In Memorium—what cyclists must do

Monday, 10 February 2014

Saturday I took part in the annual Tour de Palm Springs. The event has never had a fatality for its previous 13 years of rides, but this year's ride was tragic for one cyclist's family. The cyclist was identified as La Vonne Koester of Alta Loma. She was an experienced cyclist who devoted a lot of time to longer rides, including the 475-mile RAGBRAI (the DesMoines Register Annual Bicycle Ride Across Iowa). Her husband of 36 years, Ron, found great comfort in Christianity and bicycled with La Vonne on occasion. Ron, however, has been recovering from health issues that began late 2012. Their son Scott is also a cyclist, who has neared or exceeded the avid interest in long-distance rides. La Vonne's other son Shawn does not seem to have strong cycling interests. 

The loss of an active, supportive, and loving woman must be given more than a mere moment of silence.


And we must understand how such a tragedy can be avoided. Will Fuller, President of the Desert Bicycle Club wrote about the accident:

"Saturday, a fellow bicyclist ...died after a tragic accident at the intersection of Avenue 60th and Harrison in Thermal. ... Fellow DBC member, Dave Hilts was in a peloton of around 60 riders. According to Dave, the front of the peloton stopped at the stop sign, to cross Harrison and continue west on Avenue 60. and then proceeded through. The large peloton continued crossing Harrison [even] when it became unsafe to do so. Dave, who was near the back of the peloton, noticed traffic coming down Harrison at a high rate of speed and realized it had become dangerous. Dave yelled out and came to a stop and the rider in back of him almost crashed into him. According to Dave, the truck with a trailer, who hit La Vonne, had no way to stop.

Intersection of Avenue 60 (horizontal) and Harrison

"The intersection of Avenue 60 and Harrison can be dangerous if not crossed thoughtfully (coming to a stop and looking both ways). It is a two way stop, not four way. Vehicles on Harrison have the right of way and are not required to come to a stop. I believe the speed limit is 55+ on that stretch. (It could be marked otherwise).

"From the facts I currently have, it sounds like this accident never had to happen. Riding in pelotons can be safe and dangerous at the same time. If you don't know the riding styles and habits of those around you, anything is possible. One of the things to be conscious of is a pack mentality. Just because the person in front of you crossed an intersection doesn't mean it's safe for you to proceed. As Dave Cooper reminds us, we are all on the safety committee. We lookout for each other (the peloton, fellow riders) and ourselves all at the same time. On the plus side, riding in a peloton, the likelihood of being seen by traffic is much higher.

"...I share these details to keep you aware of what happened and to remind each of us to remain vigilant for each other and yourself. Even though I did not know La Vonne Koester, my thoughts and prayers go out to her and La Vonne Koester's family and friends. A tragic loss and a sad day for the cycling community during an event special to so many."

Other sources have reported that a vehicle on Harrison from the north had stopped, despite having right-of-way, to allow the peloton to cross without breaking up. The truck also approached the intersection and the stopped car from the north and passed the car in the middle lane, without awareness of the peloton of bicyclists. However, this report does not come from eye witnesses. One Facebook contributor described the accident.

"The incident occurred at a right angled intersection in a very rural area, there were no buildings in the area and the terrain was flat. All roads were one lane in each direction.
Cyclists approaching the intersection had a stop sign, traffic approaching from the left or the right did not have a stop sign. There were trees on the near right side as the cyclists were approaching the intersection obscuring traffic approaching from the right until the riders were very close to the intersection. The trees also obscured the view of the cyclists by automobile traffic. 

"On the road to the right of the cyclists, automobile “A” had stopped to motion the cyclists to go forward through the intersection. As the cyclist who was hit was going through the intersection, automobile “B” passed automobile "A" in the intersection using the lane intended for vehicles going in the opposite direction and struck the cyclist. 

"As a cyclist it is easy to simply follow others through an intersection thinking that it must be safe for you if it is safe for them. It is also easy to just look at the first automobile in the only traffic lane approaching the cyclist, not the cars behind. Vehicles in ‘the wrong lane’ on a 2 lane bidirectional road, that is, a vehicle approaching from the north in a lane intended for traffic going to the north are rare but must be looked for.

