Sad News

[DZIMBRIC]

sorry to post this one. I am forwarding e-mail I received this week on a trageduy on Yarnell Hill. My condolences to the familiies,

Tragic news about fellow club mate Victor Beard

Sunday morning The FasTour & AzBeemers had a ride heading to Prescott. On
Yarnell Hill Victor Beard and Cord Jemison lost their lives. Here is what
the FasTour Site said about the accident

----------------
" ...Victor and Cord were traveling very, very fast up the hill.

Victor was riding lead, with Cord close behind him. Both riders had their
knees on or near the ground. Vic's rear wheel slid a bit, and he gathered it
back up but over-corrected and ran into Cord; their new trajectory took them
into a tremendously hard impact with the guardrail.

Cord died instantly, and Victor a few minutes later."
---------------------
I'm just shocked and sadden by this news. We just rode with Victor & his
wife Diana on Firday to Keaney/Globe with 9 other RimRiders for bfast

IÔÇÖll send out funeral/memorial service info when I find out more.

My condolences to both families Godspeed Victor & Cord.

Shelley

It was late yesterday evening that I found out who Cord's wife is...

>Shelley,
>FYI on the other rider, in case you were not aware..Cord was the
>husband of Stephanie who works in the apparel dept of Victory BMW.
>
>Joe Levee

They were married in Sedona several months ago... This just adds to the
sorrow of this tragic event...

I don't have any info as of yet about services etc... as soon as I or some
other club member hears any news at all, I'll send it out.

Shelley

Victor Beard's Obituary, as posted in today's paper...

http://www.legacy.com/azcentral/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=15815583
-------------

Stephanie Jemison posted this Memorial Service info...

>Services for Cord Jemison Friday, December 2nd.
>
>I will be holding a memorial service for Cord Jemison on December 2nd
>2005
>at 7pm
>at 12205 washington st
>phoenix AZ.
>Friends , family and fellow riders are all welcome.
>
>Just last week I had a conversation with Cord about what he wanted me
>to if
>he were to pass away. Being the person he was he gave me specific
>instructions that he just wanted a get together of friends and family at a
>happy place and that he did not want to be mourned but celebrated.
>
>I will be holding the memorial service at one of his close friends and
>what
>he considered to be a family members house.
>I am so thankful for the support of the community and from all of my
>friends and family. Cord and I moved out here 1 year ago although that is
>not a very long time I feel like I have known so many of you for much
>longer. It is unfortunate that all of this had to happen, but I am happy
>knowing that he was doing something he truely loved.
>My heart goes out to Victors family. All I can say is I am very sorry for
>your lose.
>480-214-3652

>directions:
>
>I-10 W toward CENTRAL PHOENIX / LOS ANGELES.
>
>Take EXIT 131 Avondale Blvd- toward CASHION. 0.3 miles
>
>Turn LEFT onto N AVONDALE BLVD. 0.7 miles
>
>Turn RIGHT onto W VAN BUREN ST. 0.9 miles
>
>Turn LEFT onto N FAIRWAY DR. 0.2 miles
>
>Turn LEFT onto W ADAMS ST. <0.1 miles
>
>Turn RIGHT onto N 122ND LN. <0.1 miles
>
>House is on corner on right
>End at 12205 W Washington St
>Avondale, AZ 85323-8091, US

 

[kbasa]

That's very, very sad to hear.

My heart goes out to their families.

 

[BobFV1]

On another site, we started a discussion thread on track days as a result of this tragic accident. Here are my comments in response to the argument about weather or not track days provide useful street skill enhancement. It sheds a little bit of light on one of the decedents, Cord Jemison:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I have to chime in ........... Track days increase your skills and give you more of a margin in the "real world". I have two bikes which are almost exclusively track bikes and I do track days very frequently, and track schools whenever I can. This is what I have learned from my time on the track - go fast on the track, and observe applicable laws on the street. In order to help me with this, I don't ride my fast bikes on the street - I ride my big old lumbering RT. I am not tempted to ride the RT too fast - I just want to ride it and enjoy the day. But when I hit a little sand on a tight curve on the RT, I immediately shift over to use the skills which keep the rear wheel of the R1 under me on the track. No need to panic, it's just a little slide - it's fun, maybe I can lay a little blackie on the road before I get her under control, then I can enjoy an iced tea and think about it at the next rest stop.

