Please find below a statement written Michael Heilbronn - sent to me by his son Tovi - about the weekly Donut Rides in Toronto.
From Wikipedia:
The tour was first organized in 1976 as the team ride of the Scarborough Cycling Club, affiliated with a bike store in Scarborough, two of the primary organizers being Roger Keiley and Barry Hastings. As the ride grew in popularity it moved to a new starting point more centralized in Toronto, although still somewhat east of the core. It remained associated with a bike store for some time, and was insured by the Ontario Cycling Association. A serious accident in the 1990s led to the entire group being sued, and since then the ride is completely unofficial.
Sad to say it's not the first time I have heard of crashes on this ride. I know there are many roadies who are very passionate about this ride. I know many people who have been on this touring ride for years. I have never tried it. Seemed too dangerous. Sadly the safety issues of this ride go beyond speed, inexperience or cars. Sometimes we are our own worst enemies.
HOW MANY CYCLING VICTIMS WILL IT TAKE?
Nothing prepared me for this. During fifty years of cycling, I feared danger from motor vehicles, but never from another cyclist. I was wrong.
It happened this Labour Day, Monday September 2nd, a perfect cycling day. I headed out from my home in the Bathurst and Lawrence neighborhood of the city about 8:30 a.m. and proceeded along a 100 kilometer route I regularly cycle: north on Keele Street, east along 17th Sideroad, south on Dufferin Street, east again on 15th Sideroad and through a residential area. I arrived at my rest location, a coffee shop / deli at the intersection of Yonge Street and King Road.
After enjoying a short rest and energy-replenishing snacks, I prepared myself to continue my ride. Just then, the Toronto Donut Ride also stopped here for their rest. The Donut Ride is an informal road cycling group, who ride every Saturday, Sunday and public holiday. A typical summer ride includes over 100 cyclists. The ride is well known for being fast paced, often reaching speeds of 50 km/h.
Here I met my son, who is known in the race cycling community, and was riding with this group as he occasionally does. We chatted briefly and arranged that I would proceed on my own and when the group caught up with me, he would leave the Donut Ride and join me so we could cycle together.
I did head off alone, cycled north on Yonge, east on Bloomington Road and south on Leslie Street. I was only a short distance south of Bloomington on Leslie when small groups of two or three cyclists from the Donut Ride zoomed by. I knew that the peloton would be passing me at any moment and therefore kept to the extreme right of the road. My son spotted me and left the peloton to join me as we had planned. I never considered myself in danger and fully expected the Donut Ride to pass me safely and respectfully. I was wrong. Suddenly one rider in the pack zoomed by too closely and overlapped my front wheel causing me to crash. And he just kept going.
After I crashed, some riders in the group stopped. My son rushed to my side thoroughly distraught. Some cyclists with cell phones called ‘911’. The York Regional Police and the EMS Ambulance quickly arrived on the scene. The paramedics immediately established that I had a concussion since I could not remember my name, my address, or where I was. They strapped me to a special board, as a precaution for possible neck and/or spinal injuries, and rushed me to York Central Hospital for emergency medical treatment.
As a result of the crash, I suffered physical and psychological traumas including: a concussion, a broken collar-bone fractured in 4 places, four broken ribs, and deep lacerations to my leg and shoulder. My helmet saved me from possible head injuries and brain damage.
I have suffered grievously for the past three months: I underwent orthopedic surgery to repair my collar-bone; I required the daily visit of a wound-care nurse to tend to my leg and shoulder lacerations; and, now I undergo extensive physiotherapy with no assurance of regaining full functionality in my left arm. In addition, as an independent consultant, I have suffered financially, being unable to earn any income for three months.
All my pain, suffering, and financial distress were caused that morning by a cyclist in the Donut Ride. Neither that cyclist nor anyone else in that group has contacted me to express an apology, interest in my recovery, or compassion for a fellow cyclist.
I have always considered Toronto’s cycling community a real community, caring for and supporting each other. But they utterly failed me. We cyclists must ask ourselves, “Is there really a cycling community?”
Almost daily we read about confrontations between cyclists and motorists. But who is paying attention to the injuries cyclists cause other cyclists? It is time for the Donut Ride specifically and the greater cycling community to reflect on our compliance with the rules of the road, our courtesy, respect and concern for the safety of our fellow riders….. ……before there are more victims.
