Tour da Chicago, alternate view.

Stepping only slightly outside my Tour de Cure mode for a moment, I wanted to at least post this for those thinking about playing around with the Tour da Chicago.

Two years ago I penned an article for Chicago Athlete Magazine about winter cycling in the city. I included Tour da Chicago among the list of activities that might help people stay in love with their bikes during these frigid, bleakity-bleak days. My experience was only that I'd been to a stage and taken some photos - usually in winter I'm still recovering from the last race season or planning the next and I've never had the urge to take part. I loved the vibe though. It reminded me of the Hash House Harriers from my past life as a runner - just a bunch of fun-loving bike nerds ready to suffer in the cold with the promise of beer afterwards.

Last February 24, I was sitting in the Starbucks at the corner of Irving, Damen and Lincoln with three half-asleep teammates. Our squad leaves there at nine not-so-sharp, and I was still working on my coffee when I saw dozens of riders fly North up Damen outside the window. I knew it was the Tour da Chicago and I even recognized a friend and a few ex-teammates. We took our time polishing off the caffeine and then opened the door. We opened the door... precisely as the pack of riders came back down Lincoln and rode straight into the intersection.

You can read dozens of archived posts from people that were there and the details will vary. What you can't change is that Lincoln crosses the five lanes of Irving Park at a blind angle. The other thing you can't change is that my three teammates and I stood there and watched as Matthew Manger-Lynch was struck and killed by an SUV directly in front of us.

I don't want to be morbid or grisly and drag up terrible memories for those who knew Matthew. Picture this though... traffic was gridlocked in six directions because the accident was in the middle of the intersection. Police and medical support had trouble navigating their way through the traffic. In the midst of the log-jam, dozens of Tour da Chicago riders were still racing through the snared cars, trying to get to some finish line somewhere... in some cases blowing right by the scene without realizing what had happened until a collection of frightened, distraught riders screamed for them to stop. A friend of mine was sitting on a curb crying. That mental image is exactly what I saw every time I mounted my bike for weeks.

People die in sports. My friends at xXx lost two teammates in races in 2007. There has to be a difference, however, between taking precautions to control your surroundings and manage risk... or conversely throwing your life to chance in a city where traffic is unpredictable in the best of conditions. I spend my work AND my free time managing risk for cyclists with the ADA Tour de Cure and Burnham's Spring Super Criterium. Permits, medical support, insurance... it's all a pain in the ass, but I can't imagine NOT DOING IT. The funny thing is there are hundreds of people like me, putting together an admirable collection of year-round events to help control risk FOR you... all you have to do is show up.

I know there is romance in flaunting danger – on a smallish level it's one of the reasons I race - and that people will be at the Tour da Chicago. If you've read this far and you're going to ride, I just implore you to think ahead to that moment where you're going to have to choose between following the pack or following your self-preservation instincts. Visualize it so that you'll make the right call and live to tell me that I'm a preaching azzhat. I look forward to it… honestly, I do.

Bring on the arguments about noob riding skillz and rights to the road and old school vs. new school alleycats. It doesn’t change the fact that my team rides still start at that Starbucks and every time we’re there, a white ghost bike is still sitting quietly at that intersection.