# This is sad



## tmanley (Jul 31, 2005)

I was reading the SJ Merc this morning and came across the following:

_WOODSIDE

City Cycle CEO found dead on Skyline Boulevard

The California Highway Patrol is investigating the death of a bicyclist whose body was found Sunday on Skyline Boulevard in Woodside.

The bicyclist was Clay Mankin, 49, of Berkeley, according to the San Mateo County Coroner's Office. An autopsy will be performed as early as today to determine the cause of death.

Mankin was the CEO of City Cycle in San Francisco.

It was unknown if Mankin was struck by a car or if crashed on his own, said CHP Officer Gabriel Potter.

Authorities were notified of a ``bicyclist down'' on Highway 35 near Thomas Fogerty Winery, north of Page Mill Road, about 3:37 p.m. Sunday. Arriving deputies from the San Mateo County Sheriff's Department declared the victim dead at 4:16 p.m., Potter said.

Witnesses are asked to call the CHP in Redwood City at (650) 369-6261_.​
I'm not familiar with City Cycle or Clay, but this is sad news. I kept thinking about this incident as I was biking to work this morning and I can only imagine how Clay's family is feeling at this moment...my prayers are with those who knew him best.

Has anybody heard any updates or know more info?

-Todd


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

tmanley said:


> I was reading the SJ Merc this morning and came across the following:
> 
> _WOODSIDE
> 
> ...



Holy insanity. I ride there all the time. This is unbelievable. Hit and Run from behind??

francois


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## Tino Chiappelli (Apr 25, 2005)

I just heard this via email. It's very sad. Clay was very nice every time I've ever dealt with him. This sucks.


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

Clay Mankin bio and photo:

Clay Mankin is the CEO of City Cycle of San Francisco, a retail bike shop in Cow Hollow that he opened in 1986. A dedicated cyclist since childhood, Clay has worked in bike shops since 1971. A passion for all kinds of riding: transportation, touring and racing, along with the great personal pleasure of helping others discover the many benefits and satisfactions of cycling propelled him toward store ownership. City Cycle specializes in custom bikes and biomechanical rider positioning. Clay served on the San Francisco Bicycle Advisory committee for several years and was involved in the successful effort to gain 24hr cycling access to the Golden Gate Bridge. A long-time SFBC member and supporter, Clay works every day to put more people on bikes.

<img src="https://www.sfbike.org/images/about/board/clay_mankin.jpg">

fc


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

francois said:


> Holy insanity. I ride there all the time. This is unbelievable. Hit and Run from behind??
> 
> francois


The section right at Thomas Fogerty is a fast downhill, straight as an arrow, and an unobstructed view for a long way, if it's not foggy (I was riding in some heavy fog on Skyline on Saturday, but that was around Castle Peak). To be hit from behind would take either a very careless driver (the view is quite nice from there) or malice. Given the possible speed involved, and pavement that has a few holes and cracks, it's believable that he went down on his own, possibly in reaction to something. God knows there are lots of deer out right now, and I almost ran into a coyote near there one time.


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## velocipede (Feb 10, 2005)

I read this this morning in the Merc News (only bay area rag worth reading)
I've been aquanted with Clay for some time. He has been a tremendous voice in cycling advocacy. He was a passionate cyclists and knew the business of selling bikes and cycling better than anyone else I've met.

He was quite a veteran of Bay Area cycling to boot. This leads me to believe that he did not crash on his own, but anything is possible.

At any rate, My condolences to his family and employees.

This is a terrible loss to the Bay Area cycling world and the bicycle industry at large.

I'm still shocked from the news.


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## wipeout (Jun 6, 2005)

francois said:


> Holy insanity. I ride there all the time. This is unbelievable. Hit and Run from behind??
> 
> francois


I'm with francois here, I'm on that road in that area all the time. Sad to hear about this...


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

Some inside info here:
---------------------
FYI - forwarded from the GGTC mailing list.

From: sfcathyx
Sent: Monday, November 14, 2005 12:25 PM
To: [snip]
Subject: Update on Clay Mankin

I've talked with Marc at City Cycle and have the following information to pass
along regarding Clay's death. Please forward this along. Apparently, there is a
lot of misinformation being passed around.

Clay was on a bike trip riding to Santa Barbara, celebrating his upcoming 50th
birthday. All indications are that he died of natural causes, doing what he
loved. It appears to have happened quickly; there was not a car accident. He
died at the site of the accident. City Cycle will post on their website plans
for a memorial and other information. They hope to have up the information
tomorrow at www.citycycle.com.

Clay was a wonderful man, a dear husband to Alison and father to Riley and an
integral part of our cycling community. I will miss him, as will many others.

[snip]
-------------
francois


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

More details now from The Argus Fremont newspaper:
http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_3217283
---------------------------------------
Article Last Updated: 11/15/2005 07:26:53 AM

Cycling advocate dies on bike trip
Official: Man might have had heart attack on 50th birthday trek
By Kristin Bender, STAFF WRITER

Clay Mankin 
CLAY MANKIN: Bike shop owner loved cycling. 
A Berkeley man who was riding his bicycle to Santa Barbara to celebrate his 50th birthday with friends was found unconscious on a Woodside road Sunday afternoon and later died, authorities said.

Clay Mankin, owner of the City Cycle bike shop in San Francisco, was 49.

A spokeswoman from the San Mateo County Coroner's Office said an autopsy had not been completed Monday. But California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Christian Oliver said it does not appear Mankin was hit by a car.

"It looks as though the bicyclist may have had a heart attack," Oliver said.

Mankin's wife, Alison, said her husband had set out Sunday for the 400-mile trip to Santa Barbara to see his former City Cycle business partner Chris Smith. He also had planned to visit the man who gave him his first job in a bike shop more than 30 years ago, friends said.

Mankin loved cycling and was on the board of directors of the San Francisco Bike Coalition, working to improve bike access and bike commuting conditions for cyclists, friends said. He had been involved in the successful effort to gain around-the-clock cycling access to the Golden Gate Bridge.

"It would be hard to find someone so well-known, so well-loved in the Bay Area bike community," said Leah Shahum.

the executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. "Even across the country, everyone has heard of Clay. He just had a sterling reputation."

Mankin was found unconscious near 18501 Skyline Blvd. just north of the Fogarty Winery

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in Woodside at 3:37 p.m. Sunday, according to the California Highway Patrol. He was pronounced dead at 4:16 p.m., authorities said.

Mankin was alone on this trip, but he often rode with his wife on their tandem bike or with his friend and bike store colleague Craig Kelliher.

Mankin and his wife had traveled from Milan to Paris on their tandem, and Mankin recently spent 10 days biking in Italy with Davis Phinney, a two-time stage-winner in the Tour de France, and Connie Carpenter Phinney, an Olympic gold medalist.

"He was so much more to us than a director or a leader," Kelliher said. "He and I had a lot in common, we thought a lot the same way. The other day he said, 'You know, I didn't think I was going to change the world, I just wanted to make a living, have some fun and not hurt anyone.'"

In addition to his work with the bicycle coalition, Mankin was involved with the Bay Area Outreach & Recreation Program, which provides sports and recreation for people with disabilities, and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, friends said.

"He was a leader and he was involved," Kelliher said.

Mankin is also survived by a young son. Services are pending.


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## wipeout (Jun 6, 2005)

I don't know what is more scary - getting hit by a car or getting hit by a heart attack. I assume Clay was healthy and fit, it just doesn't make any sense. 

Thanks for the updates, francois.


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