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#1
02-05-2020, 02:07 PM
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"Hitting a Tony": Reflections on the Loss of a Friend.
Editorial note:
I have been wanting to contribute in a deeper way to the Paceline for some time. When Mark Minn (kramnnim) posted about the death of his good cycling buddy: https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=246440, I thought it might make for a moving story. I hope to do more of these articles in the future. Thanks to Mark for his time and generosity. Thanks for reading... “Hitting a Tony.” On the face of it, it was a little ridiculous. A bit of bike hyperbole. Uttered by a friend who may or may not have actually accomplished it in the first place. After all, who hits 41 MPH on the flats? But Earl Gillon swore his friend Tony did it. And so it became a kind of inside joke between Earl and his cycling buddies. And Earl would invariably get close. Maybe 37 mph. Give or take. “Just missed hitting a Tony today,” he would say, laughing. That laughter was part of who Earl was. Although there was no doubt he was a “serious” cyclist - doing century rides at least three times a week - there was always laughter. “Earl would be passed by a coal roller, and he would just wave at the truck with a big smile on his face,” recalled his friend Mark Minn during a recent interview. “I’m sure the truckers would look in the rear view mirrors and wonder who the crazy dude was in the bright tights. “But that’s who Earl was. He might’ve made better Strava times, except he was so busy saying ‘Good Morning’ to everyone, “Minn recalled. “And you couldn’t go on a bike ride without people shouting ‘hello’ at him. He was kind of like the Mayor of our little cycling community. A real shining light.” Earl Gillon died after being hit by a car on January 12th. In the weeks following Gillon’s death, his friend Minn has tried to reconcile the feelings of loss and grief. “Over the last four or five years, Earl and I met up to ride every weekend,” Minn recalled in his Paceline post. “It was generally just the two of us doing at least a Century. “Between rides, we talked on Messenger daily about family, bikes, cars, the stock market, etc. Three weeks ago, about an hour after we parted ways, he was hit a few miles from home.” Earl Gillon’s hometown bike shop, “Trek Bikes of Charlotte” recently had a memorial ride for the deceased rider. Close to 300 people rode in the 46-mile event, which passed by the “Ghost Bike” memorial that was set up in Gillon’s honor. Minn, still trying to process the loss of his friend, rode with the group, but opted to ride by the memorial on his own. “I'm not quite at the point where I'd quit riding,” he said, “but the thought of riding solo on the roads we used to ride together is so full of memories...I'm getting choked up just thinking about it.” Recounting the origin of their friendship during a recent interview, Minn had to laugh. “We only met because he dropped his water bottle during a fondo,” Minn said. “It was a ride in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and Earl was riding with a really strong group of riders. After he dropped the bottle, he just kind of hung back with our group and that was the start of the friendship.” Gillon and Minn were “typical Facebook” friends for a few years up until the point that Minn’s power went out, and he needed a backup generator. Although they had not seen each other since the Fondo, and were essentially just acquaintances, after Minn posted that his generator went out, Gillon volunteered to bring him over a back-up. “It was kind of shocking, because we really didn’t know each other,” Minn said. But that’s just who Earl was.” Although the issue was fixed before Gillon brought another generator, the two quickly struck up a Facebook correspondence that grew into a much deeper friendship. “We went pretty quickly from ‘hey … if you’re not doing anything this Saturday to let’s meet at the four-way at 9AM. And then, from there, it was just understood that we would be riding together every Saturday, come rain or shine.” There was only one exemption to the Saurday ride, Minn said. “Earl had three granddaughters. If he had to be on “Grandad duty, that trumped everything else.” Indeed, the 64 year-old Gillon (who looked like a very rugged and fit version of the “Marlboro Man”) was a paternal presence to the 36 year-old Minn and a few other younger riders as well. “For a few years, our buddies Houston, Tyler, myself and Earl were a really tight knit gang. And Earl was definitely our leader. Some local riders called him “The General,” and we were kind of like his ‘lieutenants.’ “When Houston got a job offer in another state, or Tyler was in the process of buying an engagement diamond, it was Earl they turned to for advice. Between the four of us, we must have exchanged over 9,000 photos in four years. It was definitely like a cycling family.” Among the most ubiquitous pictures Minn has from Earl are turtle pics. “Around here, the Box Turtles are often out in Spring,” Minn said. “If Earl saw them, he’d slam on the brakes, turn around, and escort them to safety across the street. I lost count of how many pics he would post of ‘save the turtle day,’ but, between the two of us, it was a lot.” The loss of someone who Minn called a “Father Figure,” has not fully set in yet. “I haven’t gone through this type of loss before,” Minn said. “It’s raw still. My wife’s grandfather has dementia.. And, you know, it’s the kind of stuff I would’ve talked about with Earl. Because he would’ve given me some perspective. “But Earl’s gone now.” Last weekend, Minn did something he’d avoided since the day of Earl’s death. He retraced their usual route, and he rode the route solo. Through the “grief, anger, confusion, and outrage,” Minn said he had only one objective: “keeping his head up.” And as Minn completed the last leg of his ride, he did something he swore he’d never do again. He “Hit a Tony.” Pictured: Mark Minn (foreground) and Earl Gillon. 
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#5
02-05-2020, 03:57 PM
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Quote:
Kramnnim wrote a thread lamenting the loss of a good friend. I thought it might make a compelling article. The story is the result of a couple of phone interviews with Kramnnim, which is explained in the editorial comments. Thanks.
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#11
02-06-2020, 09:29 AM
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Great story, well told.
My condolences to family and friends.
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#12
02-06-2020, 11:10 AM
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Well done Josh, for going deeper on this. It is not easy to ask someone experiencing loss to share this stuff. It can feel like picking at an open wound. I think the result is a story worth telling. Thanks also to Mark for being vulnerable enough to participate.
__________________
And we have just one world, But we live in different ones
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#13
02-06-2020, 12:16 PM
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Thanks for sharing.
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#14
02-06-2020, 01:46 PM
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Quote:
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🏻*
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