Adrian Edgar Hands / Memorial Celebration on Sunday

The obituary of friend Adrian Hands is below, with information about memorial events on Sunday.

Adrian Edgar Hands

Adrian "Yo A" Edgar Hands, 47, of Eunice and Lafayette, LA, and  Raleigh, Durham and Carrboro, NC, died of complications of ALS on February 3, 2011.

He is survived by wife Padmini Srinivasan Hands; children  Ian and fiancée Mary Rozas, Shanti Hands, and Ravi Raghuram; mother Carolyn Claudette LaFleur; father Edward Bryan Hands and wife Hilda Hands; siblings Jason, Eddie Beach and Morgan Hands, Josette and Stephen Dupre, Debbie Sigh, Lowry Fowler and Jolie Goodreau and husband Brennon; in-laws Ramesh Srinivasan and wife Surekha, Bhavani Iyer and husband Subramanian; fourteen nieces and nephews; cat Romeo; and numerous very dear friends at the Chain Ring of Fools, NC Randonneurs, NCBC, TarWheels, Recyclery, 1304 Bikes, SGI-USA and BSG Buddhist Associations, and all over the world from France to China to India to Bulgaria.

Adrian Hands was a tireless bicycle advocate and 2003 Paris Brest Paris Ancien who embodied the philosophy that every ride is an adventure. He traveled far and wide to pursue his love of randonneuring, including brevets in China and Bulgaria. He successfully completed PBP in 2003 with a time of 88:55. His ride report of that adventure stands as one of the best accounts ever of this legendary event. Adrian is the founding spirit behind La Société Adrian Hands, www.adrianhandssociety.com. Memorial donations in lieu of flowers may be made to 1304 Bikes in Raleigh, http://www.1304bikes.org/donate.html.

Adrian's many interests included randonneuring, urban planning and mass transit, bicycle commuting, cycle rickshaws, Open Source, International Festival, Spark Con, Foundation for Peace, UN Association of Wake County, Handgun Control, Habitat for Humanity, Amnesty International, and WUNC Public Radio, ACLU, SPLC, global climate change, community building and service to the needy. Adrian most recently resolved the GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 78514, the oldest bug in Eye of Gnome, using his knees to type in Morse Code, inspiring many through his efforts. See: http://tinyurl.com/4m67vfv.

The memorial services to celebrate Adrian's life will be on Sunday, March 13, 2011 in  Raleigh, NC (SGI-USA, 6307 Chapel Hill Road), at 3 p.m. preceded by an outdoor gathering and ride start in Hillsborough, NC (meet behind the courthouse at 9:30 a.m.) The family appreciates cards and visits at Hands Family, 200 Purple Leaf Place, Carrboro NC 27510 (call 919 539 6315) or phands@gmail.com.