As ride leader for North County Cycle Club, I was involved in one incident and had reports of two others of cyclists being intimidated by a CHP volunteer patrol car last Saturday afternoon in North County. The incidents I know about are:

* Hwy 76 near N Valley Center Rd 12:00PM - CHP volunteer used loudspeaker, "Move to the right and ride single file." He then passed very closely. Robert Abrahams, a highly experienced NCCC rider rode off the road at 33 mph, fell, and was injured.

* Cole Grade Rd 1:00 PM - Single NCCC rider on shoulder was passed within arm's reach by unknown patrol car at full speed. No other traffic. After passing closely, the patrol car moved back to the middle of the driving lane.

* Valley Center Rd & Lake Wohlfrd Rd, afternoon - A CHP volunteer barked at a group of 4 Celo riders to get out of the way. They were riding single file to the right.

Do you know of any other incidents that day? Please send me contact information of those involved. I am sending a concern to Oceanside CHP.

Jeff Gross
jeff@fullcommitment.com

Why Oceanside?  Is that not Valley Center?

Very observant, Judy. I was told there was a firefighter fundraiser on Palomar Mtn that day, with safety personell from other areas visiting.

I have been bothered.. stopped going up Rincon before.  This is very concerning.  Especially if Volunteers are allowed free reign to buzz and injur cyclists.  I think the Police Department responsible should be made aware in writing because they may want to avoid a law suit.  San Diego police have been being arrested for wrong doing and I think they may be opened to being more careful.

We may want to get the press involved.

Judy

Incident Report sent to Capt Deb Schroder, Oceanside CHP

Robert Abraham crashed his bike on the North County Cycle Club (NCCC) ride Saturday
June 4, 2011 at noon. A volunteer CHP Jerry Scholetter?s actions contributed to the
crash.

I am Jeff Gross, ride leader for the NCCC. I was leading a club ride of 15 bicyclists from
San Marcos to Palomar Mountain and back. I am certified by the League of American
Bicyclists as a cycling instructor, and have been certified by the US Cycling Federation
as a Category 3 bicycling coach. I was riding with Robert Abrahams, a highly
experienced cyclist who rides 8,000 miles a year and is a member of NCCC and San
Diego Randonneurs.

We were heading SW on CA-76, about 1.6 miles NW of the intersection of CA-76 and
Valley Center Rd S-6 (0.3 miles NW of Rincon Ranch Rd). Weather was clear, sunny,
dry. It was Noon on Sat June 4, 2011. The road is two-lane, with a shoulder that varied
from 6 inches to a foot wide on the downhill side, and about a car width wide on the
uphill side. We had just rounded a curve and the road was straight for a quarter mile
before the next curve. The shoulder ends in dirt and scrub brush with no curb. We were
both on road bikes, mine a 2009 Cyfac, and Robert?s a vintage Viner.

Robert was a foot from the white shoulder line, and I was about 20 feet behind him. I was
in the middle of the right lane. The road is sloped downhill steeply at 8%, and we were
braking frequently to maintain around 35 mph. I like climbing, but descents scare me.
A volunteer CHP car came up behind us and said on his loudspeaker, ?Move to the right
and ride single file.? It was piercingly loud and startled me. Robert reported later to me
that he had noted the patrol car passing us the other direction shortly before the incident,
and initially thought the loudspeaker was a siren, but halfway through the talk
distinguished it as a verbal direction that he could not understand clearly.

I looked back in my rear-view mirror and saw the patrol car about two car lengths back
and approaching. Then Robert looked back and his bike swerved. He looked back ahead
and tried to regain control. I was afraid to brake for fear that the closely following patrol
car would not react in time and would run me over. I stayed straight in the center of the
lane. Robert?s bike swerved right and went off the pavement into the dirt as the patrol car
began to pass us. Robert fell on the shoulder and with his feet still attached to the pedals,
his bike spun out into the road. I saw about 2 1/2 feet clearance between Robert?s wheel
and the tire of the passing patrol car. Without swerving, I rode through the gap. I stopped
at the side of the road about 40 feet from Robert. The patrol car continued down the road
and around the next curve. I walked back to where Robert was sitting, and we began
assessing his wounds. Blood was beginning to drip.

The patrol car returned from down the road about a minute later, and stopped on the
uphill shoulder. The officer offered to call an aid car. Robert said he was not sure -
maybe. Robert took several minutes to check himself before getting up. He had bloody
road rash cuts on his knee and left shoulder. His left hip was very painful to the touch.
His shirt and shorts were shredded. His bike had received a dent to the top tube and the
handlebars were askew. Robert repeatedly asked if I thought he should have an aid car
called.

We did not do a thorough inspection of Robert?s body or bike, because another member
of the bike club, Chip Robertson, showed up in his truck and gave Robert a ride home.
Robert spoke to the officer. Robert asked the officer if he had a card or something with
his name on it. The officer patted his pockets and shrugged. Robert said he though it
might be useful to have some identifying information from the officer because he was a
witness. The officer said, ?You can call the CHP office. I am a volunteer with the
Oceanside CHP.? The officer then proceeded to lecture about how bikes should not be so
far out in the road, saying he did not mean Robert, he meant me. He did not give his
name. Robert later reported to me that he noted the officer?s name on his shirt was Jerry
Scholetter. Robert asked for some water to clean his wounds, and the officer provided
him with a bottled water.

Robert took a ride home with Chip. In a later text, he reported to me that he was sore but
thought he should be ok.

In a related incident, about an hour later that same day, another cyclist in my ride, Rose
VanDuzer, was also intimidated by a patrol car. Rose was headed South on Couser
Canyon Rd, riding on the shoulder of the road, that is, to the right of the white shoulder
line. Rose reported to me that a patrol car passed her at full highway speed within two
feet. Rose said, ?I was so scared. I could have reached out and touched the car.? She said
her bike was knocked sideways by the passing wind gust of the car, although she did not
fall. Immediately after passing her, Rose said the car moved back left to the center of the
lane, and she noted that it was a patrol car.

I feel that the officer?s aggressive approach and confrontation with us on a narrow part of
the highway was intimidating and contributed to Robert?s surprise and loss of control.
There are safer sections of the road and he did not have to come up so close. My main
complaint is that the officer is buzzing cyclists: that is, passing within 3 feet without
slowing. Some states - not California - have a minimum 3 foot passing distance to
bicyclists, which is common sense and should be common practice.
Jeff Gross, jeff@fullcommitment.com, (760) 522-7097

I hope you get a response.

I was riding with a group up Rincon.  we were riding single file.. If there was a wide enough shoulder we were in it.

An officer stopped the group for no apparant reason.   I don't remember what he said.  Something about being on the road.. he had us wait a little while then said to go.

very weird.

Judy

I sent this thread to the editor of the North County Times.
Barbara Boxer's 3 foot rule passed the CA senate. Now it is up to the CA house to do likewise.

Have had similar experiences in same area. CHP Cruiser on loud speaker telling me to get off the road while following ... too close. (I was riding "on" the white line.)
AND
Riding with Kelly out toward Lake Hanshaw, side by side, but no one around, was told - via loud speaker as they went by normal speed - to "get in the bike lane.  There is no Bike Lane, of course, so we have the same right to be there as a car, right?  So why the dangerous hassle by CHP?

Someone needs to educate these police.  I think perhaps it would be good to get Pete Pensyres to give them a course like the one he gave to the Oceanside Police.   Those police "volunteers" in Oceanside hit someone on one of Pete's rides.