The Portland bike community has lost a special character. Ali Al-Salman — who shared his love of bicycles and music with many — passed away at 7:30 AM on New Year’s Day while visiting family in Los Angeles.
Although I didn’t get to know him well, I remember Ali’s smile and guitar from several bike events over the past few years.
Ayleen Crotty has written a nice remembrance of Ali on the Midnight Mystery Ride website and on her ORBike Blog. Ali was a regular on the Midnight Mystery Rides and had attended more of them than anyone else. He even wrote a song about them — which you can hear on his MySpace page.
For more remembrances of Ali, see this message on the Shift email list.
Rest in peace Ali.