Kevin Unck Memorial Ride...

The memorial ride in honor of Kevin's life was run without a hitch this morning. We could not have ordered a more beautiful morning for such a tribute. Well over two hundred (maybe even over three hundred) riders came out, some who knew Kevin personally, others who simply wanted to pay their respects in memory of a fallen fellow rider. Before the ride pulled out Corey, from Coates, said a few emotional words, as did a rider from the Cycling Connection (Billy Corn perhaps), and finally, [Laura] Armstrong read a couple moving poems picked by Kevin's wife for the occasion. A sedate pace was set by Kevin's team-mates from the Back Abbey team, and everyone was content to roll along in their wake. It was a fitting tribute to a fellow rider, and I felt honored to have been a part of it, and proud that so many others from our cycling community were compelled to play a part. My thoughts are with everyone attending the memorial at Pomona College this afternoon.


Riders beginning to gather:

 Back Abbey riders leading out:

200, 300 riders up the road, or back behind:

The remainder of the photos, showing the group descending Padua Avenue in Claremont, as well as a few others, have been moved in an effort to save space. They can still be viewed however, on my Facebook page here.

Quotable Links...

It has been a while since I last referenced any quotable links on a Friday, but a couple have come to my attention this morning that really bug me and are worth sharing.


"Glendora Mountain Road should not be used by cyclists, horses, dog walking, etc... We need to ban the road from being used by cyclists." Alright then - first off, this is part of a comment written in response to a story on the death of Kevin Unck in the Glendora Patch. The Patch labels the story an obituary, says so right at the top, and in my book, that means you should leave the pulpit at home. If you have something to say, there is a place to do it; civility says an obituary is not that place.


Moving quickly to the second quote (though I will return to this one):


From New York City, "about 90% of bicyclists killed in this city died, in part, because they were not following the rules of the road... they were either on roads without bike lanes [emphasis mine], going through a red light or riding the wrong way down the street. The ghost bikes you see in the different neighborhoods that honor these fallen bicyclists only tell half the story." If you were able to read beyond that 90% statistic without giving up on the quote as being utterly ridiculous, you may have noticed the common theme linking the two quotes, the misguided belief that roads are for motor vehicles and motor vehicles only. I have said it before and will no doubt find it necessary to do so again, roads are for transportation, a means to facilitate movement between one place and another, by whatever means of mobility are available. Roads are not modal specific. The absence of a bike lane does not mean that bicycles are therefore prohibited. The misguided and legally incorrect belief that roads are for motor vehicle use only derives from the slavish over-dependence on automobiles that has been perpetuated in this country over succeeding years since autos were first introduced.


I call this auto-dependency syndrome (ADS) in which people become so dependent on autos for mobility that they cannot envision why anyone would do otherwise. Eventually, this dependence contributes to health problems necessitating an even greater dependence - it is all just a vicious cycle, and maybe a more detailed story for another time. Anyway both these quotes are perpetuations of the notion that bicycling is too dangerous to be allowed on the streets; it's adherents always seem to cite the relatively few bicyclist deaths, while almost universally ignoring the vastly greater numbers of motor vehicle occupant deaths (ADS again, remember, motor vehicles are necessary and therefore deaths by them are tragic but acceptable).

Kevin Unck, Rest in Peace...

Reports are coming in about a rider killed on Glendora Mountain Road today. Apparently Kevin Unck, who rode with the local Coates / Back Abbey Cycling Team, drifted into oncoming traffic while descending around a corner at speed and was struck by an oncoming vehicle. I did not know Kevin well, but recall sitting around chatting a bit, about jobs and riding, at the conclusion of a weekend ride. Cycling is a tight-knit community, and events such as this hit close to home. My condolences to family and friends of Kevin. Thoughts and memories are being left on the Coates Cyclery facebook page.

I am sure many people will be posting remembrances at various spots around the web, in fact, it is likely there will be more than I can keep track of. Many people in Southern California knew Kevin through racing and training, not just through Coates, but also the Cycling Connection, and  by way of the Claremont Colleges where he was employed. He was an accomplished racer, and experienced rider. I will post up additional links to remembrances as I come across them. Besides the Coates link above:


Lava Racing News has a nice memorial,


Biking In LA offers his condolences and a more detailed account of the incident, which differs in content from the original newspaper account but, unfortunately not in the outcome,


Christy at SoCalCycling recalls a recent training ride with Kevin, and others are leaving remembrances on SoCalCycling's Facebook page,


Pomona College ITS condolences,


From the Coates Facebook page: A memorial will be held this Saturday, January 15 during the Grape Fun Ride in Rancho Cucamonga. I don't see any information at to the time of eulogy and moment of silence. Information on the ride can be found at the Majestic Cycling site,


On January 22, starting at 8:00 Cycling Connection will be holding a memorial ride in honor of Kevin. Ride leaves from It's a Grind, 7325 Day Creek Blvd, Rancho Cucamonga. Photos from the ride here.


Remembrance at Launchday.


Condolences of the Redlands Water Bottle Transit Company.


Glendora Mtn Road Blogspot.