RIP

From the Wausau Paper:

Bicycling was front and center Monday evening at the funeral of Gregg Bednorski.

There were pictures of a muddy Bednorski after mountain- and road-bike races. There was a large bouquet of flowers from the Madison-based Great Velo Cycling Club, a team on which Bednorski rode for years, and one of his bicycles was placed at the front of the room at Peterson/Kraemer Funeral Home in Wausau.

Bednorski died participating in the sport he loved after crashing Thursday night into a parked car on Highway KK, not far from this town of Mosinee home.

His death sent shockwaves through the biking community because Bednorski was among the state's top mountain- and road-bike racers. He was known as a driven, dogged competitor.

People talked Monday about his zest for life, his willingness to share his knowledge and zeal and, most of all, his overriding love for his wife, Tammy, and his children, Isabelle and Adam.

"He was a wonderful father," said Bednorski's mother, Jean Kluball, 69, of Tomahawk.

Bednorski was only 41 years old, Kluball said, "but he lived a fuller life than most. Ever since he was a little kid, he never sat. ... He didn't waste a minute."

Ted Hayes, 47, of the town of Mosinee, was Bednorski's neighbor, and he spent time with Bednorski on hunting trips.

"Talk was always about family," Hayes said. "And raising kids. His kids were my kids, and my kids were his kids."

Bednorski always was quick to lend a hand, using his four-wheeler to clear out Hayes' driveway in the winter or to drop off some freshly-caught fish.

Like with many others, the bond of friendship between Bednorski and Jim Frame, 37, of Weston was forged riding bikes together. Bednorski helped Frame get started as a bike racer.

Bednorski "had a quiet confidence. He was comfortable and confident in his abilities," Frame said. "I think he wanted the competition. He wanted to be pushed."

Hayes wasn't surprised to see hundreds of people come to pay their respects to Bednorski and his family.

"Gregg touched a lot of people in a lot of different activities," he said.