Caption: Bicyclist Tim Warren suffered serious injuries when a car turned in front of him just south of Anchor Park on state road A1A. Photo by Ken Steinhoff
By Ken Steinhoff
Frank Stark was an airline pilot who was forced to retire after quadruple bypass surgery and two heart attacks. He took up cycling as rehab and worked up to the point that he would “ride his age” every year on his birthday. One of his friends said he had a nurse riding with him in the early stages of his rehab. Before long, the Boca Raton Bike Club started looking forward to the birthday rides. When Frank died of heart failure on a bike ride just a month short of his 71st birthday, the members established the Frank Stark Celebration Ride.
The ride is very well-organized. It’s the only one I can remember doing where iced towels are provided.
Mother Nature gave a bit of a break to cyclists participating in this year’s annual ride July 12. The humidity was high, but the temperatures were in the low 80s when the riders rolled out to do a 30-mile or 62-mile loop starting in Boca Raton.
The club was offering new members a great deal. If you signed up at the ride, you could get an 18-month individual membership for $25 and a family membership for $40. What makes it an even better deal was that it included membership in the Florida Bicycle Association and the League of American Bicyclists.
Rider suffers serious injuries
There was one thing that marred the event, however. Cylists participating in the ride encountered an independent rider who was southbound on A1A just south of the Anchor Park rest stop in Delray Beach when a car turned in front of him. Witnesses said that rider Tim Warren had the green light. The first cyclists to stop did a good job of making sure his neck was stabilized and that nobody moved him until medics arrived. Warren was taken to the hospital, where he underwent surgery to repair several facial fractures. His wife says his jaws will be wired shut for up to six weeks. The driver of the car received citations for failure to yield and for an expired tag.
That just goes to show that you can be doing everything right — be part of a well-organized group ride; ride responsibly, wear a helmet and obey the traffic laws — and still your life can change in an instant.
Cycling really isn’t a dangerous sport, but we should always remember that we don’t have airbags, seatbelts and safety glass to protect us.
Our crumple zone starts at the tip of our nose.
Ken Steinhoff is an avid bicyclist and founder of PalmBeachBikeTours.com.
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