ESTHERVILLE — Two riders on the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa have died on this year’s ride.
The Jackson County Minnesota Sheriff’s Office identified 62-year-old Mark Spoo of Colorado who collapsed on the route on Jackson County Road 4, west of Minnesota 86 on Monday. Spoo was tended to by a doctor, surgeon, and physician’s assistant, all of whom were riders themselves, within seconds of his collapse. Spoo was then transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The Estherville Police Department says at about 7:40 on Tuesday morning, they got a call about a rider who was semi-conscious and vomiting. When officers arrived, they couldn’t detect the rider’s pulse and administered CPR and an automated external defibrillator in an attempt to revive the man. The rider was then taken to the hospital in Estherville, where 63-year-old Thomas McCarthy of Florida was later pronounced dead.
