3rd Annual Remember Big Timmy Ride/swim

For some history...clicky here


This year we had to have this day a little later due to scheduling. No worries though, we still had it. There was a touch of drama this year before the day actually got here but I am not going to go into that here. If you want to know send me a e-mail. ha.


So, this year Jeff, Zack and I loaded up and head to Fort Custer in the morning. We arrived at 8am and Dan S. was just riding in to the trailhead. We headed out and rode the Red. Pretty uneventful, just a nice ride in the woods. We made a pass back into the trailhead and Bill K. joined us. Then we headed out and rode the Green loop. Again, fairly uneventful even with a few small crashes. Dan headed to work and we headed back to the trailhead.

Zack was done riding but it was still early and I wanted to ride more so we headed out for a modified loop. We hit the green and turned off into the Amusement park on the Red. A guy dropped in with us on a SS and again this route was uneventful. Just felt good to be riding. The weather was perfect and the trails were good.

Tan lines courtesy of Fort Custer

I do this ride because Tim was the guy that got me started riding. We rode these trails. We had fun riding, crashing, telling stories, and just being friends. I like to remember the fun times we had and how we used to laugh like crazy. I am reminded of funny crashes when I pass certain areas of the trail. One in particular was soon after he got his new Trek. We were on the Green loop and he bunny hopped a root, but when he landed he was off balance and he shot into a tree...making the tree fall. I swear. The tree fell and we were all making sure he was ok when a few other guys rode up. The first guy says "is the bike ok?" which made all of us laugh. The second guy had a perplexed look on his face and asked "did you take out that tree?". Oh, it was awesome because he did indeed take out the tree and he was fine, as was his bike. Good times.

For the last three years I have done this ride we have had a visitor. I really don't care what you believe but know that I am a believer in God and spirits. I believe that once a person passes that they can and do hang around, or that they come around to let us know that they are here. Three years ago a butterfly/moth just like the one in the picture below landed on me. I shooed it away but it came back and landed on my helmet. Last year, a similiar looking flier landed on Jeff's jersey while we were all at the beach. It flew around and would come back and finally went on its way. Sunday, the one below landed on me, then buzzed Zack and finally landed on Jeff's helmet. Nobody else....just the three of us. You can believe what you want but I truly believe that Tim was with us...sending this butterfly to let us know that he is indeed here. It can't be a coincidence. I ride here all the time and rarely even see butterflies, let alone have them land on us and hang around. Thank you Tim for coming and letting us know you are still here. We miss you.

Third year in a row....thanks for coming Tim.