Remembering Gay Rehnback

September 17, 2023

This is Gay on June 6, 2018, the day we met him at Stone Park in Sioux City Iowa

Gay Rehnback was an important mentor, cheerleader, and friend during our Undaunted Porridge tour.

When we met him in Sioux City, IA he had acquired the experience and wisdom of riding multiple Adventure Cycling routes, including TransAmerica, Northern Tier, Southern Tier, Great Divide by section, a few RAGBRAIs, and more!

Without going back and re-reading our journal, I'm going to guess that Gay had some mention or appearance in 70% of the entries. He brought inspiration and joy to a challenging journey!

A few highlights from our time with Gay:

He introduced us to the art of seeking shelter in farm equipment barns during driving rainstorms in South Dakota and brightened many mornings by singing Red Red Robin.

He also protected us from an unruly gang of farm dogs by confidently commanding that they "Git on outa here. Git on home!" And they did!

Waiting out another massive thunderstorm in South Dakota

How to cram 3 people, 2 bikes and 8 bags in a Chevy Malibu

When we were stuck in Eastern MT he rented a Chevy Malibu in Lewistown and drove 129 miles to pick us up in Jordan. His engineering mind was just what was needed to fit three humans, two touring bikes, and all of the Grumby gear into a small-ish 4-door sedan (sans bike or roof racks!).

He treated us to our 10th Anniversary breakfast in Lincoln MT.

Further on, we were all riding up a long, curse-worthy hill called Lambs Grade after leaving Stites, ID. I had a nasty respiratory infection and was ready to keel over when Gay sprinted up ahead of me, got off his bike, and ran down the hill (in cycling cleats!) to push me up the hill as I barely pedaled forward.

When we arrived in Sisters to a seemingly unending stream of 100+ degree days, Gay had ridden ahead and completed his ride in Eugene. He chose to leave his post-tour comfort and rent a car to join us at our toasty campsite, just to hang out with us for a couple of days.

Gay rented a car and drove 100 miles from Eugene to Sisters to hang out with us

And some days later, he and his partner Denise delivered some welcome trail magic and needed morale boosting at Paradise Campground.

We have kept in touch with Gay and Denise over the years and were very fortunate to meet up with them and their Northern Tier crew in Kalispell MT in mid-June, 2023.

They rode over 4,000 miles from Anacortes WA to Bar Harbor ME, completing the ride on August 31.

Gay was back home in Virginia Beach VA and died in a bicycle accident the morning of September 16. Denise received the news of Gay's death and had the strength to reach out from her despair to call a a few people from Gay's cycle touring community. We are so grateful that we were able to cry with her.

Today, we share this story here on CycleBlaze not only to honor Gay Rehnback but also to celebrate all of the beautiful ways that the stories of bicycle tourers and their supporters are woven together.

The cycle touring community holds a special place in our hearts and we appreciate the friendships we have developed over the past few years.

Thank you, Jeff, for providing this platform as a way for us all to share our stories, to meet people with common interests, and to stay connected with each other.

I plan to share the link to this post with Denise and she may pass it on to the friends that rode Northern Tier with her and Gay.

We are holding them all in our hearts!

June 18, 2023 in Kalispell. Gay, Denise and friends were a couple weeks in to the Northern Tier ride.

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Andrea BrownThat's a very moving tribute to a good friend. We'll lift a glass to Gay and all the friends we have met and have yet to meet on the road.
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7 months ago

Lisa LeslieThanks for writing this beautiful piece about Gay. I never got to meet him and had always expected I would. He lives so large in all of your stories from your tour. I will be holding Denise in my heart.
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7 months ago

Lyle McLeod❣️ A lovely tribute on so many levels.
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7 months ago

Bruce LellmanWhat a sad thing but what a beautiful remembrance. I wish I had met Gay. Gay knew we cyclists were all out there on the road with him and it was a matter of time before our paths crossed and we would meet. I have come to know the cycling community to be a special group of people and Gay epitomized the best of that community. We can strive to be as good and generous as he was.
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7 months ago

Rich FrasierSo sad to write, but it's a beautiful tribute.
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7 months ago

Gregory GarceauVery nice Tribute, Jen. I am so sorry for you and Ron because I remember from this journal how many days you rode with Gay, how close you became with him, and how much fun you had with him. Heck, he almost seemed like MY friend too, and cycling friends are the best.
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7 months ago

Keith ClassenSuch sad news! A beautiful tribute. Our hearts go out to his family and friends.
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7 months ago

Jeff ArnimA wonderful tribute. Thank you for sharing it with all of us.
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7 months ago

Jen RahnTo Bruce LellmanI think your and Andrea's sendoff gathering before we started Undaunted Porridge was what set us up to be open to and excited about meeting other cyclists!
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7 months ago

Jen RahnTo Gregory GarceauThanks Greg! I hope that Ron and I get to count you amongst the cycling friends we've met in person someday.
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7 months ago

Dee ForteWhat a moving tribute to what sounds like a wonderful man. So sorry to hear about this.
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7 months ago

Bruce LellmanTo Gregory GarceauNew cliche: Some of my best friends are cyclists.

But it is actually true.
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7 months ago

Bruce LellmanTo Jen RahnThat's nice of you to say, Jen. You and Ron are more outgoing and approachable than Andrea and myself so we were not worried about you meeting and becoming friends of other cyclists. It seems with Gay you met one of the very best.
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7 months ago

Jen RahnTo Dee ForteThanks Dee Ann!

I wish all of our people could have met Gay in person ..

And how lucky that we were able to share so many of our travel adventures with him here on CycleBlaze.

What a treasure it is for us to have this journal to go back and visit all the fun we had together!
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7 months ago

Karen PoretJen; you may have been (or are) the “princess”, but Gay is the Prince.
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6 months ago

Jen RahnTo Karen PoretThat is absolutely true, Karen!!

I can't believe how lucky we were to have met Gay and shared so much time with him on our tour.

Thank you for commenting here.
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6 months ago

Karen PoretThe irony of finding this today is our older daughter ( Jenn) found out our older neighbor passed away who always said hello when he rode by on his bicycle. Never realized his middle initial was a G, and he, too would lend a hand anytime. Guess Gay’s “twin” is also aboard and perhaps they are sharing a tandem ride.:)
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6 months ago