A break in training to remember Matt & Kristy

Today, I rode on behalf our my Fusion Sport team to honor a couple cyclists who were tragically killed last weekend. Matt Peterson of Roaring Mouse Cycling (San Francisco) was a personal friend of our team and an inspiration with his recent rise to the podium. Raymond from our team had actually shared Matt's success with us the week prior to the accident.

Although I never met Kristy Gough I knew of her from the results she posted and having won her age group at Ironman World Champs in 2004. Back then I recall asking teammates if they knew her to see if we could get her interested in riding/racing with Fusion as a triathlete.

The ride started at Foothill College, a stone's throw from my parent's house. There must have been a thousand other riders there to pay their respects. It was nice to see so many people come out and have the community come together. It was also a good chance to catch up and band together with old friends and new friends alike. Thanks to a combined effort between the CHP and the Alto Velo/Webcor cycling team we had a complete rolling closure and traffic control the whole ride. Several members of the media covered the ride including the Mercury News. [short video]

I must say it was tough for me to ride today, a route I've done safely so many times having grown up in the area.

My heart goes out to the families and loved ones, and our friends at Roaring Mouse and Third Pillar cycling teams.