Originally Posted by yttrx
He was actually one of my dearest friends. I was working on getting my bike down from Connecticut so that we could ride together, which he asked me to do often.
He was like a little boy with his bike, having picked up cycling recently and fallen completely in love with it. It was the grand majority of what he talked about, and he was following the Tour religiously. He loved Cycling.
When something like this happens, people close to the person who died often scour the web for everything they can find about what happened so they can have some closure. Maybe it's a good idea to keep in mind that they could be reading what you're saying, and maybe you could say it with just a little more sensitivity.
I have been riding the same path for the past year and one half and I have walked it for the past 20. Damn, it's a 5 minute ride from my house. Yet, recently, I decided the 9 mile round trip to Prospect Park was a wiser choice. This trip takes me through sections of Brooklyn I'd rather not navigate on a bike--yeah the drivers' skills leave that much to be desired, YET it's alot safer than riding the Verrazano Path --either by the water or on Shore Road north of the bridge. Another option if riding to Coney Island through Cropsey and then on to the path by the Belt Parkway.
The pedestrians on the Verrazano path have no regard for the cyclists. 8, 10 years ago, there was a clear demarcation (both in terms of lines/signs and in the minds of the participants) between PEDESTRAIN ---nearest the water--- and BICYCLE ---nearest the highway-----paths.
Not any longer: the pedestrians, almost to the last one, insist on walking (or running) on the bike path.
It gets worse: people don't look after their kids----they expect me, on a bike, going upwards of 20mph, to mind their kids. There are just so many times one can comment about it to them ---they DON'T GIVE A ****!!!! They let their 2 year olds run around unattended. They let their 4 and 5 year olds ride around on bikes unsupervised (they're hanging out doing something else). They let their dogs run around.
Riding on this path has become anything but pleasant. The pressure is all on the cyclist. We either stop or run into them.
Not to mention that the path is quite worn with bumps and cracks. They have enough money to cut the grass every week but not to repave the path.
Then we have the fishermen: casting away with no regard to what they might hook.
It's really a shame. The cops could care less about who's walking where or doing what.
Needless to say, thought I didn't know him, this tragedy has affected me in a personal way.
I walked half the path this morning (bay 8th to the bridge) and rode it in its entirety this afternoon,
trying to find a sign as to where he had crashed. I found nothing. There are more and less dangerous parts of the path. If I knew where, would it make any more or less sense to me?
North of the bridge, the path directly by the water is 'sinking' and they're put up a dividing fence---a clear sign of impending renovation. A few weeks ago, on a day I'd missed my morning ride in Prospect Park, I was out riding north in this area on a late afternoon. I passed a woman on a bike. I was riding in the rightmost part of the lane. Suddenly, a child, maybe 12 or so, probably her son, is bearing down on me spinning like crazy; he must've been pushing close to 20. I was easily doing 20. Of course, I assumed he'd keep a straight course and pass to my left. But he didn't.The ****er almost crashed right into me. He continued on as if nothing had happened, while I cursed him. Who makes sense of that ****? Where the **** was his mother?
I think the people responsible for the path need to rethink a few things. And perhaps the cyclist perspective should be heard.
**They must find a way to enforce the demarcation of the path. If they decide that there's not enough room for safe cycling, then so be it--- parts of the path are very, very narrow.
**They must take down all the poles/posts holding the signs that basically tell us nothing. It's too easy for a cyclist to hit one of them (given their positioning). I wonder if he hit one of these posts.
They need to pad the low, metal highway fences. I wonder if he went headfirst into one of them.
P.S. I recently was hit by a car driving through Borough Park (on my way to Prospect Park).
Separated my shoulder and smacked my head quite hard on the pavement. I was wearing a helmet.
No doubt it prevented a concussion (at least).
Anyone who makes an argument for not wearing a helmet is an idiot.