Memorial hike for cyclist, 23, who died in 2011

Matt Wilson used to cycle across Sonoma County in darkness just to ascend the Valley of the Moon at dawn.

Atop the 2,700-foot Bald Mountain in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, the young cycling enthusiast would gaze out on Mount St. Helena and San Francisco Bay as the sun rose above the Sierra.

“Matt used to say that the top was the most peaceful place on earth,” said good friend Shaun Ralston.

On Sunday, Ralston joined friends and family of Wilson at the park outside Kenwood for a memorial hike up Bald Mountain.

Wilson, an El Molino High graduate and Camp Meeker resident, died on his 23rd birthday in October 2011 while on a ride climbing Santa Rosa’s Los Alamos Road, another popular cycling route off Highway 12. Unknown to him, family members said, he suffered from a congenital heart defect that caused his death.

In his memory, friends and family began a scholarship for El Molino students. In the past two years, it has awarded $2,000 to three graduates.

On Sunday, a small group of hikers set off for the mountain top and recalled Wilson.

They remembered a young man who had wanted family and found it in the cycling community. He had suffered bouts of depression and found relief in the exertion and exhilaration of cycling. And he had received kindness and, in return, looked for ways to help others.

Among the hike participants were Wilson’s aunt, Diane Larkin of Sebastopol, and his cousin, Michele Larkin of Occidental. Together they passed through a park meadow that resembled a sloping grain field - the tall blond stalks and delicate grass heads set off by a green ridge and a few gray clouds.

Wilson came to live with his aunt when he was 16. It was about that year that he received his first road bike from Michele Larkin’s husband, Ted Richardson.

The young man fell in love with the sport. By age 17, he was riding in the Santa Rosa Cycling Club’s Terrible Two, a 200-mile ride that includes 16,000 feet worth of climbs through the hills of Sonoma and Napa counties.

Wilson made the grueling ride for five straight years. He also joined Red Peloton, a local cycling club and race team.

“I think the cycling community really filled a need he had,” Michele Larkin said. “He had all these brother and father figures.”

Ralston recalled Wilson riding from Camp Meeker to Santa Rosa just to help him work on his bike. And Michele Larkin said her cousin would stay back with riders struggling to make it to the finish line of their first Terrible Two.

“He would be a cheerleader for them,” she said.

Wilson had worked at St. Dorothy’s Rest Episcopal camp in Camp Meeker and had been taking classes for a year at Santa Rosa Junior College.

After the young man’s death, the owners of his favorite eatery, Riviera Ristorante in Santa Rosa, put his jersey up amid their collection of those from top cyclists, including winners of such rides as the Tour de France. For family members, it was a touching tribute to Wilson.

“I took Matt’s 94-year-old grandfather in to see it,” Diane Larkin said.

Donations in Wilson’s memory can be made to El Molino High School, 7050 Covey Road, Forestville, 95436, with instructions noting the “Matt Wilson Scholarship.”

You can reach Staff Writer Robert Digitale at 521-5285 or robert.digitale@pressdemocrat.com.