My good friend Gary Carter is leaving us. It’s good for him, but will be a loss to our community. Gary has been a prominent member of the local cycling scene for quite some time now. He has been a booster of our community and a strong and good friend to many of us.
The “skinny old guy on the funny bike” has eaten many a mile and shocked quite a few younger riders. He is a randonnuer of note. I’ve ridden, literally thousands of miles with him, through rain, through the nights, in cold and hot, on rough roads and smooth, and sometimes no roads at all. I’ve seen Gary cheery, and grumpy, in good form and suffering. I’ve seen him on road bikes, recumbents, single speeds, and mountain bikes. He and I have spent hours together laughing our heads off, and we’ve had occasions where we managed to seriously annoy each other. (Then we forgive and forget.) I’ve never seen him boring.
I don’t remember the exact date that I first met our friend, but I definitely remember the circumstances. It was a somewhat chilly Saturday morning. I’d gone to the shop early (before it opened) to let myself in and do a couple of chores before I led the morning group ride. Gary had pulled up outside the door in his vehicle and unloaded his old Trek road bike. He had a mysterious and nearly unfixable flat tire on the back, and he was desperate to go riding. He managed to talk his way in, and the next half hour was spent trying to get Gary’s tire fixed. We were successful, and he took of in haste.
That’s Gary. He has always had an urgency about getting on the bike and riding. And once he’s riding, he wants to keep on riding. That said, I’ve never seen Gary fail to stop for a stranded or distressed cyclist. I’ve never seen him fail to be courteous to other riders. He may leave them gasping in his wake, but he is invariably polite about it. (He saves the insults and such until he knows you well.) This is also a man given to great generosity. He has willing and freely given of his time to make life better for other riders.
This move is a good one for our friend. He’s going to be moving to Italy, and to a region that is just astonishing for a cyclist. Few people I know enjoy climbing anywhere near as much as Gary does, and with the Alps and Dolomites close at hand, he will be a happy camper indeed.
Italy’s gain is going to be our loss.
So, bon voyage, Gary Carter. Bon chance, et bon courage. Toujours audace et bon route!
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