In Memory of Dave Blumenthal

Tour Divide racer Dave Blumenthal, 37, passed away yesterday from injuries sustained in a collision with an oncoming pickup truck on a narrow mountain road near Steamboat Springs, CO.  I had  met Dave twice in the days before the race, once at The Ski Stop after he’d been riding the race course, and again at the cookout the night before the race.  I didn’t know him well, but the impression I took from him was that he was a confident and highly experienced rider.  Reading this link, I see that he was much more than that. 

In my upcoming race blog entries, you are going to see that one of the reasons I quit the race was because of fear.  Being inexperienced in mountain/elevation riding (I mean, I am from Houston, after all), I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from these mountain roads and passes.  Now, having had a taste of them, I can tell you they are potentially very dangerous.  They are narrow, steep, sometimes rough, with sharp turns and often with downed trees in your way.  Sometimes the side of the road is a cliff falling away into nothingness.  Coming down the very rough Galton Pass in Canada, I reached speeds of over 40 mph as I plummeted into switchbacks.  Although it was exhilirating, I caught myself thinking things like, “What if I round this blind corner and plow straight into a bear?  A car?  A downed tree?  I could die…”  I made it safely down the pass, only to look back and see my riding partner Bob Moczynski crash violently as he rounded one of those sharp turns.  He was lucky.  He only broke his collar bone.

Seeing Bob go down was a giant slap in the face for me.  It was an up close and personal reminder that this race could be deadly, especially for an inexperienced mountain rider.  I thought back to last year, when Pete Basinger also collided with a truck on one of these roads and broke his collar bone.  Pete was as experienced as they come.  It could have been much, much worse for him, and for Bob.  What about a guy like me?  From that point on I was questioning myself and imagining my involvement in undesirable, fateful scenarios.  I was mentally just not the same rider after Bob’s crash. 

Dave Blumenthal was also highly experienced, and I suspect his accident was more flukish than anything.  But it serves to remind us that this can happen to anyone out there.  We are all human, and none of us, not even the experts, are immune to catastrophe. 

My heart goes out to Dave’s family and friends back in Vermont.  This is a tragedy that should never happen to a fellow like him.  He’s one of those guys who I could tell, if I’d known him more personally, my life would have been better for it.  And although this rings a bit hollow for me, I will still say that at least he died doing what he loved.   Dave’s family has asked that, instead of flowers, etc, please donate to the Green Mountain Club in his memory.

To all current and future Tour Dividers, please take it easy out there.    Don’t take unneccessary risks.  I’m not speculating that Dave was taking chances…I rather think he was not.  But if that little voice in your head is telling you to slow down, or to pull over because you’re so sleepy, or to not ride this technical section in the dark, listen to it.  No need to be a hero…you’ll have plenty of time to get your race on without tempting fate. 

Rest well, Dave, and thanks for being you.

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