Twistyguy (Peter Shimm)

[Indy Dave]

 

 

 

Our friend and brother passed away Tuesday, Sept19, 2023 while riding with friends in West Virginia.

Peter was an accomplished off and on-road rider, who constantly sought to become a better rider of both disciplines. His enthusiasm was contagious, and he loved to discuss the 'nuts and bolts' of riding and technique.

Not one to just talk, Peter worked hard at always finding something to improve on to keep his skills and riding tools sharp. Peter was very smart, and equally as funny.

Peter worked to expand the local moto community by bringing others together to ride and meet each other.  He was a founding member of The Bumbling BackRoad Riders, and he was a well known attender and organizer of The Appalachian Riding Tours.

 

Here's a link to Peter's introduction post on BMWST - If you didn't know Peter, you can get a sense of his passion from his posts in that thread.:

 

 

Peter was a family man, with a wife and twins at home.

 

The family has requested that friends share photos and stories of what Peter meant to you, these photos and stories will be compiled into a book. There are no public services planned (as of this writing).

 

Rest In Peace my Friend.

 

 

 

 

 

[DaveCinNO]

Rest in peace, Peter.  You will be missed.

[RandyShields]

Like many others, I was shocked and saddened to learn of Peter's passing.  I had numerous occasions to talk with and get to know him over the years and I was just numb at the news.  I know his family has to be in disbelief.  I share my heartfelt condolences with them. Peter was a wonderful and generous person.  I also want to share my condolences to the planning team for our last event, some of whom were along on the ride where he left us.  I can't imagine the hurt and sadness that you all are feeling, being so close to the accident.  My thoughts are with you as well. 

[Bernie]

We are grieving with the family and the rest of the riding communities.

Rest in peace, my friend, you will be sorely missed by everyone!

Here are a few pictures I found of Peter and friends. 

[KaTooM]

I had the opportunity to meet and ride with Peter at last year’s FART in Natural Bridge, VA. While I didn’t know him as long as many of you I can honestly say that he was charismatic, engaging, funny, and a true riding enthusiast. At the ride last year, we rode as a small group on routes he created that had us running down backroads, both paved and unpaved, sometimes lost but always enjoyable. It was an honest adventure, and that was before my bike quit on us in Smoke Hole, WV. Peter then spent the afternoon heckling me and my Austrian bike. His laughter as I had to bum a ride out on the back seat of another bike was contagious. He made me feel welcome in the group and introduced me to many of the other members. I came to this years event hoping to get in another adventure with Peter but instead got the news of his unfortunate incident. While I will miss him and it is always sad to lose a friend, it is comforting to know that he passed while doing something we all know that he loved to do. Godspeed Peter. 

At lunch outside Seneca Rocks, WV. 

[Kenikki]

When I saw Peter at a very emotional (for me) Newport FART Rally in 2020  I remarked how very nice it was to meet him. He simply smiled that lovely knowing smile and replied that we’d actually first met in 2017. I so clearly remember you he said – you and Ken so happy together and, you took the group photo that year. I was mortified and offered profuse apologies for an obviously severely inadequate memory -  I truly had no recollection. Blairsville 2017 was the first time I’d attended an event and met this extraordinarily special group of people – some of whom I believe were not only surprised that this mystery girlfriend of 5+ years actually existed, but that Ken had her riding on the back of his bike. So, I should perhaps cut myself some slack where Peter is concerned – a new experience and so many new faces and names to remember. Despite my memory lapses I will, however, never forget and will forever cherish Peter’s most beautifully articulated and heartfelt tribute to Ken after his tragic passing. If you don’t know Peter and didn’t get the chance to interact with him this should give you a little insight into the type of man he was – bright, funny, generous, grateful, gracious and humble to a T to name but a few of his many wonderful and admirable qualities.

 

https://www.bmwsporttouring.com/topic/96271-ken-insley/#comment-1047355

 

It is surreal, incomprehensible, heartbreaking and utterly devastating to me that we’re here today now paying tribute to him – this tragedy cuts so very deep to my core. Subsequent to meeting Peter AGAIN in 2020 I’ve been so blessed and grateful for his wisdom, compassion, care, kindness and above all his exceptional insights and intuition shared with me over the past few exceptionally difficult years. From 2020 onwards I always looked so forward to seeing him and was so bitterly disappointed in April of this year that inclement weather understandably forced him to cancel his attendance at the START rally in Ellijay. I had wanted to share with him the town that Ken and I enjoyed and visited frequently and, then of course, there was the garden that I designed and Marianne and I installed  – but it was not to be.

 

My other enormous regret is that I never shared with Peter a gallery of Ken’s Scenic Photographic Images from which he wanted to select his favorites to be enlarged and framed for the family’s Lakehouse.

