face, cut her ankle and chipped a tooth. The driver fled.

"I keep thinking the driver drove off and now it's on his conscience, his or her conscience they have no idea what happened to me.”

Will Whyte McNulty was also a hit-and-run victim.

McNulty has been hit by cars five times, including head on when one of two drag-racing cars came across the yellow line into his lane.

This latest collision happened last Sunday morning around 9:30 when a car, witnesses describe as a maroon Toyota Corolla, sped eastbound on Franklin Boulevard. McNulty said he heard the sound of a racing engine and then up on the hood of the car.

“I recall being hit,” said McNulty, who lives car-free using only bike for commuting, was riding near the curb, rear light flashing found himself on the car then on the pavement.
“The fact I was rolling over the roof of this car with my bike still, my handle bars still in my hand.”

Jacob VanSickle of Bike Cleveland thinks the number of crashes is underreported. He encourages cyclists and motorists involved in crashes to report them to police.
He would like cyclists to go to their site to report crashes and thefts so his organization can track incidents to help police work on enforcement.

Experts tell cyclists to be visible and to be predictable on the road. Cyclists are considered vehicles and are permitted on the road but must obey the same laws as motorists.
“It’s not just a legal vehicle but it’s actually a person on the road and understand a person on a bicycle is much more vulnerable than someone in a car,” VanSickle said.

Sidewalks are not safer than streets for adults in many cases. Motorists are not expecting to see bikes there. In some business districts, it is illegal for bikes to use sidewalks.

Cleveland is one city where the law mandates motorists passing a cyclist leave a three-foot buffer zone.

As for Cole, after her first collision with a car, she’s back riding. McNulty has a few days of healing before he is permitted to ride by doctors and his girlfriend Liza. He has a message for the driver who hit him last Sunday.

“I'm not bitter or mad, I just would like basically to tell him ‘Hey drive more responsibly’."


http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-news/cleveland-metro/cleveland-cyclists-concerned-about-hit-and-run-crashes
 
CAMPYBOB said:
JPR95, The small towns near me have have several heroin deaths in the last couple years. Even in the drug-fueled 1970's that NEVER happened. Cuyahoga and Summit counties have had record setting heroin deaths. There is more powerful and tainted stuff out there is what I read. The pictures of these stunningly beautiful young women and once athletic men in the obits is weird to see. These kids seem to have it all and they throw away their lives. On the other hand, life is hard and even harder when you're stupid. They steal, rob, drive while out of their gourds, kill people to get more money to buy more dope and generally make society a more difficult place to live in.
Yup. It's becoming more and more common to lace H with fentanyl now. We've had a rash of overdoses in this county this year.
 
My latest mistake was failing to return to the center of the lane at a red light. I was between the cars and the curb, and the neighboring motorist was turning right. It's a good thing that I had forgotten to switch back to a lower gear.

I've been off my bike for too long.
 
UNION TOWNSHIP, Ohio - Authorities cited a Union Township bar and charged a bartender Wednesday in a hit-and-run crash that killed a Cincinnati teacher earlier this year.
Ohio Department of Public Safety agents cited Roundbottom Enterprises, LLC. – the owners of Ethel’s Tavern at 4095 Round Bottom Rd. – with furnishing and selling beer or intoxicating liquor to an intoxicated person. Bartender Linda Coomer, 60, was charged under the same terms.

Todd R. Shaw, a repeat drunken driver who admitted to hitting and killing 51-year-old Fredrick R. Carey on Feb. 21, was sentenced this month to nine-and-a-half-years in prison.

Authorities said Coomer sold 51-year-old Shaw alcohol despite knowing he was intoxicated.

Shaw's van later struck Carey, a Cincinnati Country Day School teacher, on Round Bottom Road at about 6:25 p.m. Carey was riding a bicycle when he was hit.
teacher_1393268803794_3127689_ver1.0_640_480.jpg

Todd Shaw (left), Fred Carey (right)
Deborah Floyd, Carey's wife, said she wants these latest charges and citations to be a message to all local bars.

