When Driving through the canyon, SHARE THE ROAD with bicyclists!

Hello all,
Just a quick little note to remind you of the importance of driving safely, especially through the canyon.

On Saturday morning, I was coming down Laguna Canyon Road (towards Laguna Beach) at 60 MPH (the part by the Nix Center that becomes the 133, where the speed limit is 65). A bunch of bicyclists were riding in the bike lanes, enjoying the beauty of the canyon as much as I was. As I was approaching the 73 toll road ramps/bridges, I saw a bicyclist on the ground, lying on his back, with his legs in the right hand lane, his upper body in the bike lane. I immediately hit the brakes, put my emergency flashers on and pulled over, went over to help, called 911, etc. It turned out that two bicyclists were down, the second being a woman lying on the dirt by the side of the road, with her bicycle still between her legs, and bleeding from the knee. The first bicyclist, a man in his late forties, was bleeding from the head (luckily he was wearing a helmet!)...

Other bicyclists coming up and down the road came over to help, yet it was amazing to see how many cars passed us by before another auto driver decided to pull over and ask if we needed assistance.

While it remains unclear what really caused the accident, scenes like these remind me of how quickly lives can be taken away, and of how important it is for us to SHARE THE ROAD while driving through the canyon, to DRIVE SAFELY, and to RESPECT THE SPEED LIMITS! All too often, there are people going 80-85-90 MPH on this road!!!! Even though there are now two lanes per direction, that doesn't mean Laguna Canyon Road has become a race course!!!

Also, if you are a bicyclist, might I recommend not blaring your ipod music in your ears while on the road. I did notice that the man down on the ground still had his iPod earphones in his ears - was he attempting to pass the other hurt bicyclist? Was she trying to pass him and he didn't hear her? Did a car hit them both and he wasn't aware of the cars because he was into his music? Of course, my hypotheses can be way off, and I am not going to try to guess the real cause of the accident... but it is something to think about, at least.

And even if your iPod music isn't distracting you from the road or taking away from the appreciation of nature, isn't it often much more enjoyable to listen to the sounds of the canyon, to take a full break from your daily grind, leaving all the known factors at home and taking a plunge into an environment that always has something more to offer, everyday that you go out and connect with it?

Just a thought. Be careful out there.