WARNING: LONG POST AHEAD

It was November of 2016 when my life changed in several ways. 

For the first time in all the years I have been riding my bike (since the 70s) I was hit by a car. It was early afternoon. I was wearing bright clothes. I laid on the ground after his mirror hit me in the left hip and watched as he kept on driving without even using a brake light. Yeah…I felt then and still do today that it was intentional. But that day changed my life. Other than the obvious, something much deeper and more life-impacting happened. It drove me to investigate cycling safety and laws. I became aware of an organization called 3 Feet Please (or 3FP for short).  I remembered it from a few years before but never pursued it. I found out that the man who had been in charge had given all rights and privileges to a man named Dave. Dave Waechter from Gilbert, AZ. I reached out to Dave to inquire about 3FP and that started a friendship I had no idea would develop. Dave was serious about 3FP. Totally serious. Several years before I met him he was riding an MS ride with his daughter, Nina, and their family friend, Lynn. A 90 some year old man tried to pass a lot of cyclists at one time and when he realized he couldn’t he veered into the cyclists, killing Lynn and injuring Dave and Nina. Lynn lost her life, Dave was injured, and that began a pursuit of getting states to pass a 3 foot law between passing motorists and a cyclist. After my experience, I was all for that, so I collaborated with Dave on reaching out to a couple Indiana legislators to get the law passed in Indiana. It finally did!  

But far more important was the friendship Dave and I forged. Soon a weekend visit brought him to Indiana where I picked him up at the airport, the three of us (Dave, Jo and I) tried various restaurants, but more importantly we just hung out together. Tami was still in TN so we had an extra room where he stayed and we relaxed together. He attended OVCF on Sunday and immediately ingratiated himself to our people. He supported some of our efforts throughout the year long-distance (like our diaper drive for New Beginnings Pregnancy Resource Center; our Christmas baskets for people who needed them, etc). When he wanted a break from the AZ heat during our winter months, he work remotely from Maine (Maine? I never understood that 🙂 ) and would stop through going to and coming from where he stayed. Then in February of 2024, he and Susan gifted us with First Class tickets to spend a week with them in AZ. While there they let us use their extra car and we were able to meet Floyd in Scottsdale. We ate out at different spots, but the coolest of all was the 3 days in Sedona and the Grand Canyon. Memories still fresh in my mind and on my phone. 

It was just about a week later I got a phone call that changed my world. He was unintelligible and when I finally found out what was going on, he was in the hospital and was diagnosed with a glioblastoma. He did some experimental treatments that seemed to help some. In February of 2025, David and Susan came to visit us and spent 5 wonderful days just hanging out. He was not the sharp Dave I once knew, but nothing can take away those few days. Little did I know that would be the last time I would see him here on earth. If you know anything of glioblastomas, it is not good. (I recommend reading Dr. Lee Warren’s book I’ve Seen the End of You for more insight, especially from a Christian’s viewpoint). September 30, 2025 I received an early morning phone call from Susan telling me Dave had passed. 

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t think of him in some way, and yes, still shed some tears. I have cycling gear that reminds me. I have a t-shirt that reminds me. I have some bears he provided that I could give away. I have the 4 of us having our picture taken at the Grand Canyon as my screenshot on my phone. I stay in contact with Susan on a weekly basis and hopefully Jo and I will be able to go visit again this coming February, as we did this past February. It never ceases to amaze me how God brings people together, some who are so different. We met because of cycling. I’m older than he is by a good 10+ years is my guess. I am a pastor; he was a tech geek who helped found a Suicide Prevention Network that boomed. His grasp of things and his intelligence was so far beyond mine. His life experiences would make mine look like LEGOS in the real life. While I’m in my Delorean trying to make sense of things, he is Doc Brown trying to explain everything. I’m Marty McFly and he is Charles Eppes from the TV show, Numbers.  But somehow we hit it off. Perhaps because we were able to look beyond the differences and see each other for who we were. I was in awe of his ability and intelligence (which he never flaunted); he respected my position as a pastor. In fact, in the greatest tribute I could ever be given, he called me his pastor. Oh…it didn’t hurt that Jo and Susan kept us humble. 🙂 

I could go on, but I have already written a small book. I hope I have not bored you but have given you a glimpse into the life of a special man whose passing I “celebrate” today…one year later. Dave, I love you my friend, and I’ll see you again. And Susan, if you read this, Jo and I love you as if you are our own flesh and blood.