"I very much want every bar in Cincinnati to realize this could be them if they make the same bad choices," she said. "Bartenders need to have the courage to say, 'You're done. I can't.'"

Floyd said she's been told by officials that Shaw was at Ethel's Tavern often and may have had a friendship with a bar employee.

She said Shaw walked out of the bar the night of her husband's death with a six-pack of beer and an open alcoholic beverage in his pocket.

"Where's the bar's responsibility?" she said. "That's illegal."

Floyd said her "heart goes out" to Coomer. She said she understands a mistake was made that night. But that mistake cost her husband his life.

"If she has true remorse -- and I don't believe Todd Shaw did -- I'm sure she's just devastated that she had a role in this," Floyd said. "…I just want Fred back and I want my life back."

Shaw was charged with his eighth drunken driving offense in the incident.

He was first arrested for drunken driving in 1981, and Clermont County records show he didn’t stop there. He has two DUI arrests in 1985, and one in each year of 1994, 1996, 2002, 2007 -- and finally, 2014.

MORE: I-Team: How did man with eight drunken driving arrests have a valid license?
Shaw's last two drunken driving arrests were designated OVIs (operating a vehicle under the influence) rather than DUIs (driving under the influence) because the Ohio General Assembly changed the statute to OVI in January 2005.

Investigators said Shaw fled after hitting Carey and abandoned his van. Officers tracked him down and arrested him the following day after receiving various tips from nearby stores that sell alcohol.

At Shaw’s hearing two days later, the prosecutor called him a “danger to society.”

Criminal charges have been filed in Hamilton County Municipal Court against Coomer.

Once all criminal proceedings are complete, the citations against Ethel’s Tavern will be filed with the Ohio Liquor Control Commission for its consideration, officials said.

Floyd said she hopes Ethel's Tavern closes down as a result.

"Maybe there's still a level of shock that's saving me from that kind of rage and feeling of vengeance and wanting (Ethel’s Tavern) to pay," she said. "I just can't get what I want, and what I want is Fred back -- and I think people should be held accountable."

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/state/ohio-bar-cited-bartender-charged-in-hit-and-run-by-repeat-drunken-driver-that-killed-teacher
 
Nice to see someone finally being made an example of, but seriously... EIGHT DUIs??? How did the DA let him get to EIGHT DUIs???? Isn't there some kind of three strikes law for DUI?

In other news, we've had three joggers hit across the state so far this week. Two are dead, one is critical. Who's at fault? Not the drivers. The "I didn't see him" excuse continues to be sufficient.
 
Probably the same as here, jails are over crowded and they don't consider DUI offenders and small time drug users or pusher as violent criminals and early release them.
*It's cruel to make them suffer by cleaning up trash or doing community servce.
*Note Sarcasm.
 
It's cruel to not let them enjoy the pain and humiliation of a public caning.
 
Wow... I bike through that area twice a week (and this is the first time I've heard this story). But I'm a coward and mostly stick to trails anyway... been nearly killed enough times that it's not worth riding the roads anymore when trails get me close to most of the places I need anyway.
 
I was going over some old Facebook posts and was reminded that a good friend of mine from high school, Mike ****, was killed in a hit and run a few years ago:

http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/crime-law/man-sentenced-fatal-hit-and-run-cyclist-michael-wa/nQMCL/

He left behind his wife and two children and was loved by many.





Erlin Garcia-Reyes immediately fled the scene without checking on the victim, but after a year long search the killer was caught and thankfully some minimal justice was delivered.

from the article:
Defense attorney Ramona Brandes pointed out that **** was riding a high-end fast bike that struck the side of Garcia-Reyes' car while he was making a left turn.

"It's incumbent on all of us to remember that it is difficult for bicycles and cars to share the road," she said. "Cars don't expect to see bicyclists, and Mr. Garcia-Reyes didn't see Mr. ****."

Prosecutor Amy Freedheim wasn't buying it.

"The implied victim blaming in this collision is wholly out of line," she said. "There is nothing that Mr. **** did wrong in riding a high-end bicycle or riding down that road."

