10 years after: remembering block

Kim,

I applaud all of your efforts to keep this issue

on the front burner for the Iowa cyclists.

Lowell and I both wrote short pieces after

Dan Bockenstedt passed away for the ABR newsletter.

I do not remember exactly what I wrote at that time

but I do remember that Lowell and I were both honored

to be asked by Nestor to include our thoughts about losing Dan.

I would be happy share these with you if you do not have a copy

as I think the more raw emotion of the moment

is expressed in our essays then they would be today.

Time has a way of dulling the emotion of the moment

but it certainly never will dull the feelings I have for Dan.

The Thursday of RAGBRAI this year we will again ride

with our group to Dan's gravesite.

This will be the second time we will have completed this ride during RAGBRAI.

I look forward to this ride as it is

an opportunity for us all to take a moment and enjoy

being members of a wonderful family of cyclists.

As I sit and reflect on the shock of losing Dan,

and 18 months earlier losing Chris Lillig,

I empathize with all who have had the experience of

losing a friend or family member to a cycling-auto incident.

I am always disheartened when I hear of the loss of a cyclist,

but I am always encouraged and glad to be a member of a

family of cyclists that cares for each other.

I encourage you to continue your efforts to

keep cycling safety in the spotlight.

Regards,

Brendon

[brendon hale, who now lives in indiana, is a former cat 1 terrorist. lowell kellogg still IS a cat 1 demon, who coaches the terribly successful iscorp junior's squad. along with brendon, dan bockenstedt and chris lillig were friends and teammates of mine on the old "ordinary bike shop" team in the early and mid-90s. the iowa state championship road race is held in honor of block. the old capitol criterium honors the memory of chris. as brendon mentions, there will be a trek to dan's gravesite as ragbrai passes through dyersville thursday of ragbrai. watch this blog for further details. it is a good thing to do, and i urge ALL cyclists to join us this year, to honor not just dan, but ALL of our fallen friends.]

[an editorial note: a loyal reader and contributor to "today's sermonette" sent me a link to the photo that i'm sure i have somewhere taken during ragbrai 1999, when we visited en masse to dan's gravesite. technical difficulties are preventing me from posting such a massive photo at this time. the photo at the top of this post is a more recent photo of the ragbrai/racing family. enjoy.]