My 71 year old neighbor died Monday, when he was hit from behind while waiting to turn into his driveway. The driver of the pickup that hit him was 74 and one of his friends. The driver simply did not see the bike until it was too late. Terribly tragic for both families.

The real kicker was that my best friend had lunch with him the day before, and he spoke about annoying drivers that would pull out in front of him like he was invisible. He had been riding safely for decades, and then this.

The driver of the pickup is a local farmer that I have known all my life and I am sure he will never be the same after this.

-Michael

Glad it wasn't you or a family member, but this is bad enough. And it's not like the guy was riding "squidly," this could have happened to any of us. Sorry to hear.

Ditto SLC. But wow, what mind F. Damn, be safe everyone, and keep part of one eye on those mirrors.

Man, my condolences. That is a tragic one. So sorry for all parties.

Double Suck O Rama... Terrible irony...

dang, im sorry, it always pains me to hear bad things happen to good people

That sucks for both of them.

Terrible tragedy. :(

Stories like this scare the crap out of me. I stare at my mirrors anytime I'm stopped at an intersection and just don't know how I'd save myself from a maniac. Most people stop so late these days that it's difficult to tell if someone's actually going to stop until they're just about too close to do a thing but pray. I keep the bike in gear and everything, but still. If I went for my escape route everytime it looked like someone wasn't going to stop, I'd be splitting lanes constantly.

Thanks everyone. This was a really tough one for all of us here locally.

I always do my best to avoid stopping on these busy country roads, but sometimes you cannot avoid it. And I am always uncomfortable being number one at a stoplight...seen too many of those Youtube videos.

Stay safe out there.

-Michael

I'm sorry. It sounds like a tragedy for both parties.