The judge gave Garcia-Reyes the 41-month sentence that prosecutors recommended.


A photo of my old friend in a lighter moment, and the contradiction that he embodied...



RIP.
 
Quote by Dan:
"A photo of my old friend in a lighter moment, and the contradiction that he embodied..."

My condolences on the loss of your friend. Nice Brooklyn hat.

I used to show up on the starting line with a Marlboro. James Dean I was not, but my sneer, 2-day growth and butt flicked into the gutter got many a WTF? look from the pack. Alexi Grewal used to race with an empty Marlboro box glued to the back of his early model Giro helmet.

Those of us that are still alive after a lifetime of cycling have much to be thankful for.
 
Thanks Bob. It's easy to take the pleasure this sport has to offer for granted until one of these incidents hits close to home.
 
Ohio man dies in Montana bicycle crash
July 29, 2014 10:57 EDT

KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) -- Officials in northwestern Montana say an Ohio man died after being thrown from a bicycle on Big Mountain Road north of Whitefish.

The Flathead County coroner's office says the victim of Sunday's accident was 69-year-old Daniel Schoedinger of Columbus, Ohio. He was a part-time resident of Whitefish.

Witnesses have said Schoedinger was riding down the Big Mountain Road when he had to brake unexpectedly because a vehicle turned into a driveway in front of him. He was thrown from the bike, struck his head on the pavement and died of a skull fracture.

The Columbus Dispatch reports Schoedinger was a 40-year corporate attorney who served two terms on the Columbus City Council in the 1970s.
 
I live about 20 miles from where that guy died. The road he was on was a steep winding mountain road. I don't know the details, but I guess a car pulled out in front of him. If he was descending chances are he was hauling butt on that road. I don't see cycling as any more dangerous than any other normal life activities. I live in Montana where we have all the big scary critters. I carry bear spray and forget about it. Never had a problem while riding. Our traffic is not really the problem around here. The roads are narrow, sometimes no shoulder at all. Life is danegerous in general. I hike, bike, camp, fish, hunt, was a firefighter/emt, kayak, ride motocross, ride a Harley, and work in the timber industry where it's dangerous. I've made it 35 years with only a destroyed ankle that I'm still putting off surgery on. My mom got over it, yours will too. I didn't give mine the option of talking me out of stuff. I just did it. Disrepectful? Maybe. Am I gonna bubble wrap myself and hide in the basement? Hell no! Not for anybody.
 
Pretty much every activity in life has a potential element of danger. Even a flu shot could result in a disaster! But you can exponentially reduce your risks by riding defensively and picking routes with minimum traffic. I recommend you consider a rear view mirror. OK -- they are not cool, and they add a few ounces of weight, but they help a great deal. You might want to scope out any new route first via an automobile before trying with your bike. Back in the day, my Mom was crazy overprotective -- but then again, we lived in the North End Boston, I am not sure I would ride there today.
 
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http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Fiesta-Island-Wrong-Way-Driver-Pleads-Not-Guilty-to-Felony-Charges-271463611.html

Wrong-Way Driver Had Meth Hidden in Genitals: Attorney



TheresaOwens0815.JPG

Friday, Aug 15, 2014 • Updated at 8:37 PM PDT A wrong-way motorist accused of driving under the influence of meth and hitting and injuring multiple cyclists on Fiesta Island in San Diego was found with a baggie of meth hidden in her vagina, a deputy district attorney said Friday.
Theresa L. Owens, looking disheveled and distraught, pleaded not guilty at her arraignment on a charge of felony DUI with injury and possession of a controlled substance.
“Tell them I’m so sorry,” she whispered to her attorney once the judge ordered her bail and set her next court hearing.
Bail was set at $300,000, though Deputy District Attorney Jessica Coto had requested $500,000 bail because of the seriousness of the injuries and the number of people hurt in the crash. Owens’ attorney had requested $200,000 bail, indicating that was the standard amount for those charges.
San Diego police said Owens was driving her vehicle on Fiesta Island Road around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday when her car struck about 10 cyclists in a larger group finishing up a training ride.
Cyclicst-AX.jpg
Images: Car Drives into Group of Cyclists on Fiesta Island
Six people went to the hospital with injuries, including Juan Carlos Vinolo, who was paralyzed and remains in critical condition.
New details emerged at the hearing.
Coto said Owens was acting “erratically” after the crash and was screaming, running around and rambling. When she was checked out at the hospital, a nurse found a bag of meth hidden in her vagina, leading to the possession charge, Coto said.
Several of the cyclists attended Friday’s arraignment, including Logan Bass, who was clipped by the front end of the car and suffered a contusion to his ribs, road rash on his elbow and a cut on his foot.


