Beth-
I am glad to have had the chance to know you this year. There was a tremendous outpouring of emotion for you at our team meeting tonight following your death in that terrible accident. We honored the memory of you as a fierce competitor as well as a smart, funny, wonderful human being. I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to your family and friends and those involved in the accident. You will be greatly missed.
-Matt
3 comments:
Nice tribute, Matt. I'm sorry to hear about your teammate and I hope you and your team get through this OK.
I'm amazed that the road wasn't closed for the race, especially that close to the finish. Is that normal for a cycling event?
Every road running race I've done has had a closed course except for a non-competitive "fun run" that used a pedestrian path.
Andrew-
Unfortunately, with many ability and age categories resulting in many separate races over long distances, it is often prohibitively expensive to close roads for a road race. Usually the last kilometer is closed for the sprint and there is a pace car in front the whole time. Sometimes there is a follow vehicle as well. The "don't cross the yellow line" rule is often enforced through relegations but in this case it couldn't help.
I just heard one estimate that it would cost an extra $50-100 per rider to secure the police and other resources for a closed course. There is also a tremendous amount of resistance to the idea from local residents. Honestly I don't know what should be done but for now (I hate to say this) I'm no longer planning to do any road races.
The past two years I competed in the Burlington Road Race, a Pro/1/2/3 event that has a rolling closure. I thought it was wonderful but there is even some debate about that format going on at bikeiowa.
Thanks for reading...
That's true, the long distances of bike races will close a lot of pavement unless you're doing laps. A rolling closure sounds like a logistical nightmare. However, I also don't have any better ideas except trying to keep the course on four-lane roads to reduce head-on traffic.
Very cool blog, by the way. Love the videos!
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