The cyclists lined up on Turlington Plaza — one foot on the pedal, the other on the ground waiting to push off. When they heard, “Let’s go!” they took off smiling.
Team Florida, a UF student-run cycling club, led a 15-mile memorial bike ride celebrating Michael R. Edmonds Jr., a UF student who took his life and fell from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on April 15, 2012.
Edmonds, 26, came to UF in 2011 as a journalism major, and struggled with depression and bipolar disorder.
Neal Shepherd, a 19-year-old UF applied physiology and kinesiology senior and Team Florida vice president, said the ride brought back memories of a previous race he participated in shortly after Edmonds’ death.
Last year, Shepherd learned about the news a week before the Collegiate Individual Omnium Conference Championships. Shepherd won a medal at the race and buried it with Edmonds’ ashes.
“He was talking about conference for the longest time, and it was devastating to not have him there,” Shepherd said. “I felt it was important to give him a piece of what he missed.”
At the memorial, the 4-H Ham Jammers in Clay County, a UF-based organization affiliated with the Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences, collected donations to help the Edmonds family replace their trailer home in Green Cove Springs, Fla.
Gainesville House of Beer hosted an additional fundraiser after the ride, donating a dollar for every beer purchased.
Chelsea Factor, a 22-year-old UF applied physiology and kinesiology senior who organized the memorial ride, said she chose the location because she had visited the bar with Edmonds and the team a few times.
Last year, Edmonds’ sister, Karen, led the memorial ride. This year, she ran the Boston Marathon in honor of her brother.
She taped a picture of them on her race bib and posted it on Facebook with the words, “I’m running for you today, brother bear.”
A few hours later, two bombs struck near the finish line.
Michael and Karen’s uncle, Steven Warren, announced in tears at the memorial that Karen was safe and finished the marathon in three hours, 16 minutes and 59 seconds.
Tony Delisle, who taught Edmonds’ personal and family health class last year, spoke to the riders before they took off.
“I knew Mike as a student, but he quickly became my teacher because he wore his heart on his sleeve, was unafraid about showing his emotions — he never hesitated to give a second of his time to someone in need,” he said. “I am very sad of his passing, and a tear to my eye is never that far away when I think about him.”
UF professor Tony Delisle embraces Michael Edmonds Sr. at the 15-mile Mike Edmonds Memorial Bike Ride in memory of Michael Edmonds Jr.
