Caller:
Somebody just got hit...
[sobbing] Oh, fuck... we were driving down the road, and this biker, on a pedal bikeI think he passed out or something, and he came into our lane when we were right there. I hit the brakes, and I went off the road a little bit. But I still hit him.
Dispatcher:
OK, does he need an ambulance?
Caller:
Yes. Very bad.
911 call from Joseph Rael, June 23, 2005
ATHLETE AND HEALER, man of science and sweat, Bob Breedlove knew what his body needed and when. On the fifth day of the 2005 Race Across America, ultracycling's ultimate grind, he wanted three things: water, a PowerBar, and to get the hell out of the mountains, which were killing his time.
He told his crew as much when he caught up with them along the Highway of Legendsthe tourist name for Colorado State Highway 12, a dipping, twisting, two-lane scenic byway that follows the Purgatoire River east to Trinidad, a proud but faded coal town 14 miles from the New Mexico state line. Since starting out from San Diego, Breedlove had endured brain-frying desert heat, stupefying headwinds, and endless elevation gain. Now it was time to get back in the race.
A short, stocky ex-wrestler with the thighs of an irradiated superhero, Breedlove figured the worst was over. The Rockies, and three Colorado passes that rise more than 9,000 feet, were behind him. The night before, he'd climbed La Veta Pass in the headlights of his support vehicle, almost making it to the top before collapsing into four hours of sleep.
That was a profligate snooze for a RAAM rider; among the veterans, anything longer than 90 minutes is considered sleeping in. But Breedlove understood what it takes to pedal some 3,000 miles across the United States in eight or nine days: He'd done it five times before. In an endurance contest as punishing as RAAM, the race often goes not to the young and studly but the weathered and crafty. At 53, Breedlove was the oldest competitor in the solo division, running 12th in a starting field of 25, but he didn't see any reason he couldn't finish in the top five. If history was a guide, half the riders would be felled by saddle sores, strained muscles, and exhaustion long before the finish line in Atlantic City.
Breedlove sailed down from La Veta in the early-morning light, huffed up Cucharas Pass, and then aimed his bike toward Stonewall, a rustic settlement tucked among cottonwoods below the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Thirty miles ahead was the time station at Trinidad, and beyond that lay the eastern Colorado grasslands and Kansas. Breedlove was a flatland rider at heart; his home turf stretched between Kewanee, Illinois, where he was born, and Des Moines, Iowa, where he and his wife, Gretchen, had raised four children while he built a thriving practice in orthopedic surgery.
Shortly after 10 a.m., Breedlove took a break. His three-man chase crew was waiting for him at a turnoff from Highway 12. At night, in accordance with RAAM rules, the crew's red Volkswagen van stayed right behind him, but during the day Breedlove and his crew often leapfrogged each other when the road lacked shoulders or a pullout, the van driver letting him get a few miles ahead before catching up and passing him. Flanked by ditches on both sides and no more than 25 feet across, Highway 12 was just such a road.
Comments
This is a very well written article, I agree with Gretchen Breedlove's findings, the driver who killed Dr. Breedlove was both irresponsible and inexperienced and simply missed the curve, after hitting Dr. Breedlove the boy's father who is a loser was quick to make up a lie. I had a lot of respect for Dr. Breedlove and I am proud of Gretchen Breedlove for getting the truth out.
Flag ThisTragedy all the way around. Truth and Justice are casualties here, too. As long as the local officials have everything to lose and nothing to gain in reopening the case to seek answers to questions raised by independent investigators, the truth will remain buried in the minds of the only two people who know what REALLY happened. It's sickening to think that the driver in this case got off so lightly; he was unlicensed and had NO BUSINESS driving that truck! Mr. Mattie needs to retire...NOW!
Flag ThisTo dismiss outright that an individual could make a mistake in an extreme endeavor no matter how experienced they is naïve thinking to say the least. Everyone makes mistakes no matter who they are...some more, some less. Who knows the true facts in this case besides those two in the truck, but I do know that for $$$ I could give you any facts you desire going either way and either way brings back no one.
Flag ThisThe disturbing thing about this story is that it follows a common trend: when cyclists die in accidents with motor vehicles, the law looks the other way. They'd rather blame it on the cyclist and move on than figure out why the accident occurred or how it should have been prevented. A big part of that prevention is keeping reckless, illegal drivers off the road. Clearly letting this kid off with no charges after he'd wrecked a car while driving illegally didn't achieve that goal. Even if Rael wasn't at fault in the wreck itself, he shouldn't have been on the road. We can thank the leniency of Colorado's judiciary for the fact that he was.
Flag ThisI am inspired by the legacy of Dr. Breedlove "ADIP". Doctore means "to teach"; his teachings live on in his story and easily visible to an ultracyclist and every RAAM finisher
Flag ThisI am inspired by the legacy of Dr. Breedlove "ADIP". Doctore means "to teach"; his teachings live on in his story and easily visible to an ultracyclist and every RAAM finisher
Flag ThisThere is nothing here that permits me to truly understand what occured; criticism of the police conclusions are estimated guesses, drawing conclusions based on collecting together a number of assumptions. I understand that the family cannot believe their superhero (and I mean this with respect) could make such an error. Ultimately, this can cause the family to pick apart pieces of evidence permitting them to draw a conclusion that blames someone other than Bob. I again say I do not know "conclusively" what occured, but I do not trust the dissection of evidence after the initial results of the State Policemen's conclusions. I am saddened by this incident and the loss of the family's superhero and the biking world's legend.
Flag ThisThere is nothing here that permits me to truly understand what occured; criticism of the police conclusions are estimated guesses, drawing conclusions based on collecting together a number of assumptions. I understand that the family cannot believe their superhero (and I mean this with respect) could make such an error. Ultimately, this can cause the family to pick apart pieces of evidence permitting them to draw a conclusion that blames someone other than Bob. I again say I do not know "conclusively" what occured, but I do not trust the dissection of evidence after the initial results of the State Policemen's conclusions. I am saddened by this incident and the loss of the family's superhero and the biking world's legend.
Flag ThisI witnessed a truck-bike near fatality here in Vegas last week, totally the truck's fault (biker was in a bike lane, on a separated shoulder!), and had to practically beg the cop to take down my name and number. Didn't seem like he wanted any "witnesses" at all.
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