Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Devon woman killed in Bolivia while cycling round world with husband

Sharon Bridgman hit from behind by 4x4 after apparently swerving into its path

A woman from Devon who was cycling around the world with her husband has been killed in Bolivia after being struck from behind by a 4x4 vehicle on Saturday afternoon.

According to local police, Sharon Bridgman was killed instantly when she was struck from behind by a Toyota Land Cruiser after she veered suddenly to the left and into the vehicle’s path, reports the Daily Express.

Mrs Bridgman and her husband Tim, who was riding behind her at the time, set out on their journey, which aimed to raise funds for disaster relief charity Shelter Box, in June 2012.

Marcelo Tejerina, the local police chief, said: “Mrs Bridgman died just after 4.30pm local time on Saturday after being hit by a Toyota Land Cruiser driven by a Bolivian man on a dirt track near Villamar, around 125 miles south of Uyuni. She was killed instantly.

“Her husband who was cycling around 200 metres behind was unhurt.

“The driver stopped and called police. He has now been arrested and his vehicle impounded which is standard practice after a fatal road accident and he is in custody awaiting a court appearance scheduled to take place later today.

“Both the driver and the tourist were travelling in the same direction from Villamar to Uyuni and were about 125 miles from the Chilean border.

“Mrs Bridgman appears to have swerved to the left for reasons that are unclear and taken the driver by surprise.”

The couple, from Zeal Monachorum in Devon, are members of Okehampton Cycling Club.

Its chairman, Robert Szembek, said: “I only found out about the tragedy yesterday and am still in a state of shock.

“Everyone was following an internet blog they were writing and they appeared to be having a great time and making lots of new friends.

“They’d already done what I would describe as some of the more dangerous countries on their route through Africa without any real problems.

“Tim had his bike stolen at one point and had to have a replacement flown out but that was the worst thing that had happened.

“My heart goes out to him. I haven’t been able to talk to him but it goes without saying that he must be suffering immensely.”

A friend of the couple’s added: “They’d been cycling virtually non-stop since June 2012 but were going to break their journey in early July to come back to Britain for a friend’s wedding.

“I don’t know what he’ll do now. All we’ve been told is that Sharon has been killed but we don’t really know any more details than that.”

The pair began their trip in Norway in June 2012 and rode almost 16,000 miles through 23 countries in Europe and Africa, before flying to Argentina to ride 19,000 miles through the Americas to Alaska.

The Daily Express says that Mrs Bridgman had been forced to stop doing impact sports several years ago because of serious problems with her back, with treatment including spinal injections to help cope with her pain.

Before the couple embarked on their round-the-world trip, her husband said: “Standing for a long period of time is still a problem but cycling seems to be the one thing that is okay.

“With determination and incredible support from family and friends over the years it has become manageable enough to do this trip.”

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “We are aware of the death of a British national in Bolivia on April 26.

“We are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time.”

The journey has been recorded on a blog, with most of the entries written by Mrs Bridgman.

At the time of writing, the couple’s page on the fundraising website Just Giving has raised £1,161.75 of their £10,000 target.

John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.

He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.

Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.

John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.

He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.

Add new comment

7 comments

Avatar
Bob's Bikes | 10 years ago
0 likes

Firstly like everyone on here my deepest condolences to family and friends of Mrs. Bridgman.

But I wonder what speed was the 4x4 doing that the impact was instantly fatal, not knowing the facts it raises the question; if this was a dirt road surely overtaking cyclists at speed was avoidable and dangerous?

Avatar
barbarus | 10 years ago
0 likes

So sad to hear about this. Tragic. I've been following their blog for a while.

Avatar
Joselito | 10 years ago
0 likes

Condolences to Mr Bridgman, his family and their friends.

This is noteworthy,
“The driver stopped and called police. He has now been arrested and his vehicle impounded which is standard practice after a fatal road accident and he is in custody awaiting a court appearance scheduled to take place later today."

Bolivia, a country that seems to take road deaths seriously.

Avatar
zanf replied to Joselito | 10 years ago
0 likes

My condolences to the Bridgman family.

Always hits when I hear of fallen riders on tours. Broke my heart when I heard about Peter and Mary (2 on 4 wheels) as I'd been following them from almost the start of their tour.

Joselito wrote:

This is noteworthy: “which is standard practice after a fatal road accident"

Isnt it just.

Avatar
fancynancy | 10 years ago
0 likes

So very sad. Looking through the pics on the Just Giving page they seem to have been having the trip of a lifetime... just so sad. RIP.

Avatar
Yennings | 10 years ago
0 likes

Terribly sad news about all those happy miles. RIP. Husband must be beyond pain. Cycling on the public road is and remains a dangerous sport, sadly. It shouldn't have to be.

Avatar
AndrewRH | 10 years ago
0 likes

How very sad. Deepest condolences to the family. RIP.
I have made a donation in Mrs Bridgman's memory.

~Andrew~

Latest Comments