“I’m definitely lucky just looking at Juan. That was me for sure if I didn’t react,” he said.
Bass said he normally feels safe on Fiesta Island when he takes part in the weekly Tuesday night cycling runs with the San Diego Bicycling Club.
“This just happened to be an unfortunate night,” he said.
If convicted, Owens could face a maximum punishment 12 years and eight months in prison.



Source: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Fiesta-Island-Wrong-Way-Driver-Pleads-Not-Guilty-to-Felony-Charges-271463611.html#ixzz3AZebx7C8
Follow us: @nbcsandiego on Twitter | NBCSanDiego on Facebookhttp://ec.tynt.com/b/rf?id=aK_90Wd1er37EFadbiUzgI&u=NBCSanDiego
 
Cleveland Heights bicyclist thrown from bike, robbed enroute to work at Mongolian Barbeque Cassandra Nist
7:12 AM, Sep 5, 2014 http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-news/oh-cuyahoga/cleveland-heights-bicyclist-thrown-from-bike-robbed-enroute-to-work-at-mongolian-barbeque

A Mongolian Barbeque employee says he was thrown from his bike and robbed on his way to work last week.
According to the Cleveland Heights police report, the man said he was heading to work on Coventry Road at about 6 p.m. last Thursday when was thrown from his bike by a man and then robbed by a group. The employee said he was riding his bicycle northbound on Glenmont Road and turned left to go west onto Avondale road when the attack occurred. The employee said two more men came over and started punching and kicking him. At one point, while he was being attacked, one of the men went into his pocket and took his wallet . The employee was able to break away and rode to work on his bike. His work hat was taken during the scuffle, as well. The men were described as black males in their 20s, about 6 feet tall, and slim builds. One man was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt with black jeans. Another was wearing a blue jersey with the No. 23 on it. The third suspect was wearing blue skinny type Levi jeans. The victim suffered minor scrapes and injuries related to being thrown from his bike. Police toured the area but were unable to located the men.A Mongolian Barbeque employee says he was thrown from his bike and robbed on his way to work last week. According to the Cleveland Heights police report, the man said he was heading to work on Coventry Road at about 6 p.m. last Thursday when was thrown from his bike by a man and then robbed by a group. The employee said he was riding his bicycle northbound on Glenmont Road and turned left to go west onto Avondale road when the attack occurred. The employee said two more men came over and started punching and kicking him. At one point, while he was being attacked, one of the men went into his pocket and took his wallet . The employee was able to break away and rode to work on his bike. His work hat was taken during the scuffle, as well. The men were described as black males in their 20s, about 6 feet tall, and slim builds. One man was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt with black jeans. Another was wearing a blue jersey with the No. 23 on it. The third suspect was wearing blue skinny type Levi jeans. The victim suffered minor scrapes and injuries related to being thrown from his bike. Police toured the area but were unable to located the men.
 
