Greetings! I’m Jerry’s next older brother (he has 9 brothers, & 3 sisters!). Jerry rode H2B with his great friend Mark Tye, in memory of Mark’s brother Michael who helped start H2B. Someday, I hope to ride it for real, and see Mark & the Cape again. Meanwhile, I’m riding it virtually this year with short trips on bike trails & roads around Cincinnati, ~ 35 miles each weekend in Sept.
A few years ago, Jerry rode a borrowed bike from Columbus where he was visiting family & friends, and working of course, to see me in Cinci. Along the way he had a flat near Xenia, but found a friendly proprietor who loaned him her car & directed him to the nearby bike shop to repair the tire & get back on the road. A trusting person who was Jerry’s angel that day, maybe familiar to riders in need from having a business so near the bike trail.
Closer to Cinci, just on the north side, Jerry got caught in the rain & the skies were darkening, so he called & my wife Suzanne picked him up, saving him from getting more soggy on the last 15-20 miles of his 120+ mile ride.
Growing up, Jerry would repair old bikes, buy new bikes, and ride bikes all over Columbus and the nearby areas. I recall once we rode ~ 60 miles one-way from Columbus to our new family property in the hills of south-eastern Ohio. That’s where we had a memorial for Jerry in July 2019, a month after Jerry died atop the backside of Aspen’s Ajax mountain.
Jerry is missed, but there are many memories that keep him near. This summer, his daughter Tessa is riding from Seattle to San Diego, a ride she wanted to do with her Dad one day. The fires ravaging the West Coast are making her take extra precautions, but not stopping her drive to ride the West Coast, carrying her Dad’s ashes and memories, as I ride in his memory across the Mid-West, virtually on the East Coast! Remembering those who have gone before, as we keep on going.
Learn more about Harbor to the Bay @ stage.harbortothebay.org
Donate for my ride in memory of Jerry @ https://stage.harbortothebay.org/profile/RonRidingForJerryHatem
Thanks!
Peace & Love, Ron