2013 Ride In Peace Memorial

Once again this year (and after not doing it last year), I debated whether or not I really wanted to compile this list of Southern California bicyclists whose lives have been lost while riding. Any reason I could think of for not doing so just seemed to lack substance, like an old multi-patched tube, they could not hold air. These are people many of us knew and, consider fortunate to have known, through one or another of our cycling circles of competitors, friends, acquaintances, peers. Some of us will feel the loss more than the rest, but all of us can recognize the diminution felt by those closest to the victims. We should remember these people for their lives, and learn from their deaths.

Ali Mirage, Claremont, 27 December
Peter Tomaino, Laguna Hills, 24 December
James Rapley, Pacific Palisades, 22 December
Pam Levin, Los Angeles, 19 December
Julio Martinez, Los Angeles, mid-December
Milton Everett Olin, Mulholland Highway, 8 December
unidentified, Pacoima, 6 December
Ruben de la Cruz Miramontes, Coachella, 20 November
James Manuel Avalos, Ontario, 17 November - hit and run
Michelle Lounsbury, Costa Mesa, 11 November
Angelo 'Andy' Douglas Azzato, Lucerne Valley, 7 November - hit and run
Paul Lin, Newport Beach, 6 November
Luis Ochoa, Santa Clarita, 30 October
Manuel Morales Rodriguez, Anaheim, 30 October
Scott Adamson, Ventura, 29 October
Daniel Martinez Meza, Oxnard, 21 October
Manuel Correa, Palmdale, 19 October
Billy Martinez, Sunland, 19 October
Andrew Edward Page, Azusa, 10 October
Serafin Gonzalez, Riverside, 10 October
Luis Garcia, Bellflower, 14 September - hit and run
John Nodd, Moreno Valley, 12 September
Tracey Gage, Moreno Valley, 12 September
Stela Hristova, San Diego, 2 September
Russell Alvin Burrows, San Bernardino, 31 August
Debra H. Deem, Newport Beach, 28 August
Pascual Vega, Perris, 23 August - hit and run
unidentified, Tarzana, 10 August
Victor Awad, Chatsworth, 5 August - hit and run
Udo Heinz, Camp Pendleton, 4 August
Julian Ramos, Gardena, 4 August
Duane Roth, Lake Cuyamaca, 3 August
Ronald Rodriguez, Jurupa Valley, 26 July
Antonio Soriano, Ontario, 25 July - hit and run
Max Abraham, Phelan, 25 July - hit and run
Alberto Ramos, Stanton, 20 July
Markeis Vonreece Parish, Inglewood, 20 July - hit and run
Samuel Martinez, Chatsworth, 6 July
Lucia Ruano, Lake Elsinore, 30 June
Jesse Dotson, Gardena, 29 June - hit and run
James Mitchell Waller, Orange County, 28 June
Jose Cuellar, Highland Park, 25 June
Darren Thomas, Temecula, 23 June
Chelsea Kashergen, Fullerton, 20 June
Jackie Price Dunn, San Diego, 18 June
Carlos Morales Guzman, Upland, 16 June
Joseph Johnson, Camarillo, 16 June
Phillip O'Neill, Pasadena, 15 June
Brendan Allen Adams, Montclair, 13 June
Reynaldo Baraan, Oxnard, 28 May
Jacob Sellers, Simi Valley, 25 May
Christopher Contreras, Carson, 23 May
Max de la Cruz, Northridge, 15 May
Andrew Powell, Anaheim, 29 April
unidentified, Chula Vista, 28 April
Joo Yoon, Los Angeles, 27 April - hit and run
Eric Ringdahl, Carlsbad, 27 April
Edward James Shaieb, Cathedral City, 13 April
unidentified, Pomona, 7 April
Timothy Kraig Settles, Yucca Valley, 4 April
David Alexander Granados, Valley Glen, 27 March - hit and run
Michael Valenzuela, Palmdale, 25 March
unidentified, Paramount, 20 March
unidentified, Pomona, 17 March
Alvin Aguirre, Blythe, 15 March
Eric Billings, Mission Viejo, 15 March
Christopher Spychala, Hollywood, 8 March
Kevin Olin, Apple Valley, 1 March
Ivan Arturo Aguilar, Pomona, 28 February
Bernard Cooper, Moorpark, 21 February
Jose Jimenez Cervantes, Piru, 17 February
Laura Lee Jones, Redlands, February - hit and run (October 2012)
Susan E. Curtis, Long Beach, 15 January
unidentified, San Diego, 3 January

Many of these individuals, nay most are recognized, as close to immediately as possible, by Ted Rogers at BikingInLA. His is a largely thankless job for which, I think, we owe him a debt of gratitude; it is a task no one can really look forward to fulfilling. He does it for many of the same reasons I compile this list. First, I believe, the passing of each of these lives deserves to be recognized. Second, I believe, that our cycling community is not so large that we can afford to ignore our fellow cyclists. The motoring world has become dulled, apathetic over time, to what has become daily carnage; we must not let that happen to our bicycling community. Though we are individuals, each with our own lives, we have not become so detached from those around us, those with whom we share a passion, or maybe just a common mode of transportation. A true community recognizes the true value of each of its individual members, not only for their own contributions, but for what they contribute to the group as a whole. For that reason, we remember these people, our fellow cyclists.

Regrettably I did not start this list until late in the year. If you notice that someones name is missing, please let me know, so that they can be added.