Who is Jim Swarzman?

Jim Swarzman? I'm not qualified to answer with any great detail. I met Jim Swarzman just twice, the first time during the Devil Mountain Double of 2010. We happened to be at the Mines Rd rest stop at the same time at around mile 91. We started out from the rest stop separately, but as we made our way towards the Junction Cafe rest stop and Mt Hamilton we found we were riding at about the same pace so we ended up riding together for those 25 miles and talked. Not about anything special, really, just that kind of conversation you have with someone else about that one thing in common that got us both there to begin with: riding a bike.

He was riding an older bike with downtube shifters that I have seen in subsequent photos of him, including pictures of him at the Furnace Creek 508. The day I first met him he was wearing his Furnace Creek 508 jersey, which he'd explained he'd earned riding with his partner--whose name I did not learn, nor did I ever get the chance to meet, though I think she might have been at DMD in 2010. When I saw Jim again a few weeks later at the Central Coast Double I know she was there that time because Jim mentioned he was going to wait for her then, if memory serves, they were going to have to drive down to Escondido, or some far off south state town.

On Mines Rd. there is a small creek that runs across the road, maybe 10-12 feet wide. Not much to it, really. He slowed down, I thought, to keep his bike from getting too wet. Turns out he was slowing down so as not to create spray from the tires onto the 508 jersey. He said, "gotta respect the jersey." We didn't solve the world's problems, or discuss philosophy or politics. We just talked. Made a friend. Somehow we got split up at Junction and I didn't see him again at the DMD.

A few weeks later as I rode up to finish the Central Coast Double, Jim Swarzman was there on his bike, having just signed in himself. He greeted me with a hearty "hello, remember me from a few weeks ago at DMD?" I did right away, of course. We didn't talk much more than that. Just shared a short mutual congratulations on finishing and we parted ways. Me figuring I could look forward to seeing Jim again on future rides, him waiting for his girlfriend.

While searching for information on the California Triple Crown website, I saw this headline:

"Jim Swarzman, RIP "My Kind of Guy, and Cyclist" by Chris Kostman - Please share your memories here".

I could not believe what I was reading. I read or hear stories about cycling accidents all too frequently, but this one is the closest to hitting home than any others to date. It was a stunning loss, even to someone that barely knew the man.

For as long as the link to Chris Kostman's memorial works, here it is:

http://www.xo-1.org/2011/04/jim-swarzman-my-kind-of-guy-and-cyclist.html

Thanks to Chris Kostman and the various links and posts to the site he set up, I was able to learn much, much more about who Jim was, what he'd done. I am happy to have met Jim Swarzman, however briefly our paths had crossed. And I am sad that I will not see him again. I'm not typically a friendly fellow to other riders. Not because I'm a jerk, I simply feel I don't have a lot to say. It was impossible to not be friendly with Jim. I hope his family and friends find comfort in their memories of him.