A friend returned from the Grandview Firehouse 50- an insane citizens race (insane because it is massive, and there is no governing body in charge of it- it is one of those fund raising "races" that draws over a thousand riders) and said a rider died in a crash. Anyone have any details? Or is this just rumor?

A friend returned from the Grandview Firehouse 50- an insane citizens race (insane because it is massive, and there is no governing body in charge of it- it is one of those fund raising "races" that draws over a thousand riders) and said a rider died in a crash. Anyone have any details? Or is this just rumor?


Here's a link for you.
Racer dies after bike accident (http://www.ashlandwi.com/placed/index.php?sect_rank=1&story_id=179308)
My sympathies go out to the riders family, friends and everyone involved at the scene.

Here's a link for you.
Racer dies after bike accident (http://www.ashlandwi.com/placed/index.php?sect_rank=1&story_id=179308)
My sympathies go out to the riders family, friends and everyone involved at the scene.


Thanks. I just noticed a thread at mcf.net as well. What a tragedy...

One of the Masters 35+ racers from our club loves that race (Bob M). He stopped by on Sunday afternoon, I'm not sure if you were around, and mentioned there had been a nasty crash near the finish. He then went on to say it was basically an 85 rider field sprint at the end.

That just doesn't sound safe in my book... I think I'll pass

One of the Masters 35+ racers from our club loves that race (Bob M). He stopped by on Sunday afternoon, I'm not sure if you were around, and mentioned there had been a nasty crash near the finish. He then went on to say it was basically an 85 rider field sprint at the end.

That just doesn't sound safe in my book... I think I'll pass

I missed Bob's report.

Last year it was on a quiet weekend - not during the crit at the U of M - and a friend convinced me to race (he's won the combined bike/run age category for the last 8 years- so he loves it). I'd never seen such chaos and carnage. For many riders, it was more like a timed "event" ride. Others, of course, took it VERY seriously. I won't rehash the details other than to say that half-way through, my only goal was to finish without hitting the pavement. The trouble is there really is nothing to break up the packs, and several nervous 100+ groups form- and there is simply no escaping it... at that size you can literally coast along at 30 mph.

I heard they even shortened the course a bit this year due to road contruction. It is a beautiful course and it would be great if it felt safe. Not blaming the accident on this issue, since it sounds like a very unusual "freak accident," but it speaks to the importance of having a licensing body like the USCF involved (which in this case was not).