It is with a heavy heart that I write this blog. A few weeks ago on November 13, 2010, I had a very close friend, Rob Kubicki, lose his life doing something that he loved. He had gone for a morning motorcycle ride much like we always do on the weekends. The only difference was several of us had to work that day and others were running late or had already left. He decided to meet up with a mutual friend at our halfway spot as usual. He would often ride these roads alone and was an extremely competent rider. Unfortunately, he never made it to the meeting spot. He was going through an open turn when he went down. Now before anyone assumes he was not wearing a helmet or being a “Squid” let me say that all the people I ride with know the value of proper gear while we ride. He was in full leathers along with full face helmet, everything that he could wear to ensure his safety. Anyone that rides knows that every time we throw a leg over our bike, we are accepting the risks of doing what we love.
Once the news was out to everyone, it started to pour over the internet through the forums we are on and other social networks. That night, we all met at his favorite watering hole with some of his family, friends, and anyone that knew him or had encountered a heated discussion through the forums with him. Later that week we all went to the visitation where even though the temperatures were in the low 40s over a dozen people still rode to honor his passion. His family was extremely thankful that people showed their respect by riding. There were so many in attendance that some had to wait in line for almost an hour just to pay theirs. The next day we all rode our bikes in the funeral procession. We met early at his parents’ house where they were overwhelmed by the turnout. We then went to the church for a ceremony and began his last ride to the point where he was laid to rest. The procession was recorded by a fellow member of a motorcycle group from his helmet. I had the honor to carry one of his old helmets on the back of my bike.

Once at the final resting place, Robs younger sister was holding his 3-year-old son and looking at all the motorcycles. We were all standing there watching when he asked where his dad’s bike was and where is his daddy. There wasn’t a dry eye around when his sister had to tell him that his daddy was gone. After the words were said we placed his helmet on his casket since that is how we all remembered him.
That day was one of the worst days for me in quite a while but at the same time made me proud to be who I am, and to have the people I call my friends. All of his family has since joined our online forums and can’t believe the thousands of hits and comments that have poured in and are constantly thanking us for sharing stories and comments about Rob.
I hope that after reading this blog it encourages you to call, text, tweet, email, hug the ones that are close to you and make you the person you are. Also, live life to its fullest, Rob has definitely inspired all of us that knew him to do so.  He truly had an epic life.  (I’m pretty sure his favorite word was “Epic”)

If you would like to read some of the forums or news articles simply type in Rob Kubicki Hot Rod to your search bar.  There are several events going on this month that have all the proceeds being donated to the Robert Kubicki Memorial fund for his son Luke.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_BF