Local bicyclists respond to Cupertino road deaths

The death of two bicycle riders in Santa Clara County who were hit by a sheriff’s deputy resonated Monday in Sonoma County with local riders.

“A lot of people are shaking their heads, saying ‘gosh it happened again. What can we do about this?’” said Carlos Perez, Santa Rosa resident and founder of BikeMonkey Magazine.

Laura Charameda, director of Sonoma County’s competitive youth biking team, Team Swift, knew one of the riders killed. Charameda said she’d watched Kristy Gough race last weekend and had been mentoring the talented rider.

Gough was a professional triathelete who was moving into professional women’s road bike racing, Charameda said.

“She was on the brink of just really being able to move into some top level road racing,” she said. “She was a woman with a lot of talent and a nice woman.”

“It’s a very sad day for everyone in the cycling community. It’s a tight network,” Charameda said.

Sunday morning’s crash occurred on a winding Cupertino road. A Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputy was patrolling when his car swerved across double yellow lines into the opposite lane and he struck three riders.

Gough, 30, of San Leandro and Matt Peterson, 29, of San Francisco, died in the collision. A third rider, who hasn’t been identified, remains in stable condition at Stanford University Medical Center.

The CHP was investigating the crash, and officials declined to speculate about the cause. But KTVU-Channel 2 reported Monday that some witnesses told investigators they overheard Council admit to possibly falling asleep at the wheel shortly before the 10:25 a.m. crash.

Charameda said she was out riding Sunday on a 100-mile loop with a group of experience riders. They were all enjoying the beautiful weather and glad to see the number of bikers of all levels who were out as well.

“We were thinking ‘Sonoma County is such a great place to ride a bike. Wow, what a great day,’” Charameda said. “I just feel terrible the day started like that for somebody else and didn’t end the same.”