Conference noted::bicycle

2678.0. "Mary Jane "Miji" Reoch killed in cycling accident" by ROWLET::AINSLEY (Less than 150 kts. is TOO slow!) Sun Sep 19 1993 00:29

Reprinted w/out permission of The Dallas Morning News...

A speeding truck driver struck and killed internationally known Dallas cycling
coach Mary Jane "Miji" Reoch on Friday morning at White Rock Lake, then fled as
witnesses screamed for him to stop.

Ms. Reoch, an 11 time U.S. Cycling Federation national champion was giving Bill
Seals of Dallas a training ride when the truck crossed into their lane in the
4200 block of West Lawther Drive.  It hit the Old East Dallas resident head-on,
sending her hurtling 95 feet and into the lake.

Mr. Seals said they were about a mile into the training ride when a pickup
truck "came around the corner very quickly."  Ms. Reoch, 47, was riding to his
left and slightly behind so that she could study the new students technique.

"All I saw was a truck come out of the ditch, off the road headed straight for
us," Mr. Seals said.  "It all happened so fast.  It's frozen in my mind.  I can
see it right now.

I heard an explosion," perhaps from her high-pressure tire bursting, he said. 
"I thought I had been hit, but I hadn't.  My first reaction was to hit the
breaks."

That panicked reaction hurled Mr. Seals over his handlebars and onto the
pavement.

"There were some eyewitnesses," he said.  "I thought I could hear the truck
going off into the distance and somebody yelling 'STOP!'".

Mr. Seals tried to get up but couldn't.  (Shoes still attached to pedals? -
Bob)  He turned to see Ms. Reoch "20 to 30 feet into the lake."

Dallas Police traffic investigator Richard C. Wilson said the accident happened
about 9:15 am when a mid-'70s pickup truck struck Ms. Reoch.

"The pickup driver at a high rate of speed, lost control, traveled on the wrong
side of the road and hit the bicyclists head on," he said.

Ms. Reoch died of her injuries at 10:02 am at Doctors Hospital.

The driver of the pickup fled and had not been arrested Friday evening.  Police
said they had his Texas license plate number but declined to give it out.

"We've got a pretty good idea where he is," Cpl. Wilson said.  "We just don't
want to run him off."

Ms. Reoch and Mr. Seals had been scheduled to ride together for the first time
Tuesday but postponed the trip because of rain.

"When the streets are slick, you really have to watch the cars, because they
have a tendency not to be able to stop,"  Mr. Seals recalled Ms. Reoch saying. 
"She said, 'If the weather is good Friday, let's ride.'"

Ms. Reoch was a talented coach willing to work with both top professionals and
beginners such as Mr. Seals, racers said.

Her neighbor and fellow cyclist, Doug Newby, said she was devoted and
tenacious.  He told a legendary and true story about Ms. Reoch:

She rode her bike about 12 miles to a Philadelphia hospital to give birth to
her daughter, Solange Louise, in 1981.  Along the way, she slowed to advise a
cyclist she passed to shift into a lower gear.  She gave birth one hour after
arriving at the hospital.

Ms. Reoch liked to tell another story, about racing one of the men who moved
her to Dallas and then challenged her to a race.  She gave the mover a head
start and carried her infant daughter in the race down the block, winning a $10
bet.

Ms. Reoch was national road champion in 1971 and held the U.S. 3,000 meter
individual pursuit title from 1973-1975 and in 1978.  In 1975, she was the U.S.
individual time trial champ.

Ms. Reoch began work as a racing coach in 1977.  She coach Connie Carpenter to
a gold medal in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

"She was internationally known, but beyond that a world-class person," said
David Evans, managing director of the Tom Landry Sports Medicine and Research
Center in Dallas, where Ms. Reoch was cyclilng coach.

Her home was a familiar stopping point for bicycle racers and artists from
around the world.  Despite her fame, she was willing to work with anyone.

"She was real helpful for all levels of cyclists, because she would train
people who were just getting started or people who were racing," said Joe
Howard, who works at the Richardson Bike Mart store near White Rock Lake. 
"Being an ex-racer, she had a lot of knowledge about everything about cycling."

Greg Root, president of the Mirage Cycling Team in Dallas, recalled that "Like
any great coach, she had the ability to bring the best out in everyone she
coached.  She was just unbelievable."

[End of story]

She was one of 4 coaches profiled in the October issue of Bicycling.  I had
considered going to her for training, but didn't after I saw her fees, not that
they were outragious, I just don't have that much disposable income.  I
wonder if that's how Mr. Seals got connected with her.

Bob
    

"We've got a pretty good idea where he is," Cpl. Wilson said.  "We just don't
want to run him off."
    
    Yeah, give him a chance to sober up and clean the cans out of the
    truck.
    
    ed

Well, as it turns out, they don't know who was driving.  The truck was found
abandoned about a mile away from the accident site.  Unfortunately, the owner
of the truck was not the only one with keys to the truck.  Apparently, several
people had keys to the truck and used it on a regular basis.  I don't know if
this means that it was owned by a company and many employees had keys or what.

White Rock Lake is a city park.  As such, the speed limit is 25 MPH.  Apparently
many people use it as a short cut between two main roads.  The police have a
pretty heavy presence on weekends, citing motorists for speeding and bicyclists
for running stop signs.

Bob

    
    	I attended the Carpenter/Phinney cycling camp this summer out in
    Beaver Creek, and Miji was one of the coaches that they had out there
    working with the campers.  She was very approachable and very 
    knowledgable.  I spent quite a while talking with her about training,
    and racing.  She was also a wonderfull person.  
    
    Stew

    Miji was a medalist in world championships a number of times, as I
    recall.  She used to train by racing with the Cat I/II men, back when
    New England, and particularly Vermont, used to have a full schedule of
    Olympic Development races attended by national team members.  For
    several years, Miji would finish with the second group, me with the third
    (That's the way things used to break up in those days).  Her husband, a 
    lawyer, also raced.  I can remember being pretty pleased when I finally
    turned a faster time for a 25 mile TT than Miji.
    
    Everybody in the USCF back in the mid-70's either knew or knew of Miji.  
    Stew is right.  She was a wonderful person, someone to look up to.
    I sincerely hope they find out who did this.
    
    Justin