pmcq

Rancho man dies in cycling collision

Created: 01/09/2011 08:54:09 PM PST

A Rancho Cucamonga man died Sunday morning as he rode his bicycle on Glendora Mountain Road.
Kevin B. Unck, 44, was riding his Felt road bicycle south on Glendora Mountain just north of Sierra Madre Avenue when he struck a Toyota Land Cruiser that was traveling northbound.

The Land Cruiser was driven by Martin G. Habern, 56, of Glendora, according to a California Highway Patrol news release.

The Land Cruiser was traveling about 20 mph while the cyclist was traveling approximately 30 mph when they both approached a blind curve. Unck was unable to negotiate the curve in the road and his bicycle drifted into the northbound lanes where he struck the vehicle head-on, according to the release.

Unck was airlifted to USC Medical Center in Los Angeles where he later died.

Habern was not injured.

The CHP is investigating the collision.



Read more: https://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci...#ixzz1AeGvcwzi

dolophonic

Sorry to hear this.

Garfield Cat

Another accident involving a cyclist in Huntington Beach.

https://www.ocregister.com/news/pacif...red-coast.html

Mr. Beanz

Wow, sorry to hear this. I wonder what the investigation will bring, mechanical failure maybe? The lanes there at the bottom are huge and as far as a blind turn? The turns there are not actually blind. It would be hard to drift into the opposite lane with the amount of space there. Maybe he flatted then lost control?

Often there are dumpsters just north of SM along the side of the curb. Sometimes trash trucks dumping them but everytime I've seen them, they have flashers etc. Wonder if they were involved. This is "very" close to a stop sign so I wouldn't think so. The investigation results should be interesting.

Mr. Beanz

The two cars crashed near Pacific Coast Highway and Seapoint Avenue, tumbling down an embankment and onto a trail, where the bicyclist was riding,


That's amazing

socalrider

Beanz

Unfortunately it sounds like Kevin was behind a rider that hit gravel and lost control but did not crash. Kevin hit the same gravel patch and went down and slid across the road into a upcoming vehicle.

Uncle Jams Army

I'm having trouble envisioning where this may have happened. It is pretty much straight just north of Sierra Madre on GMR, isn't it? I mean the first bend on GMR isn't "just north of Sierra Madre." The fact that the vehicle was going 20 mph leads me to believe the accident occurred farther up on GMR than just north of Sierra Madre.

Mr. Beanz

That's where I am confused. It's nearly straight for about 1.5 miles. Only somewhat blind turn is near Dalton Cyn but it's a right turn so why would he be to the outside of the turn there?

Socalrider says cut the corner, does that mean the corner at SM and GMR?


Capture by gulpxtreme, on Flickr

Rick@OCRR

I agree, there has to be more to this story (or a correction) than we're seeing at this point.

I totally agree with Beanz, i.e. it may have happened at some other location.

Rick / OCRR

twobadfish

Stay in your lane.

Very sad news.

pmcq

Here is an update from Kevin's sister in the blog Biking in LA with more information https://bikinginla.wordpress.com/

"Kevin was riding with his cycling team and was 4th in position, the guy in front of him slipped on mud and gravel that was on the road. He fortunately pulled out of his near fall, however, my brother wasn’t so lucky. He hit the mud and gravel, lost control, took a spill and slid across the lines, he was then run over by the vehicle.

I write this to you again, not complaining, but simply hoping that a reminder might be made to even the most experienced and talented riders; as you said, you never know and road conditions are a HUGE obstacle in the cycling world.

Kevin passed away doing what he absolutely loved, cycling."

Mr. Beanz

Thanks for the post. Yes, very sad accident.

rooftest

I saw that. So much for "riding on the MUP to avoid the cars." From the looks of the bike, it was just someone out for a "cruise." Bummer.

As for the GMR cyclist, rest in peace. Be careful out there.

I'm not sure that I've ever seen a car traveling north up that street at only 20 mph. After thinking about it for a bit, my money says that this happened at the hairpin turn in the top of Beanz' picture.

socalrider

That section is very fast, easy to hit 40mph on that section just past Big Dalton Canyon

chefxian

Horrible news!

Cachequatch

My condolences to the Unck family. Kevin was a well respected cyclist and a great guy. He was in our shop last Friday picking up some supplies. His family will be kept in our thoughts and prayers. Please be safe out there fellow cyclists.

twobadfish

Oh man that's horrible.

Seems pretty much unavoidable... I couldn't imaging.

rooftest

I rode up GMR via East Fork today, and noticed a new memorial on the descent - probably about a mile up from where GMR starts "curving." So - it doesn't look like it happened on the straight-away near the bottom (which had us all puzzled), but in the midst of the "twisties"

I did notice the milage marker, but I've forgotten it now.

jmX

I drove up it today (first time ever on GMR, wanted to scope it out and have a nice drive with the family) and saw the memorial on the curve. Pretty sad.

nosignature

I noticed the memorial right away riding up GMR today. It was small (a photo, a few water bottles and flowers from what I could tell) but somehow very touching. I silently paid my respects as I rode by, since even though I didn't know him, I'm 99% positive I've done some group rides with him.

Mr. Beanz

Thanks for clearing that up. That section is scary, I get the willies everytime I go through that turn. There is almost always a light sand covering in the turn and if you look at the yellow stripe, you can see the thin layer of salt like sand there just waiting to take you down. I'm always very careful while approaching and going through that turn. That is the very same section I backed of last week while chasing another rider down the mountain, the turn was covered with dirt. Guys, be careful, even when it's not covered with dirt, the salt is there.

Seems like he was a nice guy and known rider, too sad.

bikeride

My deepest condolences to Mr Unck's family.

Descending all out down GMR is one of the most fun things you can do on a bike here in SoCal. It's also one of the most dangerous.

rooftest

I've descended GMR 3 or 4 times since this happened, and always take this corner real slow now. Today, there were a bunch of pebbles right in the lane, there too.

While descending, there will be a sharp right-hander with a dirt clearing to the right. Boulders are placed there to keep cars out of the area. The next turn is a sharper right-hander. That's where the accident happened/memorial is.

Cachequatch

Lots of bulldozer work this morning.. the memorial of Kevin Unck was gone but his memory will last a lifetime.. I rode up halfway this morning with a fellow shop guy.. (training ride) It was good to get a sweat in this morning! Beautiful weather!

rooftest

Bummer - it was still there yesterday...