By Jay Nelson

I will never forget June 10, 2001. It was a Sunday, and around noon I was out mowing my lawn. Suddenly my wife and mother (she was over visiting) were out on my deck screaming at me. When I ran up, they were screaming that my Uncle Bill was dead; he died on his bike just outside of Castle Rock.

My uncle had always been a "stand-in" father in my dad’s absence. I spent summers with my cousins, as well as many other "adventures." Don and Tom are more brothers than cousins. In recent years my uncle had drawn me into his love of biking. It started as mountain biking, then increased to road bikes as things progressed. We completed a great many rides in Steamboat during summer trips. My wife joined us on many. In May of 2000 we made the trip to Santa Fe with my aunt and uncle for the century, which was Bill and his best friend, Fritz’s, ninth. This was the year that I did the Triple By Pass for the first time. Bill had always said how difficult it was, and considering he was a West Point Graduate, and Vietnam Veteran, this meant something. It was quite a challenge, but all the prep and coaching from Bill paid off.

Saturday night, June 9^th, 2001 was the wedding of my cousins best friend down in Colorado Springs at the Broadmoor. My wife and I had planned on attending. Bill and I were to ride our bikes back. My two month old daughter was sick this morning, so Michele and I cancelled the trip. To hear that my uncle had died, when I was supposed to be with him, came as a shock.

Through the autopsy, it was revealed that Bill had heart failure. He never released from his pedals, or let go of the handlebars. It was the downhill into Franktown, and he went very quickly. Bill crashed in front of the Baptist church, as the services were letting out. One of the witnesses was a volunteer EMT for Franktown, and got to him in less than a minute. He was gone, at 60, and was in great shape.

As all this was passing, I began to hatch the idea of riding the Triple in Bills honor. At this time, my work schedule was very hectic, and I had not been riding much. The 2001 Triple came and went, as did the demanding job, I decided to get the family together for the 2002 Triple as a tribute. Through numerous conversations it started to come together. In August we were planning a ride to spread Bills ashes up Left Hand Canyon, around Ward, and Jamestown, which was Bills favorite ride to do with his best friend Fritz. My cousin Tom, Fritz and I did the ride and "completed the mission (this was one of Bills mottos, a West Point influence)." Tom had never been much of a rider, but he fixed up Bills bike from the crash, and trained to get ready. About this time, Tom threw down the challenge; he would beat any and all takers on the Triple. I took this challenge, as did his brother Don. Don is a Cat 3 racer down in Texas, and takes his riding very seriously.

Additional family that stepped up were my other uncles in Nebraska and Missouri, Riel and Norb. Fritz was in from the first mention. My other cousins up in Nebraska had military and college commitments, but agreed to participate if available. So the crew was set. Over the winter the emails flew, with an abundance of trash, critiques and jabs moving from box to box, mostly between Don, Tom and I. The upcoming mission, the communication, and the family interaction provided focus during the difficult year and milestones; the first Christmas, anniversaries, birthdays, etc…

I sought out my uncles classmates from West Point to tell them of the tribute. Karen directed me to the Class of 62 website, and I reached the commanders. I wrote, and they posted a letter to their site, telling of the upcoming ride, and inviting any classmates. In keeping with the tribute, we found West Point cycling jerseys, and everyone bought one to wear on the ride. In May, Tom, Fritz and I made the trip to Santa Fe again as preparation, and to start the tribute.

Last Saturday was the big day. Don, his wife Susan, and daughter Taylor came up from Texas. Riel, my aunt Lyle and cousin, Nick, came from Nebraska. Nick is an officer in the Navy, just graduated from the University of Nebraska, and currently waiting flight training in October. Norb and Ann came in from Missouri. Fritz came down from Boulder. Bills wife, Karen, and I live locally.

We all completed the mission, to finish the ride and honor Bill. Nick beat us all back to the barn, taking Don and I by 40 minutes. Age has its benefits. I spent most of my day with Don, and we received many comments on the West Point jerseys. They were black and gold, with a big "A" on the front and back, with "Army" in several prominent places. Perhaps you noticed if you were out. We even had conversations with some recent West Point graduates during the ride, and more at the finish.

Saturday night we all stayed at the Comfort Inn in Avon. We had dinner together as a family. Karen prepared awards for the riders of the first annual "Bill White Memorial Ride." Each rider received an award of some kind.

Don’t know what we are all going to do now that it is over and done. We have all agreed that this will be an ongoing "challenge," but the event and participants may change. We would like to include more family, if possible. The new title is the "Bill White Challenge." Events are still being sought, some ideas have been some adventure races, or other bike rides in each others states. Of course I am warm to the Triple. At press time, the trophy will be Bills "Tar Bucket," his parade hat from West Point, which will travel among the winners. I hate to say that the "Tar Bucket" will be in Nebraska for the next year. As for me, I will continue riding and thank Bill each time I have a tailwind. He was the Director of Tailwinds on rides with Fritz. If you have a head wind, ask Bill for some help.

As a side note, due to Bills heart attack, Fritz went to his doctor and got a battery of tests, including heart imaging. This found an artery that was 70% blocked. He received a stint in September, and was back on the bike the next week. Had this gone un-checked, he might have been close behind Bill.