So much for the alleged "health benefits" of mountaoin biking....
Mike
http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20080612/NEWS/875085956:
Vail cyclist remembered on Web
Pro mountain biker’s tribute site raises money for surviving wife and
baby
Browse Vail Daily Photos
A Web site has been created to remember Mike Janelle — a well-known
professional cyclist who died last year — and raise money for his wife
and son, who was born after he died.
Preston Utley/Vail Daily
Melanie Wong
Vail, CO Colorado
June 12, 2008
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AVON , Colorado — People who attended Mike Janelle’s memorial service
said it was flooded with friends from all over the world, many of whom
asked how they could help.
In response, friends and supporters can visit a new Web site,
www.livelikemike.org, to honor Janelle and raise money to support his
wife, Maribel, and baby son, Mike Jr.
Janelle, 40, a professional mountain biker and elite road cyclist,
died suddenly of a heart attack in his sleep last November.
The site was set up by Larry Leith, owner and founder of Janelle’s
Tokyo Joe’s professional squad.
“The goal of the site is simple — to pick up financially where Mike
left off, to give Maribel and little Mike the push-start they need now
and the help they will need later on,” Leith wrote on the site’s
opening page.
Living like Mike
Part of the Web site has a place to post memories and thoughts about
Mike Janelle. The question was posed to several of Janelle’s friends
and supporters: What does it mean to “Live Like Mike”?
• “To live a healthy, happy life. He was always smiling, and he had a
great attitude.”
- Mike Kloser, professional mountain biker, Vail resident
• “Live life to it’s fullest 24/7. Push the envelope. Have a great
time. Always be positive. That’s definitely Mike.”
- Charlie Brown, co-owner of Mountain Pedaler in Eagle
• “To not worry about things that are not worth worrying about. To
love, respect, and take joy in the people close to you. To live life
like it is short. And most of all, to find fun and laughter in
everything you do.”
- Jay Henry, Janelle’s teammate, Avon resident
A way to help
Supporters can donate $40 for a Mike Gift Pak, which includes a Live
Like Mike T-shirt, dog tag, Tokyo Joe’s gift card, and stickers. A
2008 Tokyo Joe’s jersey, which sports the Live Like Mike logo, is $70.
Individual donations can also be made.
All the profits from the site will go directly to the Mike Janelle
Children’s Trust, the fund set up for his family. The goal is to raise
enough to support Maribel Janelle and little Mike, now 2 months old,
for the next five years.
Janelle’s teammate, training partner and friend, Jay Henry, said many
of the people who knew Janelle wanted to help the family after his
death.
“I think a lot of people who knew Mike were just devastated by his
death. There’s a general helpless feeling,” Henry said. “This kind of
allows everyone to help.”
And there is a need, Henry said — Maribel Janelle is originally from
Colombia and had been applying for citizenship when her husband died.
Now, immigration authorities say she may not be able to stay in the
state.
She is applying for citizenship in Arizona, but the legal fees are
costly, Henry said.
“Mike was the breadwinner and now Maribel’s got a baby to take care
of,” he said. “It’s very difficult struggle for her to get back on her
feet right now. I think that’s a pretty universal thing that people
can relate to.”
Charlie Brown, co-owner of Mountain Pedaler in Eagle, said he plans on
donating to the fund, and he hopes efforts like this will continue.
“It’s hard to ride and not think of him,” Brown said.
He said he remembers Janelle coming into his shop once after Brown had
just unloaded some tires.
“He said, ‘Yeah, this is a real bike shop. None of that latte stuff,’”
Brown remembers. “That was just him. Real hardcore.” If donations
exceed the family’s need, the money will go to another charity in
honor of Janelle.
Not the only tribute
Others in the Vail valley and bike racing community are finding other
ways to honor Janelle.
As part of this year’s Teva Mountain Games festivities, Samana and
Vail PM hosted the Mike Janelle Family Fundraiser with a “Secret Agent
Party.”
Fittingly, several races have been named after Janelle. The second
race in this year’s Vail and Beaver Creek Mountain Bike Race Series,
of which Janelle was a longtime presence, will be known as the Mike
Janelle Memorial. Each year, a race in the series will be named after
Janelle.
After the race, which will be next Wednesday, there will be an
after-party starting at 6 p.m. at E-Town in Edwards. Water bottles,
raffle tickets, bike headset caps and proceeds from a dunk tank will
all go to Janelle’s family.
Beaver Creek Resort, where Janelle was a ski instructor, is putting up
a memorial plaque on the mountain’s bike path in memory of Janelle and
his regular commute up to work, even in the dead of winter.
Vail resident and pro mountain biker Mike Kloser, who knew Janelle
through racing, said it is great to see all the support for Janelle’s
family.
“It’s putting money toward a good cause,” Kloser said. “There’s not a
more deserving person out there, and this benefits his son and wife.”
On the Web
www.livelikemike.org
Staff Writer Melanie Wong can be reached at 748-2928 or
[email hidden].
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I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"😉. Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)
Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of!