It only takes a second.

Here is a disturbing letter I pulled from Velo News. It brings to front the reality of riding on the same roads as motor vehicles and hopefully is a reminder, albeit gruesome, that we are not alone out there. Even with the tragedy of this accident, the three basic rules of cycling come into play.

Keep your elbows bent. Don't cross the wheel in front of you. Pay attention.

These are not rules you apply one at a time, no one rule is more important than another, all of them together form the core of what makes a good cyclist. They will not make you invincible, life has a way of intruding into the best of plans, but they will help. Could these rules have prevented the accident? Maybe, probably not. It was an exciting early ride over familiar roads. Construction and traffic contributed to the accident but the crossed wheel was the initial cause.

The lesson to be learned is that we all have to be alert at all times. Just because there is a group on the road does not mean we can forget about traffic. There is no safety in numbers and no excuses.




Dear Fellow Riders,
This year winter in North Utah was quite tough and very unpredictable for riding on the road. Finally, Saturday morning was the first promising morning for a group ride.

My good friend and neighbor Paul Moote, from Mad Dog team, sent me an e-mail about a group ride and I sent his message to my buddies. Bill Corliss met Paul and I at my house and Paul drove us to the meeting place in Lehi. We were planning a very nice 90 mile ride by Utah Lake, to Eureka and back through 5 mile pass.

The entire group had ridden this route many times. The trip to Lehi took about an hour and 15 min to drive and on the way we were having great conversations, especially about our kids. I have three - two teenage girls and little son - Paul has six kids from 8 years and up to 20 and Bill and his wife adopted their 12-year-old boy from a foster family a little over a year ago. It was a very nice conversation, especially interesting and inspiring to hear Bill talk about his experience with his little boy who went through a real hell in his short life and how Bill and his wife were dreaming on raising this special guy and making the rest of his life special.

Upon arriving at the meeting spot, Bill and I quickly rode to the Coffee shop. Bill bought me a coffee and I promise that it will be my turn to buy after our ride. We came back to the car, changed and by that time all other friends had gathered together; our friends from Mad Dog team with whom Paul and I just raced the 24 Hour of Old Pueblo: Chris with his wife KC and Adam; my good buddy Dave Reynolds and Adam invited a new guy Alan.

The group was a good, strong group of eight and every body was excited for the first long spring ride. We quickly lined up on the road: Paul was first and I was on his wheel. After setting good pace, Paul went to the back and I started pulling the group. I thought that I should keep pulling for a while as the road was narrow with busy traffic.

Then all of a sudden, I was passed by a construction truck with trailer full supplies for concrete framing. The truck immediately went to the right and stopped. The Driver jumped from the truck and yelled something about the accident that took place behind me, I immediately turned around; from this moment on it was absolute nightmare and I'm still in shock as I write this message.

None of you need to imagine it. Bill was on the road, still clipped in to his bike, hands on the bars, helmet on the side, blood from his head and he was DEAD. My good friend had died instantly.

Paul Moote witnessed this tragedy, as he was on Bill's back wheel, in the strong cross wind, with heavy construction debris; Bill rubbed the rider's wheel in front of him and crashed to the pavement, as the Dodge pickup and trailer passed by, unknowingly crushing Bill.

In a tenth of a second, the world lost a great person, dad, racer and mentor. The road was narrow, there was a strong crosswind and construction debris littered what small shoulder was available, so many obstacles could have kept this tragedy from ever happening. The truck was traveling too close to the riders and should have yielded a few feet which could have saved Bill's life.

Our community lost one of the most caring, loving, intelligent persons many of us will be lucky enough to know and call a friend. Bill Corliss was a friend to just about every one he ever met. He was originally from Michigan and was a graduate of the University of Michigan. He worked in the bike industry for over 20 years, working with companies such as Schwinn, Vetta, Sports Instruments and most recently was the Director of Electronics Development for Bell Sports.

Back in the 1980's in Michigan as a member of the Wolverine Sports Club, "Wild Bill" mentored new members to the club and the sport of cycling. He continued giving back to the sport he loved and most recently was a mentor of the Park City Cycling Academy and a member of the Cole Sport Cycling Team. Bill recently placed seventh at the Masters National Championships in Park City. Bill loved the mountains and the outdoors. His hobbies also included Nordic and alpine skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, running, skating and walking his Huskies.

Bill was also very active in bike advocacy. He fought hard for bike lanes and state legislation that would make the roads safer for all cyclists.

This tragedy is a reminder that bike safety and advocacy still needs a great deal of improvement. The Bill Corliss Bike Advocacy Fund has been set up to continue Bill's love of cycling, bike safety and new rider mentorship. Donations can be made at any Frontier Bank.

Bill leaves behind his wife Deb, 12 year old son Jordan, parents Bill and Jessie and two Husky puppies, Boris & Natasha. Bill touched all of our lives and will be sorely missed.
Boris Lyubner
President
The Endurance 100