Five cyclists killed on Retirement Ride in Nevada

[Richard Fairhurst]

A big problem in the flyover states is that there really isn’t anywhere (paved) to ride apart from the major roads. On the coasts, and to a certain extent in the Rust Belt, there are often small paved roads like we’d expect in the UK. In Nevada there really isn’t. You ride on the massive highways, which if you’re lucky might have a shoulder, or nothing.

 

[cougie uk]

What an awful incident. And I think our government has relaxed HGV driving hours to help us get us through the Brexit delays.
Stay safe out there everyone.

 

[PeteXXX]

UK HGV drivers could already work 3 x 15 hour shifts then 2 x 13 hour shifts in a week (6 x 15 hour shifts if you play with the rules)
How many more hours were really necessary!?

 

[DRM]

Absolutely appalling , I wonder if the driver was going to teach the riders a lesson that went horribly wrong, I suggest the authorities put him on a bike give him a 5 minute start and chase him down with a truck

 

[HobbesOnTour]

An update here with the victims, one of whom was originally from London (I'm presuming UK).

Such a dreadful accident.

 

[DRM]

Absolutely appalling , I wonder if the driver was going to teach the riders a lesson that went horribly wrong, I suggest the authorities put him on a bike give him a 5 minute start and chase him down with a truck

Pour encourager Les autres as our neighbours across the channel would say.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Pour encourager Les autres as our neighbours across the channel would say.

How about we wait and see the result of an investigation before hanging the poor guy?

 

[Domus]

On my last road trip in the States we did over 5,000 miles out west in Texas, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Some of the cars and trucks we saw were in shocking condition. Bald tyres were common, pick up trucks held together with baling twine and /or cable ties, a bit like people of Walmart for vehicles. I understand that a lot of car owners are very much against annual inspections (like our MOTs) as it smacks of government interference into their lives. Some states do have annual inspections but I'm not sure which and how strict they are. I'm sure our members in the former colonies will elaborate

 

[12boy]

We don't have car inspections in Wyoming. However, I see few older vehicles here but rather lots of new ones north of 55k in pounds. When driving on the interstates I rarely see one broken down either. Big pickups and SUVs are very popular. People living in the more rural areas of western states are pretty much hosed if they can't get around reliably, especially in the winter. Aside from large cities, public transportation is either bad or totally unavailable.

 

[flake99please]

An awful tragedy. It does raise the question why such a large group were out riding together during these times though?

 

[HLaB]

An awful tragedy. It does raise the question why such a large group were out riding together during these times though?

Doon here if a ride is specifically risked accessed and an organised event it can go ahead with up to 30 I think. I've never seen an organised group of size though.

 

[yo vanilla]

On my last road trip in the States we did over 5,000 miles out west in Texas, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Some of the cars and trucks we saw were in shocking condition. Bald tyres were common, pick up trucks held together with baling twine and /or cable ties, a bit like people of Walmart for vehicles. I understand that a lot of car owners are very much against annual inspections (like our MOTs) as it smacks of government interference into their lives. Some states do have annual inspections but I'm not sure which and how strict they are. I'm sure our members in the former colonies will elaborate

Inspection laws are set by state, and then can be different within certain areas of the state. For instance, in most of Wisconsin there are no inspections at all. The Milwaukee area has them... possibly Madison as well... but that is all. Tends to be more present in heavily populated areas. And yes some cars can be very rough. Overall in my area at least, most are in decent shape.

 

[DRM]

On my last road trip in the States we did over 5,000 miles out west in Texas, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Some of the cars and trucks we saw were in shocking condition. Bald tyres were common, pick up trucks held together with baling twine and /or cable ties, a bit like people of Walmart for vehicles. I understand that a lot of car owners are very much against annual inspections (like our MOTs) as it smacks of government interference into their lives. Some states do have annual inspections but I'm not sure which and how strict they are. I'm sure our members in the former colonies will elaborate

I watched a you tube video where a fella purchased an old tractor unit, I think it was a Kenworth, it had been parked up for at least 10 years, he got it started, freed off the brakes and drove it home, despite a leak on the air brakes, and he didn’t hang about either!

 

[steveindenmark]

Its very sad.

It sounds like riding on the hard shoulder of a motorway with a 75mph limit. Not something I would like to do.

They are all very experienced cyclist and yet they decide to ride behind the safety vehicle.

From experiences in RAM you would think they would know its not the thing to do.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

They are all very experienced cyclist and yet they decide to ride behind the safety vehicle.

Sounds like they were drafting it to avoid having to battle into a headwind. Can't think of any other reason why you would do it otherwise.