Patrick was out riding on a group ride on Saturday, and had a fatal crash on his bike. He was flown to the hospital and undertook a 10 hour surgery. His surgery was initially a success, but on the second day he developed blood clots in his legs. The clots then moved into his heart and lungs, and on the third day he lost his life. It is so very sad...
Pat was one of life's great characters. In his mid 50's he had always lived alone, and always had a great passion for motorcycles.
Pat and I met after we hooked up on this very site, as we both shared the same bike, and back then lived fairly close to one another. Pat always had a smile, and a sharp wit that was so fast I could never keep up. At only 5 feet 4 inches he could never flat foot any of his bikes, but was a very skilled rider and never had any issues staying upright. Pat always rode fast, but always with skill and precision. In the two years I had my 1150 I thought I was doing pretty good with my 40K mileage. Pat had his 3 years, and clocked up 80K. He absolutely loved riding.
I remember a bunch of us riding our R1150R Roadsters over the Sierra's from the Bay Area, and all of us pinning the throttles when we got into Nevada, and all the bikes doing exactly the same speed despite some having performance enhancing mods. Pat's was all tricked out (chip, exhaust, tune etc) and it went exactly the same speed as my stock one. I always teased him about that.
I remember Pat inviting me on a Harley bar run. I was a bit hesitant, but went along anyway. We were the only non Harley's to ride, and we had an absolute blast and met some really nice folks.
Pat had recently retired from a career in the prison service, and was enjoying his free time riding.
Pat was one of the nicest and most decent human beings I have ever met. Its a huge loss for everyone that knew him.
:cry
RIP Pat, and may your new journey be filled with joy!
