Five Dead Riders

[viffergyrl]

Thanks Kurt for the re-post - it is as powerful today as it was in 2009. You articulate well things that cannot be explained.

Thanks much.

[puppychow]

Powerful, moving and thought provoking. Thank you for sharing and remembering and helping us do the same!

[WIRE]

Thank you, everyone. I'm glad that this resonates with you, and I appreciate you letting me know. Special thanks to Ken and Cowboy for the added insight into the effects this tragedy had on people who were close to those who perished. The memorial exists in even more complete historical and emotional context now.

[Jeffdag]

I was very moved by this post, as this is the first I have heard of this tragedy. Thanks for posting this tribute.

[pyxie]

Glad I found and read this. Thank you for sharing it Kurt .The images along with your words are haunting.

[WIRE]

Thank you, Jeff and Pyxie. I appreciate all of the feedback I've received here.

This spot has begun to transition to a more generalized form of rider memorial; it now includes a tribute to a guy named Spanky, who died 16 years after the Labor Day crash. I'm not sure what I think about that; I understand and support the need of people to form emotionally symbolic connections to others when they memorialize a lost loved one, but unless Spanky had some direct connection to one of the original crash victims or their families (or died at or near the same spot), it may have been better to choose someplace different. I neither have nor seek any claim to moral authority on this question. I just feel that a significant part of what makes this place special is that it has endured for decades as a tribute to and commemoration of the lives of several people who perished in one specific event. This tragedy continues to bring together riders of every motorcycle persuasion, political philosophy, religious tradition, and life experience, and adding memorials to people who weren't part of it seems to dilute the experience somehow.

Or maybe I'm out in left field. Maybe Spanky's survivors chose this place precisely because of the effect it had on him when he was alive.






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[Hoologan]

I was raised in Pollock Pines and I remember seeing those crosses every summer while woodcutting up ME trail. I'd all but forgotten about them until now. Thank you for the reminder.

[JCZ]

Wow, memories from the past.

I know that a local attorney, Fritz Clapp (long retired now) was also involved in that accident and received extensive burns as a result.

However, Fritz lived and was able to continue riding. He was (and may still be.....didn't ask him, the last time I saw him) the copyright attorney for the Hells Angeles. I'll never forget the story he shared with me about this accident, many years ago.

[WIRE]

Thanks for the additional context, JC. I stopped by the other day for the first time since last October.


















The first three are from June 27, 2012. The last one is part of the original batch from August 2009.

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