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| Ron Remenda |
I posted two years ago about the sudden loss of one of our
great riding buddies Ron Remenda who passed away at the way too young age of
60. Unfortunately that post was wiped out along with all the others when my
blog was hacked. So, I thought I’d share
this with you as he is still often in our thoughts.
Being the good bikers we are we had a 2nd annual memorial
ride for Ron yesterday. We chose to ride
up the Fraser Canyon just past Boston Bar to the
“Canyon Alpine” for lunch. We all were
there at least once with Ron in the past, so it seemed a good fit. It’s also where we had the ride for him last
year, kind of setting a tradition. The weather wasn’t bad either, which is
always a good thing. But then it wouldn’t be a true BC fall ride if we didn’t
have to don our rain gear at some point.
Thanks to Ed and Mike for leading and tailing to keep us all
safe and together. It was just like old times.
Thanks also to Mike for remembering to bring his camera.
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| Lunch at Canyon Alpine |
We all have our memories of Ron, some that we share, some
that are individual. Most of us had a
good giggle when we went through any of the seven tunnels that run through the
canyon between Yale and Boston Bar. You see, a few years back Ron got these new
very loud pipes on his bike. He was
leading the ride this particular fall day, which didn’t happen all that often. Looking back I wonder if he had this up his
sleeve all along. I digress. While going
through one of the longer tunnels he slowed down so that we were all bunched up,
wondering what could be wrong so all our senses were at their peak, especially
the eyes and ears. He then pulled in his
clutch and revved on the throttle a few times causing a great booming noise
that crackled and echoed all the way through the tunnel from the first rider to
the last. Not to mention the cloud of dust that he created for all those riding
behind him from the exhaust mixing with the dust on the pavement. To this day I can’t go through any of the
tunnels without thinking about Ron and that day. Some of the others at lunch shared the same
story, so I’m thinking he maybe did this more than once. Hey when you have a new audience you have to
try out your old tricks, I get that.
One of my personal favourite memories is the first HOG
Christmas party that Ed and I attended in 2002.
Ron and I were dancing and he decided he wanted to twirl me. Not an easy task being that we are about the
same height (actually I think I may be a bit taller). When he suggested that we try it my response
was simple and to the point, “Ron, you’ll take my head off.” He just smiled and got up on the stage so we
could accomplish this task. Where
there’s a will, there’s a way. Of
course, Ed couldn’t leave that opportunity alone and called out “Hey Ron,
careful you don’t get a nose bleed way up there.” He didn’t take offense at all and the two of
them quite often joked about the height difference. All in fun, of course.
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| Some of the gang: Jim, Brian, Arlene, Ed, Bev, Linda, Jennifer and Ibe, Mike's taking the picture :) |
Most of the old gang are still riding, although some are
between bikes, contemplating hanging it up, or already made the decision to
pack away the leathers and stick to four wheels rather than two. No matter what we are all doing now, we will
never forget the rides and gatherings we had together and the good times that
went along with them all. We saw a lot
of country together and met a lot of new people. Times I know I will never forget as Ed and I
continue to ride around the country. We will always remember certain roads,
stops, towns and points of interest with fond memories of Ron.
RIP (Ride In Peace) old friend, you are surely missed…
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