This morning a reckless driver killed a bicyclist on Florida Avenue, NE in Washington DC. The early news reports said the victim was “an elderly gentleman.” I don’t know any elderly people in that area of town. It couldn’t have been anyone I knew.
And yet it was.
Dave Salovesh was 54 years old. He was a wonderful man full of life and love. You could tell every time you saw him with his partner Jean that he loved her to the moon and back. I laughed so many times as he described the travails of being the parent of Kid O, his now teen-aged daughter. Being a parent is hard but, God, did he love her, too.
I’ve known Dave for over five years. Every interaction was a joy.
He was a passionate advocate for bicycling in DC. In 2015 he helped organize a protest on Pennsylvania Avenue, to get the city to install small barriers to keep cars from making u-turns across the cycle track in the middle of the road. We made a temporary barrier with people and pool noodles strung together. The protest succeeded and we had a ton of fun in the process.
At the end of the event Dave gathered up the pool noodles and we all went out for a beer down the street.
I am gutted.
God, I’m going to miss him. What a great guy.
My deepest condolences to Jean and O.
Love you Dave.
A Few Spokes Shy of a Wheel 
How sad. I’m so sorry.
My deepest condolences. It is terrible to lose advocate for bicycles, but so much worse to lose a friend.
It’s something you can never get used to. Nor should you, I suppose. My wife and I were talking about all the close friends who suddenly, inexplicably were no longer alive. I realize it’s selection bias, but it always seems to be the best people.
And the “like” was for the wonderful tribute you wrote.
Very sad. It sucks losing the best of people. Like Anthony, like=lovely tribute
I’m so sorry…sounds like he was a great guy.
He was indeed.
F U C K! I’m sorry this happened. Was the driver at fault and if so apprehended? I’m “lucky” to not know anyone personally yet but the two who have died here this year, which I have blogged about and gone on their Ride of Silence, still make me really sad and mad.
Stolen van going 2x the speed limit. Stopped when it smashed into a tree. Driver charged with 2nd degree murder
So Sorry for your Loss Sir, based on the amount of coverage I have seen of Dave on other social media channels he was well loved and will be sorely missed.
I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine how sad his family is, thank you for honoring his memory.