Bicyclist's screams ignored

indpls/star ^ | 051602

[InvisibleChurch]

Bicyclist's screams ignored

SANDPOINT, Idaho -- A bicyclist who fell off a pedestrian bridge clung to its girder and yelled for five hours before he was rescued -- ignored by two boys who walked away laughing, police said.

Christopher Blair apparently tipped over a guardrail on an unlit bridge over Lake Pend Oreille at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday.

The cyclist managed to scramble to safety on the bridge's concrete piling, and then climbed onto support beams 12 feet above water, where he began to scream for help.

"He said that he had been yelling for help all night and had even been located by two juvenile boys, but they would not help him," Sheriff's Deputy Ben Sterling said in a report filed Tuesday.

A nearby resident finally heard Blair's screams at 2:20 a.m. Sunday. A search by flashlight found Blair perched on the beams, suffering from early signs of hypothermia.

"I could see that he was trembling, he was wet, and he had a very red nose," Sterling said.

Rescuers lowered Blair by basket into a rescue raft and took him to Bonner General Hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries and released.

not for commercial use

[Barbie Doll]

Well, BarbieDoll is my handle, how I wish I did look like her, and my DH looked like Ken... LMAO.... If you want some pretty inconsiderate bicyclists, come to L.A. Some of them ride against traffic, on the sidewalks, they pop up anywhere around you. You need eyes in back of your head. They have no regard for the law.

[Lazamataz]

Well, Bill, you have to admit the cyclists are becoming much more militant lately. I saw a velociped of them (is that the word for a group of bicyclists?) recently, and they were going merry-as-you-please right down the middle of a VERY busy highway, and when anyone honked at their road-hogging style, they would grant the person a peek at the National Bird.

I mean, this is just rude, inexcusible behavior. They are counting on people not to get pissed and just smack 'em off the road. There were sidewalks there, they were just being pr**ks.

[metesky]

I refuse to take sides in the car vs bike argument, BD, but you've been here long enough to know that any bragging about a female being "in pretty good shape" requires pictures.

;O)

[Liberal Classic]

LOL you just gave me a Coke-through-the-nose moment. In my cube at work it's not like I can hide it, either. I have some explaining to do...

[crystalk]

poor attempt at humor; this is way up north. those waters are icy, a swimmer in May would die of hypothermia very quickly. and the lake large; in darkness, how could one tell which way to swim? He did what was wise, and is alive to tell the tale.

If the two "boys" were seven, big deal. If they were 17, they are as guilty as adults for refusal to help or send help...

[Barbie Doll]

BTW, I love riding bikes. I used to ride mine on the strand at the beach, from Santa Monica to Torrance. Pretty good workout on a fantastic day. But you have to be considerate of other bicyclists and rollerbladers, skateboarders, peds., etc... I NEVER ride my bike on ANY streets. I saw a woman on the road who fell from her 10 speed in Palos Verdes back in the 80's and the road was rough and gravely. She had no helmet or protective wear, just t-shirt and shorts. She was obvious in a lot of pain when the paramedics arrived. I heard her screaming. I came upon her AFTER the mishap and other people were helping her.

[Billthedrill]

Well, I've seen it from both sides, being a recovering cyclist myself...most of them are OK but the obnoxious few can get really obnoxious. We have a group that likes to ride en masse down busy streets (a pun - they call themselves "Critical Mass,"), as self-righteous a gaggle of snots as you could imagine, chanting "we're not stopping traffic, we ARE traffic!" Which is cool until they decide they're pedestrians too when convenient and bowl over the real pedestrians on the sidewalk...

[Barbie Doll]

Off topic here, but I wonder what time it was at night when the two boys were talking past the biker and ignored him...

[justshutupandtakeit]

Well that was quite a leap of logic. Do you pole vault as well. Who in their right mind would mess up the undercarriage of his car running over a bicyclist? A bicycle would be bad enough but a bicyclist yuke.

[galt-jw]

geez, the poor slob had an accident, do what you would like someone to do for you and give him a hand. talk about striking a nerve...

[meyer]

Well, Bill, you have to admit the cyclists are becoming much more militant lately. I saw a velociped of them (is that the word for a group of bicyclists?) recently, and they were going merry-as-you-please right down the middle of a VERY busy highway, and when anyone honked at their road-hogging style, they would grant the person a peek at the National Bird.

I mean, this is just rude, inexcusible behavior. They are counting on people not to get pissed and just smack 'em off the road. There were sidewalks there, they were just being pr**ks.

I think that's exactly the image that people get when they talk about "rude" cyclists. I don't think that this represents a majority of cyclists by any stretch of the imagination, but the ones that pull this crap are pretty much making it bad for the rest of the riders. They are essentially planting a solid chip on the shoulder of motorists when they act in a militant fashion.

I don't do much riding any more, but I used to get around quite a bit by bicycle. There's certainly a few rude motorists around, but the biggest hazard was simply drivers that weren't paying attention and didn't see you. I can't count the number of times that I was passed by a car that immediately turned right in front of me. I think that they just didn't know I was there. They figured they were past me and that they could turn safely.

[Heyworth]

Okay, first off, it's illegal to ride bikes on the sidewalk. Look it up. Second, the law also states that bicycles have a right to the road. Getting far enough over to the right to let cars pass is a courtesy, but bicyclists are not obliged to do it. They are permitted to take their lane. Again, look it up.

[GSWarrior]

We have critical mass here in San Francisco. They aren't cyclists....they are the green, Al Gore, earth firster-types who are more anti-automobile than pro-biking.

[Billthedrill]

Yep, in Seattle too, that's a pretty fair working description of the folks I mean...

But, as I said, cyclists aren't all like that, or at least I wasn't. I shall refrain from recalling a certain incident involving an agressive dog and a squirt gun full of ammonia cleaner...

[Veggie Todd]

this *bimbo* is in pretty good shape more than you think

Pictures Please!!

[Barbie Doll]

;o)

[Barbie Doll]

LOL...

[Belial]

Getting far enough over to the right to let cars pass is a courtesy, but bicyclists are not obliged to do it.

Most drivers have no idea this is the law, and honk madly when you take the right-center of a lane to avoid car doors.

These tubs of lard probably think bicyclists kill hundreds of SUV drivers every year too.

[68 grunt]

If Barbie were life-size, her measurements would be 39-23-33. She would stand seven feet, two inches tall.

[Barbie Doll]

Like I said, it's just a handle name... ROTFLMAO...