"For a cyclist approaching this intersection, it would be very difficult to see and properly interpret this situation unless the cyclist came to a full stop at the stop sign and took the time to assess the circumstances in both directions."

Television report on the accident.En español

The accident occurred perhaps a half hour before I passed through the intersection. Some 30 cyclists were stopped, the intersection was clear of any debris, perhaps the vehicles involved were already removed, and an emergency vehicle was still on the scene—but no ambulance.

Beyond the needless death of a cyclist and the psychological effects on the driver who killed her, it is important that the local law enforcement, event management, and participants learn from this event.

• Local law enforcement must be present throughout the event to encourage cooperative use of the roads and polite share of the rights of way. 
• The organizers of the event must redouble their efforts to assure compliance with traffic signals and signage. 
• Of course, also that each cyclist know that safety is, first and foremost, your primary responsibility. Not speed. Not time. Not the team. Even not the convenience of keeping up your momentum.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 52 to 85°F
Precipitation: none
Winds: 10 to 15 mph from the west
Clothing: Skinsuit, longsleeve undershirt, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Serotta Colorado fixed 48x15
Time: 7:18:52 for 109.04 miles
Heart rate: 132 bpm HRave, 155 bpm HRmax
Playback of the ride

That's my storyand I'm sticking to it.

I've enjoyed the bikeways and trails around Dayton ever since the first loop around the Miami River was developed. Even before that, I used the city streets and rural roads for commuting, running errands, and athletic training. Back then, some 30 years ago, I lived in Fairborn and on Wright-Patterson AFB, and the bicycle was my sole means of transportation. I used a good-sized leather backpack for my trips to the supermarket, I rode to work daily, and I rode my bike often to Yellow Springs, Xenia, and Dayton—even during the winter. On occasion, I took city streets to the Miami River and enjoyed the much calmer and safer biking down below the busy city. I wished then that I could have the same safety far away in Fairborn and Greene County.

I lived in Los Angeles for a couple years around 1985, and one home was pretty close to a bikeway along the Santa Ana River. The L.A. bikeways at that time were actually an afterthought, an opening up of the maintenance roadways that paralleled the open concrete drainage systems that are called "rivers" there. The access points were very distant from each other, and often hard to find. The bikeways passed through rough neighborhoods, and the many underpasses along the bikeways were homes to transients or meeting places for neighborhood gangs, dangerous on occasion. But the bikeway also passed near where I worked as a technical writer, in Anaheim. It made great sense to me to avoid the freeways—and the streets—by biking to work.

In comparison to the Los Angeles bikeways, the Dayton system was better engineered, well maintained, with better access, and the security was absolutely superb. When I returned to Dayton in 1987, I was ecstatic to see the further improvements and added mileage in the bikeway system.

Around 1989, I decided to compete in cycling events in the 1990 Gay Games that were to be held in Vancouver BC (Canada). I joined the Dayton Cycling Club. I started training with their racing team. I joined the United States Cycling Federation (USCF) and applied for a competitor's license. And I competed in regional cycling races. Perhaps the most arduous was a 100-mile race that started in Spartanburg SC and ended near the top of 6684-ft Mt. Mitchell, near Asheville NC. I competed in Vancouver in 1990, including an nine-mile hill climb up Mt. Seymour that I silver medalled.

Part of the training for races included long group rides that passed through the many rural areas and small communities around Dayton. We never used the developing bikeway system in the training, even though our favorite rides passed over or along the developing bikeways between Xenia, Spring Valley, and Corwin. The bikeways are very level, with long, low-change grades. That's not what a competitive cyclist wants, but rather challenging hills, plenty of opportunities for pack sprints, and occasional easy sections for recovery after a hard one- to three-minute interval. The rural roads are perfect for that training.

I was training for cycling in the 1994 Gay Games, a week away from going to New York City for the competition, when a car hit me during a training race on roads north of Middletown. The driver sped away in some state of flummox, but returned to the scene; but all the racers and race organizers fled, since no local authorizations had been sought for the race. A resident on that country road called 911, and an emergency van took me to Middletown Regional Hospital for trauma care, two surgeries, and two weeks hospitalization. Because all the riders had left me on my own, the emergency center was uncertain of my name and completely unaware of whom to contact as my next-of-kin. I was unconscious, or drifting in and out, and a nurse was able to reach my partner Chuck a long four hours after the collision, just before I was wheeled into surgery to relieve bleeding in my brain. He arrived while I was in surgery, and friends he called arrived sometime before the surgery was complete. But though he referred to being identified in a signed medical power of attorney, he was required to show the paperwork the next morning after he could call our attorney, who had the original documents.

