I just spoke with Bryce's mother and uncle on the phone. Bryce's family has been reading the forums and is aware of what we are planning. They wanted to pass on thanks to everyone for putting flowers at the site of the accident and would greatly appreciate any sort of memorial service/ride here in Seattle that we can do.
Bryce's remains are being sent home to Denver on Tuesday and the funeral is on Thursday. There is no official memorial service planned for Seattle so anything we plan will end up being the de facto memorial here.
Bryce's uncle has a forum account pending right now and wants to post more about Bryce and to communicate any messages from the family. If anyone with admin rights is reading, could you please get that account approved ASAP?
Bryce's mother and uncle both told me a little bit about him and with my apologies for any inaccuracies or omissions from my sieve-like brain, here's what they told me to pass along.
Bryce had just moved out here a couple weeks ago from Denver to join his friend Caleb (who was the second cyclist involved in the accident) and his brother Tyler who had moved here earlier this year. All three had fallen in love with Seattle and had planned to make it their new home. Both Caleb and Tyler are planning on staying on Seattle but will be going back to Denver for the services this week. Bryce worked at a bike shop for a few years and was an passionate and safety conscious biker who loved cycling. He rode both geared and fixie and was preparing to ride the Triple Bypass. Bryce's uncle was also a cyclist and Bryce would always send him little cycling gifts from his bike store from time to time.
His mother wanted to pass along that Bryce would have loved riding in a group like .83. She and Bryce's uncle also both requested that we send any pictures or video from the memorial we're setting up tonight as well as the memorial ride to them.
I think I speak for all of us that I wish Bryce could have rolled with us. He sounds like he was a great guy and it just breaks my heart to think that he came out here to Seattle and in less than a month, our fair city has repaid him with this.
I have phone numbers for Bryce's mother and uncle as well as Caleb. I'm going to call Caleb shortly to pass along condolences and to see if he has anything to pass along or any wishes for the memorials we're going to set up/do.
If anyone wishes to pass along their condolences, I can send you any of those phone numbers via PM or email, just let me know.
...
It was one thing to read the newspaper articles and have the discussions here but nothing really makes the reality of this all hit home like talking to a grieving mother.
Folks, I know everyone's busy right now but please, let's all make a showing here. We may be a bunch of jerks and drunkards but damn it, I roll with all of you because under all that, this is a damn good group of people. Let's step up here.
We've got the Ghostcycle and road stencils going up tonight. We could probably use a few more people for the installation so please give me a call, the phone's on.
Equally importantly, let's really make a showing at the memorial ride later this week.
Bryce came here in love with this town.
Let's make Seattle worthy of that.
derrickito
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 1:23 pm
now with 50 percent more EVILJoined: 22 Jul 2005Posts: 10566
i just cleared out all the waiting authorizations. didnt see anything in there that didnt look to be spam. if hes still having trouble have him email me at admin@point83.com
dennyt
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 1:32 pm
rocket mechanicJoined: 02 Aug 2005Posts: 2708
Keep us posted on memorial ride info. I'll help spread the word.
Foo
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 1:39 pm
Joined: 27 Jul 2007Posts: 583
Thanks Derrick, I'll give Bryce's uncle a call to let him know to try the account setup again.
I just spoke with Caleb. I didn't press him for any details about the accident or anything but I did ask him if he had any requests. He just requested that he'd like to be able to go on the memorial ride with us (he'll need a loaner bike) when he gets back from Denver so the ride's probably going to have to be this coming weekend or next week. As soon as I know what Caleb's schedule is, I'll pass it along.
Caleb's planning on going down and looking at the flowers at the accident scene and lighting some candles tonight but wasn't sure if he'd be up to participating in the Ghostcycle or other things just quite yet.
I've got his number and if anyone would like to pass their condolences along, just let me know. PM or email me for the number - or better, just call me (two aught six) three five three - seven seven six five and I'll pass the number for Caleb or Bryce's mother and uncle along.
Foo
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 2:26 pm
Joined: 27 Jul 2007Posts: 583
OK,
For anyone whose interested in either the prep work or installation of the Ghostcycle and road stenciling, here's what I've got going so far:
For getting the Ghostcycle prepped and the stencils made, Trev, Seven, Rogelio and SurlyKat are planning on meeting at my house this afternoon, 3-4PM ish or so. If you want to join in, I'm on Phinney Ridge just off the SW corner of Woodland Park. The address is 4817 Greenwood Ave N, the house is on the SW side of the corner at 49th and Greenwood. My phone's listed above, give me a call to make sure I haven't run out to grab supplies or anything before you come over.
Later tonight, we're installing the Ghostcycle and stenciling the street sometime after dark. I'll post details as that gets closer.
