A post from a rider

A rider who was there that day posted this on a bike forum. It's nice to hear about the smile...


"It was good to see some familiar faces again, it's been way too long.It's been over 2 years since Heejun died on a ride I organized and can honestly say a day hasn't passed that I don't think about it. It was a spectacular day in early August, not a cloud to be seen and surprisingly cool for that time of year. The trip up old 18 was fast and effortless, I could easily imagine everyone smiling in their helmets as we made our way north. In Morganton while waiting at a stoplight, Heejun put his kick stand down and adjusts the shock. I've seen him do stuff like that before and found it amusing, always adjusting and tweaking. The ride up 181 was one of the best in memory, almost no traffic with lots of knee dragging fun. Fast, but controlled, not crazy in any way. I recall the look on his face while pulling his helmet off, it was one of those smiles you couldn't suppress if your life depended on it. He said that was the best run up the mountain ever!The trip down started out as usual but oddly I didn't see Heejun in my mirror, Jay was behind me and Brian behind him. As we made our way down the mountain the pace picked up and soon we were engrossed in the task at hand. Jay and I made it all the way down before realizing we were alone and headed back up and got the grim news. When Rob told me what had happened my first reaction was disbelief, nothing seemed real. I called Kirk (another of our riding friends) to tell him what happened and asked if he could get over their house before the police show up. While nothing can prepare you for news like that, getting it from a total stranger is especially cruel. I'm glad Kirk made it there to help soften the blow.I've ridden with Heejun many times and we did a number of track days together in the 2 years I've known him. There were times when he pissed me off, and of course there were plenty of times I returned the favor He was stubborn and opinionated and in many ways a carbon copy of my personality so conversational sparks would fly occasionally. The Heejun I knew was a huge advocate of wearing proper gear but was an even bigger advocate of riding fast, and controlled with a knee firmly planted whenever possible. And THAT is why we rode together, it was just so damn much fun. Godspeed my friend... "