 

"Hey  Dave--Just a thought--I think it would be incredibly powerful if Nikki could possibly bring some of Ken's photography to FART--especially the motorcycle-themed stuff.  I know I would be very moved by it.  I probably would want to buy some prints too (to be shipped--not carried home on my bike)”.

 

He brought it up a several times thereafter and I promised decisively after START in 2022 – but grief, stress, heartbreak and other unforeseen circumstances continued to make what would normally have been a routine task for me almost insurmountable. A promise broken - until a few weeks ago that is when I made a concerted effort and started to pull together images into a gallery for him. As fate would have it  too late and a further wakeup call that, should you (I) need to do something that’s important for someone special – do it now – because tomorrow might not be there!

 

My heartfelt condolences and healing thoughts go out to Peter’s  wife Monique, their girls, extended family, friends, colleagues, patients, and the entire Chevy Chase Community at their devastating loss. And holding Dave, Mark, Bukasa and our precious BMW and Bumbling BackRoad Riders family, so very close to my heart. Special acknowledgement  to Dave and Mark who through their own sorrow and loss were instrumental, together with the entire Planning Team, in the success of Sparta 2023.

 

 

‘Wherever a beautiful soul has been , there is a trail of memories” and Peter is no exception – I’ll cherish each and every one. RIP dear friend. You were both a gentleman and a gentle man and I thank you enough for your kindness, support and understanding .

 

Below are a few photos I’ve taken of Peter over the years – and the final two by Ken taken in 2018.

 

Much love and comfort to you all

Nikki

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[marcopolo]

I first met Peter in 2017, at Maggie Valley.  I liked him from the get-go.  He was smart, funny and incredibly enthusiatic, not just about our shared passion for riding, but about life in general.  We began riding together a fair bit after that, since we both lived in the D.C. area.  Day rides often included Barry Moss (who introduced Peter to the BMWST community), and Bob Smyth (Endobobdds), who was a big promoter of all things BMWST.  The three of us - Peter, Bob and I - began riding to/from STARTs/FARTs together.  It was a terrific experience in all respects:  kinship and camaraderie.  There's nothing like being on a road trip to get to know someone well, incuding sharing many meals together.  

 

I just got back home, after twelve days on the road, and now that I don't have FART to distract me, it's really beginning to sink in that Peter is gone.  Having riddden with Peter that fateful day in West Virginia, it's a surreal experience, one that I'm still processing. I can't imagine the pain that Peter's wife, and daughters, are going through.

 

I'm so grateful that Peter invited me, and Dave, to spend the weekend together at his lake house, before making our way first to Fayetteville WV, then with the intention of moving on to Sparta for this year's FART.  That weekend was pure joy, hanging out, riding, sharing meals and conversation, not to mention the extraordinary night sky from the backyard of his house.  I will forever treasure those memories, and will always think very fondly of Peter.

 

 

[Twisties]

I guess it's been too long since I attended an eastern event.  I hadn't met him.  But, it's always sad to lose a member of our riding family and one so plainly cherished by those who knew him.  My condolences to family and friends.

[lawnchairboy]

A very pleasant fellow.
 

rest in peace 

[TEWKS]

Oh man,  I only met Peter once but admired him and his style of riding. I got the sense he’d be a great friend to anyone who had the chance to spend some time with him. Sucks, sorry to all the people that got to know him well.

[ian408]

Godspeed Peter. 

[Indy Dave]

Peter was a very, very funny guy! If he could brighten your day in any way, he would! He was that kind of friend and leader. He was the very best! I've been jotting down notes and thoughts. But for now, I'll share some of this. 

 

 

 

 

 

For some context on Fabio Quartararo, let's just say he wasn't Peter's favorite racer, and 1)being French and 2) the face that he went everywhere open chested in his leathers only soured his distaste even more. 

 

So when Fabio burned his chest sliding on the track (and then summarily unzipped his upper leathers, I knew Peter would be rolling on the floor!

 

 

1)

1)

2

 

3

 

4) Note Peter knew just how to skillfully set you up, so he could work in a zinger at the end of his text!

 

 

 

5

 

Sooo OF course I had to send a photo . . . 

 

 

 

 

 

SIGH.... Peter was such a great guy with an incredible zeal for life.

 

He was The Very Best!

 

[Kenikki]

These are priceless Dave. Thank you for sharing  :)

[Indy Dave]

 

A Tribute To Peter

 

 

https://youtu.be/E9kyvFVzqb8

 

 

 

[TN_R_Girl]

I did not have the good fortune to know Peter --- met him just once (to my recollection).  But he clearly leaves a huge gap in our community.  Condolences to his family and much love to my fellow BMWST'rs who have been impacted by his passing.  

