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Steve Spencer asked that this be shared amongst the BMX community:

Borrowing from a quote of Samuel Johnson, “It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives”. That being the case, it defines our beloved fallen BMX brother Bryan Oblad who passed on this Saturday, January 2nd, at the youthful age of 37 while doing what he and his family loves… racing BMX.

Bryan and his two daughters, Brooke and Breanna, along with his brother Mike and father Steve were a passionate and dedicated BMX family and were fixtures at all of the local races in Salt Lake. You could not miss Bryan at the track as he was always on one of his tricked out SE BMX bikes and sporting his trademark baby-blue and brown SE Racing jersey. Bryan has been a BMX enthusiast since the 1970’s and he took great pride in his collection of old-school and new school SE BMX bikes that he kept in mint condition. His favorite bike in his collection was baby-blue Floval Flyer with black Skyway mag wheels and it was fitting that it was his ride of choice in his last race around the Rad Canyon Indoor track.

A tough competitor on the track, Bryan was an always smiling and an obliging volunteer off the track by handing out trophy slips with his family at the finish line at most of the local races. The Oblad family was a team of their own in a sense that they were always together. Outside of racing Bryan also had the challenge of raising two girls which is a huge feat in itself. BMX was in the girls’ blood too and they were also earning a name for themselves as great racers as they were often seen out front of their respective classes. In fact Brooke, the eldest, has earned the title of the fastest female racer in the state by winning the last two girls Pro-Am races. Needless to say, Bryan was very proud of his girls’ accomplishments in racing and in life and the beautiful young ladies they have become.

Bryan was a great friend to many and had a profound impact on all he met and that was evident in the outpouring of support at the race the day following his passing. The BMX community came together as a family this day in the memory of Bryan in celebration of his life and his contributions. His two daughters told us they wanted to be where their Dad’s heart was on the day after losing him. In honor of their father and brother, Brooke, Breanna and Mike showed amazing composure in suiting up in baby blue and brown SE uniforms and taking a memorial lap with Bryan’s cherished SE bikes. Though it was a sad gathering it was also uplifting to feel the love, friendship and Bryan’s spirit that filled the arena. The event strengthened each other’s mutual bond and heightened their appreciation of how special our BMX community is.

A fundraiser for the family will be held at the next Rad Canyon Indoor race weekend of January 22nd-24th which will be sponsored by Ken Garff Nissan of Riverdale. Please watch for updates on www.utahbmx.com or www.radcanyonbmx.com and other supporting websites on details of the fundraiser and other opportunities to help the Oblad family during this difficult time.

Thank you and god bless the Oblad family… R.I.P. Bryan, you will be missed but never forgotten.

Here’s some video of Lucas winning on Sunday:

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And here’s some video of me getting 2nd on Saturday:

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Me? I got 4th today. All in all it was a great weekend of BMX racing!

Videos: http://www.youtube.com/BMXingGeek

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I got 1st tonight and Lucas got 2nd (on 11/6, that is).

Look for video from last weekend at YouTube.

See you there!