Memorial ride for NYC rider killed on 9W - NY
 

For all fellow Norhtern Jersey and NY riders:

On Sunday, Dec. 7th, there will be a memorial ride for Camile Savoy,
the rider who was killed while riding his bicycle on 9W. Mr. Savoy was
run down from behind by an errant 71-year-old motorist

The ride will begin at the foot of the GWB at 9:00am on the NJ side in
Englewood Cliffs, proceed north to Piermont, and then return to the
GWB. If you want more information, contact Jennifer Benepe jbenepe@msn.com
for details.

http://benepesbikeblog.blogspot.com/

Corsaire

Wish I could be there.

On a lighter note, this is why I'm glad I live in Arizona.

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/3973/raindatejl1.jpg

Actually it might even snow...so we'll see.

Very sorry for the loss. So many NY City cyclists use 9W daily, it is a beautiful (and generally very safe) road for cycling. Sad and tragic indeed.

A ghost bike will be left at the site of the accident.

http://www.ghostbikes.org/howto

I unfortunetly got a flat tire at the accident scene shortly after it happened and was stuck there changing the tube. It was a ****ing mess, just horrible.

I'll be going on the ride for sure.

I'm very sorry to hear about this loss, and am glad to hear that there will be a ghost bike left at the site in memory for him. 9W is generally a really pleasant road to bike on, so to hear stories like this surprises me. At least he is in a better place now. May he rest in peace.

I will definitely be doing this ride.

I was really sad to hear about this, especially knowing it was someone who enjoyed using 9W as I do on an almost daily basis. I hope the weather cooperates as I will be making the trip up for this memorial ride.

+1

+another one. Very sad, and scary. I always feel like once I've made it to 9W I'm safe until I get back into the city, but I guess you're never completely safe anywhere. My friend got killed a few years ago on the Hudson River bike path, so it seems that stupid drivers can make any stretch of pavement deadly...

My condolences. As for this:

To what level of social ********ation must a mind degenerate before producing non sequiturs of this sort in a death announcement? Never mind, don't answer. Enjoy Arizona.

+1 on that. I frequently ride up to 9W from Jersey City and for the 13 or 14 miles I'm en route, my focus is on self preservation: dodging cars, pedestrians, and other danger. Once I hit 9W the ride really begins: I can focus on what I'm doing on the bike.

Sounds like this rider got hit from behind, and there's not much any of us could do in a situation like that. If the memorial ride and the ghost bike can get a few drivers to open their eyes, a life could be saved down the road.

I can't make it this weekend, but if the ride gets pushed I'm there.

So sad, hope to make it :( I was always amazed more cyclists didn't get hit along that stretch - traffic can move quite fast.

Most of the 9W route has a good sized shoulder which I always feel safe using because cars don't cut you close.

As a cyclist myself, why would I intentionally disrespect this person? Lighten up a bit, and welcome to the internet.

I was sad to read that story last sunday in the Bergen Record. I'll try to get out there and ride with you all. You all are meeting on Hudson Terrace, right? At the base of the bridge?

I grew up in Rockland County in the 1970's and rode my bike around a lot as a pre-teen. I remember my mom always advising me "Don't ride on 9W, it's dangerous for cyclists!" so I never did.

Fast forward 30 years, I'm living in NYC, got into "serious" cycling, joined the New York Cycle Club, and whaddya know, nearly *every* club ride I do involves at least some riding on 9W. And for the past 3 years these rides have been uneventful. (Well, at least as far as the Danger element goes. They've been wonderful rides...)

And then this. I will definitely be there Sunday.

Let's hope for Ok weather folks, as it's not looking good right now. But you never know these days w/ the weather it can change from one day to the next!

Cyclistsof the world, UNITE!

I'm going to see if I can make it. I ride this route frequently enough myself.

Last I checked it's supposed to be windy with a 30% chance of snow showers, doesn't seem too bad at all. Riding with flurries is nice, just so long as it doesn't start accumulating.

The only portion of 9W that's dicey is the stretch past CNBC, about 1 mile between the Englewood Cliffs and Tenafly traffic lights. The rest has a wide shoulder. But that's a bit deceptive, 9W is a road where cars can routinely do 60 mph and can hit 80 mph. Wide shoulder or not, that's a potential problem for cyclists going 10-25 mph on the shoulder. That being said, the number of fatalities involving cyclists seems rather low given the large volume of bicycle trips up and down the road. I've lived near 9W for my entire life (graduated high school in Demarest, lived on the East Hill in Closter, about 1 mile down the hill from 9W) and I know the road like the back of my hand. I don't feel unsafe on 9W, but I'm glad I don't have to ride it on a daily basis.

I would call the section around Haverstraw & Tomkins Cove quite a bit worse than "dicey"

...though perhaps that's tempered by my imagining having to live there. :)