For those of you that weren't able to attend Saturday's Memorial unveiling ceremony in Cupertino, here's a bit of what I said and some other thoughts...
"This was a very tragic incident. Although in some ways it was a freak occurrence it did highlight that even a law-enforcement professional, a person whose job it is to protect the public, considered it OK to get into his car and drive, even though he had gotten little sleep, and was extremely fatigued. This is so typical of our attitudes about driving... that it takes no effort and requires minimal concentration... that we can do it while talking on the phone, playing with our iPods, combing our hair, eating a sandwich... we can practically do it in our sleep...
SVBC has set out on the daunting task of trying to change this attitude with our "Share the Road" Campaign. As part of the campaign we aim to educate motorists to understand the legal rights of bicyclists, and to understand how vulnerable cyclists are, how important it is to drive with your full attention, and to recognize that a bicyclist could be on any road, just around the next bend..."
I did not know Matt and Kristy, but as cyclists we all share a bond knowing the intense joy, and vulnerability of being a cyclist. Anyone who was present Saturday can vouch that I had a hard time keeping it together when I stepped up to the podium. It didn't help that Cupertino's Mayor Dolly Sandoval, herself in tears, invited me up to speak right after we heard from the families of Matt and Kristy. It also didn't help that Kristy's Grandfather was in attendance, for a dedication of a Memorial to his Granddaughter, something that just seemed to amplify the depth of the tragedy. It further didn't help that, looking out into the crowd, I saw nothing but a sea of tears, a majority of them dripping down onto bright yellow Roaring Mouse jerseys, a sea of crying cyclists looking at me and perhaps secretly hoping that I'd come to tell them that this was all a joke and that Matt and Kristy would be riding up momentarily to join us for a ride up Montebello Road. And of course, it really didn't help that the backdrop for this whole scene was a perfect, crisp fall morning, in a gorgeous location, on a road I started riding when I was in Middle School and have easily ridden over a hundred times since. The whole event was just so unbelievably tragic and sad, and would have never had to happen if things had transpired just a tiny bit differently on that Spring morning earlier this year.
Please be safe out on the road folks, whether you're in your car, or on your bike. Pay attention, and if you're tired, don't drive! Goodness, I don't want to do another one of these.
Photo by Bill Bushnell, full copyright.
