Don

If you rode with the Princeton Freewheelers in the past 25 years you knew Don. If you rode with Don you heard a lot of stories, laughed a lot and you learned something about biking. The more you rode with Don the more you started to share his passion for riding and his sense of adventure. When I first started riding with the Princeton Freewheelers I was a regular on his Honey Do ride. It was there that I learned the roads. It was there that I met a lot of people I call friends and still ride with today. It was there that l learned how to be a good ride leader.

This week we lost Don. He was a unique character and just a great person to be around. We are all going to miss him and the joy he brought to all of us. It was a life well lived as witness at his funeral on Sunday. The funeral home was overflowing with friends and family sadden at his lost but also laughing and telling their favorite stories about Don. The richness of his life was easily seen by all the people who he helped along the way. Don is now gone but he left an example of how to lead a meaningful life. I know I am a better person for knowing him.  

In my Road Biking NJ book I included a number of routes I learned from Don including a slightly shorter version of his famous Belmar century.  There is one picture of Don in the book of him and Herb at Mendokers bakery siting outside and eating some baked goods. Don busted me about this saying

"You couldn't get a picture of me riding. The one picture of me in your book was me stuffing my face" and then he would laugh the way Don did.

So as a tribute to Don, at the top of this post, I have included a picture of him riding, taken that same ride, that didn't make it into the book. It is him on a early fall day riding with Herb and I with out a care in the world just enjoying the ride and each others company.  I am sad that I won't ride with him any more but wanted to thank him for helping me discover the joy of cycling.