Dangers of road cycling from motor vehicles:

Cyclist crushed to death in Iowa

43 year-old Iowan resident and avid cyclist, David L. Holmes, was crushed to death while out training last Wednesday, July 14.

According to Kim West from Des Moines, Iowa, Holmes was out on a routine training ride that took him through a highway construction zone. A pilot vehicle - hired by the construction company to safely lead vehicles through the single-lane zone one direction at a time - passed him while he rode his bike through the zone; after the pilot vehicle passed, a semi-truck and trailer also overtook Holmes, and reportedly cut back over too soon, crushing the cyclist with its rear wheels.

West has said the local newspapers have made it sound like Holmes 'lost control' of his bike. "Not hard to do when a semi is crushing you," he wrote in an email to Cyclingnews. "David was married in April of this year. He did Paris-Brest-Paris in the past, and organized many races in and around Iowa. We miss him already."