Johnny Gaudreau, brother Matthew dead

I go out running at 5:30 am and almost getting hit by cars (as in, more than one) is a daily occurrence for me.

And I’m not even on the road. I’m on the goddamn sidewalk. With a goddamn neon flashing reflector on. But no one looks before they back out of their driveways, nor when they’re on a side street trying to turn out into traffic.

 

That's just it, there's not much you can do if the driver isn't paying attention or drunk or texting or all three at once.

During Steamboat Gravel, one of the biggest gravel cycling races of the year, one of the professionals was nearly killed when a guy ran a stop sign. Not only was there a stop sign, but they had course marshals at the intersection. Driver didn't even touch his brakes until after he went through the intersection.

 

Terrible.

Tremendous escalation in general recklessness since the pandemic.*




*There was a 45% increase in fatalities involving drivers above the legal limit from 2019-2022.

 

One of the streets I regularly use is part of the Pacific Coast trail. If there's a cyclist ahead of me, I slow down until I know I can pass safely. Usually only see the long lines of riders on the weekends.

 

I'm sure all of us who ride or run have similar stories. I've had to slam on my brakes when vehicles blow through or roll through stop signs, and then the driver glares like I'm the one at fault. I usually am pretty vocal. Vehicles not pulling around to offer space even with an open road, with the driver just being a dick to the runner or biker "who shouldn't be on the road." People backing out of driveways, of course. And the ignorant fuckwits on greenways with dogs on retractable leashes and/or kids on bikes, none of which have any awareness.

I'd like to think the Gaudreau brothers' deaths could help more greatly illuminate the ills of today's drivers. Phones, giant in-dash screens, booze-drugs and uncaring attitudes are worse. And, yet, nothing will happen other than the usual outcry in the biking community and "Eh, whatever" from the rest.

 

There’s a trail here called the “Cross County Trail,” which literally goes across the county and is (I think) 60-plus miles long.

It goes through quite a few densely populated areas and the crosswalk signs rarely work properly. It also changes from rural trail to urban sidewalk and back very suddenly. And the signage is terrible, leading to a lot of confused people focused on where they’re supposed to go rather than what’s around them.

It’s pretty impressive that it was even built, but it’s a net negative until they can fix all of the safety issues.

 

Cyclists

I don't want to have a huge blowout about this topic, but cyclists blowing through stop signs, riding on sidewalks, and riding the wrong way are annoying to me. They are supposed to follow the same rules of the road as drivers, And cops don't or can't do anything because there is no license to hit.

 

Same.

Too many cyclists want the rest of the world to treat them like cars on the road, but then they willingly disregard the rules of the road.

 

I don't like the actions of a lot of cyclists, either, and many of them are fit-pitching tittybabies when some of their actions are illuminated.

 

My city has a huge bike presence. They have re-striped the streets to, supposedly, aid the cyclists but in the process have made the streets very difficult to drive a car on. Some are painted with big green rectangles and white slashes that you normally wouldn't drive over. But you have to to get where you need to be. One that is especially bad: you exit the freeway and need to turn left, then a hundred yards later you need to turn right to get on the street that leads to my house. When you turn left off the freeway, you immediately have to get to the right for the next right turn -- crossing through the bike lane. Then after you turn right, you immediately have to get to the left -- crossing through the bike lane -- to avoid being stuck in the lane that puts you back on the freeway heading the same direction you just came from.

I used to have "discussions" with one of our paper's columnists who wrote a column on every cyclist who was hit or killed by a car. Of course, the cyclist was always proceeding properly and the car was not -- which isn't always the case. One time I just told him, keep your damn bikes out of the left turn pockets and things will be a lot better.

My condolences to the Gaudreau family. I'm a hockey guy and I always was aware of him when he played against my team.

 

Apparently the Medical Examiner leaked the news in a group chat, one of his friends leaked a screenshot, that’s why the rumours were out there last night.