Michael Heilbronn
Comments
amnon (not verified)
Very sorry to hear of your
Sat, 11/29/2008 - 08:54Very sorry to hear of your incident and i hope your healing is quick and uneventful. An assault happened to me just over a year ago by a member of TBN during one of their group rides, where I was run off the road and crashed. I had a broken collar bone, and likely a concussion as well. The perpatrator was eventually charged by police, yet over a year later, apparently continues to ride with TBN. No one from the group called me with concern about my state after the incident, but they were apparently concerned about getting sued. So much for "Toronto's Friendliest Cycling Club". Be careful out there all my fellow cyclist.
hamish (not verified)
yup, this is bad...
Sat, 11/29/2008 - 11:03This is a set of problems, and starting with Tovi's dad, Michael having to deal with the after-effects. Hope there's faster recovery, and if I get a winning lotto ticket sometime, I'll add you to the list of deserving folks...
Absolutely there are two-wheeled terrorists of traffic around. And it's really really hard to move us all towards better biking conditions when there are such passholes around who do run high risks with other people's well-being. Idjit cyclists can harm people: there was the woman a decade? ago killed at Bloor near Clinton; there was a CBC producer a Joan maybe Masters? was the last name who was really harmed by a sidewalk cyclist in Montreal I believe, and a good senior friend was thwacked by a cyclist and had steel pins in his skull as an end-result.
This is why I sometimes don't go to the Critical Mass eg. last night .
So it's not quite enough to say ride safe, but ride respectful too, of others, and if you don't want to respect the laws of physics, do it just with yourself or others who also are of a like "mind'"
And we may have bad cycling on Monday eh?
Cpt_Sunshine
I care
Sat, 11/29/2008 - 13:27I've ridden the Donut Ride many times, and I believe it's name is a misnomer. It should be called the Donut Race, because that is the mentality of the pack. No cooperation, if you want to get to the front you have to fight for it and this mentality makes the ride dangerous. Orders of magnitude more dangerous then any other group ride. Amplified by the fact that a least 30% of the people on it don't have the skills to be there. All that behind said, if you race in Ontario the Donut ride is the best way to practice you pack riding skills.
The tragedy of this story is that Micheal did not chose to be there. If he was part of the group, I think he would have to accept the kind of accent that happened. Was the guy passing him being an ass? Hells yes, but he was being a "racing" ass. The move he pulled was dangerous, but it wasn't vindictive.
He didn't write it explicitly, but I would bet the group over taking him went down like this: The front riders in the pack probably have him lots of room knowing that he was not part of the group. It wasn't until the swell from the middle portion of the pack got to him that he started to feel squeezed of the road.
Now for some perspective from a rider in the middle of that pack: I have no idea whats going on 5 bike lengths in front of me. 80% of my concentration is going to the wheel directly in front of me, ironically so I don't overlap wheels and crash. If the group is overtaking another cyclist, I'm probably not going to know. If a cyclist is moving rapidly towards the back of group, I'd probably assumed they cracked and do exactly the same thing this "ass" did. Get around him as fast as possible.
So thats how I see this, an accident. A misunderstanding that Micheal was part of the donut ride, when it fact the donut ride was simply overtaking him. Was the accident preventable? Yes. Every group ride has calls and hand signals to help riders in the back of the group avoid potholes, so their should defiantly be some kind of signal for the overtaking of a lone cyclist.
But to take this accident, and use it to question is there "really a cycling community" is ridiculous. The caring for other cyclist by other cyclists is evident in this very story: "some riders in the group stopped". What is expected? All 100 cyclists to stop? That would not be helpful. What about the half dozen complete strangers that stopped, dialed 911, and made sure Micheal was alright? Isn't that the very definition of community?
I really feel sorry of Micheal, truly. His anger that nobody from the donut ride has expressed concern for his recovery is understandable, but misplaced. The ride is "unorganized" and has no official spokesperson, so I'm not sure who he would expect a apology to come from, except from the cyclist who caused the accident. It may sound ridiculous, but it is entirely possible that the cyclist didn't even know he caused an accident.
Although it is impossible for me to do in any official manner, I would extend an invitation to him to come to the start of the donut ride and tell his story so things can change, because nobody should have to go through what he did. There should be a very clear and designated signal for overtaking a lone cyclist.
To take this tragedy and use it to claim that other cyclists, The donut ride in particular (myself included as being part of the donut ride), don't care is insulting. Accidents happen, and the true strength of a community is to insure that preventable accidents don't happen again.
dash (not verified)
re cpt sunshine
Tue, 01/06/2009 - 14:03The dude who hit him no doubt felt it. He should have left the pack and returned to the scene as soon as was safe. This is no different than a motorist leaving the scene of a crash. It's inhumane.
