1962 - 2010, Rest in Peace
David Oliphant suffered a cardiac arrest on Tuesday June 8, 2010 while racing his bike at Portland International Raceway.
He was one of the driving forces behind the TAI Cycling team and a very well known racer in the Northwest. He was always working to be the Best All Around Rider in OBRA and was sitting in 3rd place as of Tuesday night.
David first joined up with Spencer Newell and Bill Warburton in 2004 to expand the TAI Cycling team from Bend into Portland and was always on the lookout for new talented riders in the peloton, he was always eager to get the team to train together and learn from one another and he was the glue that held the Portland crew together year after year. Many cycling teams come and go every couple years but David believed in this team and helped it grow to what it is today.
We’re very sorry to see David leave us so soon and our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, his brother, sister and the rest of his family and friends.
We have all lost a very important person and teammate.
In memory of David Oliphant, there will be a silent memorial lap at PIR on June 15th at 6:30PM. Duncan, his brother, will lead this ride at the front with his friends. David’s family will be attending. Please join us celebrate and remember David.
A Memorial Service
Will be held on Thursday June 17 at 1:00 PM at the Southlake Foursquare Church 1555 SW Borland Rd., West Linn, OR.
We will post more information here as it is made available.
Some thoughts from his TAI teammates:
David always had words of encouragement for me and was the first to tell me I was riding well or to offer advice on how to get back into some sort of fitness. He was a great motivator when it came to training and he was also a great comedian while on those training rides which, thankfully, helped passed the long hours in the saddle. Tonight a friend of his, Craig, put it best when he said the one word to describe David was gentle… I agree. The guy was just as easy going as they come. The Saturday rides won’t be the same…
Thanks for everything, David… you will be missed.
Jerry
Dave was one of a kind… he truly was. I know there is no need to say this to anyone who knew him, but it makes me feel better doing so. (Who else would put pictures of their CATS on his facebook page?!)
We all loved Dave, this I know. He was a very good friend to me… and to everyone. It’s still surreal to me having seen him before and during the race, buzzing away, moving through the peloton with that typical “Dave” style of pedaling his machine, and then seeing him after he left us, lying so still, with friends and family around him.
Dave was also so much to this team… one of it’s earliest members, and certainly the biggest bit of glue that held the Portland group together. Personally, my life was enriched by having Dave as a part of it. I love that guy.
Peter
Dave brought me on the team when I lived up in Oregon this season, and really truly had a passion for making people happy and promoting the sport of cycling. The little bit I did get the meet and race with him, was more than fun. He had such enthusiasm and was one of the main reason’s I joined TAI.
He will truly be missed.
Paul
David was a great friend and mentor to me, he made cycling fun and i always enjoyed ridding and racing with him. thank you dave for being a true professional, for giving me rides to and from races, for your humor, for your encouragement, for your positive outlook. He was the best of us all, a champion of life, a genuine person, I will always remember him. You will be greatly missed. my heart goes out to those who love him and even more to those he loved.
I knew Dave through bike racing in Portland years and years ago. I took a 12 year or so hiatus, and when I came back last year he came up to me with a gentle smile, a laugh, and said “where have you been?”. He was fast on the bike, he was gracious and funny. He will be missed.
Dave was always inspiring to me the few times I talked with him and when I’d say I keep wanting to get out and ride/race more, but was too busy with life and school, he’d respond with “we’ll get you going”… Last summer I was stuck up near council crest with a flat, and he came riding by and offered me a tube. Some people you meet and forget. Dave was not one of those people.
We will miss you Dave. I wish I had the chance to get to know you better.
Ryan Ness
This is Dave’s wife and I wanted to take a moment to thank all of Dave’s teammates for the love and support.
To say Dave loved cycling would be an understatement – it was his passion, his outlet and was just a big part of who he was. Through cycling Dave met so many amazing people and lifelong friends who brought him so much joy. Dave was thrilled when Duncan took up the sport. Those two were peas in a pod with cycling. I’m so very grateful Duncan was with Dave the entire time. Also, thank you Peter and Jeff for your support at the hospital.
Thank you so much for the memorial ride and I will be there to thank all of you for being Dave’s friend.
Elvi Oliphant
Dave, you will truly be missed, you always made me smile, even if i was having a bad day,you seem to light up the store with your presence, thank you for all you’ve done for are business,
Lou & Levi
At S.N.C.
I am absolutely heartbroken to hear about David. I worked with his wife, and David would come in occasionally to take her to lunch, and he’d always bring us doughnuts. The atmosphere in the office would be happier every time he would show up. You just felt better being around him. Even to those of us who didn’t know him personally, but just spoke with him, you could tell he was a very, very special person. That man was a light, and those of you who were lucky enough to have known him are truly blessed. He was a gift.
Linda Henderson