<img border=2 src=http://jeff.dean.home.att.net/grodsky.jpg> AMA story link -- http://www.amadirectlink.com/news/2006/Grodsky.asp
As you now know from the posts above, Larry Grodsky, "Stayin' Safe" writer for Rider magazine, was killed in a motorcycle crash in Texas last weekend as he was riding home from the MSF conference in Long Beach to Pennsylvania.
Here's the story from a Pittsburgh newspaper:
Motorcycle safety expert dies when deer jumps into highway
FORT STOCKTON, Texas - Larry Grodsky, a Pennsylvania-based motorcycle training expert known as "Mr. Safety," died when his motorcycle hit a deer on a rural West Texas highway, authorities said.
Grodsky, 55, was traveling north on U.S. 385 about 30 miles south of Fort Stockton when he struck the animal about 8 p.m. Saturday, Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Tela Mange said yesterday.
Grodsky was riding a 1997 Kawasaki Police 1000. Grodsky, who was wearing a helmet, was thrown from the bike and pronounced dead at the scene, Mange said.
The Pittsburgh resident was a leader in motorcycle safety and had trained some 5,000 riders since 1980, according to his Web site.
Grodsky had been writing the "Stayin' Safe" column in Rider magazine since 1988. He led riding tours throughout the country.
In October, he raised nearly $6,000 for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in an event put together by Pittsburgh-area motorcycle enthusiasts, according to a story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
"He was the kind of person, he had friends on every continent," said his sister, Marcia Grodsky. "He could walk into a cafe in Pittsburgh or Kosovo and within 10 minutes he had made a friend for life."
Grodsky graduated from Ohio University, where he wrestled. He also enjoyed skiing and mountain biking.
He had picked up a motorcycle in California and was in Texas to visit friends on the way home when the wreck occurred, according to family members.
Survivors include his father, Harold Grodsky, and mother, Violet Grodsky, and his sister; and his longtime girlfriend, Mary Ann Puglisi.
<img border=2 width=300 src=http://www.stayinsafe.com/images/larrygrodsky.jpg>
An acquaintance in Oklahoma sent me the following email message after the news came out.
Apparently, [a local club member was] down in the Big Bend area last weekend, and came across a fellow [Grodsky] with an older KZ-1000 Kawasaki police bike that he dropped in the deep gravel on the side of the road when pulling off to take a scenic picture. They assisted him righting the bike, and he informed our club member that he worked for Rider magazine. The fellow with the bike says he flew to California to pick up the police bike and was riding it home. He then told them to wait several minutes while he rode up the highway, and would set up with his camera and take their pictures while riding past. Then to turn around and he would take some more, and get their names and send [the photos] to them. Our club member's bud didn't want to turn around, so after the first shot passing the Kawasaki cameraman, they continued on their way. I showed the club member the picture of Lawrence Grodsky in his column in Rider, and he confirmed that was him.
Larry was riding an old (1997) Kawasaki KZ1000 police motorcycle he apparently picked up in California to ride home.
I had just seen Larry at the MSF conference. This is a tragedy for all motorcyclists, and especially those involved in rider education. I hope we will learn the details of his crash, but I suspect we wll not.
Be careful when riding your motorcycle in deer country -- especially after dark. Deer crashes are a regular cause of motorcyclist fatalities.