[Indy Dave]

I have never been accused of being particularly orderly or linear.  If anything is predictable about me, it's that I'm neither of those (unlike Peter). Although on one occasion, I did have Peter fooled:

 

 

And so it is that I'd like share how the music for Peter's tribute video came to be used.

 

If you've not watched the Tribute to Peter,  it's here: https://youtu.be/E9kyvFVzqb8

 

 

 

Most of you may remember the video that was made after last years FART in Natural Bridge. During the event, I randomly asked people to say "I Park for FREE!", while I taped them and I didn't tell them why. And Peter was one of the ones who did that. My plan was to use a song by Kurt Vile called "Loading Zones" which I had randomly come across and liked quite a bit. In the song, Kurt say's "I park for FREE" several times. And that is what Peter is referencing in the text above (I'm in the green). Here's the video if you have no idea what I'm talking about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=319jw3o98KE

 

So with that as a background, it's time for the rest of the story.

 

I liked the song enough that I BOUGHT a couple of Kurt Vile's CD's -I'm one of the few remaining who do this (they look like shiny round coasters with a small hole in the center). And I really liked a lot of his songs! Those songs went into heavy rotation on my bike playlist. Next thing I knew, I went to a concert by Kurt in Cincy.  While there, talking to the couple next to me -I asked how they had discovered Kurt Vile. They said that Kurt used to be with The War on Drugs (I'd never heard of them [the group, that is] ), and that they really liked the band - so that connection is what led them to see Kurt Vile. I made notes as we shared other music we liked.  Once home... yes... I bought 2 of their CD's (The War on Drugs). And I liked quite a few of those tunes enough that they made it onto my riding mix as well. The concert was October 2022 - and those songs are STILL in heavy rotation.

 

BUT . . . some of the War on Drugs songs have lyrics that are very hard to make out. Very, Very hard. Now when albums were the favored media, often the records came with lyrics presented in a format that was easy to read and in fact lent itself to listening to the record while reading the lyrics and liner notes. But not with CD's. So I'd never bothered to look up the lyrics of the songs - because in my advancing age, I'd need a telescope to read them if I tried to decipher the included text claimed to be the song lyrics that's sometimes included in microfilm type print in a cd.   And if you listen to Strangest Thing or watch the video - you'll know what I mean. There are about 20% of the lyrics you can make out. Maybe 30% if you're young and don't have ringing in your ears. But what I really liked originally about Strangest Thing was the melody and the haunting guitar.

 

After Peter's accident, riding home from FART in Sparta - alone (the way I wanted it) - my play list started with Strangest Thing , and I kept hitting repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat and the words deeply resonating . . .

 

Am I just living in the space between
The beauty and the pain
And the real thing...

 

Setting aside the emotion at the time, I knew I had the song for Peter's video; and knowing the connection all the way back to Kurt Vile's Loading Zones used in the first video Peter was in - it seemed like this was..... linear.

 

There are a few lyric and visual cues in the video .... the sky is painted . . . being the most obvious. It's worth noting that the sunset in the video was the backdrop from our dinner on Saturday night in Deep Creek Lake, MD - and the two photos before the sunset are from that meal as well - with Peter's friend John, and Mark.

 

Peter was many, many things. Peter (like Mark, Bukasa and me) was a fan of music, and we loved to share discoveries and experiences. It was one of the many ways we were connected.

 

Edited October 10 by Indy Dave

[greiffster]

17 hours ago, Indy Dave said:

 

A Tribute To Peter

 

 

https://youtu.be/E9kyvFVzqb8

 

 

 

 

Very, very nice, Dave.  Thank you.

[Indy Dave]

I thought I would share this comment from the tribute video that one of Peter's friends, and someone Peter was mentoring, shared. Peter,Mark  and I rode with John on Saturday and had a wonderful day together.

 

@JonnyTannebaum

10 hours ago

i can’t tell you what a positive influence you were on me, my riding, & my focus on riding smart & safely in the short time i knew you.

 

one of the first things you ever told me was that i needed to learn about trailbraking & make it the center of how i ride. you told me going wide was the number one killer for motorcycle riders. i just hope that isn’t what took you out, too.

 

i don’t know what happened, & i’m struggling to wrap my mind around how anything could take you out riding, & if YOU went out this way, should i even continue? regardless, I count myself lucky for having known you at all.

 

thanks for everything, Peter.

[TEWKS]

I’m not sure if Peter will know, (windows in higher places?) but hopefully, his family will get to see what great friends he made by finding this board. In the big picture of life, very few people find friends that would take the time to make such a nice tribute video. You guys are awesome!