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| DAN CRAIN |
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By John McKee
Dan Crain member of the Paramount Racing team and the Orange County Wheelmen passed away on Sunday, August 15th, 2010 at the age of 65. Dan was involved in an accident with an SUV on Tuesday August 3rd, 2010 and was badly injured. As all of you cyclists know, it is open season on us on our highways and Dan is another victim.
Dan started cycling at age 50 and started to excel at endurance cycling. He completed his first double century in 1996 and went on to complete 106 of them. Some of them with his long time tandem partner, Lynn Katano. Dan competed in the 2005 Race Across America in a 2 man team (with Fred Boethling) and set a course record for a 2 man 60+ team in less than 9 days. Dan competed in the Firecreek Furnace 508 7 times.
Dan along with Joe Brown set a 2 man(each 60+) record at the 2007 Firecreek Furnace 508.
I could go on and on about his ultra cycling accomplishments but they are credited on Chuck Bramwell's excellent blog tribute to Dan which is at http://caltriplecrown.blogspot.com/. There is another post after Chuck's and there may be others later but Chuck's is excellent. Chuck knew Dan well and has done an excellent job documenting Dan's cycling achievements. You can link to the blog on My Blog List on the right. Many cyclists that knew Dan are making comments on this blog. You can comment below or go to Chuck's blog to make a comment if you like.
Dan decided in 2009 that he wanted to experience more from cycling and thought he would give bicycle racing a try at the age of 64. Dan joined OCW/Paramount in April of 2009. Dan's very first race was the tough San Luis Rey Road Race in May of 2009. Dan missed the start of the race trying to make a last minute adjustment to his bike and had to chase the entire race. Racers don't wait for anyone. This didn't discourage Dan and he went on to race 6 more events garnering valuable SoCal points for the team. Dan kept at it in 2010 and did pretty good. In the very fast and difficult Long Beach Grand Prix Dan hung in there where some veterans fell off the back or crashed out and finished a respectable 9th out of 16 racers in the 60+ division. What made the race extra hard was the speed paced by younger 55+ racers and 40 time National and World Champion Kenny Fuller.
Dan's last race was the fast Manhattan Beach Grand Prix and Dan hung in there again and made another very respectable finish. 55/60+ racers have a fairly tight fraternity and Dan was just getting to know many of the guys and getting comfortable racing at the speeds that we do. Dan will be sorely missed!!
Dan's Memorial Service, or the celebration of his life, will be this Saturday, August 21st, at 11:00 a.m. at Harbor Christian Church, 2401 Irvine Avenue, Newport Beach 92660
The photos are from Alicia McKee and Kenny BZ.
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| 2010 Bakersfield SCNCA Road Race Championship |
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| Dan near teammate Jim Morehouse at the 2010 Paramount GP |
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| Dan in front of myself at the 2010 Paramount GP- Dan was always willing to help a teammate |
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| 2010 Paramount GP |
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| Dan between Jim Morehouse and Hylton Murphy(the tall one). Also in the pic teammates Mike Duck, H, and myself before the start of the 2010 Paramount GP |
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| 2010 Paramount GP |
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| Dan working as a volunteer at the 2010 Tour of California |
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| 2009 Paramount GP |
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| 2009 Paramount GP |
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| 2009 Paramount GP |
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| 12/09 Paramount Track Day |
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| Dan on the track with myself and Scott Sharp |
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| 12/09 Paramount Track Day |
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| 12/09 Paramount Track Day |
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| 12/09 Paramount Track Day |
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| 12/09 Paramount Track Day |
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| 12/09 Paramount Track Day |
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| This is the 2009 Paramount GP and I think this epitomizes Dan as a bike racer and as a person as I knew him. Always looking to help someone else out. This was the SCNCA championship race and I had asked Dan if he was able to on the last lap to go as hard and as long as he could trying to string it out and make the race safer for everyone and help set up the other Paramount racers. Dan was glad to do what he could and as you can see him in this picture giving it everything he had! Great job, Dan! We all will miss you!! |
Below are the racing records for Dan in the SCNCA for 2009 & 2010.
| 2009 SoCal Cup Record |
| Masters 60+ |
| Daniel Crain |
| Place | Event | Points |
| 15 | San Luis Rey Road Cycling Classic | 0 |
| 8 | Mid-Season Criterium | 5 |
| 22 | SCNCA Masters Crit Championships | 0 |
| 5 | San Marcos Criterium | 8 |
| 13 | Brentwood GP | 0 |
| 6 | Ladera Grand Prix | 7 |
| 14 | Ontario 5 | 0 |
| | | ----- |
| | | 20 | |
| 2010 SoCal Cup Record |
| Masters 60+ |
| Daniel Crain |
| Place | Event | Points |
| 4 | De Vlees Huis Ronde RR | 18 |
| 23 | Chuck Pontius | 0 |
| 11 | San Luis Rey RR | 4 |
| 9 | Long Beach Grand Prix | 4 |
| 11 | Master Crit Championship | 6 |
| 13 | Master Road Race Championship | 0 |
| 10 | Manhattan Beach Grand Prix | 6 |
| | | ----- |
| | | 38 |
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This saddens me. I met Dan last year, and saw him only a few times after that: he struck me as a nice person, and this has been confirmed by John and others who knew him--but now he's gone and it frustrates me that the number of downed cyclists continues to grow.
ReplyDeleteI first met Dan last year, and every time we met up again, it was a good thing. He rode the Mount Whitney Stage Race this year with me, and we got to spend more time together. I really like Dan. What happened to him is wrong on so many levels.
ReplyDelete