LA Wheelmen Grand Tour: Father killed by motorist, son in critical condition

Stephen Box has written the best piece to date about the tragedy that occurred this weekend:  while riding the LA Wheelmen Grand Tour, a father and his son were struck by a car.  The father was killed, and his son is in critical condition:

As Saturday turned into Sunday, Rod and Christian had approximately 190 miles behind them including 8500 feet of elevation gain and four very challenging hills. They were riding on the shoulder in ideal conditions. the sky was clear, there was great visibility, the roads were dry and there was a slight off shore breeze.

. . . At approximately 1:30 am, the next SAG driver came across an emergency scene with medical and law enforcement personnel at work on the two cyclists who lay on the ground at 34000 PCH . . .

Rod was pronounced dead at the scene and Christian was airlifted to UCLA Medical Center with severe and comprehensive injuries.

As someone who was twice ridden the 200 mile highland route on the Grand Tour, this sent shivers down my spine.  The last 30 miles of the route from the final checkpoint returns to Malibu along the rolling hills of PCH.  At this point, your body is totally brutalized, and the term rolling hills translates to total agony.  But worse are the drivers, and when you are most tired, you are forced to concentrate intently on staying safe next to speeding vehicles.

I can’t suppress a morbid thought.  On epic adventures with my own dad we would often get in nasty arguments when this exhausted.  I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose your dad at the end of such an effort, especially if you had just argued.

Please re-blog, tweet, and share Stephen’s article with your friends.