I'm not sure if I mentioned this before on this blog, but my dear old dad followed in my footsteps/tire tracks and rode his bike across the country this summer. I did this trip eight years ago when I was 17, and to say the least, it was the experience of a lifetime. The couple that led the group of kids have been continuing the cross country trend every two years or so, and this summer, Dad decided to take advantage of his spare time in retirement and hit the road.

Today was the group's last day of biking — the last point being the coast of Maine and dipping their tires in the Atlantic. One of the riders has family in New Hampshire, and the plan was for several of them to join him on riding the last leg today.

Unfortunately, Jon's son (known as Paul) was struck and killed by a logging truck earlier this morning.

[Side note: the news report is somewhat inaccurate. 1) Paul apparently didn't fall off prior to getting hit, e.g. was NOT lying in the middle of the road, according to witnesses at the scene, and 2) they were riding from Washington, not California.]

Dad told me Paul was riding along the road when the shoulder abruptly ended. The road itself curved to the left on a slight uphill, and I guess there just wasn't enough room for the two of them. He was killed instantly and didn't suffer any pain.

It's times like these that make me realize how lucky I've been. The only time that my bike has landed me in the hospital was my own fault and didn't include a car; although Dad has been unfortunate enough to actually hit TWO cars (not the other way around — he ran into them. One was parked, and I think the other one was going so slowly that he ran up the trunk or something.) But at the same time, it really hits home. Bicycling is a dangerous sport. When it comes to sharing the road, we (as much as many of us hate to admit it) MUST respect cars, even in the cases when they're supposed to yield to us. In any moving car versus bike accident, the car will win. Always.

As much as I rant about dumb people who don't respect traffic laws and ride two/three abreast, I do it because of situations like this. It pisses me off not only because it's rude to the few drivers that do give us a wide berth when passing, but it tends to aggravate the anti-biker ones and make them despise cyclists even more, to the point of driving dangerously around us.

Paul, who wasn't doing anything wrong or illegal, lost his life because of a careless logging truck driver, who was most likely driving too fast for the road. That's the sad reality — the ones who do obey the law and ride where they're supposed to end up hurt or dead.

Another recent bike accident actually occurred here in D.C. A girl was commuting to work and was hit by a garbage truck. She was riding IN a bike lane, and the truck turned in front of her and she was trapped underneath. Again, she was doing nothing wrong, obeying the law, etc., and lost.

That being said… to anyone who reads this and bikes: be careful. Please.