UPDATES
Ghost Bike
In late October 2007, a Ghost Bike was placed by some dedicated advocates of non-motorized road safety in memory of David Ryan at the site where he was killed on June 29, 2004.
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2008 Circuit of the Cotswolds, The David Ryan Challenge Ride
The 4th annual "Circuit of the Cotswolds" bicycling event was held in England on June 22 to honor David Ryan. This highly successful event is organized by friends and colleagues from David's days as a member of the Oxford Cycling Team. The following excellent website has detailed information about this year's event, as well those previous: www.circuitofthecotswolds.org. Here is the official PDF flyer advertising this year's event: Circuit of the Cotswolds 2008. Here is a note from Anne & Tom Ryan on their experience this year.
Paniccia Update
Joshua Paniccia, who on June 6, 2005, was sentenced to 1-3 years in NY State prison as a youthful offender for the negligent homicide of David Ryan (June 29, 2004), was denied parole at the end of April 2006 and sentenced to serve at least the second year of his 3-year prison term. On November 14, 2007, it was learned from "non-official" sources that Joshua recently has been released. Because of his Youthful Offender status, the conditions of his release are not known. The same sources stated that Mr. Paniccia was not released as originally scheduled for June 2007 because he had not completed some program required by the Department of Corrections. No additional information is available at this time."
This website is dedicated to the memory of Dr. David T. Ryan, a world-class physicist, scholar and athlete. His life was abruptly and tragically ended at age 32 while he was doing what he loved best. On the evening of June 29th, 2004, he was struck down in his prime by a grossly speeding and out of control motor vehicle in Clifton Park, NY, while on his regular 30-mile training ride. Over time, the driver pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide.
To those who knew him, however briefly or deeply, David was the epitome of honor, decency and humbleness. And his dry wit was simply brilliant. Owing to his quiet nature, few realized that he also was unusually gifted as i) an academic (he graduated top of his class in Physics at Oxford University); ii) a corporate scientist (just a couple weeks before the tragedy, he landed the General Electric Company a multimillion dollar federal grant to develop a new generation of more diverse magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) instruments), and iii) a supremely tough and dedicated athlete, whose passion for mountain hiking, downhill skiing, and running was only surpassed by his love of cycling -- he had logged well over 100,000 fast miles on the roads of two continents.
Born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, David had spent the last three years of his life in the United States. For this, the lucky few in America who met him are most grateful, as they experienced his exemplary pursuit of excellence and enjoyed his friendship.
A fine and giving (albeit short) life such as David’s should never be forgotten, but rather meaningfully honored. As friends who shared some of our very best moments of the young millennium with him, we hope that David’s legacy will inspire others in varied ways, and that some general good might continue to come from his senseless loss.
Thank you for logging on to David’s site – Walt Cicha, Ph.D. and Bob Preville.