[trafficsafety] Eulogy for Mike Kalan, cyclist killed one week ago by car in Washington County

I read this and thought it was so compelling that it should be shared with SHIFT and TrafficSafety.  I apologize if you get it twice.  Darrell Provencher is a local bicyclist and bike racer who has been involved in the local cycling/bike-racing community for many years.

He attended Mike Kalan's funeral earlier today and wrote this afterward:

 

--CD
 

On 9/22/06, Darell Provencher <darellp@easystreet.com> wrote:

 

I went to Michael Kalan's funeral today at St Matthews Lutheran Church in Beaverton. About 150 people were there. Probably a couple of dozen relatives were there, most of them still obviously in a state of shock and disbelief, abruptly ripped from there everyday lives and brought here today by an accident that could have been avoided.

 

After the service I met Wendy, Michael's wife. I told her I had never met Mike, but I was compelled to come because of the emails and a couple of phone calls I received on Saturday morning. Apparently Mike was wearing what had been described as a yellow, red, and black jersey, and could have been a member of Team Rose City. At that time, the Washing County Sheriff's dept was trying to secure his identity. I spent most of Saturday morning talking to KGW TV on the phone and talking to the Sheriff's dept. It brought back unpleasant memories of a little over a year ago (June18) when I found out that one of our team mates, Eric Kautzky, had been killed when hit from behind by an 18 yr old driver who had fallen asleep at the wheel. These were both accidents that should never have happened. To see their impact in the eyes of friends and relatives is very hard indeed.

 

Mike was 35 yrs old. After KGW called me back later Saturday afternoon with his identity, I googled his name and discovered he was an accomplished Category A cyclocross rider, with top 5 placings in races throughout the Midwest and South -- Kentucky, Ohio, North Carolina. Mike Kalan, bike racer. At the funeral, I learned that Mike grew up in Denver. He rode bikes alot as a kid and loved things mechanical. He majored in mechanical engineering at Valparaiso University. He met his wife Wendy there, and they were married in 1995. I saw his two beautiful children at the service, McKenna (age 3?) and Alex (age 6?). There were also plenty of pictures of Mike on two bulletin boards, mostly cross and mtn bike photos, and family pictures with his children and wife.

 

Mike and his family moved to Portland just 5 months ago. No doubt he was out riding last Friday evening and thinking about the upcoming cross season. Wendy gave me a big hug and thanked me for coming. I now know Mike Kalan as a human being, a father, a husband. If last Friday didn't happen, I could have perhaps someday called him a friend.

 

Needless to say there is still shock and anger amongst those who knew Mike well, and those of us who didn't. We all deal with this kind of terrible news differently. I for one would like to take some kind of positive action to help prevent these situations in the future. So what are some next possible steps that we as a cycling community can take? A couple of ideas:

 

Starting with the West Union/Shute/Helvetia intersection, can we get some "Cyclists on Road" signs posted from each direction?  Are there other roads or intersections that could be identifiied in the metro area where these signs could be posted? Anyone know how we could move this idea forward?

 

Oregon State Law -- Perhaps we should be lobbying key legislators for tougher vehicular homicide/manslaughter laws. Where does the BTA stand on this and what actions are being planned?

 

See also:

 

http://bikeportland.org/2006/09/19/pdot-advocates-work-towards-tougher-laws/

 

One last thing. If you want in some way to take some action to help Mike's family, you can do so by making a contribution to a fund for his children, Alex and McKenna:

 

Checks to:

 

Alex and McKenna Kalan

c/o Wells Fargo Bank

2645 NW Town Center Drive

Beaverton, OR 97006

 

 

Thanks for listening everyone. Please ride responsibly and safely.

 

Darell Provencher