I've been meaning to write this since last year. Most of you know Seth Vidal, who frequented RBW list and who was killed in a hit and run two years ago. One of the things he liked was the ride reports. He'd share them with me and we'd plan rides.
I joined the list a few months after he died, mostly just to update the group, but I've also read some of your ride reports, and they were very, very helpful on getting me back on the bike and rediscovering a new, but different, kind of joy that only bicycles can provide. I thought I'd contribute as well. It's also my small way of saying thanks for your support, intentional or not. I've organized rides of remembrance on the day he died, and I rode his Hilsen in both cases. This year, a friend of mine borrowed my QB for the memorial ride so two Rivs were well represented. :) The ride was roughly 2 miles- it was just a slow roll through the neighborhood to the area where Seth was killed, to where the ghost bike was, have a moment of silence, and then through a very short trail along Ellerbee Creek and back to the starting point. We went to a pub later. The most amazing thing was that when we all lined up in front of the ghost bike, traffic actually slowed down (it almost never does- it's a 35 mph but since it leads to highways on both ends, most folks go 45-50). I led the ride, but I am a terrible ride leader. Last year, I rode really fast ahead of the pack and it became a joke (after years of riding the tandem and having Seth tell me to pedal harder, it's kind of hard to break the habit). This year a friend took me for an impromptu 14 mile ride the day before and another friend made sure I had a few beers in before the ride. I apparently still went too fast, and someone kind of had to chase me down to make sure I waited for the group. And honestly, I tried to slow down. It's not my fault Rivs are extremely efficient machines. And I would have taken photos, except I managed to destroy my camera with the water from the bouquet of sunflowers (Seth's favorite) that I left at the ghost bike. So I've collected others' into this album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ejchang/sets/72157655728650855 Keep riding and writing. You never know who you might reach. -Eunice "still enjoying the ride" Chang -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
