Bikers Down

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It just keeps coming.

It was a daring dream by an exceptional man. Daniel Hurtubise had spent two years organizing a bicycling trip across Canada with his two teen children that would raise money and increase awareness of Type 1 diabetes, the condition he lived with from age 15.

They left Vancouver in mid-June, joined by Robert Carrier, a cancer survivor and father of six who retired early and wealthy after selling his high-tech firm.

The journey ended in tragedy Sunday, on a stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Brandon, when a passing car hit them, killing the two men.

Mr. Hurtubise’s two children were also injured. Sonia, 16, remained in hospital in Brandon with a leg injury, while her brother, Alex, 19, was released.

Brutal. I can think of no other word than that.

Mr. Carrier, 45, leaves behind a wife and six children – two girls and four boys – ranging in age from 31/2 to 21 years old.

Six kids.

From: Ralfieboy
Subject: Riders Down
www.cbc.ca/…cyclists-struck

All the press keeps focusing on is that the support wagon was a hour away and that the Diabetes Tour riders “didn’t have a permit” to run a charity tour on Manitoba highways. Pathetic.

One good thing out that article is the call to improve the roadways for cyclists. I don’t know why it always takes some goddamn awful tragedy for this to happen before the public outcry swells and things actually change. But it always seems to be that way whether its a kid drowning, some awful alcohol related car crash and the like.

Larry Maguire, Tory MLA for the Arthur-Virden area and transportation critic in the Tories’ shadow cabinet, said he has been lobbying for paved shoulders since discussions began about increasing the speed limit on the highway to 110 km/h.

“I was more concerned about traffic, to be honest, with conditions of vehicles, cars and this sort of thing happening, rather than a cyclist as much. But certainly for cyclists there is no shoulder for them to be on,” he said.

The condition of the highway surface itself has also been deteriorating, Maguire said.

“It’s Canada’s major trade route, the No. 1 Highway, and it seems there has to be a tragic accident like this before there’s heed paid to it. And that’s really unfortunate,” he said.

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About big jonny

The man, the legend. The guy who started it all back in the Year of Our Lord Beer, 2000, with a couple of pages worth of idiotic ranting hardcoded on some random porn site that would host anything you uploaded, a book called HTML for Dummies (which was completely appropriate), a bad attitude (which hasn’t much changed), and a Dell desktop running Win95 with 64 mgs of ram and a six gig hard drive. Those were the days. Then he went to law school. Go figure. Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

9 Replies to “Bikers Down”

  1. …another situation where honest people are trying to realize & share a dream & it horribly falls prey to both an uncaring public & the unconcerned public agencies not willing to take the initiative by imposing stiff enough penalties to make people concerned about what is a valid form of transportation…

    …in other words: another fucked up scenario where cyclist’s lose their lives…

  2. Ok it’s real simple – there is no fucking reason for a passing car to hit a rider – paved shoulder or not. I call bullshit. And hang the mf’r by the balls or nipples, whatever the gender.

    And my condolences to the family.

    What a tragedy.

  3. A 27 year old male driver, driving a newer Honda Civic. Quote “There did not appear to be Alcohol involved” an unnamed RCMP officer. I suspect the “Kid” was screwing around on his cell phone or Berry. The road in that area is generally straight an relativly flat, you can pretty much see miles ahead, it’s got me stumped. It’s the same all over this provence, drivers are nuts, and have no clue.

  4. fuck that sucks! when will all this crap end? ohh i almost was
    t-boned today on my way home, dude looked at me and pulled out just as i was coming up to him! i shot out in the road and made it out.

    lucky? ahh shit who knows. cars are just fucked!! when over-used
    and abused!!

  5. …besides general inattentiveness on the part of great numbers of drivers due to cell phones, etc, etc, etc…
    …what most non-cyclists don’t understand is the fact that there are people out there who will actually challenge you w/ their vehicles…

    …on monday, i roll up to a stop sign in the middle of town, actually stop (ya, i do it regularly) while staying clipped in, look directly into the eyes of the dude at the stop sign opposite me, start rolling & he then swings left, fast, in front of me while making sure not to look at me even when i called him out…i basically had to hit the brakes & do a mini trackstand in order to not get my front wheel clipped…

    …& i guarantee you it was intentional…