Seven
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 3:17 pm
suddenly quite whiny!Joined: 24 Aug 2007Posts: 345Location: Cap Hill
I can't help with the prep, but I really want to be there to help set it up. I'll be out and about so I won't be able to check the forums again before hand, but if one of you could please please give me a call when you're heading down to the spot, my girlfriend and I will ride down and meet you guys there. ring me at two zero six three three five zero seven nine five.
dennyt
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 3:23 pm
rocket mechanicJoined: 02 Aug 2005Posts: 2708
(double your pleasure, double your fun!)
Portland has the right idea. I'm just sayin'...
Also, Copenhagen:
Last edited by dennyt on Sun Sep 09, 2007 3:45 pm; edited 1 time in total
Foo
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 3:38 pm
Joined: 27 Jul 2007Posts: 583
So, how hard would it be to throw together some of these signs? We could cut up some galvanized sheet metal or even some Varathaned plywood and stencil this stuff on in pretty short order.
I'm not going to have time today but it shouldn't be too hard to stamp out a couple dozen of these puppies. We could even make a set of signs explaining what the sharrows are.
If we wait for the DOT to get off its ass, it's going to be months before there's any action on this, if ever. Let's shame those guys and get those signs up ourselves. If they won't do their job, we'll just have do it for them.
Let's shame those guys and get those signs up ourselves.
It could have been any of us under that truck.
I absolutely agree with making some signs. I don't think there is much fault to place in this accident besides the intersection itself. I don't need interurban trails, or bike lanes, or sharows. I need motorists to be clearly informed of their responsibility in sharing the road with me.
If I see any sort of planning organized here, I'll try to show up. I'd like to be a part of this.
Barring good street markings and signs, I think the next step is to start outfitting cyclists with a 5 kiloton nuclear device and a dead-man switch. Dead cyclist = 200 foot crater where the offending motorist use to be. Bet the cagers would start noticing us then.
_________________ I use my powers for awesome.
Uncle Jose
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 6:54 pm
Joined: 09 Sep 2007Posts: 5Location: NYC
Just a few long days ago, I never would have thought that I would be joining a cycling forum in Seattle. It’s amazing how someone’s life can change, when another is taken away.
Bryce was an amazing kid. As Dan wrote, he loved riding, and that is something he and I shared. Bryce did ride a fixed gear bike and road bike in Denver. I am uncertain if he took either bike with him to Seattle, or if he got a new one after moving there. A few years ago his passion for riding led him to get a job at a bike shop near his home. I know that he was safety conscious while riding as he always encouraged me to wear a helmet. (Honestly I never do unless riding long distances). He told me that he would only ride the fixed gear bike under certain circumstances.
Bryce was a very kind, compassionate person. A vegetarian since birth (and before), he attended a progressive and alternative learning school. Besides riding, his other passions were music and film making. He played guitar and drums in a rock and roll band. His mom, dad, and step dad encouraged his pursuits and were always supportive. His band (including brother Tyler,) played frequently at venues in Denver. Often times our family would attend. My parents (Bryce’s grandparents,) learned to stay clear of the mosh pit.
Being in New York City I was lucky to have seen Bryce before his departure to Seattle. Bryce, Tyler, and sister Austin stayed with me and my boyfriend Aron for a few days in August. During his visit he expressed how happy he was to be moving. His long time best friend Caleb (the other accident victim), had been living there since earlier in the year. He had visited Caleb, and knew that Seattle was the place for him. He planed for some time, to move with Tyler. He was to attend fall classes at UW. It was his first attempt at life as an adult, away from family.
It is very hard for me to consider fault in this accident. There was construction on the street before the intersection, and that would have caused the cyclists to merge into traffic. There is no way the driver could not have seen them before the accident. The cyclist were riding in a designated lane of traffic. On another thread somebody used a vehicular response calculator to determine that the truck must have been moving at 15mph, not 5mph. Another cyclist posted said that she reaches 50mph coming down the hill, but a witnesses at Bryce’s death say they were going 30mph, the same rate as vehicular traffic. We will receive the police report when Caleb comes back into town tomorrow.
Irregardless of blame, I don’t think I will be hopping on my bike any time soon.
My family would like to thank Dan, Surlycat aka Fattypants, Cardinal, Denny, Rogelio, Trev, Seven, Derrick, SofaKing, and the entire Point83 and SLB crew. You have cast a bright ray of sunshine on this horrible tragedy. Dan wrote - “Bryce came here in love with this town. Let's make Seattle worthy of that.” From the love you have shown, Bryce’s family is so grateful.
Thanks Jose. I wish I could have met Bryce. We'll keep you posted about what is happening here.
