It's hard to believe six months have went by since we lost our friend Jonny Hymas. Not long after the Moab Memorial I set to work writing about "the best funeral I've ever attended" for Mountain Flyer Magazine. Now don't worry Jonny would laugh and be darn proud of that statement. The magazine print cycle didn't leave much room to get a story it in the Spring issue, but we did get it in the Summer issue...which is out NOW! Mountain Flyer Magazine is not distributed nation wide, but is available in most of the West. I am including the article here and with more pictures, but PLEASE buy it if you can. Its one of the last great print magazines that still covers bike cool bike stuff. Big thanks to Brian Reipe for allowing us (the Moab Family) to honor our friend.
by: Landon Monholland, appears in issue number 25, Mountain Flyer Magazine...
I stand warming my hands in my armpits in a foot of snow. Fifty other riders and I are pushing our bikes up Porcupine Rim, in Moab, Utah...in January!!! As the procession files past me I hear the sound of 80's heavy metal music blasting from a battery powered boom box shoved in a backpack. I turn away from the line as the tears well up in my eyes. It's been eight days since our friend, Jonny Hymas, was killed in a car accident. Oh how Jonny loved hair band metal. He played it until all of us, his friends and staff, were sick of it. It was at that moment that I realized Jonny must be giggling at the absurdity of all of us trying to ride Porcupine Rim, in January....for him. But we are all glad to be here and celebrate this mans life.
Jonny Hymas grew up in Liberty, Idaho, riding bikes, and playing great pranks on his friends and family. When he was a teenager he lost one of his eyes to a hunting accident. He never let that hold him back, and proceeded to chase his mountain bike dreams. He was a nationally ranked pro cross country racer in the 90's, never quite making it big time, but he was seriously fast all the same. He never made too big a deal of his racing career, but he was proud that of all the XC guys he was the first to embrace wide bars and short stems. Jonny liked to jump, and he liked to huck, and he went really big on bikes that weren't quite ready for it. Jonny was “freeriding” before “freeride” was a term. Before anybody wore armor, or imagined riding big bikes up hill, Jonny was already doing it, and doing it at a very high level of precision, speed and style.
Jonny worked for Escape Adventures, a mountain bike tour company, for most of his adult life. He led countless trips for thousands of people over the years. In 2000 Escape Adventures purchased Moab Cyclery and he became the general manager. This is where I first met Jonny in 2004. He was my boss, but also quickly became my friend and riding partner. Being from the Midwest I had never launched anything much bigger than a curb, so Jonny took me under his wing and helped me progress as a rider in the unforgiving landscape of Moab. He has helped so many different people learn, or become better at something. Be it biking, woodcarving, wilderness survival, you name it- Jonny's knowledge base and experience was unbelievable considering he was only educated through the eighth grade and struggled with reading and writing. The tenacity it took to overcome those odds, and successfully manage a business is pretty remarkable. It's a testament to his character that he was so successful at so many things and helped so many others along the way.
Luckily this celebration of his life has been the start of the healing process. It started with a group ride led by Jonny's 9 year old son, Scout Hymas. He led over 70 of us on the Lay Z trail, a new single track north of town. It was the last trail he had ridden with his Dad before his death. The poor little guy sprinted the whole way thinking he was holding up the group when, in reality, he was smoking it. I caught a glimpse of Scout riding a few switch backs above me and I could have sworn it was Jonny. Fast and smooth, like father like son.
That evening we gathered at a local theater to tell stories and watch a slide show. Moab, like no other place creates great stories. It's hard to tell one about this place without Jonny being in it in some way. We laughed and cried, then laughed some more. Jonny was part of this place, part of the experience of it. He was my boss and my friend. He was my teacher. On this day we came together to celebrate the life of one of our family members. Jonny we loved you, we will miss you, Moab will miss you. Ride on our friend, ride on!
Below are some of the many pictures that surfaced or were taken at the January celebration. Please enjoy:
Jonny Halloween shots are the best! There is even a refrigerator magnet set that lets you "choose Jonny a costume" and features all the classics, like this one!
This is a small portion of the over 70 that showed up for the Scout Hymas led memorial ride on Saturday. He took a group that included his grandfather on the Bar M Trails north of Moab. It was the last loop he had ridden with his father before his death.
Above and below, Scout Hymas get's ready for the biggest group ride of his life. Watch for this kid! If he chooses, he will be a big deal in cycling someday. He rides like his dad did... only with two good eyes!
Above--Grandpa Hymas's first mountain bike ride. (Jonny's Dad.)
Above--In the good ole days at Moab Cyclery, when business was slow, we would go out front and "put on the chicken suit" which meant draw customers in by riding trials bikes on stunts in front of the shop. Andy and Tyson show they still got "the chicken suit."
Above--Jared Fisher is the owner of Moab Cyclery and put on the fixn's (apparently the hot dogs were for the kids??? But I ate mine happily) for Jonny's Memorial. Jonny had worked for Jared and his company for 20 years! How long would you make it as a dirt bag guide livin' in a tent down by the river? Jonny had staying power, that's for sure.
Below are classic Jonny shots dug out of a shoe box. Jonny was a trend setter, he did so many things that bikers now "normally do" (like ride long travel bikes) before anyone else did them. Wide bars? Short stem? Oh that was so 1995 for Jonny.
Above is a photo of me in 2004 (I think taken by Jonny) psyking my-self up to do the biggest drop I'd ever done to that point....And below, that same drop done by Jonny circa 1998 on inferior equipment with much less suspension travel.
Jonny's backyard was famous. Any pro that came to town or video crew ended up there. One night Josh Bender would stop by, the next the Rocky Mountain Fro Riders. It was legit. Big moves in a tiny space.
Group Ride Day Two started from, of course, Moab Cyclery. Jonny had left a small short will and testament written some years before his death, that asked that all of his friends would ride down Porcupine Rim to celebrate his life. It was his cruel and hilarious joke that he died in January. Ha Ha Jonny! You got us!
I will admit that when Joels boom backpack played "The Darkness" I burst into tears. Jonny, Billy, Andy, Mary, Travis and I would do Chili Runs after work with that CD screaming in the truck.
The morning of the big rides it was cool to have decades of Moab Cyclery employees on hand spinning on pedals and getting bikes ready. It was surreal to say the least...the same music, the same people, only there were generations in attendance, people who had never actually worked together, but had been part of the Moab Cyclery family.
The ride down Porcupine was, for me, terrifying. The shady spots had were covered in ice, and those shady parts were on the big cliff edges. I had also positioned my-self in the front group which meant I was riding at break neck speed, on ice, with some of the fastest humans on the planet. I let go of the brakes, relaxed, and it was all over soon enough...indeed, one of the best rides of my life.
Jonny's bike, shown above....was ridden down Porcupine Rim one last time by his best friend Jared Fisher. Thanks Jonny for getting us all together for this. We hope you enjoyed the laughs and the shows. You WILL NOT be forgotten.
Jonnny was and always be a legend, the most amazing kind hearted soul there is. i am thank full to have had him a part of my life. His carvings in moab cyclery make me smile everyday that i work. we all miss him so very much.
ReplyDeleteHe was sure having a good laugh at all of us pushing our bikes up porcupine in the snow! best porcupine ride ever!
ReplyDeleteHow did he Die?
ReplyDeleteCar accident, original blog post was here...meant to post that with this story: http://commandonlandon.blogspot.com/2012/01/because-of-jonny.html
ReplyDelete