Submitted by Todd Ison on June 24, 2010 - 11:34pm.
I've never felt a profound loss of a near stranger until Dave. I met Dave for 15 minutes at the Subway in Island Park, ID after spotting his bike (and Eric Nelson's) in front. I wanted to take the pictures of the riders for the TD. Dave was immediately enthusiastic about the prospect and talked for the next 15 minutes about the Tour and his vast food consumption. "I just downed two foot-long subs and have room to spare." He was a person you gravitated to by the shear energy he gave off and the excitement of his quest to conquer the Tour. He was very proud of his position in the race at the time since he pointed out he and Eric were the front-runners of the rookies in the race. I asked him what he did for a living that allowed him to take off a month. He humbly mentioned he was self-employed. His blog and the other comments of his friends demonstrate he was a uniquely gifted man who could master anything to which he set his mind. He had so many skills it would have been difficult and too time-consuming to answer the question any other way. Dave was taken too early in life. He was special. To his wife and family, I'm very sorry for your loss. Todd Ison
Dave
I've never felt a profound loss of a near stranger until Dave. I met Dave for 15 minutes at the Subway in Island Park, ID after spotting his bike (and Eric Nelson's) in front. I wanted to take the pictures of the riders for the TD. Dave was immediately enthusiastic about the prospect and talked for the next 15 minutes about the Tour and his vast food consumption. "I just downed two foot-long subs and have room to spare." He was a person you gravitated to by the shear energy he gave off and the excitement of his quest to conquer the Tour. He was very proud of his position in the race at the time since he pointed out he and Eric were the front-runners of the rookies in the race. I asked him what he did for a living that allowed him to take off a month. He humbly mentioned he was self-employed. His blog and the other comments of his friends demonstrate he was a uniquely gifted man who could master anything to which he set his mind. He had so many skills it would have been difficult and too time-consuming to answer the question any other way. Dave was taken too early in life. He was special. To his wife and family, I'm very sorry for your loss. Todd Ison