Halloween Cross Memorial Lap for Brett Jarolimek

ASTORIA, Ore. - It was another amazing Halloween Cross Crusade weekend. Sadly, though, we were missing avid Crusader and cyclist Brett Jarolimek who was run down and killed on a Portland street. Friends such as Kris Schamp and Brad Ross remembered Brett by speaking about him and his passions and then leading a memorial lap. There is a memorial ride 5PM today in Forest Park starting on Thurman Ave - more details soon. Story from BikePortland.org: Wearing white t-shirts emblazoned with the words “No Blind Spots”, Cross Crusade founder Rick Potestio and race director Brad Ross said losing Brett Jarolimek was like losing “a member of the Cross Crusade family.” Yesterday in Astoria, hundreds of cyclists took part in a silent memorial lap in Brett’s honor. The lap was led out by Brett’s friends and his Team Bike Gallery teammates, many of them weary from the road after driving to Idaho for his funeral yesterday. Some of Brett’s friends had made copies of his race number (800) and passed them out for all of us to wear in his honor. Below the number was a winged figure on a bike and the words, “Brett Jarolimek 1976-2007. We love you. We miss you.” The silent lap was a somber, yet powerful way to say goodbye to Brett and to remember what his life, and his death, mean to our community. These past two weeks have taken a toll on many of us. And, while some things will never be the same again, especially for the families and friends of those we’ve lost, the undeniable spirit of the Cross Crusade will live on. Brett, who dressed up as Captain Underpants at the Halloween Cross race last year, would surely have smiled at the abundance of spirit on display yesterday. See Jonathan Maus' excellent slide show of the event. More coverage of Cross Crusade IV, Halloween in Astoria coming soon!