short stories / By Heidi Walters

Cyclist’s Death Rallies Advocates

(Aug. 28, 2008)  Greg Jennings was bicycling home to Blue Lake Monday evening after work, on Highway 299, when a pickup drifted onto the shoulder and struck and killed him.

Jennings’ death has sent shock waves through the tight-knit community of bicycling commuters, and beyond, with many people saying it’s time the community at large gets serious about improving conditions for non-motorists.

“I’m really shaken up,” said Kelley Kyle, who commutes three times a week to work along the 101 corridor between Arcata and Eureka. “I think every commuter’s worst fear is to know we’re so vulnerable. It’s pretty shocking, it’s sad, it’s scary.”

Even Humboldt County Coroner Frank Jager was struggling with the implications of Jennings’ death.

“God, that case bothers me,” Jager said Tuesday morning. “Here’s a guy that’s riding down the road, he’s doing everything he can — he’s wearing bright clothing, he’s wearing a helmet, he’s way over on a wide shoulder. And he still gets hit. There was no reason for it. He was so far over on the shoulder, a five-foot section of [pavement], he was almost in the grass. The sun was behind him, so he wasn’t blinded.”

The CHP was still investigating the collision Tuesday, but its news release said that the driver of the pickup was Alan Bear, 27, of Hoopa.

Jennings was 42. He worked as a forest ecologist for the Bureau of Land Management, and he was a dedicated bicycle commuter, said his friend Jen Rice, co-director of the Redwood Community Action Agency’s Natural Resources Services. Rice is a key advocate for local trails and bicycle and pedestrian safety. She said while Jennings himself wasn’t necessarily an activist, he had a close connection to cycling.

“He built his own bicycle, and he inspired others around him to commute by bike,” she said. “He also helped us with the Headwaters Trail, as a BLM staffer.”

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