ghost bikes

ghost bikes are pretty cool memorials to honor cyclists that have been killed on the road. one has been built, painted, and placed on ashland terrace in honor of david. this is the first installed in chattanooga; let's hope it is the last. thanks to gina for the pic. i haven't seen it yet, mostly because i don't think i can drive by the site and keep it together.

a ride for david

Photo by Wes Schultz

more here

 

great channel 9 coverage here

celebrate life.

yesterday was unique. it began with a joyous occasion: attending the wedding of my old adventure racing teammate Daniel. it was great to get the crew together and catch up... we look pretty good clean :-)

hunter, me, daniel, tony

i left the celebration early to head back to chattanooga to celebrate the life of a dear friend, David Meek. david was killed on friday while bike commuting to work. it's a ride he's done a hundred times i'm sure. (misc details here). over the past few days, we've all shared many stories featuring david. he was always up for some fun, be it trail running, mountain biking, road cycling, or adventure racing. if it involved moving and the outdoors, he was in. (or a PBR.) he could hammer with the best; or be the caboose, showing the newbies how to ride on the road or change a flat. he happily took on any role, and thus touched the lives of hundreds in and around the scenic city.

we've all been through a range of emotions and i don't even know if i have names for all of them. it's a tragedy like none other that i've experienced. today, 40+ cyclists led the procession to the burial. cars stopped. news crews watched. i can only hope that some good will become of this in the future. actually, i KNOW something will. david was a huge advocate of cycling and commuting and i know the community will come together to further advocacy and education in these areas. we'll do everything we can to make the street a safer place for us.

i could go on and on with stories, ideas for the future, but will write those later. i'll end with 2 recent quotes from david....

his final status on facebook, from wednesday: 
David Meek Soars with eagle at Lula Lake while turkeys lay on couch. (saw eagle in Rock Creek gorge).

a post on the Bike2Work message board on thursday:
No this is not an official Bike2Work event where we are inticed to ride to work by fine food and prizes. This is just ride your bike to work for fun and adventure. Tomorrow promises to be a beautiful day. Its the next day of the rest of your life.
See you on the road.

cheers david, see you on the road. (or trail.)