mess
Police have said they asked for a north Wales road to be gritted an hour before a crash which killed four cyclists. Whatever.
Maurice Broadbent, 61, from Rhuddlan, Dave Horrocks, 55, from Llanerch, Wayne Wilkes, 42, of Rhyl and Thomas Harland, 14, from Prestatyn, were killed.
The world is has 4 less good-people in it. Maurice Broadbent has been a weekly feature in my life since the age of 14, when I started racing. Actually, more like since I was old enough to be allowed out in my woolly baby clothes, since Maurice and those like him have been part of my life for-my-ever. He was one of life’s great organisers & rode his bike every day. It is not surprising to me that the 12 cyclists on that day’s ride met up at his house. His wife Sue must be indescribably upset.
Mo
(c) BBC News
I am indescribably shocked. This picture shows Maurice as I remember him. His woolly hat is a tribute to the all-weather attitude of all my cyclo-cross cohorts. This face was always serious and focused… until you said “Hi” then it would be a big smile and asking after you and your family. He had a cyclists nose. He always shouted for me when I was racing and sometimes I called him “MO” because I was a cheeky teenager. Maurice was a trained coach, developing the youth of the sport. It does not surprise me that he was out riding with Thomas Harland who was as old as I was when I started racing with my life ahead of me and I have no doubt in my mind that Thomas would have been riding by the side of the road, with a protective circle of adults around him, for that is how club rides are.
The driver of the car, who was doing 50mph around a bend in a 60 speed limit is not thought to be at fault and speed is not considered to be a factor.
When I did my driving test, I am sure the highway code said that the speed limit was a maximum and that speed should be adapted to the conditions. The driver is understandably shaken, as anyone would be… I feel bad for him but I feel worse for Thomas’s father who was on the ride.
If you ever climb Everest, or fly through mountains in an aeroplane, be warned. You’ll probably see Maurice passing through the clouds on his bike.
2 comments:
(((hugs))) for you, and my thoughts are with the families of all the cyclists who were killed.
It's a bloody outrage that the driver will probably not even be reprimanded. Too many cyclists die on our roads, and not nearly enough attention is paid to keeping them safe.
Be gentle with yourself!
I am kind of with you, but this person must be totally destroyed by what has happened. I am glad he wasn't speeding or drunk because that would be more unfair somehow. I'm sure if I were in his (her?) position I would want to be put-down rather than live with what I'd done. I'd be asking to be arrested. I think I'm more upset with the council for not gritting the road. There was a crash earlier in the day in the same place.
Too much seems at stake to call it an unfortunate accident. That would leave me thinking that there really isn't a god - of any sort - anywhere. Even good old mother-nature is at fault on this one.
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