"Avoidable"... 18 months to come up with that ...

https://www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.or ... 20%251%24s

Not sure what else they could have said really. It would only have taken a different choice or thought or a second one way or the other and things could be very different. Wrong place / wrong time for all concerned, sadly.

But lost clothing and bike equipment by the police so couldn't determine how visible he was

And distracted by a parked car as he (a provisional driver) turned on to the highway at 62mph?! How many single carriage way roads do you turn on to at 62mph in the dark?

Doesn't change the sad reality but it pretty poor

I was rather concerned about the apparent lack of handling procedures by the NSW police. Seems someone messed up there. I'll have to do some more digging to see what exactly the issue was.

Wasn't there footage of Mike riding shortly before the incident? Probably unlikely he'd have changed his attire in that time?

All the details are here

http://www.bicyclingaustralia.com.au/ne ... ll-tragedy

That report's a very sad read - nothing really jumps out as an underlying cause or smoking gun, which in turn means there's no significant lessons to learn.

A mix of

• a shitty road
• a shitty junction
• (possibly) shitty lighting/visibility on Mike's part
• (possibly) shitty driving on the driver's part

Most people on here will no doubt ride at night in similar conditions, sadly the only thing from that list that any of us can change is making ourselves more visible.

I took a few reminders out of the tragic incident and am reminded by this again.

- make yourself visible.
- ride carefully (on roads. I don't apply it offroad) and well in control, not fast etc.
- don't ride roads with a certain type of traffic.

And again I go on about subjective and objective dangers...
I still ride pissed with only one rear and one front light, talking to mates while riding on the wrong side of the road/track/lane. But by elevating the subjective risks I still have minimal objective risks.

I never ever go on a busy road. I rather make a huge detour.

There's this problem with objective dangers.
I want it to be my fault when I get hurt.

Fast and busy roads are pure horror for me.
100 km/h traffic and riding a bike...
Are you fekn serious?
I didn't know cycling on such lanes was a thing.
Make a ultradistance race on it and you're asking for trouble. I can't understand why this isn't questioned more by fellow roadpackers. Is it because it's regarded as irreverent?

And some question if it was avoidable?

A tweet that struck me last night, next to many others:
"A pertinent question might be how many other people had successfully passed him? If it's many, this suggests the issue was more likely this particular driver, not the rider"
Ask the same for the driver...

People are sub standard. People make mistakes.
Make sure you only pay for the mistakes you made yourself. Keep the mistake to yourself.
Don't get harmed by others and don't harm others.

Subjective and objective dangers.
It's a huge topic in serious mountaineering.
Perhaps it should be made one in some road riding events, routes.
I can't remember any fellow alpinists who were surprised when Ueli Steck died. Shocked - of course. But not surprised.
No matter how well prepared, his dance was on very thin ice. Eventually it cracked. The old "question of when, not if".
It's far fetched, the objective risks of riding on a busy road in the dark are on a very different level, but the gauge may swing when you give in to subjective risks like 'wrong' time of day, dark clothing, tired state, stressed (causing wrong decisions) etc.

Pick it apart. Learn from it.
Many say how Mike was an inspiration. Well... let him be one for the positive and the negative aspects of road and gravel riding.

Some wise words there Gian.

I've not read any of the reports or commentary, and i'm not going to.

To be honest, when it happened I was totally gutted (and still am) by the loss of a cycling hero i'd never met. From my perspective, there is nothing to be gained from reading fairly predictable reports on causes and re-heating of ongoing cycle safety debates. Most people know how that goes. It's still a goddamn tragedy, and I guess it's the nature of tragedy that there is little or nothing to soften it's hard truths.

For me, the most memorable thoughts came from Kinesis's tribute at the time: "Ride your bikes, hold your loved ones tight, and remember to enjoy the gift of life."

^ well said. Thanks.

^^ what James said. Summed it all up nicely and the thing of Mike Hall has been coveree extensively on here as well as other forums many times.

Best thing yo remember from it all is. What a wonderful family Mike came from. (I believe) His mum gave the driver a hug and never held a grudge...

redefined_cycles wrote:has been coveree extensively on here as well as other forums many times.

This was new and I can recommend reading it.

surely an eye opener for many...




"Love is blind"

Thanks Alpinum... will do...

Alpinum wrote:

redefined_cycles wrote:has been coveree extensively on here as well as other forums many times.

This was new and I can recommend reading it.

JohnClimber wrote:All the details are here

http://www.bicyclingaustralia.com.au/ne ... ll-tragedy

surely an eye opener for many...




"Love is blind"

Sorry, forgot to insert the link to the full report. Thanks John for sharing.

Botched police investigation apparently,
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-29/ ... s/12697972
Contains pictures that you might not like to see.

I didn't know Mike, but it's perhaps worth warning those that did, that the above link contains distressing images.

That is a sad and somewhat depressing read. It also makes me feel frustrated and a little angry that the "right" things were not done. Bollocks

B is not wrong either, I didn't know MH but the opening photo is really rather unpleasant.

I also didn't know Mike, but, while not graphic as such, that photo is pretty terrifying for anyone who rides a bike on the road, or moreover, has friends or loved ones who ride a bike on the road.

I share Stu's view that the accident was just that, a tragic convergence of bad luck. But for there to have been such a half-hearted attempt at examining all the facts is unacceptable. Whilst it's not going to change the outcome, I think it's important that someone has taken the time to dig deeper, and if there's any good that comes out of it, it will be this public scrutiny of the investigation that will hopefully make the police involved in any similar investigations think a little deeper before chalking it up as another silly cyclist and moving on.

Cheers both for warning re photo I was able to scroll past quickly with just a glimse- even that was enough for me to agree with you

There is nothing good to say here but when a rider gets hit on a straight road r its highly unlikely it was the cyclists fault and I dont think it was bad luck. The car driver felll below the standrad required to keep other road users safe as did his car.

RIP Mike and lets be careful out there

Another reminder of why I avoid riding on roads as much as is humanly possible.

I didn't know Mike, but it's perhaps worth warning those that did, that the above link contains distressing images.

Taylor wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 8:25 am Botched police investigation apparently

- Taylor, maybe you can edit the post to inc a clear warning based on what others have said

jameso wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 11:53 am

I didn't know Mike, but it's perhaps worth warning those that did, that the above link contains distressing images.

Taylor wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 8:25 am Botched police investigation apparently

- Taylor, maybe you can edit the post to inc a clear warning based on what others have said

I think Bridget and Tim have made it clear that there might be distressing images but if you want me to, I'll put a warning.
It is a reminder about the dangers we might encounter though, not a million miles apart for the BB200 incident that happily wasn't as serious.

Taylor wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 2:45 pm .....not a million miles apart for the BB200 incident that happily wasn't as serious.

What was that?