Letter: Bike parade ending upsets grieving dad

To the community,

It has taken a couple of days for me to compose myself after discovering that Mo’s Place would be the terminal point for a parade on the anniversary Zip’s senseless beating, which resulted in his death. The web, being what it is, everyone is entitled to their opinion, whether they knew Zip or not. (Too bad for those folks who didn’t.)

Mark Cutright is unapologetic for planning to end his May 16 bike ride at the site of a lethal bar fight. Photo/LTN file

I have purposely refrained from making any reactionary public comment, because frankly, my sorrow and grief over our loss of Zip makes any rhetoric meaningless.

I’m curious if Chief Slowroller [Mark Cutright] would be so flippant if the Rollers knew that Zip was one of their own. He was a cruiser, very proud of his latest creation, having recently built a 200 spoker with a 6-inch springer front end to add to his other three rigs. That bike now resides at Zip’s home, above a waterfall, in an area that’s named The Peaceful Place.

Among the crew that were there in Tahoe that night Zip was beaten were the bride and groom, some of the groomsmen and bridesmaids, that all rode their cruisers to the wedding in gowns and tuxes. You should see the pictures of that. The bachelor/bachelorette parties were in Tahoe, wedding in Ripon. Zip and his brother Patch (who was also severely beaten that same night), were both cruising in the wedding party.

I am biased, but if I were the Slowrollers, I’d terminate someplace else, even knowing that ducats will be lost. But saving face, like throwing down, sometimes has a cost.

That weekend our crew is already amassed to have a memorial dive at Rainbow Pool, on the 19th, Zip’s birthday. He would have been 31.

This is something I felt the Slowrollers should know.

I just thought the Rollers should know that Zip was one of their fallen brothers, not simply some flatlander run amok.

Wayne Penaranda, father of Derek “Zippy” Penaranda