Posted on 07/25/2005 9:28:04 PM PDT by SoDak
Strong storms and 80 mile per hour windsare to blame for the death of a RAGBRAI rider in Iowa, early Monday morning.
Police in Sheldon say a 27-year-old Michael Burke of New York was killed on the second day of the annual bicycle ride across Iowa.
"He and two of his friends were in a tent in someone's front yard, and presumably the wind caused a large branch to fall from the tree," Sheldon Police Chief Lyle Bolkema said. "It killed him instantly."
Burke's two friends in the tent were uninjured. Police say the death has cast a shadow on the RAGBRAI experience.
"Up until that happened, everything had gone very well," Chief Bolkema said. "We were all having a really good time; this is disappointing."
The other 10,000 RAGBRAI riders heard about the tragedy just hours after it happened.
Jennifer Kobza, rider, said,"This was just one of those God-awful accidents that no one can control," said Jennifer Kobza, a RAGBRAI rider from Wisconsin. "It can happen to anyone to anyone, and that's what's scary."
There seems to be a death every year or two. One year when I rode there was a young guy who was drafting in a group (which you are not supposed to do but everybody does) and when the lead rider went down, he wound up under the wheels of a dairy truck.
There are worse ways to die than doing something you love.
Donnellson native killed on RAGBRAI XXXIII during severe thunderstorm
He's from the same town I live currently live in. Name sounds familiar, there are a number of Burkes in the opposite end of the county. I hope he isn't the little brother of a schoolmate that died back about 15 years ago. I'll have to ask around who he is.
This is the second death we have had on a similar type of event in the last couple of years. Pretty hard on a town of only about 1,200 or so.
Chris' Cakes and the Iowa Pork Chop
Been ther done that, four times.
10,000 riders?
Wow, you guys in Iowa know how to throw a bike tour.
The logistics must be impossible.
Sad that this guy was killed by a falling tree. That nearly happened to my mom as were were doing a 25 mile tour on her 60th birthday. A storm was coming in and a 6-8" thick limb fell off a tree into teh road right next to her and my cousin's kid. Really shook the kid up badly.
Of particular interest to FReepers:
Team Escape has participated in the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa for more than a decade. The team leader, New York firefighter John Moran, and two other members died in the World Trade Center.
RAGBRAI riders came together in January to honor Moran. About $50,000 was raised to benefit Moran's children. Firefighters from Ankeny also raised money for Moran's family. The opening ceremony of this year's RAGBRAI included a tribute to Team Escape's firefighters.
People come, literally, from all over the world.
It's a week-long, 500 mile Woodstock on a bicycle.
How is Lance doing in this race?
Are you driving a support vehicle? Whatever the case, I'm glad the weather is more favorable for your Iowa visit today.
RAGBRAI ping!
Semper Fi
Bummer! We had one save (coded out on the bike but lived to tell about it) & one die in his tent in '95. I remember Saggy Thursday!
My daughter went two years ago and completed it. I was really proud of her, but knew there was some risk. One or two people died; almost every year they lose one or two. Near the end it gets terribly hilly, and there was a terrible electrical storm they rode through. Also, somebody scattered some nails on the road, and she got a flat tire.
The people along the way were the greatest, so hospitable, friendly and wonderful to help. Somebody emailed me some pictures of her during the trip. She knew I was following her progress on the map they use showing the route for each day.
The best story I ever heard was this: all of these little towns sort of get overwhelmed when allof the riders come in. The crowds spill out from the taverns and tents, and occasionally, some one will get "chalked".
This means that as you lie passed out on the ground, someone draws a chalk outline of you on the sidewalk.
I don't mean to make light of the young man killed in this story, just to tell everyone here that Iowans do have a sense of humor. I lived there for 5 years, and there are an awful lot of great people.
No, I had to work in Dubuque for two days. I travel for work alot, but I've been promoted off the road and start a different job on Monday. Didn't think my last work travel would take me to Dubuque of all places. And the weather over there was perfect.
If I can get my endurance anywhere near that level, I'd like to give it a shot.
On my photographic forum, they had some gorgeous pictures of Lake Tahoe, and there is a biking club that bikes around the lake once or twice a year. What a thrill that would be!
Maybe you should tackle something more doable to start with and see how it goes. My daughter did some practice rides, but nothing near to what she could/should have done. It taxed her endurance to the limit, and she is partially handicapped (most troublesome are occasional seizures and a lot of hardware in one ankle that causes her pain if she has to stand too long).
She nearly killed herself in a car accident in about 1988 and had to learn to walk again after being laid up for months. She got fed up with rehab (kind of don't blame her after all that time in the hospital) and checked herself out, never went back for out-patient rehab. Stubborn girl, she decided enough was enough and got up from her wheelchair one day and just started walking like a baby.
One big, weeklong, rolling party.
Not so well, since Iowa has no mountains for him to motor up. ;-D
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