Life is quickly put in it's place when tragedy strikes. On April 27th a very good cycling friend died in a car accident. Paul Bandemer was a father of two and husband who lived in Oceanside, CA. He taught Sharie and I to surf in Carlsbad where he was born and raised. Paul was kindly referred to as "Big Paul" because he was unusually tall and muscular for a cyclists. He was soo tall that I remember him standing in the surf and pushing Sharie on her surf board so she could catch a wave. I also remember doing a ride with him on highway 2 near Wildwood, CA. He descended fast because of his build, easily dusting all us light climbers. On that ride we started the downhill and I tried my best to draft off him. However, soon he opened up a gap of about 200 yards on me. Down the road I noticed Paul was weaving left and right on the road and then he tumbled. As I slowed down to check on Paul I had noticed a deer limping away!!!! Yup Big Paul hit a deer and lived to tell about it! I hadn't talked to him for about two years now but I always remembered Paul because he has a son about the same age as Nicole. He was the type of guy that I would trust with my family a great guy. We will miss you dearly Paul.