As I mentioned in the other post, I knew Cord Jemison pretty well, and was with him just hours before he died. I bought a pair of boots from him last Saturday morning. When I did, he pulled out a map of the route of his final ride and he showed it to me, inviting me to join him. He told me that he wanted to smoke me on my R1 with his brand new CBR1000RR. I looked at the map and realized that it was the exact same route I had taken my RT over the previous day, and I declined the invitation to ride along. I very rarely do group rides anyway - I ride ocassionally with a Blue Knights group here but that's it.

So, in response to Cord's invitation to test the performance of my R1 against his CBR, I asked him again to meet me at track day next Sunday, Dec 4. I had made similar invitations to Cord pretty much every month for most of the past year, trying to get him out on the track to blow off some steam and hone his skills. He told me that he wanted to ride on the track with me some time - but now that never will happen.

There is so much I could say about this late young rider. He leaves a lovely young wife who I have become friends with over the past year. He just liked to ride fast, and he was on a new liter bike which he was not used to. I was on a business trip last month when I got a series of Emails from him. He asked me about the R1, told me he was considering a liter bike, wanted advice. I told him they are monsters, but I had no idea that one of the monsters would take his life so very soon.

He was decent and friendly. When I saw him last Saturday I was with a friend of mine from work and I remember how cheerfully and politely Cord introduced himself and shook hands. I razzed him about his new riding suit. It was a beautiful one-piece Hein Gericke "Celtic" track suit with pucks and a speed hump. I told him that it was a bad idea to wear this suit on the street because it would attract the attention of the cops. He told me that the speed hump was comfortable when he put his head back and rested his helmet on it.

Well, back to the track day thing. Riding on the track makes me want to ride slow and sane on the street. I ride fast on the track - that's why I go there. I'm not going to win any races, but I am going to take that bike up to some speeds that really test all my skills. I have seen and been involved in so many crashes on the track which could have been fatal to me or others on the street. I wrote about one such incident after one of the two track days I did here in November. A squid passed me in turn 9 at Firebird West and in doing so got way off line. As we came around and approached turn 2 I was back up on his tail waiting for the apex to dive in to the turn inside of him when I saw him lock up his brakes and just go straight off the track and right through the hay bales. As I committed to the left turn and glannced over my right shoulder at him I just saw the back of his bike disappear behind the hay bales and I thought about how, had this been on the street, that guy would be either a hood ornament or splattered like a bug on a retaining wall or jersey barrier - he went square in to the hay bales, barely scrubbing off any speed. What if he had seen me going up Yarnell Hill (where Cord and Victor died) and pulled up and around me, off line, and then slammed in to a guard rail? I think we know what would have happenned.

Well, this has been a ramble. I'm pretty darned upset about all this. I wanted to share some impressions of Cord with you all. I just know one thing. Cord is on "the other side" and he is looking good. He's over there in that fancy one-piece leather track suit and his shiny helmet, and he has a big old smile on his face. He had a smile that would really draw you in. And I'm sure he wants me to come on over and bring my R1 with me, and for us to have a go at it on some celestial track, where all the run-off areas are made of clouds and you couldn't hurt yourself if you tried. I think that's what he's up to right about now.

 

[SNC1923]

Heartbreaking news, indeed. My condolences to both families.

 

[BRADFORDBENN]

Dang

 

[IRONMAN]

Forever

Brad if I may quote you.

"Forever in the wind"

My heart goes out to the families.

 

[RTRandy]

This is so terribly sad and something that keeps coming to my mind ever since I read about it. I feel terrible for his friends and family.

I agree with BobFV1 about using the track for speed and extreme control issues. I hope there can be a lesson for us from a man who lost his life which will allow us to remain safe on our bikes.

Tracks have difficult and challenging turns and no speed limit signs. There are no curbs, no guard rails, no gravel, no loose dirt , no deer, no farmers riding a big slow tractor around the bend, no cars coming the other way, no pot holes. If you make a mistake on a track, there's a good chance you'll get up and walk from a low side fall without rinning into one of the above obsticles.

I wasn't there at this terrible accident and know he didn't deserve to die, but it's an old story of too fast and too hot entering a corner out on the street. We've all been there, at least I have while trying to keep up with others. It's one of the reasons I own a Suzuki for the track and I feel more cumfortable riding solo and riding my own ride at an easy pace on my RT.

My prayers go out for all those effected by this tragic accident.

 

[bmdubyou]

Prayers to the families