NEW SCOTLAND — The Helderberg escarpment was one of Mike Fiato’s favorite places to bike ride. "It was the area he grew up in. It was a comfort zone for him, and it’s a gorgeous area to ride in," said Jim Bethell, a friend who said cycling was their common dominator.

On Sunday, May 8, Fiato, of Coventry Court in Voorheesville, died from head injuries sustained during a bike accident the day before, in the hills of New Scotland.

Around 4 p.m. on Saturday, Fiato was riding his road bicycle down a hill on Delaware Turnpike in Clarksville near the intersection of Route 308, or New Scotland South Road, when his front tire blew, said Albany County Sheriff’s Deputy William Rice.

"The major injuries were from the first impact when he went off the bike," Rice said. Fiato hit the pavement so hard from the force and speed, that his helmet shattered, Rice said.

"He died from blunt trauma to the head — a fractured skull," Rice said. Fiato had no broken bones or any other injures except for some road rash, Rice said.

"It appears that the tire blew out because of a problem with the tube," Rice said, which re-leases about 100 pounds of pressure.Experienced bike riders and the Albany County Sheriff’s department are calling the incident a "freak accident."

Bethell said that, once or twice a week, he and Fiato rode 20 to 30 miles in a few hours.

The pair had taken Saturday’s route last year, but this year, Bethell said, "We thought we’d make it a club ride; it was his and my idea."

The ride
Fiato was a member of Albany’s Mohawk-Hudson Cycling Club and was one of the leaders of the dozen or so riders that day.
Friend and fellow club member Jacques Roeth was riding in front of Fiato on Saturday as they headed toward Waldenmaier Lane.

Club riders don’t clump together, he said, but end up spreading out once they get to the first hill.

On Saturday, Roeth, another bicyclist, Chris Prieto, and Fiato were the three in the back of group, riding in a single-file line about 150 feet away from each other, Roeth said; the rest of the group was up a little ways further, waiting for them on Waldenmaier Road.

One of the advantages of biking with the club is that everyone looks out for each other; Roeth said, "It’s a support group."

He went on, "It wasn’t a racing group — it’s a touring group."

The cyclists still traveled at a good clip though, and on Delaware Turnpike, he and Fiato were going about 30 miles an hour, Roeth said.

Route 443 is a major road. The club riders use major turnpikes to get to country roads, Roeth said, so, at this point on the ride, the group was a little more spread out and biking a little faster than usual to off of the main road as soon as possible.

The club offers tours and riding groups for all abilities and levels but the number one rule is always safety, he said. Whenever there is an organized ride, everyone has to sign in, and wear a helmet, Roeth said.

Saturday’s group consisted of all experienced riders who know how to maintain their equipment and cycles, he said.

The accident
Roeth was biking along when he heard a loud pop.

"It sounded like a gun shot," he said. He turned around and says now that he isn’t sure if he saw Fiato flipping in the air, because it happened so fast.

Deputy Rice said that the sheriff’s department is not sure how the tire tube blew out, but Fiato landed straight down, directly on his head.

Prieto and Roeth rushed back to get to their fellow rider. Roeth said that he was so flustered he couldn’t get his cell phone out, but a car stopped and a woman called for emergency help while he attended to Fiato.

Roeth said that Fiato had a pulse and was breathing, but he wasn’t breathing very well, so he loosened Fiato’s helmet.

"We yelled out to him a couple of times but he wasn’t saying anything," Roeth said; Fiato was unconscious.

"I lost track of time," Roeth said, but he thinks the emergency medical service squad got to the scene in five minutes.

"There was blood on the road," Roeth said. Roeth said he can still clearly envision the scene and that he is having nightmares about it.

"The moral of the story...I don’t know if there is one...I just get the sense that this is something that sometimes happens," Roeth said.

He remembers one time, when he was going about 15 miles an hour and his tire popped, he was able to control his bike enough to steer off the side of the road and land in the grass, Roeth said.

Going about 30 miles an hour when a tube pops, a biker wouldn’t have any control over the bicycle, Roeth said. He said the metal rim would just hit the road.

Roeth said that, with a road bike, cyclists can go faster.

While there is no way to know how the tube popped, Roeth said he imagines it was one of two things: the tube was sticking out and eventually wore and then popped, "or the tube just goes," he said.

If there are any preventive measures for other cyclists to take, Roeth said, all bikers should check their tire pressure every time before they go out, and, when they put a new tire on, double check to make sure they don’t pinch the tube under the tire.