Ride in Peace, Edgar Lim
If anything in this world is predicable, it is the unpredictability of life.
Yesterday the family of Edgar Lim let the community know that he had passed away from injuries sustained following, what all accounts suggest, was an especially horrific crash a month ago during the Saturday Montrose Ride.
My guess, because I didn't know Edgar, is that he was like all of us, out there not for glory though he, as we sometimes do, may have found it from time to time, but because he appreciated the challenge of competition, appreciated the camaraderie of the group.
I, and I am sure many others, are hesitant to politicize the situation when things like this happen, as it seems to detract from, or be insensitive to, the very personal loss being felt my many right now. Politicians have given politics a bad name, but without discourse, especially when it leads to action, nothing of a large-scale nature would get done in todays world, and infrastructure is most certainly large scale. Our paved roads are widely and rapidly deteriorating, a fact that is exacerbated by the, often, excessive size and weight of todays motor vehicles. It has long been accepted that motor vehicle fees and taxes fall far short of the annual cost of maintaining roads and other related infrastructure, that drivers (a group that would include myself and probably you) do not pay a true cost relative to the damage being done by our vehicles.
When a government leader proposes increases in fees and taxes to bring some order to the imbalance, there is a great outcry from others about the, perceived, unfairness of it all. Ironic that the faction regularly touting fiscal responsibility is anything but fiscally responsible when it comes paying for roads and infrastructure.
I suspect that most of us have suffered in some way due to crumbling pavement. With luck maybe it was only a flat; for others, like me, maybe you hit the deck after catching a wheel in a crack or seam or, like Mr. Lim, a pothole.
There was a time when bicyclists, for reasons of safety as much as comfort, led the way in the battle to improve road conditions. These days most advocacy is directed toward the concerns of distracted driving, speeding, and poor design. While continuing to focus on those more directly dangerous concerns we should not overlook the perils of inadequate maintenance. Nothing is worth the loss of a life, but when it happens we should strive to give meaning to the loss, strive to prevent another.
My condolences to everyone who knew Edgar Lim.
photo from Edgar Lim's Facebook page
Yesterday the family of Edgar Lim let the community know that he had passed away from injuries sustained following, what all accounts suggest, was an especially horrific crash a month ago during the Saturday Montrose Ride.
My guess, because I didn't know Edgar, is that he was like all of us, out there not for glory though he, as we sometimes do, may have found it from time to time, but because he appreciated the challenge of competition, appreciated the camaraderie of the group.
I, and I am sure many others, are hesitant to politicize the situation when things like this happen, as it seems to detract from, or be insensitive to, the very personal loss being felt my many right now. Politicians have given politics a bad name, but without discourse, especially when it leads to action, nothing of a large-scale nature would get done in todays world, and infrastructure is most certainly large scale. Our paved roads are widely and rapidly deteriorating, a fact that is exacerbated by the, often, excessive size and weight of todays motor vehicles. It has long been accepted that motor vehicle fees and taxes fall far short of the annual cost of maintaining roads and other related infrastructure, that drivers (a group that would include myself and probably you) do not pay a true cost relative to the damage being done by our vehicles.
When a government leader proposes increases in fees and taxes to bring some order to the imbalance, there is a great outcry from others about the, perceived, unfairness of it all. Ironic that the faction regularly touting fiscal responsibility is anything but fiscally responsible when it comes paying for roads and infrastructure.
I suspect that most of us have suffered in some way due to crumbling pavement. With luck maybe it was only a flat; for others, like me, maybe you hit the deck after catching a wheel in a crack or seam or, like Mr. Lim, a pothole.
There was a time when bicyclists, for reasons of safety as much as comfort, led the way in the battle to improve road conditions. These days most advocacy is directed toward the concerns of distracted driving, speeding, and poor design. While continuing to focus on those more directly dangerous concerns we should not overlook the perils of inadequate maintenance. Nothing is worth the loss of a life, but when it happens we should strive to give meaning to the loss, strive to prevent another.
My condolences to everyone who knew Edgar Lim.
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