A Memorial Ride for Carl Daugherty

A little over a week ago, after visiting with my dear friends, Angie and Todd, they received horrible news.  1) Angie's best friend's (Shannon) Dad was in a horrible, life threatening accident, and then 2) just a couple of days later, their brother in law, Carl Daugherty, was hit by a car while riding his bicycle while training for the Hotter Than Hell ride.  Carl sustained broken bones and a severe brain bleed that we all prayed he would come back from.  I watched as my friends reeled and did the absolute best they could do to support their family and their friends.  And from my home in Idaho, I cried and I prayed for both of these families.

Shannon's dad is still fighting, but Carl "graduated from Earth School".  (That is the way one of my friends refers to the passing of an individual.  I like that idea.  That we come here, learn and give what we can, then when we have done what we came here to do and learn what we are suppose to learn, we Graduate.

As soon as Angie told me that the doctors had decided Carl was not gong to come back from his brain injury and that his amazing heart would be donated to help another human being stay alive, I knew what I needed to do.  I had been sending messages of love and support to my friends this whole time.  But for Carl, I needed to honor him.  I needed to celebrate HIS life.  (I know that sounds crazy considering I have never met the man, but I felt like this is the only thing I could do to honor him and to support his family during this transition.)  I am a cyclist after all, and what is a cyclist to do when another cyclist loses their life?  Ride, of course!  So, Carl, Cheryl, Charity, Caleb, Curtis, Angie, Todd, Darby, James, and the rest of your family.... this 23 mile ride is for you!!!!

Dear Carl,

I have never met you. But here in Boise, when a cyclist loses his battle to a car, the cycling community puts up a "ghost bike" at the spot of the accident and holds a memorial ride. So today, on this beautiful end-of-summer morning, I took a sunrise ride for you.

If Angie and Todd had moved to Boise, there is a high probability, that you and I would have met and we would have taken a ride along the beautiful Boise Greenbelt.  (Or we might have taken a ride up through the mountains, but let's face it, I'm too out of shape for that kind of ride, so the Greenbelt it would have been!)  Boise has over 22 miles of paved bike path along the Boise River, and it's gorgeous. It goes through numerous city parks, the foot hills/mountains are just North of the path, it is lined with beautiful old trees, and is always busy with people and animals alike!  Today was no different.

I started around 7:40 just as the sun was starting to rise over the mountains and the Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic was starting to take off (even if the park where the balloons were launching was still miles away from where I was starting my ride).  I was out for 2 1/2 hours (or so) which means I was out for rush hour traffic on the Greenbelt.  Cycling commuters, morning runners, young and old, dogs, geese, ducks, pheasants and squirrels were all sharing this 2 lane paved path.  It was busy and exciting. I don't know if you know this, but Geese don't like to share the road.  They were all over the path, and would not move for anything. I rang my bell.  I used my manners and said excuse me. And when they finally moved, they honked at me like some irate driver giving me the finger!  And the squirrels had a death wish today; I don't know what was so important, but they really NEEDED to run across the path in front of me today!  Don't even get me started on the dog owners with retractable leashes!

Anyway, it was a busy and beautiful day on the Greenbelt and for 23 miles, I thought about you.  I replayed images of pictures from your visit with Angie and Todd and the pictures they have been posting lately.  I thought about Cheryl and your 3 beautiful children.  I thought about the amazing heart you are donating... your heart... your love will continue on. What a beautiful gift you have given!   Today, as the sun rose over the mountains shining bright with hope for a new day, I thought about the hope you have given to another family and how bright you made their day!

Then I thought about your family.... and I turned my head to see the reflection of the trees on the still and quiet pond....and I sent love and peace their direction.

I got back on my bike and left the beautiful pond behind me.  I kept you in my heart as I rode and greeted everyone I came across.  "Good morning!" "Have a great day!"  I smiled and thought about the big heart of yours.  I remember reading how much you loved to give to others, so today I shared that gift with the people I met along my ride.  

As I mentioned earlier, today was the Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic.  Today there were over 30 balloons launching from Ann Morrison Park.  I arrived at one of my favorite spots along the greenbelt. It is another pond/lake on one side and the river (with an eternal wave for Kayaking and surfing) on the other.  During the heat of the summer, you can find surfers in wet suits and helmets trying to surf this wave or kayakers learning to kayak the turbulent waters.  In the pond on the other side, there are swimmers training for their open water race for a tri events or people paddle boarding.  But it was too early this morning for any of that.  Instead, what I saw were the balloons rising up over the city and I thought about your spirit being set free....

I wanted to get a better look at the balloons, so I hopped back on my bike and rode as fast as I could (which is not very fast with this silly back of mine) to the park where they were launching.  I got there just as the last balloon had been lifted into the sky....

With all of the balloons in the sky, it was time for me to get back to the ride. I have no idea if you even ever thought about hot air balloons, but they always seemed like magic to me.  And they always make me smile.  When I was a kid in Richardson, Texas, it was a rare occasion that one would fly over my house and land at the school in my neighborhood.  Every time I see a balloon in the air, I think about being a kid in Richardson, hopping on my bike and chasing after the balloon to see where it will land.  So, today, while seeing these balloons, I thought about Texas... I thought about you. I thought about your family....my friends..who are all there so close to my childhood home...and I smiled as I chased these balloons on my bike thinking about you.

It's kind of funny.  Like I said, I have never met you.  But on today's bike ride, the idea of being a kid.. being happy.. playing outside kept coming to me.  I ride this Greenbelt often.  But today, of all days, I was there with the balloons AND I came across something I have NEVER seen before.  

The Greenbelt runs on both sides of the river with bridges every so often to allow you to cross over.  One of those bridges crosses from the Boise State University campus to Julia Davis Park.  During my loop today, I crossed that bridge twice today....and this is what I found....

I have no idea why these little toy soldiers were glued to the railing of this bridge over the Boise River, but they made me smile.  I used to play with toy soldiers when I was a kid, and I thought..."Well, maybe Carl did too.  He was a boy after all!"  A kid playing, laughing, being outside.

As a cyclist, it is amazing the adventures we  have and the things we see that we don't typically see or feel while in a car.  A road that has hills never feels all that "hilly" when riding in a car, but as soon as you get on a bike, you discover a whole new road, right? It's that thrill of adventure, the thrill of beating a time, or climbing up that dreaded hill, or riding longer than we have before that keeps us on our bikes.  It's that sense of adventure and play that we had as kids; only Carl, as cyclists, we never grew out of it! That is what had you on your bike training for HHH.  You were doing something that you loved.  You were doing something that made you smile.  And you were doing something that taught your beautiful children something powerful.  They will take that message of perseverance, adventure, playfullness with them everywhere they go; of that I am certain. 

I know this is long, but hey.. it was 23 miles!  But As I was heading into the home stretch of my ride, I was so happy to see my favorite part of the Greenbelt... the giraffes from the Boise Zoo.  They always make me smile.  As I was taking pictures of them, Angie sent me a message saying she wanted to share my status message about my ride for you.  That is when I decided I would write you this letter and share this ride with you...and your family.  I hope the giraffes bring them as big of a smile as they do me.

Carl, Thanks for sharing the ride with me today!  Thanks for giving me a reason to get on my bike and enjoy the beautiful day with the balloons, the giraffes, the geese, the suicidal squirrels, and all of the people of the Greenbelt.  Thanks for sharing your life with my friends.  Thanks for sharing your life with your family.  Thanks for sharing such an amazing gift with a family you will never meet.  You have blessed this world.  Ride In Peace.