I'm sad to report that the President of the Iron Butt Association of Australia and Australia's FarRiders, David "Davo" Jones, passed away on Friday, September 4, 2009, as a result of hitting a deer on US-95 shortly after crossing into the U.S. from Canada during the Iron Butt Rally. Ok, so he didn't ride a Harley, but I'm not holding that against him, Davo did more for the sport of safe long distance riding in Australia than anyone else I can think of, and apart from that he was just an all round welcoming, generous and passionate guy who loved riding, and took great pleasure from watching other people enjoy their two wheeled experiences as well.

Ride on Davo, you will be missed,  but not forgotten,

Bear

This was posted by a representative of the family on the FarRiders forum:

It is with the heaviest heart and with many tears in my eyes as I type this from Davo's computer, but we just received the phone call that no one wants to receive. The nurse just called to inform us that Davo has just passed away. As I sit here at his desk, I look around and I see items and photo's that Davo treasured. There are photo's of him and Wil together, photo's of the kids, and his "GO FAR" number plate surrounded by his Iron Butt Association plate cover and his numerous IBA certificates that demonstrate his love and passion for distance riding.

Throughout today, I have fielded many, many phone calls from people from both here in Australia and overseas all relating small stories of how Davo enthused, motivated and/or encouraged them beyond what they thought they were capable of. And this typifies the type of guy he was. He was always so energetic and full of life. It is a crying shame to see it cut short - although if Davo had a choice, we all know he wouldn't have it any other way. He was living life to full and doing what he enjoyed. While we all are going to deal with this in different ways, Davo would always want us to adopt his attitude and look on the bright side. He would want us to remember the fun times and fond memories that each of us have with him. On behalf of everyone sitting here in the room with me as I type this, a massive thank you for the support that you guys have out poured so far. It is very much appreciated. I will come back on here when we have more news about the arrangements that I am sure a lot of people will want info on.

At this time, FarRiders is the best source of information: http://www.farriders.com

He will be sadly missed. I had chatted with him a number of times on the FarRiders forum and he was the driving force behind the FarRiders. 

Condolences to the family.

RIP Davo

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26039209-3102,00.html

y Mark Hinchliffe

September 08, 2009 12:00am

THE world was too small a place for long-distance motorcycle rider David Jones.

The Cooroy real estate agent had been selected as Australia's representative in the Iron Butt Rally through the US and after riding more than 11,000km he was only 160km from the finish when he died in a collision with a deer on Friday (September 4).

Jones, 53, had just crossed the Canada/US border into Idaho and was heading south toward a final bonus stop when the deer hit him. He sustained serious injuries and was transported to the nearest hospital by helicopter.

Work associate Garry Bauer described Jones as ``a real genuine Aussie''.

``It's amazing; he did it all on his own. To get there and get knocked out 100 miles from the finish is hard to believe.

``He had planned it for a long time and done it on a budget, not sleeping in motels, but sleeping on the side of the road. He did it the hard way.''

Tributes to Jones have flooded in on the FarRiders website, a group he formed to share his knowledge and experience with other long-distance motorcycle riders.

His website carries a quote from Jones: ``We are all destined to die, some choose to live while alive.''

Jones had crossed Australia in two days and claimed he could be anywhere in the country safely within three days.

``Everywhere is just down the road for me,'' he had said.

He was competing in his debut biennial Iron Butt Rally which challenges riders to travel 1600km a day for 11 days across 48 American states and Canada, starting in South Carolina and finishing in Washington.

It includes a bonus points system where riders can visit optional locations for more points.
The event was won by Jim Owen on a BMW R1200RT who traveled 20,448km and scored 139,833 points.

Out of 3000 applicants 100 riders were selected for the rally and only 70 finished.

Son-in-law Jim Bethel described “Davo” as “larger than life”.

“He was very passionate about living life to the fullest. His achievements were greater than most people’s dreams.

“David was an inspiration to many and will be sadly missed. He not only made an impression on people’s lives, but also in their hearts.”

Jones may have talked at a million miles an hour, but he insisted he did not break the speed limit.

