Memorial Ride For Dennis

Today I bore witness to what is probably the most beautiful and poetic event that I have been to in a very long time. Unfortunately a man named Dennis who loved cycling as much as I do lost his life just 12 hours before.
I was reading Bike Love after hearing about the fatal collision through a friend and I saw that there was a Ride of Silence for those that died on a bicyle and that it was going to be a memorial ride for Dennis. Immediately something told me that I had to go. Without thought I cancelled my earlier plans and got ready to go on a memorial ride for a man that I never knew, yet through brotherhood I knew him all too well. So cut to around 6pm, I am at my fundraiser for the MS 150 and my friend Dave and I started talking about the ride. He decides to come with and that is just fine with me, I didn't know anyone who was going so it was good to have that familiarity.
So we ride from SouthTown to the start of the ride: CarsRCoffins on 34th and Lyndale and see a tremendous turnout for the event, I estimated it at between fifty and one hundred cyclists but us barbarians count in a 1, 2, many fashion so I may be way off, but it gave me chills all the same.
We took off and visited a ghost bike site in memory of another cyclist, it was very touching. Someone gave their water to one of the plants at the memorial, I had the same thought but didn't act on it. I scolded myself for the lack of action and we moved on. We went down the greenway from Lake Calhoun to Park and then went north in what was probably much the same route that Dennis took this morning.
About 10 blocks from the site of the collision I started to wonder what it was going to be like, would it be disturbing? Would we be able to see where the collision happened? I think that would have been too much for me to take, this whole day I had been thinking about my mortality and that would be too stark for me to take in. When we were 2 blocks away my spine was tingling, we were all here to remember the memory of fallen cyclists, especially Dennis and we were going to be there in just a few moments. I could imagine the craziness of Park in rush hour, I think every MPLS cyclist has been there at one time or another... it's jam packed full of cars and semis starting the day off.
We pulled up to the intersection of Park and 14th and there was already a small gathering there. I assumed that it was a bunch of people from the event as there were support persons all around all the time. But then a woman that I can only assume to be Dennis' mother walked off crying after seeing so many cyclists show up to his memorial and it hit me: This was his family. Instantly I got choked up a bit, we heard from Dennis's girlfriend and a representative from his family. Someone placed flowers at the sign that was at the intersection and it was very touching. A little boy approached me, I assume he was related to Dennis. We talked a little bit after he got permission from his mother and I gave him one of my cycling pins and his family thanked us for being there. Choking back tears from such a beautiful moment, I realized that we were celebrating Dennis much the way that he lived, and what I heard about him I think he would have done the same for me had the roles been reversed.

May you Rest In Peace Dennis, your light may be dimmed but you have left a mark on the culture of MPLS cycling at least for this bicycling barbarian.