Ride on Tony, Ride on...

Thanks Clinton for helping me write the eulogy, I couldn't have finished it without your help!

For those unable to make the Memorial Service on August 2nd, I thought I would post this up in a tribute to the greatest guy I know.

Read the adventures of Tony

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Hi my name is Brandon or as Tony liked to call me, B-Rad.

I met Tony in 2005 and we quickly became close friends. I think we met online through a forum, some mutual friends created. Tony had this outgoing personality that made everyone feel at ease.

As everyone knows, Tony was an athlete. He was in great shape and always working out at the gym. Our friends once asked him to help move a couch and before he did he replied, "What!?!? These!?! They're just for looks." But we all knew better. We knew he worked hard so he could satisfy his love for adventure. It was in those adventures that he and I built a bond.

In the winter of 2005/2006, we both purchased season passes to Northstar & Sierra snow resort. We did a lot of riding, tree dodging, and jumps. I was not very good with the later, but Tony always convinced me to keep trying to improve.

We also went to Sugarbowl that season. We carpooled up there, and started riding around 8:30 in the morning. 

It snowed the day before, so we had fresh tracks. There was so much powder it was funtastic. We were exploring the resort when a cave came to view from the chairlifts. We were pretty psyched, so we fought our way through the powder to our destination. 

The cave wasn't as impressive as we thought. We were disappointed by its small size and the odd smell. We took some pics and jammed down to some more tree runs.

We were riding in the trees, when Tony disappears. I call out his name wondering where he went, and I hear his voice saying "watch out for the hole". I ride down a little further, and I see Tony in a hole about 10 feet deep. I was laughing so hard. It was such a funny scene, I just had to take a picture of it. So I reach into my pocket to take a snapshot w/ my camera... doh!... batteries dead. Look for my cellphone left it at the car. So I ask Tony, "Hey do you have something to take a photo with?" oh yeah... he has his cameraphone. It was pretty funny that Tony was willing to let me use his cameraphone to take a capture this incident. It speaks volumes about a person's character when he could laugh at himself. Confident, but not arrogant. When I reach down to grab the cellphone, I flip over and somehow land feet first into the hole as well. Tony's busting up laughing. My feet start to get wet from a small stream of melting snow beneath me.

Here I am, the rescuer needing rescue. He eventually helps me up, and we climb out. On the way down, we see some more holes near the main trail, and Tony notices what looks like someone's ski pole sticking out of one of these holes. We slide over and a skier was trapped in a similar situation to us, but he was completely stuck in the hole. He had very little room to maneuver, and the only thing holding him up were his skis. I ride down to get ski patrol, while Tony stayed behind. Ski patrol had to use a snow mobile to pull the guy out. Neither the skier nor I would have made it out safely without Tony then again, I probably wouldn't have fallen in. Either way, Tony was a hero on that crazy memorable day.

The best part of the day was that these tickets were free! This became an annual tradition for us.

If there was snow in the Tahoe, I could always count on him to go snowboarding. I'm not able to snowboard at the same level as Tony, but he always encouraged me to be better. We had so many adventures at Northstar, Sierra, & Sugarbowl in Tahoe, and Whistler & Blackcomb in Canada.

Tony also convinced me to try mountain biking, another activity he loved. So I bought a used mountain bike from Craigslist, and on the first time up... Tony takes a group of us to the Marin Headlands. A monstrous climb of about 1.5 miles greeted us. Out of all the people there... only Tony made it to the top w/o walking. But it was well worth the struggle because after that climb, we were rewarded with a gorgeous view of the bay.

Since then, Tony and I have gone on to ride numerous mountain biking trails: Skeggs point by Woodside, Soquel Demonstration Park by Santa Cruz, Waterdog in Belmont, Sea Otter at Laguna Seca, and Mt Tam/Muir Woods in Mill Valley.

Tony was one of those guy you could count on to be there for you. If you needed to throw a party, he would help out to make sure it was fun and exciting. If you fall, he would be the first one there to take photographic evidence and to help you up. He was always willing a friend move into their apartment. He offered to tune up our bikes and even spent a day assembling some for charity. When asked why he would spend a Saturday like that, he replied "Because I'm giving back in a way that I enjoy. And it's just a nice thing to do."

Tony was the greatest friend a guy could ask for. He was outgoing, adventurous, funny, dependable, and honest. He saw the best in everyone and inspired us to improve. He was like a brother to me and my best friend. It's been difficult for everyone to digest that Tony's gone. And a part of me still doesn't believe it. He was too healthy, and vibrant to be taken away so soon. 

Tony had many great adventures. There is no doubt in my mind that he lived life to the fullest, and he is enjoying an even greater adventure now.

I miss you Tony. Thank you for all the joy and great memories you shared with me. On behalf of all of our friends, thank you and know that we love you. We love you Tony. Ride on... Ride on.