Beachbum1546

Man this sucks. I just found out today that a close friend died last friday while riding in the city. I don't know the specific details but as soon as I get a newspaper article (it's been in the newspaper I just haven't picked one up yet) I'll let you know what exactly happened. What I do know is that he was hit by a car.

He was 21 yrs old and an up-and-comer. He was part of team GoodYear out of Athens and was winning races left and right. What gets at me the most is that he was always the one in the pack that made sure everyone followed the rules of the road. Always stopping at traffic lights (he made a game out of it by staying clipped in and just balancing till he got a green light), signaling with hands when needed, just a catious and concentious rider. A class act.

I don't even know what to say, I know I don't post often anymore (I do browse often) but I just felt like I should post something. This shouldn't of happened.

HereNT

Sorry to hear about your friend - keep us posted on the details... Stay strong and ride safe. You never know what you're up against out there...

MsVicki

InfamousG

Sad news. I hope you can pull through and find a way to carry on positively.

It's tough losing someone, good luck, my condolences to you and his family

Puppypaws

Very sorry. What a shocking loss.

Juha

Sorry to hear about your friend.

I think this belongs to Advocacy and Safety, so I'll move it (leaving a redirect).

--J, a Forum Mod

chephy

Oh God, what a great shock... Words are mostly powerless in such circumstances, so I can't find much to say... Sorry about your friend.

Daily Commute

I'm very sorry. We'd all like to know what happened, but don't worry about getting back to us quickly, we can wait.

Take care of yourself.

Little Darwin

My deepest condolences on the loss of your friend.

Ironically today as I was cleaning up, I ran across the police report from my brother's death when he was struck by a car on his bike.

Let the family know that the cycling community here joins in their sorrow, as many of us know the feelings they are experiencing.

Beachbum1546

Thankyou everyone for your thoughts. It's been hard for me and especially his family. Here's a link to a short article I found.

https://www.heraldonline.com/local/st...-4688187c.html

Laika

So sorry.

Cruel, cruel irony that the article is right next to an ad for a car dealer.

waltergodefroot

My condolences to friends and family of Dylan Paul Mitchell.

According to the report, he was struck from behind. This accident happened at 8:40 PM, dark now in most parts of the country. Was he lit? Rear lighting is the most important lighting.

Beachbum1546

I'm not sure if he was lit, I did not ride with him. All I know is that he was going home after a 25mile ride. If I was to guess I would say he was not. I say this because he was done with his ride which he did earlier in the day, which of course would have been bright out. And we was caught in the dark on the way home. But, this is all just guesses, I honestly don't know. Like I said above he was always the one to make sure safety was at the top of the list when riding.

sunninho

Know how you feel, man... keep your head up and live happy.

Serpico

my condolences

ellenDSD

Oh my! This tragedy hits close to home as my family lives in Rock Hill - I am really sorry to hear of your loss and please send my condolences to his family!

jharte

Very sorry to hear about your friend. Recently I MADE my oldest son carry reflective ankle bands....just in case he was caught at night. Of course he hides them from his friends.

As long as I see them on when he gets home!

Please ride safe.

slagjumper

Sorry to hear about this unfortunate accident.

I've heard that once you get up there in age, your twilight vision goes. So a young person can see better at night than the 65 year-old. Found this on a sr site.

Table 1: Possible Causes of Visual Impairment in the Elderly
AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN OCULAR FUNCTION RELATED TO VISION:
• Refractive changes (loss of accommodation)
• Visual acuity (decrease in clarity/clearness)
• Contrast sensitivity (decrease in ability to distinguish extremely fine details)
• Glare (decreased visual perception resulting from glare)
• Haziness, flashing lights, moving spots (the normally clear vitreous humor may develop opacities, structural changes, or become more liquid)
• Color vision (ability to discriminate between colors declines)
• Dark adaptation (decreased adaptation in poorly lit environments)
• Visual fields (total horizontal peripheral visual field usually decreases from 170 degrees in young adults to 140 degrees in 50-year-olds)

timmhaan

just awful. sorry to hear about this.

sggoodri

I think the trouble that older drivers have with night vision is severe enough that they may create a risk for cyclists even with a stock CPSC rear reflector. Those CPSC reflectors that come with bikes are pretty dim, and their plastic mounts make them get bumped out of alignment very easily. I'm young and I sometimes have trouble seeing cyclists using just the stock rear reflectors at night when I'm driving.

I use a bright rear blinky, but I've had blinkies get knocked out of alignment too, and on two occasions had them snap off at the bracket or pop open after riding over a pothole.

It frustrates me that such an important safety feature on a bike is so easily compromised. I highly recommend using at least two forms of well-aligned rear-visibility when cycling at night, plus a headlamp, of course.

John Ridley

Stock reflectors are a joke. First thing, I put a 4" x 1.5" truck marker reflector on the back of my rack, and if it's even getting dark, I run an amber strobe light. People give me plenty of room.

Condolences on your loss; any cyclist being hit is a blow to us all. Everyone, please be safe. Mirrors, reflectors and lights come before bling on your bikes.

orguasch

what are they going to do with the driver he should be charge for man slaughter, you take a man's life you pay for your life too, harsh but this should always be done...respect for human life should be observed...

brokenrobot

Where do you get 'em? I've not found decent reflectors at the auto-parts shops in my area.

woog

This is a sad story. But it may not be what it appears here, either. The rider was heading home from the regular Friday night ride on SC48, which is better known as Bluff Road. Bluff Road is a two lane road with no shoulder and a speed limit of 55 in most instances -- in other words its can be dicey even under good conditions, let alone after dusk.

Local rumor also states that the cage driver was an off duty police officer. The local paper has reported nothing whatsoever as far as I know.

I live and ride here, and even do the Friday rides on a regular basis, including last Friday's. I'm witholding judgement until I know more.