Re: Instability and Speed Wobble--are deadly: Bikefanclub.com

September 15, 2004

John Adams of Lake Oswego describes how Cycle Oregon rider Karen Holmes of West Linn was losing control before riding off the road. Holmes died in the crash Tuesday.

JACKSONVILLE â€” A West Linn woman died Tuesday when she lost control of her bicycle on a twisting mountain road near Williams, marring Cycle Oregonâ€™s swing through Jackson and Josephine counties.

Karen Holmes, 60, was the first person to die from an accident in Cycle Oregonâ€™s 17-year history.

Holmes was three or four miles into a long descent down Holcomb Peak, in Josephine County, on the way to Williams, where riders were scheduled to stop for lunch on their way to Jacksonville, their destination for Tuesday night.

"It happened real fast," said John Adams of Lake Oswego, who had stopped to check his brakes just before the accident occurred. He happened to look up and saw Holmes coming downhill fast.

"She was really movinâ€™," Adams said, "and her front tire was wobbling like crazy. She was totally out of control and clearly panicked."

Adams said Holmes shouted something unintelligible that made him think she was in trouble as she hurtled toward a sharp curve in the road.

"The road turned left," he said, "and she just went right over the side.

Adams said the road was surfaced with a mixture of rock chips and oil, a mixture known as "chip seal," thatâ€™s commonly used on rural roads.

"Iâ€™ve been on worse (roads)," he said. "It was not wet, not slippy, but very steep."

Nicholas announced Holmesâ€™ death to riders who had gathered at the Britt Grounds for the nightly entertainment that is one of the features of the tour.

Nicholas said in an interview it was still too early to know why Holmes lost control of her bike. All cyclists had their brakes checked by mechanics at the top of the descent.

Adams, who saw the accident, said the descent was so steep that some ridersâ€™ tires blew out from heat generated by friction from their brakes. Hearing so many tires pop prompted him to stop and check his own brakes just before Holmes barreled past him out of control.

Adams said he initially thought Holmes had blown a tire, too, because her front wheel was wobbling badly, but he later saw her bike in camp at Jacksonville and the front tire was not flat.

For brakes to fail completely on a bike would be rare, said Brian Combs of Portland, who is following the tour selling equipment for Bike Gallery, a Portland-based bicycle store.

Combs did not ride the course, but said friends who did told him they were riding their brakes "80 to 90 percent of the time."

You can find this story online at:
http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2004/0915/local/stories/01local.htm

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