Call me a certified wimp if you like, but I don't consider any car/bike crash to be normal. I do not participate in races that are not reasonably closed to traffic. I have not been to Panama City, but from what I read about race conditions, I would not do that race on a bet.

I do race IM Lake Placid every year, in large part because I feel safe there. One lane of traffic is closed, most of the roads have decent shoulders, and the drivers are very used to cyclists so that all but the worst tourists usually give you a break. I even go up there from Florida to train in large measure because I feel safe there.

I moved to cycling from running because I don't get injured. I made the move to triathlon because I could switch among disciplines to manage what injures I do get.

As I read this I can see that I am a certified wimp. No matter. The safe courses will get my dollars.

Color me yellow in Florida,

The second tri I ever did was a sprint in PC (one of the Emerald Coast Series races). I noticed, even with my lack of experience, that the bike course was a little precarious. It was an 18 mile out and back course, and on the way back, you had to pass by quite a few of the cheap motels that litter the PC beachfront. Lots of these motels have parking right on the main strip, and cars have to back out when leaving the motel. It didn't take me long to realize that the drivers weren't looking for cyclists when they started backing out, and you always had to be on your toes when passing these hotels. No lanes were closed to traffic, and there was lots of traffic. Police manned the intersections and kept things under control there, but people leaving those hotels added an element of danger. Interestingly, one lane of the road on the run course was closed to traffic for the runners, but not on the bike course. My opinion of PC is cycling there can be quite tricky, and you must always be on the lookout for autos. Of course you should do this anyway, but when in an area like PC (lots of tourists who aren't always bike friendly) it becomes even more important.

I would still race in PC, but I would be very, very careful.

RP

Art, I'll join your club. We've got a local race that I will not attend, and will no longer volunteer for because it is not safe. Can you imagine cyclists leaving-returning, runners leaving-returning, cars entering-exiting, all in the same location. It's a pool swim so you've got the field spread out for hrs all over the course that travels some of the busiest 4 lane roads in the area. Yet 300-400 people do it.

I did the GCT this year, and from what I heard (I was not an eyewitness to either), at least one (if not both) of the car/bike crashes were cyclists crashing into cars as opposed to cars crashing into cyclists. Not to downplay the seriousness of these events, but I just didn't slowtwitch readers to picture a bunch of Suburbans and Excursions playing helmet hockey with triathletes.

In one case, the car slowed (for bike traffic) and a cyclist ("Bike A") on the tail of the car swerved and clipped the front tire of another cyclist ("Bike B"). The cyclist on Bike B went over his handlebars and tried to French kiss the car's bumper. OUCH! In the other case, the cyclist was making a 90 degree turn at an intersection controlled by police. A motorist tried to sneak through the intersection, saw the cyclist and stopped, but not quickly enough. The cyclist apparently clipped the bumper and tumbled pretty hard.

In both circumstances the cyclists walked away.

A teammate of mine was an eyewitness to the one by the bridge and called 911. Even though the athlete was walking he couln't breath and chipped his elbow and was taken to the hospital. What I was asking was whether or not these kind of traffic problems are endemic to other IM venues or is Panama City more prone to them, whether or not the athletes walk away or not. In other words, can you expect two or more car - bike incidents in every IM?

Bob Sigerson