Forwarded by Mike Hanley, USAC Coordinator, this is a cautionary
message that can not be repeated enough.

From: "Cam Kirkpatrick"
Date: Tue, 03 Jul 2007 12:17:53 -0000
Crossing the yellow line.

Anybody that has crossed the yellow line during a race or any other
kind of ride out on the roads (I've been guilty of this on one or two
occasions in the distant past) should read this article I found on
Cyclingnews.com. There have been way too many cyclists crossing
the yellow line during group rides and races recently.

In the future, please take care to follow the rules of the road and
exercise common sense while riding on the road. I've already come
close to loosing one good friend due to a cycling accident with a
car. I don't want this to happen to anybody else.

Cyclist killed in midwest road race

By Mark Zalewski, North American Editor

A 24 year-old first-year racer was killed Saturday when a passing
truck struck her while competing in the Proctor Cycling Classic in
Brimfield, Illinois near Peoria. Beth Kobeszka (XXX Racing-
AthletiCo) from Chicago was competing in the women's category 4 road
race when she was reportedly bumped into the path of the truck
pulling a horse trailer.

Witnesses of the accident reported that riders had crossed the middle
yellow line as the pack of about 25 to 30 crested a small hill four
miles from the race finish along Brimfield-Jubilee road. The truck
was headed in the opposite direction legally as the race
was operating under the 'yellow line rule.' The police report said
that Kobeszka was bumped into the path of the truck by another racer.

"There had been some girls passing on the left several times and the
lead car came back to tell people about the yellow line rule," Katie
Haft (Morris Trucking Velo), who was racing in the event, told
Cyclingnews. "We came up the crest of the hill and I don't know if
people were passing or if they were bumped if while a truck pulling a
trailer was coming the other direction."

"I just saw people getting tangled and one woman fell into the side
of the trailer and it rolled over her," Haft said.

"A few on the front kept going but a lot of people stopped. People
were really unsure of what to do. I stopped for a while and the
follow car in back stopped but there was probably nothing I could do."

Kobeszka was transported to a local hospital with multiple injuries
and was pronounced dead later the same day.

The police report said that the truck was driven by Thomas S.
Milligan, 48, of Quincy, Illinois and that he stopped immediately
after the collision.

"Our prayers and thoughts are with the family of the young lady,"
Milligan told the Peoria Journal Star from his home Sunday. "I've got
two daughters and I can't even imagine what they're going through. It
was a tragic thing. It's just a shock."

No charges are expected in the case, according to police.

Kobeszka was new to the XXX team but was a part of its women's
development squad, headed by Randy Warren, which focused on
racing. "She graduated from Northwestern University and was a runner
there," said Warren. "She was was relatively new, joining the team
this year, but was pretty gung-ho about racing. She was part of the
women's development program which means signing agreement to race,
and she won the Cobb Park criterium last weekend."

The already scheduled July 2 team meeting has been transformed into a
forum for team-mates to deal with the tragedy. "One of our members is
also a chaplain and will lead us in grief counseling," said
Warren. "We are working with her mum to decide where to have a
memorial fund set up. The funeral will be this week."

Warren also said that the team's August criterium in Chicago might
also serve as a memorial. "We are thinking of naming the women's race
after her."

More information about the memorial can be found on the team's web
site: www.xxxracing.org. Cyclingnews extends its condolences to the
family and friends.

Cam Kirkpatrick
President - IMBCS
Urbandale, IA