Esteban Parra and Cris Barrish

The News Journal

Police believe they have black Audi involved in fatal accident

Police chief says case is moving toward an arrest

Cyclists say commuting by bike in Delaware can be treacherous

News of progress into the death of a bicyclist was welcomed by cyclists who use their bikes for transportation and not just leisure, much like 27-year-old Phillip A. Bishop did before he was killed Friday night.on Brackenville Road in Hockessin.

The PureBread deli supervisor usually rode his bicycle to and from his work in Greenville to his home in Stuyvesant Hills, less than a mile from the crash scene.

Rob Pfeiffer, who knew Bishop and often commutes from his Wilmington home to his job in Greenville, said Monday he was confident police would find the suspect and help bring closure for Bishop's family. He hoped the eventual arrest would send a message to others about bicyclists.

"That may help somebody out in the road, maybe bring some awareness," said Pfeiffer, who's had some "interesting" rides to his job at Twin Lakes Brewing Co., where he is the head brewmaster. "Maybe it will make other people aware to watch out for bicyclists."

RELATED: Police believe they have Audi that hit Hockessin cyclist



A lot more Americans are riding their bikes to work for a multitude of reasons, including economics, health and the environment. That number increased from about 488,000 in 2000 to about 786,000 in 2012, according to American Community Survey of the U.S. Census.

Delaware's governor and transportation secretary are known cyclists. The League of American Bicyclists has given Delaware high marks in its annual Bicycle Friendly State report card. This is because of the state's efforts to create a distinct, visually powerful and uniform statewide bikeway network signage system, among other things.

Yet the percentage of workers commuting by bicycle in Delaware – .40 to .59 percent – is more modest here. That's because riding to the job isn't as simple as a ride in the park.

While there are many trails and paths for recreational cyclists, commuting by bike – because of necessity or lifestyle choice – can be a dangerous situation in Delaware, especially at night.

Bicyclists in the Brandywine Hundred area might have an easier time of it than someone in Hockessin or Christiana, where roads don't always intersect with other roads, often leaving cyclists exposed to more motorists who aren't alert for bicyclists, said Marty Lessner, a member of the Council on Transportation and a bike commuter.

"North Wilmington, either by design or inadvertent, has a lot of roads that are connected to a lot of roads that you can get yourself to downtown on a pretty safe route," said Lessner, who rides to Wilmington from the Brandywine Hundred area.

People in Hockessin or Christiana would have a problem, he said. That's because roads there are not the best to commute on.

This is still no excuse for what happened to Bishop, Lessner said.

"Philip had absolutely every right to be on that road and from what I can tell was highly visible," he said.

Bishop's mother, Johanna Bishop, told The News Journal her son was a safety-conscious cyclist who took extra precautions on back roads. He even wore lights on his backpack so approaching traffic could spot him at night. Bishop often rode his bicycle on the back roads to and from the deli about five miles away, she said.

Lessner said this case, from what he can tell, is one where motorists need to be educated about bicyclists on the road, either by not being distracted while driving or impaired.

"Cars need to know that they need to pay attention to bikes and they need to stay in their lane," he said. "They also need to know to get out of their lanes if they are passing a bike."

Bishop was found Friday night gravely wounded and unresponsive on winding, narrow Brackenville Road near Horseshoe Hill Road. A small memorial of flowers, crosses and two small pumpkins, could be seen Monday near where police had marked the accident area with spray paint.

Lessner said it's still doable to commute in these areas of the state, but cyclists have to know the roads and know the times to ride.

Andrew Elliot, who rides his bike from Wilmington's downtown area to the DuPont Experimental Station in the Alapocas area, called riding in Delaware a "mixed bag."

"There are some streets that are really nice for riding and some feel a little bit less safe," said Elliot, who added he takes a longer route than he has to in order to stay out of traffic, including using greenways.

"I time my ride to be at times when there is less traffic," he said. "So I go a little bit earlier than rush hour and come home a little bit earlier so that the traffic isn't quite as bad."

Carol Ireland said she made a life choice after retiring from the DuPont Co. that she would ride as much as possible, adding she still does more biking for fun than commuting.

But it's people whose only form of transportation is a bike, usually because of their finances, who are the most vulnerable, Ireland said.

"They're out riding at 5 in the morning. They're out riding at midnight," she said. "They may not have the kind of safety equipment that a lot of us use, like helmets and lights.

"And they don't have an alternative. Buses wouldn't run and they don't have cars. They're the ones who are really vulnerable and would benefit by improved bike facility and improved awareness by motorists."

People who ride for leisure are more than likely picking their routes, she said. That's not the case for someone who bikes to work.

"If you're riding for transportation ... I don't know that there is a good route that you can pick if you were going to ride to your office," she said.

Melissa Nann Burke contributed to this story.

Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.

Contact Cris Barrish at (302) 324-2785, cbarrish@delawareonline.com or on Facebook.