just saw an accident :(

[Kerry]

There is a really famous riding instructor that just passed away last month.  His name escapes me right now.

Larry Grodsky, the "Stayin' Safe" columnist for Rider magazine.

Here is a pretty good writeup about him.  LOTS of folks hated to see him go....

I don't know any details about Rich's (Phaedrus') accident, but his passing made me pay special attention to this part of David Edwards' editorial in the August 2006 issue of Cycle World:

On his way home to Pittsburgh from the safety conference in California [...] Grodsky detoured to Big Bend National Park in Texas to shoot photos for a feature story.  He had planned to stay the night in nearby Marathon but there were no vacancies in the town's two hotels, so

after dark [KJB: emphasis added] he pushed on toward Fort Stockton, 60 miles distant.  It was on Highway 385, a lonely two-lane, that Grodsky and the deer tragically crossed paths.[/list]

It was news to me that Grodsky's collision with a deer happened at night.  I can't say that I fault the man ... I have ridden long distances on two-laners at night too, and been scared by deer sightings more times than I care to remember.  For whatever reason I felt compelled to push on, get home, find a place to sleep, etc.

From the article link in the "Quote" above:

"Just a few weeks ago he said to me, 'That's how I'm going to go, it's going to be a deer.' He could deal with all the idiot drivers, but at night when a deer jumps in your path, that's it and he knew that."

(Maybe from that I could/should have inferred that Grodsky's accident happened at night.  Anyway...)

Although it may mean that I never get an Iron Butt patch, riding through rural areas at night is going to have to become nothing but a memory for me.  Maybe if I "have to" ride at night I'll plan ahead to switch my 2-laner preference over to busy freeways?  I dunno....