1,000 in memorial ride for Kristy Gough and Matt Peterson

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Photo by SWoo

Some 1,000 bicycle riders joined the long procession on Saturday through Los Altos and Cupertino to the site where cyclists Matt Peterson and Kristy Gough were killed last Sunday.

Many are seen here at the memorial site on Stevens Canyon Road near where a Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputy swerved over the double-yellow line and struck Peterson and Gough head-on.

Although there's usually lots of joking and joshing when this many cyclists get together, news media reported a somber mood when the cyclists gathered at Foothill College for the 9-mile ride up to the memorial.

Photos of Gough and Peterson celebrating on podiums at recent bike races were placed at the memorial, and many cyclists left flowers, spare tubes and other mementos. Kristy's mother, Karen Sue Clarkson, rode one of her daughter's bicycles to the site.

Read more about the memorial at the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Jose Mercury News. Also see photos at flickr.com from Swoo, Garrett Lau, and ccorlew.

Interview

Meanwhile, the father of deputy who drove into the cyclists was interviewed by the San Jose Mercury News. Thomas Council, 61, also works at the Santa Clara Sheriff's Department.

He said his son James had worked a 12-1/2 hour shift on Saturday and was working another one on Sunday. The younger Council had told witnesses that he must have dozed off, but he has yet to tell that story — or give any statement — to the CHP which is investigating the crash.

The father says he knows how the families of the fallen cyclists feel. His 10-year-old daughter was struck and killed by a car 24 years ago.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2008/03/16/1000-in-memorial-ride-for-kristy-gough-and-matt-peterson/

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