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Cyclist killed last night on Ardmore

This isn't far from where I live, and I've seen a couple of regular bike commuters through here. My thoughts are with his family. And I'm so angry right now. The person should be facing charges now, what do they mean it's unknown?! http://m.wtae.com/news/bicycist-hit-along-ardmore-boulevard/37633192
azucarmom
2016-01-26 05:55:05
Ardmore is a terrible road for cycling. Traffic often exceeds 50 mph and is very aggressive. It's wide enough for protected cycle space, I wonder if this tragedy can spur some recognition that this dangerous space should be changed ? JF
jlfunder
2016-01-26 08:10:28
This is horrible.
ka_jun
2016-01-26 09:08:59
The "cyclist collided with the car"? Seriously? Fuck WTAE.
edmonds59
2016-01-26 09:09:52
Shit, I follow a cyclist on strava who commutes Ardmore everyday and records his rides home at this time. In my strava feed he went to work but didn't have his typical commute home.
shooflypie
2016-01-26 09:16:13
This guy could have been me. I used to ride Ardmore until I got terrified and found another route. It is a horrible road, and it would be great if it could be changed.
jonawebb
2016-01-26 09:22:29
Just awful. I believe the news story on WPXI last night indicated that the cyclist had a medical emergency before the accident, but I may have misheard. I remain suspect of the "cyclist collided with car" language as well.
doublestraps
2016-01-26 09:57:09
I was on Ardmore at about 6 p.m. last night between Penn Ave and the Parkway in Wilkinsburg. Traffic was moving very slowly along Penn (I remember grumbling about it), and did not seem to pick up all that much speed after making the turn onto Ardmore. But, roadway conditions were wet and slushy, making traction a possible issue. My condolences go out to the family and friends of this cyclist. Be safe out there, please!
swalfoort
2016-01-26 10:12:12
I think I follow the same guy. He has a ride to work, but no ride home.
durishange
2016-01-26 10:18:33
@shoofly and @durishange - does "no ride home" mean he has not uploaded information, or that no information was collected? had he started a ride, and not made it home, would Strava have collected and uploaded his "partial" ride home? Or does that take specific action on the part of the user?
swalfoort
2016-01-26 10:37:12
argh, breaks my heart. The language in the articles is fascinating -- no use of "accident" whatsoever, but still very weird language. Some headlines not quite lining up with the articles, some text implying that it's the cyclist's fault, some implying the car's fault, some language minimizing the car's involvement -- one article says the car "struck" and one says it "clipped" the cyclist, for instance. Just super weird.
emma
2016-01-26 10:47:01
No upload. I know more, but his wife does not want anything out yet.
durishange
2016-01-26 11:37:49
Keep us posted, @durishange. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.
swalfoort
2016-01-26 11:55:38
You have to hit "Finish" when you are done riding and it publishes it to the feed. If somebody is hit it won't show a partial ride the cyclist rode before they were hit. If you don't hit finish it wouldn't publish what he did prior to that. If this is the person in my strava feed then I am going to be shocked. But I shouldn't be trying to draw a conclusion from some coincidences as of now.
shooflypie
2016-01-26 12:06:04
Ardmore and McKnight are similar. Posted 40, ambient 50, six lanes, curb cuts every couple hundred feet. I've not biked Ardmore but I imagine I would be dealing with the same thing. It isn't pretty on a good day. Add darkness and slop, it gets worse.
stuinmccandless
2016-01-26 12:19:52
There's a very nice piano teacher who my daughter liked very much who we stopped taking her to as life became more demanding. She'll be starting to ride solo this spring hopefully, but getting there would involve a weird intersection crossing half of Ardmore and then require riding a (very, very short) distance along it. There's no way.
byogman
2016-01-26 12:58:36
I know him. :(
mikhail
2016-01-26 13:01:00
Oh no...
sew
2016-01-26 13:02:02
His last posted ride was yesterday morning entitled, "Back in the Saddle." I guess he hadn't been on his bike since the 15th. His route goes from Brinton Road to RT 8-Ardmore to Morrow Road. Mike puts in 3K miles per year. If I'm not mistaken, he films many of his rides. He really enjoyed commuting to work and even sold one of the cars. His last message to me was that he wanted to do Crush the Commonwealth together.
durishange
2016-01-26 13:25:04
2015 miles are 8300+ or even more.
mikhail
2016-01-26 13:41:26
Such depressing news. A great member of our community doing what he loved. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.
acavre
2016-01-26 14:11:15
This is so sad. My heart breaks for his family. He was a regular MTCC rider. Strong, experienced cyclist. Tragic.
sarah_q
2016-01-26 14:31:04
It's a little weird that you're discussing this person when his name hasn't been made public. I think you should either tell us who you're talking about, or wait.
jonawebb
2016-01-26 14:46:51
comment deleted by OP
swalfoort
2016-01-26 14:54:11
seriously? are you people seriously whining about being left out of a conversation where others are mourning their friend? go to the top of the page and unsubscribe from the thread until his name hits the paper, if it bothers you that much.
