Random ABRT Riders: Ghost Bike Ride for Lynne and John

I did not know Lynne or John. But as I read an early report on how they had been hit and killed by a motorist who had apparently been drinking, I felt the loss. Two more area cyclists killed. Once again it could have been any of us. From the subsequent wave of comment and feeling, it was clear that they had been loved by many cyclists.

Lynne and John always rode their tandem bicycle together. They had been married for 30 years. They did everything they could to be safe while cycling, and to advocate for cycling safety.

And all that ended October 31st about 3:00pm in clear daylight, on a straight section of Tobacco Road – with clear sight lines -- in Calvert County, when an apparently drunk driver hit them from behind. One died at the scene, the other died of injuries a short time later in hospital. The driver of the car -- who may have an earlier DUI -- was released on bail.

The memorial ride and ghost bike placement was Sunday November 22nd. A large crowd of cyclists from Anne Arundel County, Baltimore, Montgomery County, D.C. Randonneurs, Frederick Pedalers, Baltimore Bike Club, Oxon Hill Bike Club, Potomac Pedalers, Annapolis Bicycle Racing Team and many more rode in from various starting points to meet at Beach Elementary School in Chesapeake Beach. From there we rode together as a group, supported by the Calvert County Sheriff’s office and Corporals Cooke and Scali from the Anne Arundel County Police Department on their police bikes. Lynne and John’s relatives and family were also there.

An all-white ghost tandem is now fixed to a telephone pole near to where the crash happened. There is still orange paint on the pavement at the crash scene, left by the police when they investigated the crash. The orange paint marks are all over the road, in both lanes, and extending for some distance.

It was a cold, windy, overcast and grey day. Over 200 cyclists were there.

I did not know Lynne or John, but two more local cyclists have been killed by a car driver, while riding in areas where I frequently ride. Cyclists live eight to nine years longer than average in the USA. Statistically, the benefits of exercising outdoors riding a bike outweigh the risks of being killed by a drunk or inattentive driver. But crashes, serious injuries and deaths of cyclists occur in the USA at twice the levels they do in western European countries like Holland and Belgium, and significantly more often than in England. And while all cyclists enjoy riding outside, many of us fear the inattentive driver, the driver in a hurry passing unsafely, or the motorist too drunk to notice a cyclist. Most of us try hard to ride safely, we wear bright and reflective clothing and mount flashing lights on our bikes. We make an effort to position ourselves in the lane where we can more easily be seen by car drivers. Many of us mount video cameras to record "close encounters" with cars. But we are also "crossing our fingers" every time we ride, hoping we are not hit by a vehicle driver. Because it could be any one of us.