Trev, SurlyKat, Rogelio Nygard and I have finished up the bike, sign and stencils. We're heading out in a few minutes and will be down at the accident site soon. See you down there.
Joined: 23 Oct 2006Posts: 2303Location: FOCO, MOFO!!!
[lossforwords]
ghostbike up
signs painted on road
pictures taken and to be posted
poured some out for a person i never knew and shed my tears
may the Lewis family, from a fellow Coloradoan, rest sound with the smile of their kin in their heart.
[/lossofwods]
_________________ Insufferable ass, est. 1969
Foo
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 9:35 pm
Joined: 27 Jul 2007Posts: 583
Well, the deed is done. We backed my truck up to the street sign and locked the Ghostbike to the utility pole a good 8 feet up. We stenciled the street and placed flowers and candles.
I'd like to thank Trevor, SurlyKat, Rogelio, Nygard, Seven and his girlfriend (whose name, true to form, I have forgotten, sorry) once again. I couldn't have done this without your help - all of you were fantastic. Thank you.
There were pictures and we'll get them up soon.
If someone has a good photo printer and a laminator, could we get a copy of Bryce's picture? I'd like to put the picture and excerpts of Jose's description of him at the site as well.
Edit: PS, thanks to the folks working in that Romio's next to the accident scene for being cool with us sitting a truck down right in front of their front door, painting and hanging large objects over potential customers' heads.
Last edited by Foo on Sun Sep 09, 2007 11:08 pm; edited 1 time in total
_________________ Constant corrector, make the unusual choice.
It is all spoiled by speaking too soon.
dennyt
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 10:13 pm
rocket mechanicJoined: 02 Aug 2005Posts: 2708
Foo wrote:
If someone has a good photo printer and a laminator, could we get a copy of Bryce's picture? I'd like to put the picture and excerpts of Jose's description of him at the site as well.
I'll get something there tonight.
Foo
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 10:17 pm
Joined: 27 Jul 2007Posts: 583
No doubt. I want to get started on the plans for the ride but I want to wait for Bryce's brother Tyler and his friend Caleb to get back to Seattle so they can participate.
I'm guessing this means the memorial ride will have to wait until next week but that gives us a little more time to plan.
Let me put a call out now for those who have had experience planning the big rides, could I get a hand in putting this together?
surlykat
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 10:19 pm
Joined: 05 Jul 2007Posts: 658Location: in the CD
the woman in the last picture is caleb's girlfriend, and bryce's roommate, lauren. she was at the site when rogelio and i returned to take pictures with my good camera (i'd forgotten the battery earlier).
really, at a loss for words here. all we can do is make sure it doesn't happen again. and that means making sure as many people as possible know about what happened.
more here
surlykat
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 10:29 pm
Joined: 05 Jul 2007Posts: 658Location: in the CD
Oh, also: Lauren mentioned that Bryce was an avid DIY stencilist, and she and Caleb are in posession of several of his stencils.
... Ladies and gentlemen, start your spray paint cans.
Foo
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 11:17 pm
Joined: 27 Jul 2007Posts: 583
Thanks Kat.
I think there needs to be a .83 stenciling ride. I've certainly got enough goddamned spray paint kicking around here now.
Seven
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 11:20 pm
suddenly quite whiny!Joined: 24 Aug 2007Posts: 345Location: Cap Hill
Oh I'm there. Also, I had the idea to make up a ton of small flyers with just some information about Bryce and some tips on watching for cyclists, etc. and when we have a ride, actually stopping at the intersection for a while and handing them out to passing motorists, etc. Nothing too in your face, just really getting the word out, so that any time people pass that intersection or pass a cyclists, they will think about that one time those crazy cyclists gave them that sad but informative flyer.
patr0ck
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 11:29 pm
Joined: 02 Aug 2007Posts: 42Location: travelling between issaquah and seattle
Great work, guys. I'm all teary eyed just reading about it. I wish I could have been down there when the ghostcycle went up. Going to have to bike by it tomorrow.
_________________
dennyt
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 1:11 am
rocket mechanicJoined: 02 Aug 2005Posts: 2708
click for the fullsize.
chunts
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 1:45 am
Joined: 18 May 2007Posts: 85Location: Cappy
Thank you guys for doing this. seeing the ghost bike and the stencils really made it hit hard, and I hope that happens to everyone who goes by that intersection.
Foo
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 4:55 am
Joined: 27 Jul 2007Posts: 583
Denny, was that a picture and info about Bryce on the side of the pole in the first shot? If so, thanks to whoever did that.
ro
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 7:13 am
Joined: 29 Jun 2007Posts: 317
This is why I love this group, caring beyond measure!
dennyt
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 7:18 am
rocket mechanicJoined: 02 Aug 2005Posts: 2708
Yes, I put up his picture, some of Uncle Jose's words, and some images of blue lanes.
