FREERIDER
Well-Known Member
On Sunday March 15 at 10:15 am my Dad and fellow canyon carver
Tom "Pops" O. died after, shit I don't know if I should tell the whole story.
Ya I should.
My Dad was a life long Motorcyclist. Charter Life Member of the AMA. He raced motorcross in the 60's and 70's on the old CZs and Suzuki's. He had a couple of Triumph's and others that I don't remember. I think he got his first V-MAX around 88' or 89'. My earliest memories of the monster bikes of a dark moroon and dark purple colors were going to and from school. My 2nd grade teacher thought he was crazy for taking me to school on the front of the bike holding the inner part of the handle bars with my Moms helmet on. (It was only 5 bloks to school.)
I rode with him untill I was big enough to touch my feet to the ground with out droping it. Then after that he let me lose on it. Thats one cool Dad who would let his 15yr son take the bike to High School and to girls houses. Man what a great guy.
For some reason niether one of us rode for almost seven years untill I got my R1. Once I got the R1 and into the canyons of East County San Diego he was right behind me. I got a flat on Fathers of 07' and called him to come and get. Sure enough he did, and when saw all the sport bikes and the guys who rode them he was hooked again. Four days later he bought a Red 94' V-MAX and we were RIDING together again.
"Pops" as he would come to be known, became a center part of the Telegarph Canyon "group" of RIDERS. He put an email list together of 42 RIDERS and would put out a weekly news letter about cops and crashes and Wild Fires. It was kinda a rough start out there for him on a V-MAX and everyone else on sport bikes. He had his own vary unique way of RIDING that the guys weren't sure what to think about. But he soon gained the respect of everyone. After awhile of being the crazy old guy and loud ass V-MAX he decided that he would be better suited for the canyons on a Yamaha FZ1. With the FZ1 under him he was one force not to be reconded with out there in a pack of younger guys on Super Bikes.
Time went on and on one of the weekends I was with my kids and not out on the Sunday RIDE, my Dad, Charles "Tom" "Pops O. moved on to the big track in the sky. The thing about it is that it was not the Canyons that got him, it was the Cops.
He passed a cop at 120+ and kept on going. He made a run for it. After coming out of a long bend and out of sight of the cops and the other RIDERS, he saw an opportunity to make a quik left of HWY 94 and onto a side road.
He did not make the turn and went off the cliff. He broke his neck instantly.
He will be dearly missed by me and many of other RIDERS who's lives he touched. A foot marker has been set at the spot of his transition to the never ending RIDE. All are welcome to go out there to pay respects and chill for a minute. Its is actually a very beautiful canyon to stop and have a smoke. Leave one rolled for him too.:bike1:
Tom "Pops" O. died after, shit I don't know if I should tell the whole story.
Ya I should.
My Dad was a life long Motorcyclist. Charter Life Member of the AMA. He raced motorcross in the 60's and 70's on the old CZs and Suzuki's. He had a couple of Triumph's and others that I don't remember. I think he got his first V-MAX around 88' or 89'. My earliest memories of the monster bikes of a dark moroon and dark purple colors were going to and from school. My 2nd grade teacher thought he was crazy for taking me to school on the front of the bike holding the inner part of the handle bars with my Moms helmet on. (It was only 5 bloks to school.)
I rode with him untill I was big enough to touch my feet to the ground with out droping it. Then after that he let me lose on it. Thats one cool Dad who would let his 15yr son take the bike to High School and to girls houses. Man what a great guy.
For some reason niether one of us rode for almost seven years untill I got my R1. Once I got the R1 and into the canyons of East County San Diego he was right behind me. I got a flat on Fathers of 07' and called him to come and get. Sure enough he did, and when saw all the sport bikes and the guys who rode them he was hooked again. Four days later he bought a Red 94' V-MAX and we were RIDING together again.
"Pops" as he would come to be known, became a center part of the Telegarph Canyon "group" of RIDERS. He put an email list together of 42 RIDERS and would put out a weekly news letter about cops and crashes and Wild Fires. It was kinda a rough start out there for him on a V-MAX and everyone else on sport bikes. He had his own vary unique way of RIDING that the guys weren't sure what to think about. But he soon gained the respect of everyone. After awhile of being the crazy old guy and loud ass V-MAX he decided that he would be better suited for the canyons on a Yamaha FZ1. With the FZ1 under him he was one force not to be reconded with out there in a pack of younger guys on Super Bikes.
Time went on and on one of the weekends I was with my kids and not out on the Sunday RIDE, my Dad, Charles "Tom" "Pops O. moved on to the big track in the sky. The thing about it is that it was not the Canyons that got him, it was the Cops.
He passed a cop at 120+ and kept on going. He made a run for it. After coming out of a long bend and out of sight of the cops and the other RIDERS, he saw an opportunity to make a quik left of HWY 94 and onto a side road.
He did not make the turn and went off the cliff. He broke his neck instantly.
He will be dearly missed by me and many of other RIDERS who's lives he touched. A foot marker has been set at the spot of his transition to the never ending RIDE. All are welcome to go out there to pay respects and chill for a minute. Its is actually a very beautiful canyon to stop and have a smoke. Leave one rolled for him too.:bike1:
unk:... 
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