``It's not a matter of speeding; it's about moving forward, time management and being consistent. The rally is not a race. We are competing against ourselves,'' he had said.

The Iron Butt Rally traveled through desert heat, snow, rain and hail on some of the worst roads in North America, including Death Valley.

Jones was only the fourth Australian since 1984 to be accepted in an Iron Butt Rally after John McCrindle of Brisbane competed in 1999 and 2001, and Derrick Sutton of Melbourne in 2001.

The other Australian representative this year was Tasmanian Margaret Peart who finished 70th after engine failure on her BMW R1200GS.

The rally had cost Jones up to $15,000 to compete, as well as the $22,990 he spent on his Kawasaki 1400GTR motorcycle plus $3000 in accessories such as extra lights, GPS, CB radio and auxiliary fuel tanks.

He is survived by his wife, Wilhelmina and four children, Kristy, Desley, Morgan and Mitchell.

Visit:

RIP Brother.

I hate to hear about any fellow bike rider going down, but Davo, thats just fucked my day up big time. I have had the honour of meeting Dave on a number of occassions and he is, and always will be, a giant amongst us riders.

I remember him riding down from QLD just to attend the Make a wish lolly ride for Jayden Green. He rode 2,400 km's overnight just to help make this young cancer victoms day a little bit better.

Here is Dave present Jayden with a few Kawasaki goodies

And Jayden never took the beanie off for the whole day

Dave left half way through the day to ride straight to Melbourne to attend another ride before heading home again.

Dave

Riding ahead of the pack now,

Dont wait for us mate,

We'll catch up one day

My deepest sympathy for his family & friends.

Regards Bob

such a tragedy,

RIP DAVO ...........

Condolences to the family.

RESPECT ............

Very sad news. My deepest condolence to the family.

RIP Davo- you are a LEGEND.

Haynzy

Dave's funeral arrangements are as follows;

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR DAVO - PLEASE DISTRIBUTE

Hi Everyone,

We have made arrangements for Davo's funeral to be held at the Outreach Centre on Saturday 19th at 11 am. The venue is located at the roundabout of Eumundi road & Beckmans road at Noosaville.

During the ceremony that Russel (Rusjel) will be kindly taking for us, there is a small window of time that is available for a select few (probably around 5-6 people I estimate) to hop up and give their experiences of Davo. After the ceremony is over, we have asked Paul (Ghostrider) to organize everyone immediately afterward, to form a final guard of honour and ride along as we follow FarRider #1 on his final journey which will be around a 5 minute ride from the original venue. From the funeral home, we would like the celebration of Davo's life to continue at the Victory Hotel in Cooroy (38 Maple St, Cooroy) which is next to Davo's office, and we were quite a few family meals and also the FarNat lunch at recently.

For those of you that visit other forums where Davo was known and/or are associated with different clubs or groups to do with bikes, as a mark of respect, could you please copy the above text and tell all far and wide about this. Although it was tragically cut short, I can think of no better way to honour Davo, than to get as many bikes and people there as possible to reminisce on the extraordinary life he had while he was here with us.

Could I ask some assistance now from some of the other members....

If possible and if you are coming, CherryBird and Toura, we would be privileged if you could read your poems that you both penned. Can someone please put me in contact with who ever designed and organized the original 'Far-Tin' please. I haven't ran this part via Wil yet (so it could get changed at a later date) but I would like someone to take some nice photographs on the day so the family has something to remember how many people turned up to show their love for their husband, father, grandfather, for this one, I am looking at you Tommo for this one if you can make it. I remember seeing some of the great photo's you took on previous trips that you showed us at Davo and Wil's place. I have had a few requests for those that are coming that may wish to stay in accomodation or camp. I have heard some of the other members may have already looked into this on behalf of those traveling from interstate, after this post is up, please feel free to ask any questions here.

I understand that this date also coincides with the Tottenham FarRide, and Davo would never let anything get in the way of a ride, however, this is as soon as we can get the MWBS home to us all due to all the paperwork etc that needs to happen in a situation like this.

Again, from all of Davo's immediate family - we are all very humbled by the generosity, kindness and love that has been shown toward us. We cannot say thank you enough.

Jim