The other day, before I mounted my bike, I slathered my arms, legs and face with sunscreen. But I didn't replenish it during my ride, so I ended up with tomato-tinted limbs and cheeks.
So, I rode without enough of one kind of protection. But I wore my helmet and gloves, so at least I shielded myself in other ways.
There are some things, though, that won't protect you. They include your current or former status as a champion (if you have such a thing) and, sometimes, riding in a bike lane.
They certainly didn't protect poor Gwen Inglis. She was the reigning national road race champion for her age group (45-49). On Sunday morning, she took a training ride in a Lakewood, Colorado bike lane near her home, something she'd done many times.
Around 10am local time, Lakewood police responded to a call about a crash involving a driver and cyclist. Inglis was rushed to a local hospital, but couldn't be saved.
Ryan Scott Montoya, a 29-year-old Denver resident, has been taken into custody. He is suspected of being under the influence of drugs when he struck Inglis with the compact sedan he was driving.
Gwen Inglis suffered a horrible fate and that if Montoya was indeed intoxicated or simply careless or indifferent, he doesn't get off with a "slap on the wrist," as happens in too many cases of drivers killing or maiming cyclists.
One thing I wonder, though, is whether that bike lane was simply lines painted on pavement or a real lane separated by barriers of some sort. When the "lane" is simply paint, it's all too easy for a motorist to veer into it--or use it to pass other cars. But even when barriers sometimes aren't enough to stop a driver who's high, drunk or bent on destruction.
No comments:
Post a Comment