General Cycling Discussion - Strange, Sad Ride Today

This morning i left at 7:30 AM for my normal ride.Several minutes into the ride i started to hear sirens. Apparently some young men had decided to venture into the river for an early morning raft ride (http://www.ksal.com/). One young man is still missing.

At mile 6.3 (i ride here nearly every day) there apparently was a young man stranded in the freezing water. I didn't see him. Where he was stranded the trail makes a 90 degree turn. I didn't hear a thing but if i had turned my head over my right shoulder i would have seen the stranded victim. There is a clearing where he was stranded and I was literally 15 to 20 yard from him. I just didn't look. :( About 5 minutes after i passed his location i heard the first siren.

I only saw one other person on the trail this morning, and he was a walker that was miles behind me. I don't know who reported the tragedy, but i have replayed the whole ride in my mind several times. I think that there was nothing i could have done anyway even if i would have looked and saw him. It took them a couple hours to get him out.

I am sad for the victim. (one is still missing) I don't think anyone should have been on this water, but that is beside the point.

You can see the victim if you look very closley at the lower left of this pic. Upon further inspection, i think the victim is washed up a hundred yards or so North of where I thought.

Pretty bad... isn´t it still winter over there?

Koffee

Not really. We have been having High's in the 50's and lows in the 20's at night. The morning that this happened it was about 36 F when this happened. (Only a cyclist would pay attention to this :p )

I had just stopped and removed my cycling vest because i was getting hot about a mile before getting to the spot where the individual was stranded. I was just wearing, tights, LS jersey, and nylon shell. It was a nice morning but i found it pretty odd that 2 teenagers would be up that early on a Saturday morning. It was even more odd that they would be on the water. Maybe OK for cycling but not what i would call good rafting weather, or water.

Have you heard any more updates on it?

Yes, let us know what´s happening with this if you can.

Koff

Today's Paper. (http://www.saljournal.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/1357/format/html/displaystory.html)

They still haven't had any luck. I plan to ride out by there today. Temps are supposed to be near 70 today so will be a nice day for a ride. I expect there will be more activity around there than the other 400 times I have been down that path.

It´s terrible about the kid. Hopefully, people will learn to stay out of the water at least when the temperatures are dangerous. :(

Koffee

I retraced my route today. I figured out that i would have had 7 whole seconds to view the site where they (at least one) were stranded. If I had looked just 30 degrees to my right during that time i would have seen him.

Not that it is really that important since i couldn't have done anything anyway but it is amazing how unaware of your surroundings you can be on a bike. I was literally 20 yards (checked again today) from the accident site and never looked anywhere other than at the ground over my handlebars. I guess that is a good thing too.

Looking around too much can get you in trouble as well.

To wrap up the story the teen was found today (http://www.ksal.com/). He did not survive. This is a sad event. There have been several reports of cylists killed on this forum. This is yet another example that shows that life is dangerous. Especially when poor decisions are involved.

It is the rare encounter with another’s misfortune that raises the awareness of our own mortality. Ranger had such an encounter exactly twenty years after I had mine.
I was riding down from Champlain Lookout in the Gatineau Hills north of Ottawa when I rounded a bend and came upon the scene of a horrific motorcycle accident. The driver, the passenger, the motorcycle, and a right leg were strewn over a distance of 100 metres.
The sky was blue, the wind was warm and I was an unstopable 25-year-old, running out of gears as I rounded that bend and collided with another’s fate.
I was jolted out of my cockiness that day, realizing how close we are to being but a memory. May they rest in peace.

Damn.

Very sad story.

About being out rafting in those waters, though, late winter is actually one of the best times to raft or kayak due to the high water levels. However, it takes a higher level of skill and knowlege when the water is that cold.