Splash and Dash - Friend and fellow Marin triathlete goes down

Splash and Dash with Dorette Sommer-Franks

Trembling and numb, I--along with many other Marin County triathletes-- take in the shocking news that 39-year-old Monique Petrov, a fellow friend and elite triathlete with Pac West Athletic Club, was struck by a car and severely injured while riding her bike late Wednesday evening.  

Monique was finishing her final 5-6 hour peak ride before going into taper mode, just three weeks shy of her return to compete at the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. 

A friend of Monique's, Monica Moreno, recounts what happened.

The September evening sun lay low on Lucas Valley Road as a moderate tailwind propelled Monique (shown in file photo at right) eastward. At the same time, a minivan was heading west.  Unable to see due to the glare of the low sun at approximately 6:15 p.m., the driver of the minivan turned left onto Canyon Oak Road. With no time to react, Monique was struck by the oncoming vehicle.   Monica, who was far behind Monique, heard the sounds of the sirens, but didn't realize they were for her training partner and friend.

Emails amongst friends and former team mates of Team Pacific Bicycle share the news that Monique was in surgery until late last Thursday evening to repair extensive damage to her knee (to which the bars of her bike had driven through) and arm.  She also suffered a broken femur, punctured lung, and multiple broken vertebrae.  Monique remains in ICU at Marin General Hospital.

As of Friday morning, her family has asked to please wait on calling, sending flowers or visiting the hospital.   A blog is being set up.  More details to come. 

Bike vs. Car?

Accident, by definition from the on-line Merriam-Webster dictionary, is described as an unforeseen and unplanned event or circumstance; lack of intention or necessity. 

This accident raises questions about some very important issues we, as cyclists and drivers, face each day while sharing the road.  So, before starting the holler-bellow about "those cyclists take up the entire road" and "cars don't watch where they are going,"  let's take a step back, breathe, calm the noise and begin to be mindful.  We all share a responsibility for sharing the road, an individual responsibility.     

Each day, we as drivers are distracted by incoming calls, making calls, texting (even though it's illegal), emailing while driving, etc., etc.  Or maybe it's to grab something that has fallen between or behind the seats.  Not only that, we move fast from day to day, from hour to hour trying to be on time, going from one place to the next and our minds are not on the road.  It's on our agenda in the future and not in the present.   It's not about slowing the car down when we do these things, it's about slowing down and paying attention to the road and everything around us.    The sport of cycling is only going to continue to grow.  We as riders should take heed of cars; remember all the distractions that occur in one.  Just because we ride in masses does not mean we have a right to take over the city streets or that rules of the road don't apply to us.

Losing sight of obstacles, and not paying attention while on the road is so easily done.  Please be mindful when driving and cycling. 

Need I say more? 

From Dorette--correction and apologies:  As cited incorrectly Monica Moreno is not a training partner of Monique and was not the injured party in the auto to bike accident as posted comments indicate.  Monica is healthy and well.

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Dorette Sommer-Franks, and her husband Duane, coach bikers, runners and swimmers for their business, Trifiniti Endurance Performance Coaching.  Most times the Marin native can be found running, swimming and on her stand up paddle board when not training other athletes.  She has completed the Ironman four times, is an accomplished runner and Boston Marathon qualifier, and is currently training for the Ultraman Canada 2010. 

Coach D2 as she's known, will be writing about sports on the land, and in the sea, in her new column, Splash and Dash with Dorette Sommer-Franks.

Comments

[Debbie]

So sorry to hear about this. It was mentioned at Santa Cruz Tri today and then I looked online for more details. How awful. Best wishes to Monica from a fellow age grouper who has gotten her butt kicked plenty by Monica in the recent years.

[Gene Nacey]

My heart breaks for Monica. I don't even know her, but an athlete knows an athlete, and if that happened to me, to see the body I worked so hard to train and take care of be changed like that... well, it would be harder than I can imagine. I will pray for her and her family.