It took several years after the collision for me to feel comfortable on a bicycle. Since then, I've shied away from roadways. I make certain that I carry a cellphone and emergency contact information on every ride. Both Chuck and I carry a miniature copy of both of our medical powers of attorney, and I always wear my RoadID bracelet. This bracelet has an internet address that I maintain with all my important medical and contact information.

The bikeways have greatly expanded to over 300 miles in the Dayton area, but the development has taken 17 years. Finally around 2002, bikeways nearly linked my home to my office in Research Park. With the opening of the Iron Horse Trail, my route by bikeway is 85% of my commute, except in times of river flooding that covers the bikeway. I have about two miles of cycling in lightly-travelled residential areas near my home and only a quarter mile on streets in Research Park.

I commute by bike 12 miles each way nearly daily from March through November, except for the few days when icy conditions make a ride unsafe or heavy rain makes a ride uncomfortable. Although my ride begins in a residential area of inner northwest Dayton, I join the bikeway system at either Wolf Creek or the Monument Avenue Bridge. The bikewayMetroparks staff, and city and park response is attentive to the need for improving the pavement after seasonal uplifts and washouts.

Addition to Dayton Daily News article

In the middle of March, Robin McMacken of the Dayton Daily News asked me to answer several questions. The answers became the basis of an article that appears today in the Life section. There were other questions too, and here are my answers.

How long have you been riding?
I've been riding a bicycle ever since my mom & dad refused to drive me to school, when we moved to town for me to attend fourth grade—my first nine years were as a farmboy. So since I'm 59 now, this year is the golden anniversary of bicycling for me! Thanks for that revelation.

What have been the advantages and challenges to commuting via bike?
My use of a bike for commuting really started with my daily bicycling to elementary school, and when I had part-time jobs in junior high and senior high, I got there by bike and then biked to school. Then in college and in my jobs to support my college education, I used a bicycle to get around.

When I was without a car, I did everything by bike. I went to the grocery store more often, but I would have my large leather backpack filled as much as possible. The biggest challenge is the city itself, especially a city that is not cognizant of alternate modes of transportation. I lived in Houston a short time, on special duty in the Air Force and also for a short-term assignment to write for a Lockheed proposal for NASA. I tried cycling there for a week, but it was too dangerous because of the traffic.

The biggest challenge for centering your transportation around the bike is following the arts venues. I’ve always been interested in the arts and I like going to a concert, movie, or an art gallery or studio. But if I were to have only a bicycle to attend such events, it would be a challenge to balance such a sweaty mode of transportation with that part of my life. After all, that milieau expects attendance by a leisured person, or at least someone who doesn’t have the “aura of exertion” about him. So enjoying a broad cultural experience is almost anathema to the active life of a devotee of cycling.

What impresses you most about our area bike paths?
I love how interconnected our communities are by the bikeways. Of course, the connections aren't always direct, and some important paths are yet to be developed, but I can take bikeway to almost every part of the metro area—the greatest exceptions are Centerville, Oakwood, much of Kettering, and the mall shopping areas. The Five Rivers Metro Parks staff take great care of the paths and keep them clear of overgrowth, and the paths are safer than the roads and streets, both for cyclists and pedestrians.

I lived in Los Angeles for a couple years from about 1985 to 1987 and I used what they called bikeways, which were actually paved access roads to the concreted river system in the city. Believe me, the Dayton system, even then, was more extensive, a better transportation mode, and safer. I have never seen scores of homeless living near the bikeways here, nor neighborhood gangs. But in L.A., they were common.

