Steve Albers, President of Albers & Company insurance in Tacoma, has died from injuries after a crash last Thursday during the Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day (RAMROD). He was 60.
It is with great sadness we announce that Steve has gone on the ultimate adventure without us. He was our leader, motivator, and mentor and will truly be missed.
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A Celebration of Life service will begin Tuesday the 31st of July at 3:00 pm at the Fircrest Golf Club. All who love Steve are welcome to come and celebrate his life and share their stories.
Donations can be made to: United Way of Pierce County, Greater Lakes Mental Healthcare, or Pierce County Library Foundation
RAMROD is an annual ride organized by the Redmond Cycling Club. It’s a rigorous 152-mile ride with 10,000 feet of climbing (and descending) and takes place on a weekday to avoid busy weekend visitor traffic.
The Tacoma News Tribune reports that the wreck happened on a steep downhill on the west side of Box Canyon:
Chuck Young, chief ranger for Mount Rainier National Park, said Friday that the accident took place on the west side of Box Canyon. This would have been during a downhill section of the ride following a rest stop at Paradise. This was not one of the three sections of road that was under construction.
Park rangers, ride officials and an emergency room doctor and nurse participating in the event responded to the accident.
An American Medical Response ambulance, on scene as required by the club’s special use permit with the park, was used to transport Albers. He was then flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle by Airlift Northwest.
Young says there have been some accidents during RAMROD’s 29-year history. He said the park is investigating the accident and will meet with the Redmond Cycling Club to determine “if anything can be done to prevent accidents like this in the future.”
“But we certainly are not talking about cancelling the ride in the future,” he said. “I have to compliment the organizers. They always do a good job of preparing the riders but this happened anyway.”
Condolences to his friends and family.
Comments
One response to “Tacoma insurance company president dies after fall during RAMROD”
This is a tragedy. My thoughts and heart go out to his family and friends.
RAMROD is such an inspirational ride, not only because of the amazing scenery and the 30 miles of riding up hill, but because of the people like Steve Albers riding it. The organizers do a fantastic job to make this a great and safe ride. One of the little touches is the giving out of rider number based on age of the rider. The older the rider the lower the number. I am 43 years old. I had a number over 600 meaning that there were more than 600 people (out of 800 total) older than me riding 150 miles with 10,000 feet of elevation gain in a day. The oldest was 84. It was so great to see and ride with so many role models demonstrating how to live a fit life past 40.
Steve Albers died being a role model of how to live an active and fit life. I hope his family can take some solace in that.