by 
From: Michael
Subject: Another tragedy
Hey man,
I’m a long time lurker on your site. Just one more sad story to pass along–this time from Albuquerque. This one hit home because I’m 28, live in ‘burque and went to his school. Fucking. A.
These aren’t getting any easier to read & link. But they must be shared. Bikes belong.
by 
rip
I just don’t know how bad i want to ride my road bike anymore reading all this all the time
imagine that, the sheriff made hasty conlusions and statements.
This is why we need cyclists and eople with brains in charge on the local level.
“Not much information was coming from the Sheriff’s office, except what seemed to be excuses for an anonymous driver’s carelessness.”
That sounds vaguely familiar to me.
Round here you have to stay “as far to the right of the roadway as is practiceable.” and the roadway is defined by the white line. Everything else is shoulder and gutter, not part of the roadway.
‘Burque never seemed too bike friendly when I lived there. But then I wasn’t too into it…
-M
My deepest condolences go to any one who has suffered a loss…
We need the culture to change…accountability would be a great step in this direction.
After reading the link it occurred that the family could file a wrongful death civil suit against the driver. This can be done even when there is no criminal act committed. Something to consider.
Why the hell did the lady feel the need to cross the center line? There appears to be more then adequate shoulder available. If the rider was to the right of the while line, it makes no sense for her to do anything but continue with her trip.
This story is bullshit. At the very least, she should get a careless driving infraction. Clearly she failed to control her vehicle. How ’bout looking up the text logs on her phone bill?
Dan wrote: “I just don’t know how bad i want to ride my road bike anymore reading all this all the time”
Over a 26 year period, I have to say that I have a much greater fear of vehicles now than I did when I first started riding and racing. And I only have this greater fear because the number of incidents I have with vehicles each year just rises and rises. Much of it is due to inattention. Cell phones and the like.
Having been an ABQ cyclist until quite recently I’ve ridden that stretch many many times, for leisure and training. The traffic is crappy out there, the shoulder is really rough in places (as described), and we always rode that tiny patch of smooth just next to the white line. More than once we had people in cars, trucks, etc. buzz us. At times like this I am very thankful that I had such good luck as long as I did and never met a vehicle. Another tragedy to make us all thankful that we have a families still.
…my heart goes out to quinn’s family & friends…my anger goes out to the inattentive driver, her poor excuses, & the local constabulary, who basically might have let this slide w/out some pressure…
…a life is taken & they aren’t willing to respond of their own accord ???…that goes beyond ‘poor’ public service…
To use an old Army quotation “whiskey, tango, foxtrot”. I’m looking at the pics of the “accident” scene, trying to somehow place a blind corner in what appears to be about a mile of straight, almost flat (might be tilted one way or the other, can’t tell from the camera angle) 2 lane road with shoulder. Now I know different lenses and focal lengths can drastically alter perspective, but if that had happened then the curve would have been more promenent, but it would look further away.
The driver is getting away with murder.
Opus