Monday Blues: Ride in Peace Jim Zoltan Williamson

Ride in Peace, Jim Zoltan Williamson

When I first received word of the death of Jim Williamson in Rancho Cucamonga last Thursday, I immediately started to write. His death, I reasoned had followed far too soon on the wheels of another local cyclist, and in the same city, Debbie Morgan-Alam. Since I was at work, I only wrote for a couple minutes before setting it aside. When I finally got back to it and re-read what I had jotted down earlier, my initial anger was clearly evident in the great number of expletives, which is not normally my style.

Now, anger can serve a useful purpose - it can galvanize a reaction, and be a catalyst of change, but by late in the day, the heat had been lowered to a slow simmer. The tragedy of Jim's death was no less real and ultimately, whether by intent or neglect, due to the choice(s) and actions of one individual who, apparently ran a stop sign, I could consider all the other contributing factors from poor street design, to a lack of enforcement of existing laws, penalties that lack effective bite, the plethora of distraction that auto designers and makers build into their vehicles, marketing that promotes dangerous imagery, a system of regulation that allow poor drivers and repeat offenders to remain on the road and, quite frankly, people who, or so it seems, have little or no control over their own impulses. You may be able to suggest even more. 

On Saturday 22 October at 8:00am there will be a Memorial Ride for J. Zoltan Williamson. The ride, hosted by the Cycling Connection will leave from 12250 Baseline Road in Rancho Cucamonga, following that groups' regular Grind Ride; the ride will be "no drop" with finish options of twenty, thirty and thirty-four miles.

On a side note, it you notice a momentary decrease in ride reports, you can blame it on Finn. The little guy (Irish Terrier named in honor of Finn mac Cumhaill) joined our household on Friday and is a heck of a lot of time-eating fun.