The David T. Ryan Ride for Safety Awareness was held on October 9, 2004. The ride was a 29 mile loop or 11 mile out/back to increase road safety awareness and raise money for the David T. Ryan Scholarship. The following are some archives about the ride:
On June 29, 2004 an exceptional GE Magnet Physicist and highly competitive cyclist Dr. David T. Ryan was tragically killed by a speeding motorist while on his regular training ride in Clifton Park, NY. He would have been 33 on October 8th.
UPDATE
Inaugural David T. Ryan Ride — Very Brief Summary
- 54 registered — exceeded our goal by almost 30 %!
- No major safety incidents (one flat tire, one person fell with minor bruising); I snail-mailed signed waivers and report to MHCC contact as instructed
- Great weather: 60-70 F, partly cloudy, breezy
- Exceptional police support was provided (multiple counties)
- Nothing but positive comments have been received from riders
- MUCH INTEREST from many to make this into an annual event
- Howard Halstead and others want to permanently name the 29-mile loop after David — I wholeheartedly agree!
Thank you again for taking part in the “David T. Ryan Ride for Safety Awareness.” As advertised, the initial 200 registrants will be given commemorative long-sleeved t-shirts. If you were one of those people and did not receive a shirt on October 9th, you will be receiving one in the mail within a few weeks. Sorry for the delay. We apologize to the registered participants beyond #200 but, upon much reflection, we the organizing committee felt that the donation money received beyond our expectations would be best used toward the David T. Ryan Scholarship Fund, one of the event’s two prime goals. We hope that all of you agree!
Ride Photos Provided by Robert Tait. Thank you Robert for the excellent job you did for providing us such beautiful memories of a fantastic event! Enjoy these great shots!
Ride Comments:
David Ryan Ride Co-organizers, Volunteers, and Friends:
I want to thank you all again for the great job that you did on October 9th. I am attaching the story that appeared this morning in the GE Global Research Niskayuna (electronic) News. This event was a huge success thanks to all of you, whether you were directly involved and/or indirectly, by providing much needed moral support and/or sponsorship! I am meeting this afternoon with some administrative people here at GE Global Research to discuss steps forward regarding the resulting David T. Ryan Scholarship Fund. I will keep you posted.
All the best,
Walter
Cyclists Raise $12K+ in Memory of David Ryan Niskayuna News
Source: Internal
November 12, 2004
It was a beautiful Saturday morning in early autumn. The kind of day that would have found David Ryan doing what he loved to do best: putting another 50 or 100 miles on his bicycle, to add to the more than 100,000 miles that he had logged since taking up the sport competitively in his native England nearly 15 years earlier. But the Oxford graduate, who was tragically killed during a training ride in Clifton Park in June, wasn’t there to make that ride. And so > the others … in fact, several hundred others who rode in his memory… did it for him. The David T. Ryan Ride for Safety Awareness held last month had two heartfelt roots: it honored a deep friendship between the GE magnet physicist and his biking buddy who spearheaded the ride, GE chemist Walt Cicha; and it grew out of the desire to point out the vital need for bicycle safety awareness on the road.
The ride also had another goal: to raise funds for the newly established David T. Ryan Scholarship Fund. This fund will be used to help an outstanding Capital Region high school senior who excels in scientific subjects and who also is an avid participant in athletics pursue an education at the collegiate level. By all measures, the ride was a total success, Walt said. There were 254 riders who registered for the event, and their donations, along with support from GE Global Research, raised more than $12,000 for the scholarship. Riders had the option of taking the same 29-mile loop on roads and bike path along the Mohawk River on which David trained, or a shorter 10-mile out-and-back route along the bike path. Their reasons for riding were many: some had previous brushes with death after being hit by cars while cycling on the road and wanted to show their support for those who did not survive. Others wanted to bring attention to automobile drivers that they share the road with their two-wheeled compatriots. While many did not know David, they nonetheless wanted to honor his memory on what would have been the day after his 33rd birthday by riding the course that one local media referred to as the “Tour de France Niskayuna.” The ride “was the most meaningful success of my life,” Walt said. “Dozens of riders came up to me and the other organizers after the event, telling us how much they enjoyed the ride and how deeply touched they were by taking part in the ride and experience of the day.” The event was hosted by the Mohawk Hudson Cycling Club and generously underwritten by GE Global Research.
Thanks to the organizing committee who helped make the ride possible:
Jami Cotler, Bob Preville, Albert Stella, Ray Schmidt, Peter Bonitatebus, Jeff Fedison, Susan Troll, Darryl Caron, and Walt Cicha.
“I wanted to express the fact that the ride today was truly amazing and I think that the success was due, in many ways, to your efforts and the dedication that you brought out in everyone because of your own passion. It was amazing to feel the emotions coming from the returning bikers and I do think that this was not your average ride – everyone who I spoke with at the sign-out seemed deeply touched by the experience.” (Sheila Lamont)
“Hi, Greetings and best wishes to the friends of the late David and to the participants in the memorial ride. The Cause that you are promoting is truelly a fitting tribute to the memory of a remarkable and loved young man so tragically taken from us. May the Day and the Goals that you have set, meet with the success that they deserve. From David’s Uncle John and Family in Ireland.”