RIP Anthony Sloan
Originally posted on May 14, 2009 at 16:17 pm
Anthony Sloan, Yeti’s demo guy for the Rocky Mountain territory, died suddenly on Thursday, May 7th. He will be missed by family, friends and many who rode and hung out with him, but also by many more riders who were inspired by photos and writings posted on his website and on the Passion forum at MTBR.com.
From Yeti Cycles:
Yeti Cycles and the mountain biking community is holding a memorial service in memory of Anthony Sloan, who passed away on May 7, 2009 in Golden, Colorado.
Anthony was known to many of you as Yeti’s demo guy. We know him as much more. Anthony was erudite, curious and well traveled. He was compassionate and kind. He was a brilliant wordsmith and photographer and was eager to share his experiences in words and images on his website (www.anthonysloan.com). He was an accomplished rider and lived life with zest and purpose.
Friends, family, fellow riders and colleagues will gather on Friday, May 15, 2009 at 11 a.m. at Alderfer / Three Sister’s Park for a memorial ride to the top of Evergreen Mountain. Afterwards we will gather in the Alderfer / Three Sisters Park by the big barn in the Evergreen Rec. District, to pay tribute and celebrate the life of Anthony Sloan. Food and beverage will be provided. A memorial fund will be set up in behalf of Anthony’s family. Any donations will be welcome.
Parking will be limited to 50 vehicles at the parking lot on Buffalo Park Road & Le Masters Road. All other vehicles are welcome to park by the Evergreen Lake and ride up the road to join.
Please RSVP to [email protected] or (303) 278-6909 ext. 1015.
This past Tuesday, the members of the online bike community BikeMojo.com, where Anthony was a member, held a memorial ride and party to celebrate Anthony’s life at his old stomping grounds of Emma Long Park in Austin, Texas. Many other such celebrations are planned around the country.
Anthony’s talent and passion for riding were evident in the piece (and the photos above and below) he submitted for the Interstate 70 Ride Guide in Dirt Rag issue #136:
Colorado – Always Ride
You learn the tricks pretty quickly. In my job as a demo driver for Yeti, second priority is learning where to go for an easy access ride. (First priority: Keep the beer cooler full.) Easy access, meaning easy to pull the rig in, quick access to the trail from the interstate, a satisfying but not too epic ride…you know…easy. The I-70 corridor has a wealth of options. The obvious choice is the Fruita area, with the plethora of desert trail goodness that lurks just beyond the Mack exit, but when it is rideable, I head for Minturn, Exit 171. The Meadow Mountain Loop.
Last November I was spinning back to the Front Range after a 4-day demo out in Fruita and spent the first stretch debating on whether or not to try for a ride. I was torn between steaming back home in a diligent fashion, or trying for one last high country ride. I drove right by the exit, in fact. Spent the next two exits drumming my fingers on the steering wheel and looking at the mountainside in the rearview mirror. The old adage ran through my head like a stock ticker: “always ride…always ride…” So I dove off the Interstate and turned around. I ended up swiping a ride right out of the clattery beak of winter. I rode the jeep road up and spun the highway out of my system. It was a funny sort of day out there. Quiet, quiet. With occasional groups of wildlife moving around in excited little clusters. A couple of magpies bustled and fussed over me, followed by several crows. The woods had that aimless feel of the last day of school. Up top at the line shack I could tell I had some postholing in front of me. The first section of singletrack had a healthy layer of snow on top of it. The easy had become epic. Well, sort of epic. Semi-hemi-demi-epic. But as always, it paid off. After losing about 700ft. of elevation, the trail cleared out and turned into flowy, loamy Colorado singletrack. One last taste before it all went under for the winter.
