The passing of a coveted enthusiast - George Gilbert

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rztom
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The passing of a coveted enthusiast - George Gilbert

#1 Post by rztom » Tue Mar 22, 2011 11:59 pm

I have learned that a great friend to our community has passed this week due to an accident that I have no details of. :sad:

His name is George Gilbert, and I'm sure many of you will know him as the principal of "Team RaceReady" out of Canada.

He was a committed member of our 2-stroke community, and I'm sure he had touched several of you North American members somewhere along the way.

I had the privilege of meeting him at one of our Daytona club rallies a few years ago and I now cherish having had the opportunity to call him a friend.

RIP George... :smt023 :cool:

(George is the one on the right in this pic from our '03 Daytona rally... :cool: )

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rzatch
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#2 Post by rzatch » Wed Mar 23, 2011 12:54 am

Yes I remember him,nice guy. He was quite involved back in the day. Had a sense of humor, like to show off his pics of his wife on his web site. :grin:

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RIP George

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Tragic News

#3 Post by smokamoto » Wed Mar 23, 2011 1:23 am

That's so sad to hear-I had bought some reproduction belly pan graphics from him-really first rate!

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#4 Post by RuZty » Wed Mar 23, 2011 4:54 am

I met George at my last job, he was servicing one of our refrigeration compressors and asked me who owned the RZ in the lot. We moved a few years ago and lost touch. Super nice guy, exceptionally helpful and a very talented individual. He let me ride the nicest RZ500 I have ever seen and had 5 of them in his garage at the time. He had gotten away from the bikes to put his son through kart racing, definitely a champion in the making. A tragic loss, sympathy to his young family, rest in peace George.

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Andrew
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#5 Post by Andrew » Wed Mar 23, 2011 6:24 pm

Always sad news to hear.
RIP
Andy (UK)
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RZMike
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#6 Post by RZMike » Wed Mar 23, 2011 7:47 pm

I was shocked and saddened to hear the news as well. I first meet him at a Bike Week get together (that's me on the left in RZTom's picture). We rode together at several of Rick Lance's ralleys over the years.

RIP George, you will be missed.

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(L to R)My Dad, George, RZBill, and Ken Smith - Ashville, NC 2007

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#7 Post by Gary Papesh » Wed Mar 23, 2011 9:36 pm

It's always the good ones who go early. George will be missed.
Regretfully, Gary P.
The man who dies with the biggest carbon footprint WINS !!!

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#8 Post by Daveuk » Thu Mar 24, 2011 10:22 am

Not sure if this is of same person it was taken off the internet, Ottawa times

Canadian drowns in Mexico while family watches [1/3]
Dale Carruthers, QMI Agency
LONDON, Ont. - A 49-year-old Canadian man drowned in Cancun, Mexico, while vacationing with his family.

William "George" Gilbert of London. Ont., was swimming in the ocean with his two teenage sons, Josh and Sam, on Thursday when the three got into trouble in the rough waters.

"They were on a shallow sandbar when a big wave came in and the undertow dragged them out," said Gilbert's wife, Deanna.

Josh, 17, managed to make it back to the sandbar, while Sam, 14, and Gilbert

called for help.

Lifeguards on duty managed to rescue the two boys, but couldn't get to Gilbert.

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#9 Post by Gary Papesh » Thu Mar 24, 2011 7:47 pm

Just horrible. !! Those poor kids. :sad:
The man who dies with the biggest carbon footprint WINS !!!

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#10 Post by rztom » Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:54 pm

Daveuk wrote:Not sure if this is of same person it was taken off the internet, Ottawa times
Yes... that report is correct. I just found out this morning from Ken Smith that George was vacationing with his family in Cancun when this happened. Basically he and the kids got caught in a riptide and he didn't make it. :sad:

Those of us near coastal ocean beaches know that riptides can be killers... I feel awful for his family. :cry:

Here's another pic from '03 of George talkin' 2-strokes with friends at our Daytona rally .... in his element :grin: That's his blue 500 next to him

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#11 Post by Ronnie » Fri Mar 25, 2011 4:05 am

What a tragic story. My thoughts are with his family. :sad:

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I spoke at the funeral today + possible memorial ride

#12 Post by rzbill » Fri Mar 25, 2011 11:54 pm

I travelled from Asheville, NC to London ON to be a part of the services. George's family asked me to speak. It was hard since he was a good friend but it flowed easier once I got started talking about the fun we all had together riding. I think one of the pictures earlier in the thread is from the awful (constant rain) 2001 Daytona trip where we met. The picture RZMike posted shows me, Ken, George and Stan at a later ride in the vicinity of Asheville. George was an accomplished rider and I am a better rider because of him.

The most recent meeting involved George and his wife Deanna riding a BMW850 from London, down the blue ridge parkway, to stay with me and my wife Diane. Now I knew George was a crazed Ironbutt candidate already, but Deanna amazed me. Heck, she was KNITTING while sitting on the back. I knew she had great passenger skills from previous rides with them, but I was in awe of the distance accomplishment this time.

Diane and I intentionally planned a non-riding event for the following day. One of the standard tourist attractions is the Biltmore house. For those that do not know, it is "America's castle" built by the Vanderbilts around 1900. We had a great time.

The following day was a riding event to see some of the many waterfalls in the blue ridge. As usual, the weather threatened. We headed out anyway for Hwy 216 to Brevard. The weather cooperated and the loop was great including the waterfall hikes. We returned via 215 and ate dinner at the Pisgah mountain inn which is situated on the top of a 6000ft mountain. The dining area is all glass with outstanding views. We were able to snag the best table. I'll cherish that dinner memory.

Of course we had to get home and I made the gross mistake of not smoking 3 harleys before we turned onto the tight and winding 151. Normally this would not have been a problem but my wife was yelling in my ear to NOT pass them. Arghh! ...George is going to let me have it when we dismount. He did.

As already said by others, he will be missed greatly by the people that he touched.

AH!! I almost forgot. I met many other riders today that were paying respects. There was much conversation from them about a ride in western NC on or about August 13 (Georges Birthday). Since I am already there, I am obviously up for it. I could easily be arm twisted into cooking NC pork BBQ for said ride.

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Last edited by rzbill on Sat Mar 26, 2011 5:22 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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#13 Post by Ronnie » Sat Mar 26, 2011 4:44 am

KNITTING!! as a passenger! :shock: :shock:

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#14 Post by Blackshaheen » Sat Mar 26, 2011 3:49 pm

Shame for the family. Really hard on the kids.
Respect and strength to all.
D.

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#15 Post by MC » Sun Apr 03, 2011 8:00 pm

Tom. thanks for posting ....
R.I.P. George....
Thanks for the story Bill P. ....

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