epanastrophe
2016-01-26 14:56:03
Regardless of name, I'm planning on working in a trip to a funeral home sometime later this week. He's family.
stuinmccandless
2016-01-26 14:57:53
If you're not mentioning his name in a public forum out of respect for his family, why hint around in a public forum?
jonawebb
2016-01-26 15:03:03
.
ka_jun
2016-01-26 15:04:06
Sorry to hear this. Thoughts are with the family when it is available to all. Everyone take their time and respect the family's wishes. They are the ones feeling this the most. Very sad.
gg
2016-01-26 15:07:56
I no longer comment on Trib articles. Somehow it always pulls in the name of my employer, and I would rather not drag them into these discussions.
stuinmccandless
2016-01-26 15:48:35
It's just Facebook. View from Incognito mode (or use Facebook's "view as" tool) to see what it looks like to people who don't already have access to that info anyway.
epanastrophe
2016-01-26 15:50:25
I apologize if my posts have upset some forum members. There were comments related to the route and I thought it would be best that people knew the route taken so that the comments reflected such.
durishange
2016-01-26 15:55:45
I don't care what my employer thinks and if my boss makes a comment about how it is a cyclist's fault he died because he was on the road I would tell him to fuck off too.
shooflypie
2016-01-26 16:37:00
This fellow is a co-worker of a very good friend of mine. He was indeed an avid cyclist who did film many of his rides. I'm not sure if he was filming as this crash occurred. A couple of years ago, a group of my cycling friends rode the gap trail. Mike rode down to Meyersdale to meet them and then spent the last two days of their trip, riding back to Pittsburgh with the group. I was not on that trip and did not know him personally. However, I am told he was a really great guy. If I hear of anymore news, I'll pass it along.
fultonco
2016-01-26 17:13:32
So very sad. Thoughts and prayers for the family and friends. I wish there was something to say or do that could make this better for them, but there isn't.
srpit
2016-01-26 17:13:42
F*&k
neilmd
2016-01-26 19:24:20
I'm very sad. Peace to his family.
marko82
2016-01-26 19:52:01
He was a really nice guy. Just awful Oh and I believe his morning strava was titled "back in the saddle" because he had some sort of cold that he had just gotten over.
stefb
2016-01-26 20:11:42
For jonawebb and anyone else who missed out on the Major Taylor email or whatever that had already named the deceased, the Trib article http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/9865927-74/police-county-wilkinsburg has been updated. He is Michael McDermott, 55, "of the Wilkinsburg area". A few more details added as well, I believe.
epanastrophe
2016-01-26 22:25:13
When I see another well trained, highly experienced cyclist in his 50s mowed down while presumably following all the rules, I shudder. I know he often rolled video. I wonder if he did that day. In fact, if he did, I merely want to know that he did. I don't want to see it.
stuinmccandless
2016-01-27 03:13:59
@bb, once again, it wasn't being excluded from the conversation that I was complaining about, it was the way you were sort of half complying with the family's wish for privacy.
jonawebb
2016-01-27 07:12:43
This may not be the place to ask, but how does one report a non- fatal biking accident after the fact? I was in a collision at the intersection of Penn Ave & 40th on my way to work on Friday morning and was so shaken by the accident I didn't file a police report (and didn't even get the guys insurance info at the scene, thankfully he cooperated later). I had the green light, bright clothing, bike lights, doing everything right, and a guy took a left into oncoming traffic as I was going through the light and didn't have enough time to brake. Thankfully I only tweaked my knee and ripped my pants, but I want this to be on record. Any help or direction to which thread to move to is appreciated, thanks
kce
2016-01-27 08:50:41
I think people are still trying to figure out how to use the "Report a Crash" link, both from a user perspective and from a data perspective. But, I strongly encourage people to use it to report non-fatal crashes. The self-reporting of fatal crashes is more problematic.
swalfoort
2016-01-27 09:07:38
@bb, jonawbb and other users; I've been pondering the comments of the last couple of days on this thread. I totally understand that this board/thread is a logical and appropriate place to express your/my/our sense of loss and mourning on the loss of a friend - or even a fellow cyclist that you may not have known well. I use this board for that purpose myself. My concern is that as information flows through the cycling community, there will be people who "know" the identity/details of an incident, and those who do not. Given my relationship with the most recent victim (RIP Mike), I was fearful that I might inadvertently "overshare" information with mutual friends and acquaintances (who may not follow this message board) by presuming that everyone I came into contact with had equal information to what was sort of "inside information" at that time. In my mind, I could see an interaction with a friend or colleague, and saying something like "wasn't the news about Mike tragic?" only to find that I was giving them new information. Worst case, that friend is a close friend/colleague/associate of the victim's family, and does the human thing and reaches out to them. How hard would that be for a grieving survivor? The name of the victim is not yet formally public, but people from all parts of your life are coming forward to offer condolences? Not having been in that position myself, I don't know if it is heartwarming or distracting. What I know is that I read these posts, and will continue to do so. Human nature forces me to look for details that are relevant to the crash and to the identity of the victim. In the meantime, I am scouring my memory banks for details of individuals who fit the location/riding profile. Deep down, I want to be able to know WHO I am mourning, if that makes sense. What I have learned in the past couple of days is that I need to read this sort of thread with a clear filter....what I read here stays here, until all information is public. That can be hard. So sorry to all in the community currently mourning Mike's death. My heart breaks for his family.
