In Memory Of A Friend

I first met Erick back in 2005. It was when Nova and I started participating in a weekly Thursday night ride we were tipped off to by a bike shop employee. It was a ride on old and custom bikes which went from pub to pub in the big city. Erick and a few friends had started this weekly ride 1 or 2 years earlier, I’m not sure exactly. Ironically Erick didn’t partake in alcohol.
Sometime later I gave the ride the name The Thursday Night Pub Pedal and created and ran a website for the ride. When our group of pub pedalers started participating in events outside of the Pub Pedal such as parades and car shows, we decided we needed a name. Erick suggested the Coasters Bicycle Club and we went with it. The pub pedal website then morphed into the Coasters website which I still manage.
In the spring of 2008 Erick had a large tumor removed from his chest which turned out to be cancerous and he would spend the rest of his life battling this cancer. 2008 was also the 3rd year of the Midwest Bicycle Fest and the year I decided it needed music and an MC. Erick volunteered to MC the event and did so till the festival ended. That’s 9 out of the 11 years the fest ran. He was a natural at it. So witty and personable and he had previously worked briefly in radio. At some of the bike fests that Erick MC’d he had just been released from the hospital the week before and I believe one year it was the day before. In addition to what he did for the classic and custom bike community, he also advocated in many ways for the cycling community in general, one of which was serving on the city’s bicycle advisory board.
Over the years his participation in our rides and events became less and less due to his health but he would always make it to the bike fest and occasionally check in with us on a Thursday night. What Erick endured over his 10 year battle in the way of hospital and emergency room visits, ongoing chemo and other procedures was unimaginable. The stories he would tell would’ve been horrific if it wasn’t for the humorous spin he put on them. We would have several fundraisers for him over the years, the last being in July which would be the last time I would see him in person.
Erick passed away last Friday. His contribution to the bike community in Wichita was a huge one. Erick’s love for old bikes was just one of many he had. Others being photography which he did professionally, music and vinyl records and of course his friends and family including his wife and 2 young sons. What an incredible, much loved and admired person. Rest in peace my friend.