from DangerJosh

Today I bore witness to what is probably the most beautiful and poetic event that I have been to in a very long time. Unfortunately a man named Dennis who loved cycling as much as I do lost his life just 12 hours before.

We pulled up to the intersection of Park and 14th and there was already a small gathering there. I assumed that it was a bunch of people from the event as there were support persons all around all the time. But then a woman that I can only assume to be Dennis’ mother walked off crying after seeing so many cyclists show up to his memorial and it hit me: This was his family. Instantly

I got choked up a bit, we heard from Dennis’s girlfriend and a representative from his family. Someone placed flowers at the sign that was at the intersection and it was very touching. A little boy approached me, I assume he was related to Dennis. We talked a little bit after he got permission from his mother and I gave him one of my cycling pins and his family thanked us for being there. Choking back tears from such a beautiful moment, I realized that we were celebrating Dennis much the way that he lived, and what I heard about him I think he would have done the same for me had the roles been reversed.

A photostream from rycera’s Flickr 2009 Minneapolis Ride of Silence