OK, now that we have a memorial up, on to the rest of business.
Memorial ride:
I'm still waiting on word back from Caleb and Bryce's brother on when they'll be back. In the meantime, let's making some serious preparations for the ride. Again, those of you who have experience with this sort of thing, please give me some pointers.
Signs:
Let's get to work on designing some road signs. For the bike lane yield signs, those Portland signs Denny posted are pretty good, let's just cop them. If there's any of you artsy-fartsy types out there (and I know you are) let's get some designs for the sharrow driver education signs.
We also need a sign-making shindig. I'm thinking Wednesday. We can even make the bike launch ramp for tossing our alchohol soaked carcasses into Green Lake while the good weather still holds.
I'll start a new forum thread for this.
Stenciling:
Sometime today, I'll check in with Caleb to see what he and the family think of us using Bryce's stencils around town. If they are amenible, let's do this. Since the legality of this particular ride is... um... non existant, I'll handle the details through email so that the indiduals involved are liable rather than the whole group. Email me if you are interested.
great job, guys. this is a fine tribute to a life cut short. as sad as this is, i hope bryce's death wasn't completely in vain, and some good can come from this.
Foo
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 3:55 pm
Joined: 27 Jul 2007Posts: 583
Denny - thanks for the link, there's a lot of good info in there. I'm going to have to see if there's a discount source for blue striping paint.
Seth_seth - while I don't have any illusions about our ability to make radical changes, I think that some improvements are possible right now if we make a solid effort. With the master bike plan being messed with, the next couple years are going to have profound effects on biking for the next few decades. I think we owe it to both Bryce and ourselves to make sure we make the most of the opportunites right now.
Foo
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 8:56 pm
Joined: 27 Jul 2007Posts: 583
Update:
I spoke with Caleb again a bit ago. He saw the memorial and wanted to thank us for it. He was struck by the amount of concern people showed for Bryce.
He isn't certain yet when he and Tyler are going to be returning from Colorado. When he knows, he'll let us know but we should plan any memorial service keeping in mind that he may very well not be ready to participate for a bit after he gets back so we'll have to stay flexible.
He had one request - Bryce was the bike expert between the two of them and Caleb needs to build a new bike but doesn't know how. Before Bryce died, he was starting to teach Caleb bike building and Caleb would like to continue that. I figured that there would be no shortage of folks here that could step in for this.
Also, Caleb was very receptive to the idea of using Bryce's stencils around town. Further, Bryce had a lot of regular artwork. The artwork is going back to his parents but Caleb is going to make copies of it so we can wheat paste them up around town.
The stencil/poster run *will* happen, details forthcoming when I hear more from Caleb. As mentioned before, this ride will be unassociated with .83 and purely the doing of those on the ride.
SeditiousCanary
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 9:01 pm
sorry, can't make it!Joined: 26 Jan 2006Posts: 2315Location: Fremont Troll
Foo wrote:
Before Bryce died, he was starting to teach Caleb bike building and Caleb would like to continue that.
Seeing as I have the means and three plus days off a week, have him call me when he's ready. Introduce us in e-mail first so we have each other's contact info. I'll PM you my contact info now.
TrikerTrev
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 9:09 pm
Joined: 23 Oct 2006Posts: 2303Location: FOCO, MOFO!!!
i suggest we take this kid under our wing.
lets make him an honorary point 83 member with all the benefits and accoutrement's.
can i see a show of hands?
_________________ Insufferable ass, est. 1969
SeditiousCanary
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 9:18 pm
sorry, can't make it!Joined: 26 Jan 2006Posts: 2315Location: Fremont Troll
TrikerTrev wrote:
lets make him an honorary point 83 member with all the benefits and accoutrement's.
All the staggering hangovers he can handle? It's the only "benefit" I can think of. Isn't he 19? Shouldn't we wait till he's 21 to put the Point83 Hangover on him?
Spoke card and rides, I have no issue with. I also clearly have no issue offering the Point83 bike mechanic thing up, since I already did.
Foo
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 9:35 pm
Joined: 27 Jul 2007Posts: 583
SeditiousCanary wrote:
Foo wrote:
Before Bryce died, he was starting to teach Caleb bike building and Caleb would like to continue that.
Seeing as I have the means and three plus days off a week, have him call me when he's ready. Introduce us in e-mail first so we have each other's contact info. I'll PM you my contact info now.
Right now, I only have his phone number. If you want, I pass that along to you. Otherwise, I think he hasn't been online much the last few days. When I get a chance, I'll ask him for his internets contact info.
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