[RNC]

In response to the great outpouring of sentiment on MTBR and to help a family through a difficult emotional time, we have planned the following event:

MEMORIAL RIDE for RON CADIENTE​

On February 11, 2012, Ron Cadiente died in a tragic mountain biking accident while riding the Long Loop at McDowell Mountain Regional Park. Ron was a loving husband, father, and friend and his life blessed thousands of people.

Ron was one of those guys who put his family and faith first, spent time doing what he loved, and filled his life with as much good as he could.

Ron was an avid and experienced mountain biker. In an effort to celebrate Ron's life, and to establish a permanent memorial to him, please join with us on this group ride.

Event Details​

Who? Members of Ron's family will be there. They welcome anybody who knew Ron or has been touched by his story. Even if you did not know him, come out and help us support them.

When? March 24, 2012 @ 8:30 a.m.

Where? Long Loop, McDowell Mountain Regional Park

Itinerary. Have a group ride out to the area where Ron passed and to the location (at the "Step") where a permanent memorial will be installed. We will take a breather at the top of the Step and people can take some time to share their thoughts and feelings. We will finish the group ride at the parking lot. Ride time should be about an hour.

Level of Difficulty. Intermediate to advanced riders. Please be safe and smart.

Donations. Donations can be made through PayPal. Just send any amount to [email protected]. Donations can also be deposited directly into a Chase Bank (#3011924684) account established for the memorial. For any questions about donations, please call Nat Clarkson (see below).

Memorial Details. Present plans are to install a permanent memorial bench in Ron's honor, plant a tree to shade the bench, and to install a permanent trail marker nearby. The donations will be used to pay for these items. Any additional funds will be used at the Cadiente family's discretion.

Questions? Please call Nat Clarkson at 480-797-0791 if you have questions or concerns. You can also e-mail him at [email protected].

 

[waltaz]

I'll be there...I knew Ron.

 

[mcoplea]

I am in and a donation is on the way.

I started a Facebook Event at: MEMORIAL MTB RIDE for RON CADIENTE | Facebook. Spread the word.

 

[Phillbo]

I never knew him but will be honored to ride in his memory !

 

[WhiskersOfDeath]

I'll be there.

 

[mtbfyrefyter]

My condolences to his family. Although I never met Ron, I once worked with son Garron.

This story saddened me, please be safe on the trails!

 

[scooter_dude]

I'm planning on riding. I didn't know Ron, but he was one of us and but for the grace of God, there go I.

 

[mcoplea]

There are 57 confirmed going via the FB event so far.

If you cannot make the ride, please consider donating to the Memorial fund.

Donations can be made through PayPal. Just send any amount to [email protected]. Donations can also be deposited directly into a Chase Bank (#3011924684) account established for the memorial.

Present plans are to install a permanent memorial bench in Ron's honor, plant a tree to shade the bench, and to install a permanent trail marker nearby. The donations will be used to pay for these items. Any additional funds will be used at the Cadiente family's discretion.

I am in and a donation is on the way.

I started a Facebook Event at: MEMORIAL MTB RIDE for RON CADIENTE | Facebook. Spread the word.

 

[RNC]

I wanted to emphasize the "any amount" part of the donations. Even if it is a dollar or two, it will go a long way to getting the memorial established.

I wanted to thank all who have committed to ride and those of you who have contributed to the fund. We still have a way to go but we will get there with all of your help.

I wanted to give a special thanks to Marty, Alan, and Rand (at McDowell Mountain Park) for helping to make this all come together.

 

[Bituman]

Can't ride that morning due to conflict with Tour de Cure. But I will make a contribution to the Chase account. Thanks to all who are involved in making this happen.

Bob

 

[CoyoteKis]

I'm there.

 

[DirtyUSAF]

I will be there if at all possible, very sad story and god bless his family in friends in this tuff time!

 

[mcoplea]

Looking forward to seeing everyone out there this Sat AM.

For those of you that are interested in contributing to the Memorial Fund and have not do so yet, they will be accepting donations at the event. They have not raised enough funds yet for the memorial bench and donations in any amount will be a big help.

 

[happyriding]

I'll be attending the memorial ride.

In case anyone else had this problem, I tried to make a donation at the Chase Bank in Fountain Hills(Avenue of the Fountains), and the banker I talked to said she had not received any notice of a memorial fund being set up, and the name on the account was not Ron Cadiente or anything similar, so she advised me not to deposit any money into the account. I am going to email Nat Clarkson to find out what to do.

 

[RNC]

To happyriding and anybody else who may have had a similar problem. There are some reasons why Chase wouldn't open up a true memorial account. The account is under my name (Nat Clarkson). It is supposed to have a notation (sort of like a dba) that it is for the Ron Cadiente Memorial Fund. I will check with the banker who opened it to see what the problem is. We have had other donations into it from other branches so I know the bank account number on the flier is correct.

Of course, please feel free to call, e-mail, or PM me with any questions or concerns. I don't want anybody to get the impression that this is anything other than an effort to honor Ron. My office number is 480-373-9090. My cell is 480-797-0791. My e-mail is [email protected].

Thank you to everybody who has helped up to this point and we look forward to a great ride this Saturday.

And to happyriding, thanks for the effort. Call me and we can figure out the best way to get the donation.

 

[mcoplea]

Great turnout at the ride last weekend! They were able to raise enough money to install the Memorial bench tree & sign.

Thanks again to everyone that came out for the ride and to those that donated to the cause. It warms my heart to see the MTB community coming together to support a fallen brother and his family.

 

[RNC]

Just a quick follow up. Today, I received a letter sent from an unknown person in Missoula, MT. I opened it to find a very touching letter from the widow of the rider who died at MMP the day of Ron Cadiente's memorial ride.

For those that did not know, there were some excess funds from the ride and the Cadiente family decided to donate that money to the family of the other fallen rider. We sent a small check to his wife in March. In her letter, she expressed her gratitude for the funds we were able to share with her as a result of all of your donations. She said that she used the money to help her family travel to Arizona to see where their husband/father/grandfather "ended his ride" and to "bring him home". She wrote that her husband a passion for sharing his love of the out doors with his friends and family and that they were always better off because of his efforts. She wanted to let everyone know that her delay in expressing her thanks wasn't out of a lack of gratitude but because of the overwhelming emotion she felt.

She also mentioned that because of some of the help they received through this experience--including from the AZ mountain biking community--that they are doing what they can to help a foster child that she and her husband mentored and who is about to have a baby.

There are a lot of life lessons to take out of this experience but a few that stick out to me are the immeasurable good that comes from serving those around us and the importance of spending good quality time with the ones you love.

Thanks again for everyone's support. See you out on the trails!

 

[Bituman]

Very powerful and insightful, thanks for sharing her message and yours too.

Bob