A Quickie

I just got back from the theater where TRI714 and I saw Hood To Coast Movie.  I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, except that it was good.  I need to sleep on it and collect my thoughts.  And if the stars align correctly, I'll be doing an interview with producer Anna Campbell in the next few days, so keep an eye out for that.

Also a bunch of you have been asking if I have heard anything more about the cyclist who was hit on PCH in Huntington Beach this last Sunday.  I've been searching around online and have been unable to find any additional information.  I can only hope that no news is good news.

I do have one vanity request - I'm stuck at 189 followers...can someone throw me a bone and help a brother out?  190 is such a better number that 189.  But wait!  2 new followers will get me to 191, and that would be even better.  Because I have a thing with prime numbers.

Unneeded Tragedy

This didn't have to happen: 

HUNTINGTON BEACH – Two cars southbound on Pacific Coast Highway crashed and flipped, hitting a bicycle rider, shortly before 8:16 a.m. Sunday, authorities said.  Two vehicles southbound on Pacific Coast Highway crashed and flipped, hitting a bicycle rider, shortly after 8:16 a.m. Sunday, authorities said. Three ambulances were sent to Pacific Coast Highway and Seapoint Avenue at 8:16 a.m.

The bicycle rider and one of the drivers were seriously injured. Both of the vehicles rolled over, one coming to rest on its wheels.  

The bicycle rider and one driver were taken to the hospital with serious injuries, while the other driver was treated and released at the scene, authorities said.

The two cars crashed near Pacific Coast Highway and Seapoint Avenue, tumbling down an embankment and onto a trail, where the bicyclist was riding, said Lt. Brian Tidrick of the Huntington Beach Police Department.

Both of the vehicles rolled over, one coming to rest on its wheels.

Police are investigating the accident.

The bicycle rider was in the most serious condition, Tidrick said.

RICHARD KOEHLER, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

I've heard rumors that the two cars were drag racing.  (For now) I'll stress the word "rumors", but here's the deal:

- The sun has been up for more than an hour by 8:15;
- This section of the road is completely straight;
- Traffic is typically light at this hour on a Sunday;
- We've had no rain in days, the road surface was most likely dry as a bone.

So go figure.

All photos courtesy of Christina Ricafort

As cyclists, we are aware of the risks we take when we set out to ride on the streets.  But in this case, the cars rolled OFF the road and ON to a multi-use path - 30 feet away.  And though a user of a multi-use path still needs to be cautious, I believe it's reasonable for them to assume that a path is safer than the street.

All sorts of people use this path.  A cyclist getting hit is tragic enough, but it could have just as easy been a jogger or a family out for a Sunday morning walk.  And something tells me it would have been much worse if the victim was a pedestrian.  Because they would not be walking down the beach path worrying about potential hazards, which is something a cyclist has more ingrained in them.

So since this is my personal blog and I'm not simply reporting the news, I'm going to take a side.  I suspect the rumors are true.  And the people in the cars (and everyone like them) are complete f***ing a**holes.