dan's farewell

[Fred Hink]

[b] [color=#008080][b]This was sent to me by John Marshall who was with Dan Rosen when he died.[/b][i][/color][/i]   [b]Happy Trails Dan[/b]   [b]Fred[/b]   Dan Rosen had a passion for life and motorcycling that I can not begin to explain. He showed me personally the adventure of traveling through Mexico with its wonderful people and unbelievably pristine roads the most beautifully untouched wilderness I have ever seen. Dan was a bigger than life man with a gentle demeanor who’s mission in life was to be of service to all. Outside of caring for and loving his family the biggest passion the last 2 years was to help people discover the unbelievable adventures that are in Mexico. He once told me, "You know in two years you won’t remember what you did[/color] next week but if you take an adventure it’s there for ever." That was Dan’s life in one statement. He embraced every problem as a challenge looking at it as an opportunity to learn something. We were traveling down a perfect stretch of tarmac 1.7 miles south of San Marcos a tiny settlement south of Dolores Hidalgo. Dan slumped forward his bike slowly veered off the road and into a ditch. I saw the bike hit a concrete end to the ditch and a cloud of dust rose around my friend taking his life. When the dust cleared Dan laid on a simple piece of desert sand and never regained consciousness. A cosmic two-by-four had just hit us all square between the eyes showing us that every second in this body is a gift. There were six bikes with the group at the time we were all changed forever. Dr. Walt Maurer and Pam his wife were right behind Dan and immediately started CPR. I started flagging down cars and asked them to call for an ambulance. Two hours later a Mexican doctor in a clinic in Dolores officially stated that Dan had passed away. Heroic efforts by Walt and Pam and the staff in the clinic failed to revive him. It was as if we were all calling him to come back into this body that he had left in that private moment when the dust engulfed him. As I stood in the doorway to the tiny room packed with medical experts it seemed as though they were angels trying to help Dan over this last hurdle. I closed my eyes and for a moment saw Dan peacefully looking at the scene and then ascend. He was my friend. I am so grateful that I once told him so. I just wish that I had done it more. Some riders saw a bird or something rise from a ditch next to the road and hit him in the helmet. We were all looking for a reason for this freak accident. No bird was found, parts of his helmet and a lense to his glasses were found on the road first. I am sure that this will remain a mystery forever. I will always be wondering what happened? I now think it was part of the plan for us to be forever thinking about this question to remind us that life is a beautiful gift and to waste it in quiet desperation is the greatest crime of all. As a journalist I have seen such scenes before. The emotion is over whelming. We have all been touched by Dan and his support for the motorcycling community. Dan worked relentlessly at building Rosen’s Rides into a first class touring outfit. I watched as he unselfishly poured over six figures into this dream and how many people he touched with the gift of a Mexico adventure. We have all pledged to see that Rosen’s Rides continues with Ricki Rosen at the helm. She has been at the center of every decision and all but a few of the trips. Her son Justin will be leading the groups. Justin is an expert rider who discovered the magic of our two wheeled fantasies us older riders have been living with for years. He is dedicated to being of service to all and is an expert at changing tires or fixing a busted side cover with JBWeld and he listens. He has moved to the Copper Canyon area and speaks the language knows the lay of the land. He has also been working as a tour guide for some of the lodges in the Canyon area hosting guests from the USA and Europe. If you want to benefit from the efforts of Dan Rosen and have an adventure that you will never forget please let them know. We must let his dream live on. John Marshall john@...[/b]