Numb
You are always numb when somebody you know dies. You become even more numb when that person is a cyclist who dies in a cycling accident. The dangers of our sport becomes all too real.
Randy Van Zee was not your average cyclist, the guy was an absolute cycling animal. My favorite story of Randy was on RAAM 2004 when he had an accident in Ohio where he injured his groin and cracked his pelvis. While he couldn't even walk or get on/off the bike without assistance, he figured out he could still pedal. And pedal he did. He finished RAAM in '04 with over nine hours to spare.
Last year in the South Dakota Highway 212 Gut Check Randy and Bob Thunselle finished the 432 mile race in 37 hours 26 minutes. I straggled in as the only other finisher in 47:15 nearly 10 hours behind them. I will never dedicate myself to training like Randy did, but I vow to never forget his dedication to the sport. Rest in peace Randy. May the roads be wide open and car free for you in Heaven.
5 comments:
Well said, I don't really have any other words to add. It really makes you think though, this is why we HAVE to do our best to educate the masses on cycling and cycling/car saftey.
On KTIV they said that it could be partially due to the setting sun, he was heading west, driver may not have seen him in time. They were still kinda vague about details.
Would that be a decent time to ride against traffic? At least oncoming traffic should be able to see a cyclist then, though I think that the story said the driver came over a hill. In which case, riding against traffic in a hilly area is never a good idea.
Blah.
Understand your point Hammer...HOWEVER, it's STILL on the driver of the vehicle to make sure THEY are in full control of their vehicle and their surroundings.
We as cyclists need to make sure we know our surroundings as well (mirrors, blinking lights). No matter how you look at it, it's a horrible deal.
Although I never met him, I had read about this yesterday. Very SAD! Rest in peace Randy.
I just looked up Randy Van Zee after seeing Bicycle Dreams was dedicated to him (to find out why), and I found your write-up. Thank you for posting this. It was nice to learn just a tiny bit more about him than what was in the 2003 RAAM movie.
Congrats on 808 consecutive days of riding to work!!! AWESOME!!!
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