Doing good

Sometimes it seems like life is full of tragedy and sadness. It isn't, but it can sometimes feel that way. Thing is, even when it is brimming with things that aren't so "nice", good things can be made of the not-so-good.

I recently got news of a very sad death that happened back in March of this year;

Heartbreak is setting in for family and friends of the bicyclist killed by a hit and run driver. Roy Sekreta, 43, had set a goal of biking 4,000 miles this year. He was on his way home from work Monday night when a 25-year-old man slammed into him on Comanche at Vassar. That driver orginally fled the scene and returned 30 minutes later. Police said he admitted to hitting Sekreta. Sekreta was married and worked as a design engineer for a local solar panel company. Police will present their investigation to the district attorneyʼs office. The D.A. will decide wither to

charge the driver with a crime.

I never met Roy, but I knew his bike well- we shipped it as a special order to a great shop of ours- Bicycle South Windsor in South Windsor, CT. Sadly, the bike arrived to the customer with a dent in the frame, so I had to strip a bike and send the frame to replace the dented one. Afterwards, Roy sent a letter (or email) thanking us for the replacement because he loved the way the bike rode and was just so bummed when he got it and it was dented... he wanted a perfect bike and we supported that. So, it isn't like I "knew" him, but I do still feel like I "met" him. His loss is terrible.


In the words of Pete, the owner of Bicycle South Windsor;

No one could descend like Roy. We grew up when Tomac was king, and I swear he rides just like him. He also rode with Hincappie, and a mutual friend of theirs visited him just this year for a ride together. Roy was the perfect mellow-man and respectful rider.

For anybody who feels the desire to do something to honor this man, please donate to either of the charities that have been set up in his honor or by request of the family;

UNM Foundation Inc. (University of New Mexico, Dept. of Civil Engineering)
Roy Sekreta Endowment
700 Lomas Blvd. N. E. Two Woodward Center Albuquerque, NM 87102

Bike Albuquerque (BikeABQ)
P.O. Box 4119 Albuquerque, NM, 87196-4119
(www.BikeABQ.org)

Tragedy like this has struck far too many times in recent years, but sometimes these tragedies bring greater awareness to others. Hopefully Roy's too-soon passing can inspire others and remind us all to continue to be safe and to be thankful for life.

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Now, the blogoshpere is full of many fantastic and wonderful people. Many people who read this blog may be familiar with the Fat Cyclist blog and it's writer/ creator, Elden- aka Fatty. Many may not, yet, know of Fat Cyclist and the great blog and community he has built around it and his wife Susan, who is battling cancer- and we all know she will win! Anyway, Elden has begun a challenge... one that I am joining.

We're going to beat a couple records in the LiveStrong Challenge on our way to helping Susan beat cancer;
1) We're going to have more team members than Team Dell, who had over 260 last year.
2) We're going to raise more money than Team Toi, who raised over $350,000... by raising $1,000,000!

We can do this!

I met Elden for the first time at Interbike this year, as he and I were on the same panel of speakers during one of the seminars that took place at the show. Elden is a great guy with a great blog and a wonderful wife who certainly deserves our support. So let's do this!

Read Elden's blog for the details and then, on or after December 1st, join me in joining him and beginning to raise the money to set the record for the challenge!

Cancer has touched my life in many ways over the years. I won't go into all the details, but it is something that has been a big part of my life and is something that I deeply wish to see beaten. If we all work together, we can help to find a cure for cancer- or at least a better understanding of it that can ultimately lead to a cure.

Susan- we're here for you (and ALL who live with cancer) and we're going to be setting tempo at the front so you won't have to do the work alone.

Tim