Team Garmin-Cervelo, Tyler Farrar’s team, gave Cav’s team some headaches in the first two weeks of the tour. They robbed Team HTC of glory twice: Stage 2 win in the team trial, and Stage 3 win by Tyler Farrar on the 4th of July. Garmin captain and world champion Thor Hushovd took the yellow jersey and himself raced to a stage victory uncontested in Stage 13, a combination of climbs, sharp descents and sprints. Hushovd held the yellow jersey through Stage 8 before yielding it to Frenchman Thomas Voeckler during Stage 9 and its 3 category-2 climbs.

This year’s Tour has seen an unprecedented amount of hurt, and not all of it the riders’ responsibility. Sure, the intensity of competition causes cyclists to take more risks and can result in crashes and injury. But we have also seen collisions caused by a motorcycle and a camera car. Yesterday we saw a rider lose the pavement on a curve, veering into the grass. He then hit an unseen obstacle and the viewer saw him tumble over the handlebars of his bicycle – he hit the ground on his face. Bandaged with a possible broken nose, he continued to race today.

So Tyler Farrar did everything he could to win the stage today. After it was over, he spoke with the media, and was obviously affected emotionally. No doubt he was still thinking of his friend, Wouter Weylandt, fresh in his mind. One only has to go back 2 months to that terrible tragedy on the Men’s Tour of Italy. Last week while watching the Tour de France with my parents in Pennsylvania, they told me about a father who was in his church. He had lost his daughter to another tragic accident in a bicycle race. Her name was Nicole Reinhart. I came across an article in The Morning Call published soon after Weylandt’s death.

Paul Carpenter, a columnist for The Morning Call, has been calling for the use of rear view mirrors when people take to the streets on a bicycle. He claims that mirrors are more effective than helmets in preventing accidents involving collisions. While I would not argue against the use of helmets, I can see his point about mirrors. When I am riding on the road, my biggest fear is not hearing a car (especially today’s quieter, hybrid cars) coming up behind me when I signal for a left turn. I am not comfortable looking back over my shoulder. It upsets my balance. These riders who can take both hands off the grips and continue to pedal are not human.

For the recreational and fitness cyclist who rides on the highways and byways of the nation, two things are important: 1) knowing what’s in front of you and 2) knowing what’s behind you. Having to turn one’s head around is dangerous. I know because of experience. Would rear-view mirrors have saved Wouter and Nicole? We will never know, so I have done a bit of research on these potentially lifesaving devices myself. Here are some of the options available and they are surprisingly cheap.

1) “Take a Look Mirror” by Paceline Products, the same folks that bring you “Clean Bottle”, a water bottle that opens on both ends for easy cleaning.

2) “Third Eye Mirrors” (different varieties) by Bicycle Safety, Inc. These are Made in the USA but are a bit more pricey than other products.

3) “Messenger Mirror“, a design by a cyclist and sold via Paypal on the website.

4) CycleAware makes different varieties of mirrors as well. Some are more aerodynamic than others and mount in different ways.

You can bet my two sons will be using a rear view mirror when they ride. As for myself, I am getting one ASAP. As we look to the future of cycling, and mourn the losses of those who meant so much, we must give our support and encouragement to those young people who dream of speed on wheels. So I am dedicating this post to Kim Geist, a young lady who is making a comeback after a truck nearly ended her hopes for racing. Read about her here. Perhaps it is time for competitive road cycling to consider requiring the use of mirrors for the riders’ safety. Any disadvantage is nullified if they all use them.