Friday, May 3, 2013

In memory of Lance David, the cyclist killed Wednesday on East Marginal Way


When I read the article about this accident, I didn't see many details of what happened to cause it:

I rode through this area hundreds of times during the ten years we lived in Downtown Seattle. I've been trying to picture how this tragic accident could occur, as more details have not been forthcoming. What we do know is that the cyclist was very experienced. His name was Lance David:

Team HPC member John Pottle was good friends with Lance and rode with him a lot.  John emailed me to remind me that while I didn't know Lance, I had ridden with him on a Hills of the West Coast ride. John was on that ride, as was Team HPC member Greg Barton.

After I started writing my cycling blog in June of 2008, I would write a summary article on almost every Hills of the West Coast ride that I led, including 8/7/11, the day when Lance made the ride. I try to learn something every time I ride my bike, and that day was no exception. I learned from Greg that day, and I learned something from Lance:

In his email to me John wrote, "Your piece was a source of great amusement to Lance and his friends - good natured ribbing only." I’m honored to know that my comments were a source of amusement to Lance and his buddies. In addition to John’s comments to me, I learned of another friend of Lance’s when he posted a comment to my original blog. Clearly, Lance was a respected cyclist and a good guy all around.

It’s always sad to read about a tragedy like this. Please be safe out on the road.

No comments: