Kurt Erlenbach

A few points. First, I made a mistake by pointing out the handicapped plate (though some of you certainly would have picked up on it yourselves). There is no evidence that this driver is handicapped, or if he is, whether the handicap contributed to the crash. Second, it apparently was early dawn and foggy at the time of the crash and while it probably was light enough to see if you were, say, jogging on the trail, it would have been neither safe nor legal to bike without lights. It is unclear whether Mr. Gast's lights were on, but I'd bet they were. Third, we all make mistakes while driving. 99+% of the time, nothing happens. For most of the remaining 1%, the result is bent sheet metal, maybe some whiplash, and a ticket. In only a tiny fraction of those mistakes is someone seriously hurt or killed. Whenever I get all high and mighty about bad drivers, I try to imagine how I would feel if one of my children were the driver. That tempers my judgment. Finally, crashes like this should keep no one from cycling, any more than a fatal car crash in the news should keep anyone from driving. This should be a learning experience for all of us, both in how we drive and how we ride. We can change what we ourselves do - we cannot change what others do, at least not by much. I've learned a lot from A&S about how to ride more safely and how to drive more safely. The best way to honor Mr. Gast is by learning from his death.