Southern California - "Memorial Ride For LAPD Officer Randy Simmons

OK...I will be there at 8:00. I'm still not sure how many riders to expect overall. I will be in the parking lot, looking for your pink helmet and neon green, Yen. I will have a screaming yellow jacket, riding a grey Motobecane.

I will be looking for:

roadfix
il bruto
Yen and husband
nekohime and boyfriend
tombunn


I'm expecting a few other interesting friends of mine there, also...:)

Alice, I have a feeling that a few dozen others (at least) will be wearing screaming yellow jackets. I'm not sure I'll be able to ID your bike.... can you give me any more hints? :)

il bruto and I will be on our fixed gears. I'll wear my Bikeforums jersey so look for me. :)

I will have a red heart shaped Mylar balloon coming up off the back of my bike...:)

I want to drag race you in a 1/4 mile, Roadfix. After the ceremonies, of course.

I'll be there sporting cop regalia from my days in LE.

I want to drag race you in a 1/4 mile, Roadfix. After the ceremonies, of course.

I'll be there sporting cop regalia from my days in LE.

You're a professional cyclist. You shouldn't waste your time challenging a poser on a fixed gear. :p :D :D

Alice, but what if lots of others have a red heart shaped Mylar balloon? ;) ;) ;)

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Well, if I can't find you now, I'm in serious trouble. Especially since I DO know il bruto. (kinda - rode with him once.) See you there.

It was a very nice memorial ride with full police escort the entire ride. It was nice riding across the valley without having to stop. I estimated about 250 riders showed up for the ride and the pace was nice and relaxed. Snacks for all were provided at the West Valley Station.
It was a pleasure meeting for the first time, alicestrong, CritEastwood, Yen & hubby. It was nice to ride with tombunn again. I also recognized a bunch of people from the Montrose ride. :)

Glad there was a large turnout and that you had a nice ride (albeit a somber one, I'm sure) Any pics?

any pics????

Yes, I took one picture of the group at a rest stop.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c362/jojisan/P1020291Medium.jpg

I'll have to get a raincheck on our drag race, roadfix. Somehow I ended up at Watts Towers after leaving the West Valley Substation. It was fun meeting you.

I took a lot of pics and I'm getting them together today. I'll post some (or a link to all of them) as soon as I have them ready.

It was a fantastic ride, the longest for my husband and me and our first group ride, ever. It was a joy to meet and ride with alicestrong, roadfix, and tombunn, all of whom are good riders and provided fun, good conversation, and encouragement along the way. I can't think of a better first long group ride.

No pics, but I was (briefly) on the evening news. It was a blast riding with the BF'ers and getting to know them. Alicestrong and I were so deep in conversation once that we didn't realize we had fallen off the back until a motorcycle cop told us to catch up with the group. Yen and Jim did great and set a PR for distance. I was pleased that I could climb up Stadium Way with no problem after riding 50 miles - definitely getting stronger. I even passed a couple of cops going up the hill.

We got cycling caps at the end that said LAPD Cycling Team. (Should have stayed with us, Roadfix!) The cap may have helped save me from a traffic ticket. I was giving Alicestrong a ride to Union Station and the right turn onto Alameda came quicker than I expected - I made an illegal turn from the second-to-right lane. A cop saw me and followed us to Union Station. As I was getting out to get the bike out of the car, a voice said, "Remain in the vehicle, sir." Anyway, I don't know if it was the LAPD cap or that I fessed up to the crime, or both, but after a long consultation with her partner, the cop let me off with a warning. Definitely good karma on the day.

We got cycling caps at the end that said LAPD Cycling Team. (Should have stayed with us, Roadfix!)

Dang....had I known about the freebies I would have stayed. I turned off at the top of the hill as I live only 100 yards further up at the park perimeter.

No pics, but I was (briefly) on the evening news. It was a blast riding with the BF'ers and getting to know them. Alicestrong and I were so deep in conversation once that we didn't realize we had fallen off the back until a motorcycle cop told us to catch up with the group. Yen and Jim did great and set a PR for distance. I was pleased that I could climb up Stadium Way with no problem after riding 50 miles - definitely getting stronger. I even passed a couple of cops going up the hill.

We got cycling caps at the end that said LAPD Cycling Team. (Should have stayed with us, Roadfix!) The cap may have helped save me from a traffic ticket. I was giving Alicestrong a ride to Union Station and the right turn onto Alameda came quicker than I expected - I made an illegal turn from the second-to-right lane. A cop saw me and followed us to Union Station. As I was getting out to get the bike out of the car, a voice said, "Remain in the vehicle, sir." Anyway, I don't know if it was the LAPD cap or that I fessed up to the crime, or both, but after a long consultation with her partner, the cop let me off with a warning. Definitely good karma on the day.

