When going through my pictures from the 2010 Tour Divide, I found this photo of Dave Blumenthal. This is Dave the morning of the start of the race, with his bike, ready to go. A happy man, well-prepared, with his bike and ready to race down the trail to whatever the future had in store for him.As I'm sure most everyone reading this knows by now, Dave died on June 24th from injuries sustained in a collision with a vehicle. A tragic end to a wonderful life. My deepest sympathies and prayers go out to all of those who love Dave, who must now carry on with out him.
Dave's lived his life fully and passionately. His thoughts, actions and words reveal a man who knew many things. Most importantly, he knew how to live. He also knew what things are most important. Here are the last words he posted to his blog: "Lexi and Linnaea, I love you both." No man has ever written himself a better epitaph.
It was/is a sad day. Thoughts and much prayers to his friends and family,for strength and comfort in this dark time.
ReplyDeleteSteve in VA
Kent,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the picture. It took me a until yesterday to figure out that I went to HS with dave and ran track, xc and was in the band with him for three years. We were not close friends, but I knew him quite well through school and running and band. He was a talented trumpet player and a a runner who could push himself beyond normal limits,as well as a dedicated boy scout if memory serves. He was a year ahead of me in school and I probably had not seen or heard from him in 20 years, and I even checked pics from the start line, but did not recognize him and chalked it up to coincidental names. I am doubly saddened by this loss. He was a unique guy and from reading his blog, it looks like he had done great things. My thoughts are with his family.