George (not verified)
Are there no riders who can
Sun, 11/30/2008 - 23:31Are there no riders who can identify the person who caused this?
effin wright (not verified)
Tour de green belt a bunch of pumped up motorists too
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 10:19I went to the Tour de green belt ride and noticed that everyone seemed to have shown up in their cars. There too there was a crazy pumped up bunch out front.
No wonder our bike tours are now getting unsafe too, riders are all motorists wound up already from the highway drive getting there.
Phil (not verified)
Riding a 'bike' doesn't make you a good person
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 20:32Too often I see cyclists that are guilty of the same dangerous manouvering on the road that we point are gloved fingers at cars for. Running an amber is a dangerous idea if you're in a car or a bicycle. Both have the potential for fatalities.
I'm really sick of cyclist elitism.
My condolences to this injured man; I hope you make a quick, full recovery.
Sporty Fast (not verified)
I'll cut you.
Sun, 12/14/2008 - 12:56Tovi's Dad,
The Toronto cycling community you seek is transportation, utility and development based. Certainly recreational riders are a part of this too, but those who see cycling strictly within the sport, testosterone & challenge are the least integrated to still be considered a part of a community. Some of these see cycling as a toy akin to a football and would consider riding on the road a combative venture, them vs anything else on the road. In all likelihood the person who struck you and kept riding is ashamed, but has rationalized that the accident was your fault for riding on the same road as themselves since the street is to them a fearful combat zone you took a risk and lost. This fear based motivation is common in strictly recreational cyclists and something the most of the community seeks to overcome.
That no rider steps forward is telling and shameful. I would point my finger squarely at them, friend or not, and any friend of mine would understand that. A number of donut riders are perfectly aware of who did what and when, these person's too should be ashamed, their behaviour is that of small children fearful of the consequences of their actions, enough to do something wrong to protect their thoughtless, fearful buddy. Keeping your mouth shut in this circumstance is wrong, cowardly and disgraceful. I've only ridden the Donut a half dozen times, I won't again.
I challenge the regular riders that were present to do the right thing, if you can't do this then why should the rest of the Toronto cycling community continue to stand side by side with you defending your right to the road? Why, when you perform as a street racer, illegal, dangerous and unwilling to accept responsibility? We put those young men in jail when they race on the city streets, we take their cars. You deserve the same in this instance, whoever you are.
I'm a lycra-clad, experienced racer & commuter cycling professional. I would stand with those who seek to ban competitive-styled practice rides from provincial roads & highways if this is what we can expect. Simply taking responsibility is very little for the rest of us to ask from you.
If this incident can colour my opinion based on the behaviour of those involved, to the point I'd restrict your "right" to hold street races in the guise of training/practice, imagine how easy it would be for ME to convince my councillor or MP?
I'd do it too.
Step correct or step off, bitches. That's how freedom rolls. This stopped being an accident when you ran away. That goes to all donut riders.
george (not verified)
Some care
Tue, 12/16/2008 - 20:28Michael sorry to hear of your injuries. I wish you a quick and speedy recovery.
I have also ridden in the donut ride, and can honestly say, it is every man, women, and child for him or herself. However amongst this group of macho men and women there are individuals that care for others within the cycling community as well as care for the community as a hole. Keep in mind many riders proudly wear clothing from many charity rides include the Ride for Karen. However it only takes a few to tarnish the reputation of the entire group.
Please don't paint us all with the same brush. Wishing you well and enjoy the holiday season
Lucy (not verified)
Decent Thing!
Wed, 12/17/2008 - 17:11It's a shame that the person responsible refuses to come forward and claim responsibility. It would after all be the decent thing to do.
Michael, I hope that you recover from your injuries quickly.
God bless.
Cynthia (not verified)
A Real Coward!!
Thu, 12/18/2008 - 08:53Michael, I heard of your accident from a mutual friend and was in total shock that someone - a human being - could do something like that, walk away and continues to run!!! Accidents do happen - and this was probably an accident, but to NOT stop and take responsibility shows this person as a COWARD!! A guilty conscience needs no accusers and that's what this person will live with for life - a guilty conscience! What goes around comes around!
Michael, I wish you a full recovery. The very best to you and your family.
God bless!