What are you favorite trails in the area?
I enjoy the MOMBA trails. They are well cared for, compact, and they have a nice mixture of ease and challenge. Usually I bike there the same day that I help maintain the trails, which is the 3rd Saturday afternoon each month. I have a special place in my heart for the loop from Wegerzyn Gardens to the Green Bridge at Deeds Point. That's actually my partner Chuck's favorite area, and I have special memories because of times there with him. I really love all the trails, but I enjoy them mostly because there are enough to ride a lot and yet not repeat the same experience. —My commuting is the exception, though. Twice a day I take the same route, unless the river is flooded or a bridge is being reconstructed, and I always see some new detail, some change, some fresh indicator that Spring has come.

What kind of bike do you ride?
I have several bikes. I have a Serotta Colorado road bike that I bought for racing, with thin tires and a touchy shifter set, that I actually seldom ride now. I have an old, old Trek mountain bike, very basic, very durable, that I ride early in the year, before the streets and bikeways have been cleared of the Winter detritus. I have a bright yellow mountain bike with suspension, knobby tires, and heavy-duty gears and chain that I ride in MOMBA, near Huffman Reserve. I have a converted Lotus fixed-gear bike that has been with me a long time, at least since 1975, and I love it most. It has seen a lot of good times, and it's been with me in bad times too. I have what I call my "Beater Bike," that I have on vacations to ride off-road in rocky single-track.

Any safety tips you can give our readers to ensure their safety?
Always follow the laws for vehicles, and always ride defensively! Expect the worst from auto drivers, and you'll never be disappointed. Never leave home without a cell phone, some ID, preferably something like RoadID, which has medical emergency information and a website for detailed medical and contact data. And if you're a gay man or lesbian, carry the medical power of attorney you've worked out with your partner and lawyer. Accidents, real accidents, can happen anytime, anywhere. Be ready to help yourself and the emergency crews when you can't answer a simple question.



What health benefits have you enjoyed during your riding history?
Hmmm. My partner Chuck would ask what health hazards have I met head on: a car hit me in 1994 and nearly killed me—that's no exaggeration. In 2009, I slipped on a gravelly corner on the bikeway and found that I had osteopinea (a "mild" form of osteoporosis) because of the broken hip that occurred. And an inattentive driver hit me on a downtown street during a commute last September.

But I am an optimist, cock-eyed perhaps. My fitness and general level of health are greater than most people my age.

How many miles do you log weekly?
I commute from March to November, and I commute an average of four days a week. That's 100 miles almost exactly. Then I'll take a light ride with Chuck and maybe a longer solo ride too on the weekend. So perhaps my average is 150. That's pretty low compared to some cyclists I know, but I have a life off the bike too. Almost all of that milage is on the bikeways. My commute starts with 2 miles of quiet residential streets, then 10 miles of the bikeways before I have a quarter mile on Research Park streets.

Do you enter any races? If so, which ones are they?
I raced as a "kid" in my 40s. I wasn't any strong contender for a road racing title. Far from it; there wasn't a criterium that I wasn't pulled out of before being lapped by the advancing pack of younger riders. I started racing because I wanted to compete in cycling events in the 1990 Gay Games in Vancouver BC. I double-silver-medalled there, though the divisions by age were so narrow that I seldom had more than 5 competitors. Then after another four years of racing, when I was a week away from competing in the 1994 Gay Games in New York City, a car hit me in a training race held on open, rural roads under the auspices of the Dayton Cycling Club, but not authorized by any of the local sheriffs or other authorities. That put an end to cycling for me for several years, out of respect for all the concern and heartache that the surgeries and recuperation cost Chuck, and me too, of course.

Since that collision 17 years ago, I’ve become more cautious, and I ride when it's wet only if I’ve biked to work and rain comes before I can leave for home. I do ride on city streets occasionally, because the bikeways near the rivers may be flooded or bridge and road construction projects over the bikeways don’t typically provide an off-road bypass for cyclists. I try to choose those alternate streets as carefully as possible—Is there little or no traffic? Is there adequate lane width to separate cars from me? Is the distance short to another part of the bikeway?

My friends have asked why I continue cycling. I love the sense of freedom and independence, the multi-modal aspect of exercise and commuting, the beauty of enjoying and sensing every moment. And there are other, important things, like the low impact on the environment, the savings on car maintenance and fuel, and the certainty that this avocation is a healthy and fulfilling one.