Sad news today from the TransAmerica Bicycle Route.
A 79-year-old cyclist from Bellevue, Washington, died in Virginia on Thursday just a few days into a coast-to-coast group bicycle tour.
The man, James Stocker, was fulfilling a life-long dream to ride his bicycle cross country, according to his granddaughter.
[Services are scheduled at 1 p.m. June 11 at Westminster Chapel in Bellevue, WA.]
Police are investigating, but don't believe a motor vehicle was involved in the crash. Witnesses attended to him at the scene, and EMTs performed CPR before he was transported to the University of Virginia Medical Center.
The cyclist crashed on a downhill section in the 3900 block of Rolling Road in Albemarle County (locater map) shortly before 11 a.m. A passerby saw him at the side of the road and dialed 9-1-1. The location is south of Charlottesville.
Police said the bicyclist was part of an Adventure Cycling Association tour group that was traveling from Yorktown to Oregon. According to the calendar, the van-supported bike tour would have met up for the ride last Saturday.
Association director Jim Sayer was quoted at The Daily Progress: “We're deeply saddened by what happened.”
He also wrote at the Adventure Cycling page on Facebook:
touch with Jim's family and they have strongly encouraged the group to
keep going (they are) and his son told me about how important cycling
has been to Jim. They are hoping to meet the TransAm group in Florence,
OR later this summer to help close the loop.“
The crash scene is on a well-established part of the Trans-America Bicycle Route and used by thousands of bicycle travelers every year.
The man's home is not far from mine in Bellevue. I can't help but wonder if I had seen him out on the road in recent years. May he rest in peace and my condolences to his friends and family.
The Sunset Hills Funeral Home in Bellevue is in charge of arrangements.
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