This is my new favorite.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2736376/Deputy-killed-former-Napster-COO-drifting-bike-lane-distracted-laptop-NOT-face-charges-answering-work-related-email.html

Quote: Deputy who killed former Napster COO after drifting into the bike lane while distracted by his laptop will NOT face charges because he was answering a work-related email
  • Milton Olin Jr, 65, was fatally struck by a Los Angeles county sheriff's patrol car December 8, 2013, as he rode in the bike lane in Calabasas
  • Deputy Anthony Wood was returning from a fire call when he took his eyes off the road to type a work-related message on an electronic device
  • Olin was director of operations for Napster between 2000 and 2002 and was a prominent entertainment lawyer
  • The victim's wife and sons have filed a wrongful death lawsuit claiming Wood was negligent
By SNEJANA FARBEROV FOR MAIL ONLINE
PUBLISHED: 00:43 EST, 28 August 2014 | UPDATED: 00:55 EST, 28 August 2014

17kshares
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California prosecutors have declined to file charges against a sheriff's deputy who struck and killed a prominent entertainment attorney and former Napster executive with his patrol car last year.
Deputy Andrew Wood was apparently distracted by his mobile digital computer when his patrol car drifted into the bike lane, running over cyclist Milton Olin Jr.
Olin, a 65-year-old attorney and former chief operating officer of the online file-sharing service Napster, was riding in Calabasas in December when he was hit.
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+6
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+6
No charges: California prosecutors have declined to charge a sheriff's deputy who struck and killed prominent attorney and former Napster executive Milton Olin Jr (pictured left and right)
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+6 Tragic: Olin's bicycle can be seen beneath the tires of the deputy's car in Calabasas December 8, 2013
Prosecutors said in a letter released Wednesday and cited by Los Angeles Daily News that because Wood was acting within the course of his duties when typing into his computer, criminal charges are not warranted.
Under the law, law enforcement officials are allowed to use electronic wireless devices while carrying out their duties.
The victim’s family have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Sheriff's Department and accused Wood of negligence.
Olin’s loved ones also started an online petition on Change.org demanding that charges be brought against the deputy. So far, more than 67,000 people have signed.
Milton Olin, a married father of two, was riding his bike in the 22400 block of Mulholland Highway at around 1pm on December 8, 2013, when Deputy Wood's patrol car slammed into him.
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+6 Struck: A shoe can be seen near the bike lane where Olin was cycling when he was hit

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Olin's loved ones have started a petition demanding that charges be brought against the distracted deputy who killed him while texting behind the wheel
Olin was pronounced dead at the scene and the deputy was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
Wood was returning from a fire call at Calabasas High School and was on patrol when the accident occurred.
‘He was responding to a deputy who was inquiring whether the fire investigation had been completed,’ the letter from the prosecutor’s office stated. ‘Since Wood was acting within the course and scope of his duties when he began to type his response, under Vehicle Code section 23123.5, he acted lawfully.

More...
‘Wood briefly took his eyes away from the road precisely when the narrow roadway curved slightly to the left without prior warning, causing him to inadvertently travel straight into the bike lane, immediately striking Olin.’
Olin, from Woodland Hills, had been a lawyer for 38 years and practiced business, labor and employment and intellectual property law from a firm he co-founded, Altschul & Olin LLC in Encino.
1409203715348_wps_12_Former_Napster_COO_65_kil.jpg


+6 Clan: Olin is survived by his wife, Louise, far right and their two sons, who have filed a wrongful death lawsuit
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Happier times: Olin, pictured left as a young father and right with his wife, Louise Olin, years before the tragedy
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+6 Dazzling career: Olin was previously the chief of operations at Napster (pictured) and a prominent lawyer

According to his LinkedIn profile, he was the COO of Napster between 2000 and 2002. Napster was a file sharing site for music before becoming an online music store.
Before his job with Napster, he worked for A&M Records as vice president of business development and was responsible for signing artists and acquiring music rights.
Olin is survived by his wife, Louise, and his two sons, Chris and Geoff. The family lived in a $1million home in Woodland Hills.
The attorney’s widow is currently working on getting off the ground the Milt Olin Foundation to raise awareness and help eliminate cycling-related fatalities.

Read more:


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2736376/Deputy-killed-former-Napster-COO-drifting-bike-lane-distracted-laptop-NOT-face-charges-answering-work-related-email.html#ixzz3CSZQiU25
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