Conversations with alicestrong tend to have that effect: you lose track of time and place. She's a gem, am I right?

I bet you'll keep that LAPD cycling cap within easy reach in your car in case of future pull-overs. Wink.

I was happy to hear that it turned out to be more a respectful celebration of the man's life than a somber mourning. Undercurrent of gravitas, overlaid with a lot of warmth.

Yen gets bonus points for challenging herself and making it look easy (according to my little birdie source).

Thanks to all for getting out there and showing support.

First of all, there's a link here (http://imageevent.com/production/cycling/lapdmemorialride21608;jsessionid=peo4qe1pz3.tiger_s) to a wonderful album of photographs from the ride.

I'm having a difficult time articulating how moving this whole experience was. It wasn't like any other ride I've been on. People weren't sad...although I did see some tears. The show of support from the cheering onlookers was tremendous. The feeling of unity in the community was so strong. As a cyclist, it was really cool to see a sampling of members from so many different clubs and cultures, all riding together in tribute to this very remarkable person, and to ride side-by-side with the police officers themselves, of course. The group was very cohesive. As roadfix said, there was no stopping at all except for the breaks...every intersection was cleared for us. I felt enveloped in caring protection.

When we stopped for the ceremony itself, the mounted police stood guard over the bikes with their horses...

It was a wonderful experience that I was honored to be part of.

I got there with my pink heart shaped balloon and found our little Bike Forums group right away. Roadfix had his beautiful fixed Surly. He was a little more serious than I imagined him to be and very, very nice. He watched over all of us. It was great to meet Yen and her husband, also very easy people to be around. But tombunn! OMG :eek: where in the world did he come from??!! No, not really, Tom, just kidding.:D I really enjoyed him, also, and he was kind enough to give me a lift to my bus.

There were also other people there who I knew from different rides. My friend Crit got interviewed by the Times (oh yeah there were TV crews there, too of course)

I generally don't like my picture taken (maybe after years of being the one taking pictures) but there are a few shots of me...Jen took one a little closer than roadfix (that was funny, thanks) that she'll probably post. I didn't jump into the group shot with the Ridazz but Creative Thing got this "helmet hair" one of me with Roadblock (not sure of the name of the woman in the pink Rapha...I'll have to find out) :D...

edit Randy in pink...

http://www.geocities.com/alicestrong@sbcglobal.net/__randymem.jpg

Oh I forgot to say that I also met Brian Morrison, the officer who took the time to email back. He also gave us our LAPD caps...

Thanks Alice for the report & the wonderful pictures. It was a special feeling seeing the pictures with all the cops & citizens so close together. I was reading the exchange between you & Yan. I was So SO SO wanted to come out and do this ride, but this was the first Saturday that my wife didn't haven't to work overtime this year & I don't feel right not to be home(we just made 21 years of marriage on Valentine day). And hopefully, there won't be another such ride.

Thanks Alice for the report & the wonderful pictures. It was a special feeling seeing the pictures with all the cops & citizens so close together. I was reading the exchange between you & Yan. I was So SO SO wanted to come out and do this ride, but this was the first Saturday that my wife didn't haven't to work overtime this year & I don't feel right not to be home(we just made 21 years of marriage on Valentine day). And hopefully, there won't be another such ride.



Beautiful!

21 years...so romantic.:)

...and yes, hopefully there will never have to be another ride quite like this one.

Video up!!

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local&id=5962679



edit Bike ride portion is #2

Alice! Thanks so much for sharing the link to the album and video. Now I don't have to post all of mine, just a handful or so. It was a pleasure riding with all of you on our inaugural group ride, and I can't think of a better ride or group in which to do that.

Allez Oops: I made WHAT look easy? :eek: If you're talking about the hill, I just would not let my mind embrace the thought of stopping, no way. Jim and I talked about it this morning and we're planning some routes around our house with streets like that to train for future rides. But, having made it up that hill without stopping, for the first time ever, on our first ride beyond 30 miles -- and AFTER already riding 48 miles -- is extremely encouraging to us. 4 years ago I was sedentary, almost 40 lbs. overweight, tired, and approaching 50. I've lost all that weight and more, and I feel many years younger. I set my mind to that just as I set my mind to climbing the hill. But, no way was it easy!! :)

And Happy 21st Anniversary to JetWave and his wife! :love: You did the right thing... and sometimes THAT is the hardest thing.