Thread: RIP Buddy
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Old 01-12-20, 07:34 PM
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jppe
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Join Date: Oct 2004
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RIP Buddy

I just saw where one of my really good cycling friends was hit by a vehicle and killed while out riding today in NC. He was an extraordinary rider. He probably rode more than 20,000 miles a year since he retired a few years ago. He was just two years younger than me and I always kidded him about just waiting until he got my age to see if he could keep it up. He rode many many centuries with a lot back to back days. He was President of one of our local and larger cycling clubs. He’d never leave a weaker rider behind......always made sure they got home safely. It was very common to cross paths with him out in very rural areas and we’d ride some very happy and enjoyable miles together. I literally thought he’d still be riding past 100.

He loved his family. His last Facebook post was a picture of his young granddaughter wearing special gold shoes her grandpa had bought her.

Heartbroken in NC.......


Edit: From all the information I can gather it appears that Earl might have moved out into the path of the car. He was hit broadside and died instantly. It’s just so unlike him to make that kind of move......I can only guess that he was making a U turn and didn’t know the car was coming up behind him. Here is the report which seems consistent with all I’ve heard. “A bicyclist was killed in a weekend crash in Iredell County. On Sunday (January 12) at approximately 4:30 p.m., the NC State Highway Patrol responded to a collision on NC 115 also known as Mecklenburg Highway near Bridges Farm Road. A bicyclist was traveling south on NC 115 in the southbound lane. A 2005 Porsche 911 was also traveling south.

As the Porsche attempted to pass the bicyclist on a straight, flat section of roadway marked with a double yellow line, the cyclist suddenly turned left into the path of the passing vehicle. The Porsche and bicyclist collided and the cyclist was ejected from the bicycle. The Porsche continued off the roadway and struck a mailbox.

The cyclist, 64-year-old Earl Douglas Gillon of Mooresville, died at the scene. The driver of the Porsche, a 47-year-old Mooresville man, was not injured. Neither excessive speed nor alcohol are suspected. The driver is cooperating with investigators. Troopers will present their findings to the Iredell County District Attorney’s Office.”



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Last edited by jppe; 01-14-20 at 08:43 AM.
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