swalfoort
2016-01-27 09:25:17
@kce and any others interested, the Northside Bike/Ped Committee is hosting a local attorney and cycling advocate next Tuesday to discuss the legal side of cycling safety as well as advice on how to handle cyclist/driver confrontations and crashes. I'm deeply saddened that this topic has become more current due to another tragic death in the community. We'll ask BikePGH to send out twitter notification closer to Tuesday, but we'll be meeting at Penn Brewery, 6pm February 1st. Hope to see you all there.
nmr
2016-01-27 09:42:21
what I read here stays here, until all information is public.
This is a public forum; probably a lot more people read this than we know about. Anybody can read this. It's not an area to discuss information you want to keep private.
jonawebb
2016-01-27 10:15:47
Where is the location of the crash on a map? I'm on Brinton all the time and am on Admore through Forest Hills when I work the Farmers Market Stupid comments on news story still piss me off...
sgtjonson
2016-01-27 11:01:54
All- I appreciate the help, thanks.
kce
2016-01-27 11:25:27
Pierce asked for a map. I studied the picture that I grabbed (I think from WTAE) earlier. This photo was shot from the median of Ardmore, east of the 376 overpass, looking west. Note bicycle in the median. That location of the bicycle in that photo is the "8" at the center of this satellite photo:
paulheckbert
2016-01-27 12:27:05
So he was killed with an entire lane to pass... I eagerly await whatever extenuating circumstance is used to justify this slaughter on a wide road with clear visibility.
sgtjonson
2016-01-27 12:38:13
How utterly tragic. I use part of Ardmore on my motorcycle commute, and the road bothers me. I am not brave enough to attempt it on a bicycle. Stay safe out there.
sully
2016-01-27 13:08:31
Quick clarification...the Northside Bike/Ped meeting is Tuesday *February 2nd*. Sorry for the typo!
nmr
2016-01-27 13:26:51
Mike's obituary in the PG The viewing for Mike will be Friday only, at Wolfe Memorial. Excerpted from the PG: Family and friends are invited to a memorial visitation at Wolfe Memorial, Inc., Forest Hills Chapel, 3604 Greensburg Pike, Friday only, 2-4 and 6-8 p.m.
stuinmccandless
2016-01-28 07:27:41
Another funeral home I pass by on my commute. I'll stop by. Thanks, Stu. As I said earlier, I used to commute on Ardmore, like Mike, and the place where he was killed is the most dangerous point in that part of Ardmore. You have two lanes of traffic coming downhill, and another lane entering from the Parkway on the right. You end up being caught in the middle of three lanes of pretty high speed traffic, and basically depend on everyone seeing you so you can move over to the right through the lane exiting the Parkway. It's a hellish experience. But there's really no alternative, either. I don't know where Mike was starting from, but the only other way across is Brinton. You have to climb a steep hill to get up to it from the east, and it is narrow, with little to no shoulder. Not much better. I was looking at Ardmore to see if there is a way to reengineer it for bikes and it's clear that it has been designed as a barrier to anything other than motorized traffic. There's no way through for pedestrians or cyclists without taking some pretty serious risks. And given that it divides Forest Hills from Wilkinsburg I wonder how much of that was intentional.
jonawebb
2016-01-28 08:17:47
Jon, I know the area but not well enough to picture. Can you position StreetView to explain it better?
stuinmccandless
2016-01-28 14:58:36
Which looks a lot like this hellhole, where East/Evergreen/McKnight's northbound shoulder disappears into a point, with THREE lanes of fast traffic coming up behind you, going *uphill*. Northbound where-McKnight-starts
stuinmccandless
2016-01-28 15:28:25
But wasn't he going outbound / uphill? From the city toward Forest Hills? I'm confused.
stuinmccandless
2016-01-28 15:30:50
I think Jona just got the wrong ramp, but the setup is identical. It's on the other side of the road. Other options for crossing 376 not great and probably significantly out of his way, as Jona pointed out too
sgtjonson
2016-01-28 15:37:24
Oh, I thought he was headed towards Wilkinsburg (paper said he lived there.) Anyway, it's awful. In that case, I may have seen him heading that way some evenings, I guess.
jonawebb
2016-01-28 15:42:33
That makes sense if she was coming off the Parkway and clipped him with her left front at the merge point.
stuinmccandless
2016-01-28 21:12:44