Advocacy & Safety - Another coward.

This apparently appeared in the Gold Coast Bulletin today (I just shamelessly pinched it from their website). Seems a driver at Tweed Heads didn't want to face up to the consequences of their actions. Sadly, I can't say this incident surprises me one bit.



Left for dead
28Jul04

LEGENDARY Australian cyclist Danny Clark has vowed to give up riding after nearly being killed yesterday in a hit-run accident at Tweed Heads.

Clark, 53, an Olympic Games silver medalist in Munich in the 1000 metre time trial, is recovering in Tweed Heads Hospital and last night underwent surgery on a badly broken right wrist.

"He left me for dead," said Clark.

"He hit me side on and not square on, otherwise I'd be dead for sure. He must have been doing 120 kph when he hit me."

Police have appealed to any witnesseses to the 8.50am accident and would like to talk to the driver of an old white hatchback sedan.

Clark was hit from behind just before the Boyd's Bay Bridge as he travelled south on Wharf Street on his daily 100km ride between his home at Mermaid Beach - and Murwillumbah.

Clark's frantic Italian-born wife Sabina, who celebrates a birthday tomorrow, rushed to the hospital after being alerted by police.

Several council workers had to stop traffic to divert motorists arond Clark, who was lying motionless on the side of the road.

His near-miss comes two years after champion elite ironman Luke Harrop was killed by a convicted drug user at Robina during an early morning training ride.

Ten years ago, one of the city's most promising athletes, Darren Smith, was killed when hit by a truck at Yatala.

Clark said he had been thinking 'for a while now' about when he would give away road cycling.

"I'm going to stop now," he said.

"Sabina is naturally very worried and it's time to give it away.

"I might get a turbo trainer and cycle at home and go to the gym and maybe run on the beach."

Clark, who has spent the past 25 years mostly in Europe as a professional, said the Gold Coast's roads were 'an absolute lottery' for cyclists.

I hope they catch the driver.

Isn't 'hit and run accident' an oxymoron?

Coward is right :(
Its too bad he feels as though he has to give up cycling. I hope you all stay safe down there.

I understand Clark's announcement, which was obviously influenced by his wife's reaction to the incident (been there ... done that; I got hit in 1976 and my wife eventually gave up on-road cycling and probably wishes I would), but all of us lose greatly every time a responsible "effective" veteran road cyclist hangs up his helmet and gloves. John Forester has told me he disagrees, but I believe cycling becomes safer as the number of cyclists on the road increases and motorists become more aware of our presence. (In his defense, Forester is concerned about diluting the average maturity and responsibility level of onroad cyclists.) Recent visits to Boston MA and to the Rosarito Beach - Ensenada section of Mexico's Baja California peninsula have shown me how popular cycling is in San Diego County versus elsewhere. There is a modicum of safety in numbers.

I hope they catch the driver.

Isn't 'hit and run accident' an oxymoron?

This was no accident, regardless of the "run" aspect. As I just said on the bike-qld list a minute ago, the saddest thing about this whole incident is the way it totally fails to surprise me. I've been living here almost a decade (in fact I passed through the Boyd's Bay area as recently as Sunday), and I know for a fact that this is the way people drive all the time.

In his defense, Forester is concerned about diluting the average maturity and responsibility level of onroad cyclists

What a strange thing to say, especially from someone who pioneered cyclist education and is responsible for getting countless new cyclists on the road. Surely that is a temporary problem at best.

What a strange thing to say, especially from someone who pioneered cyclist education and is responsible for getting countless new cyclists on the road. Surely that is a temporary problem at best.

Actually, Allister, from what I can tell, Forester formed this opinion 30 years ago, during the Bike Boom. I think he feels that the Golden Age of road cycling in the U.S. ended with the Bike Boom. (To put this in perspective, he was born in the U.K. in 1940 and has lived his adult life in the U.S., mostly California.) His point is that the Bike Boom encouraged adults to take up road bicycling without proper training, or after having been taught as children to cower in the gutter or even to ride contraflow.

Forester's position, which most of us in B.F. adamantly support, is that cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as vehicles. Motorists do not expect me to ride in a vehicular fashion if every other bozo on a bike is violating laws, courtesy, and basic principles of traffic flow. If you have not done so, check out his website at www.johnforester.com.

Actually, Allister, from what I can tell, Forester formed this opinion 30 years ago, during the Bike Boom. I think he feels that the Golden Age of road cycling in the U.S. ended with the Bike Boom. (To put this in perspective, he was born in the U.K. in 1940 and has lived his adult life in the U.S., mostly California.) His point is that the Bike Boom encouraged adults to take up road bicycling without proper training, or after having been taught as children to cower in the gutter or even to ride contraflow.

It would seem that opinion is due for an update then.

I don't really have a problem with untrained cyclists taking to the road. Anyone with their eyes open will soon learn to ride properly. Either that or give it up. Give them a year and one way or another balance will return. I wouldn't want to deny people the opportunity to gain on-road experience simply because they lack on-road experience.



Forester's position, which most of us in B.F. adamantly support, is that cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as vehicles. Motorists do not expect me to ride in a vehicular fashion if every other bozo on a bike is violating laws, courtesy, and basic principles of traffic flow. If you have not done so, check out his website at www.johnforester.com.

I'm familiar with Forester's work thanks. My take on him is that, yes, he knows how to ride in traffic and how to show others how to do it, but he's a bit of a cranky old bugger that's gotten a bit set in his ways. I respect what he's done for cycling advocacy, but I'm by no means one of his many acolytes that tirelessly quotes him chapter and verse.

Hermmmm.....I don't know how I feel about it. Here in the U.S., it isn't uncommon in residential areas to see casual riders take to the streets with iPods, a meandering line, and no clue as to how to operate a bike on the road. Helmets pushed back on the head so they don't muss the hairdo, or no helmet at all. I guess for Americans, there is ongoing confusion as to whether a bike is a child's toy that belongs on the sidewalk, or an adult training and transportation device that must follow the rules of the road.

Unfortunately, most Americans see bikes as either toys or exercise equipment. Few see them as vehicles.

It would seem that opinion is due for an update then.

I don't really have a problem with untrained cyclists taking to the road. Anyone with their eyes open will soon learn to ride properly. Either that or give it up. Give them a year and one way or another balance will return. I wouldn't want to deny people the opportunity to gain on-road experience simply because they lack on-road experience.

I think in most cases, "give it up" is exactly the opportunity many of them will choose. Having been told that cowering in the gutter or riding contraflow is the "safest" option, and having seen only the "danger" of doing just that, many of them will perceive cycling generally as being "dangerous", when the truth is that most of the "danger" they experience is from failing to cycle properly.

I know this because last year I took a moment to explain to a "kerb hugger" that on a particular stretch of road she would be better off in the lane. I saw her about two weeks later, when she thanked me for my explanation, telling me that she had never realised there was any benefit in riding in the lane, and that she had previously perceived riding in the gutter to be the better option.