Just got the email myself. I wonder how they know the vehicle is tan? Must've been some paint left at the scene or something.

It's good to see that the city is getting information out there.

i just got the same email herent. There is a man hunt out for this guy/gal!

Beautiful. About all I can say.

There was. According to one of the articles that has been linked, the chips have also been sent to the FBI and they should have the make model and year fairly soon.

Definitely got me misty eyed. Cheffelipe and I worked at a similar club (The Mpls Club) and the kitchen staff were always so nice (prob because Chef was my brother) to me. When a similarly aged employee passed away years ago I felt the same sadness. I'm happy to see so much coverage on this issue when it could easily be upstaged by who-knows-what if the news people didn't deem it worthy of diving into. I dont' care where the heat is coming from - but I'm glad it's at least making it slightly more conceivable that the driver will be caught.

I wonder what tan means. Tan is definitely not a fashionable color for vehicles these days. Wonder if they can age the paint chip, assuming they found a paint chip or something.

I'm pretty sad too because I come from the food industry too. I was former chef at Dayton's under the mall in DT and exec. sous at Oakridge CC when I first moved to MPLS. It's like one of my brothers died. I didn't even know the guy.

being in the auto industry, i doubt they can figure out exact y/m/m just from a chip. manufactures can use same paint formulations/colors on multiple models, even makes.

I really really do hope they find this person...the more I think about it, the more it makes me mad.

Where the Minekahda Club comes down to Lake Calhoun, and where Excelsior Boulevard passes through the golf course, the streets are unusually narrow, with little space for bikes. Maybe they would like to donate some land to widen those roads and make them safer. They could do it as a memorial to Mr. Nisser.

I worked with jimmy in the same kitchen in minikahda for a couple of years. I found him to be one of the kindest, gentlest people I have ever met. He would bring up baseball scores in the locker room. I thought it was great that he biked to work even though he told me that he had only 3/4 of a mile to bike. He had an old mountain bike set up great for utility: lights, rack, super faded touring bags... I was really proud to see another employee, especially one that old, biking to work too. Always a smile, always a gentle word. You will be missed, Jimmy.

I hope the get the one responsible for this. I really do.

I once had a chance to see how the other half lived and got to have lunch at MCC. I remember going around back by the snack shack where the bike rack sits. To my delight when I rounded the corner was an immaculate Raleigh.

It was extremely well maintained and had all the right equipment. Lights on the front and back, fenders, and racks. Clearly the bike was well loved as the brooks saddle was covered with a plastic bag to protect it from the elements. Made me think the rider must have possibly enjoyed randonneuring.
Very sad story. Clearly he was one of us before most us ever were.

Hello everyone,

I just joined this site so that I could post to this forum. I've been on two wheels (and four sometimes, both skateboard and car) for 30 of my 35 years. There was also a few early years with the Big Wheel before my folks slapped some training wheels on a Schwinn Stingray Pixie for me when I turned 5.

Jim Nisser was my uncle. Well, technically my father's cousin, but was always an uncle to me...always there at family gatherings, at least a few times a year, since I came out of the womb.

I have a few things I want to say. Sorry if I take up too much space...


On Jim

Jim was a quiet Saint. I don't mean he was quiet. He had a smile and a kind word for every soul to cross his path. I just mean that he was so humble that he never saw himself as important. He was too busy giving and serving. I could try to explain this further but you would just think that I was exaggerating or having fond hindsight.

I honestly had no idea how many hundreds (literally) of lives he had touched profoundly until this last week. The outpouring of sadness and awed remembrance that I have witnessed has left me dumbfounded. He was just my uncle Jim. Now I feel like my brief times with him were brushes with greatness. It would take me pages to even scratch the surface of what I have heard and witnessed. Even people that never met him, hundreds of miles from here, have been moved by his passing and the story of his life.


The ghost bike

I want to say thank you to whoever put up the ghost bike at the side of the road where he died. There are many people in the world who ride their bikes every day, or at least every week. It is simply how they get around, or at least one of the main ways they get around. Then there is also a very small subset of this group who gather frequently, make it a lifestyle and social scene, with all of the corresponding events, apparel, hangout spots, jargon, accessories, etc., and call themselves the "bike community". Barring a few young people still hung up on judging who is "hardcore" and who is not, this is an awesome group of people, full of love and camaraderie. I don't think that Jim even knew about this community, but he loved and maintained his bikes, rode them all the time, and basically loved everyone.

I see the Ghost Bike phenomenon, which has unfortunately honored two people very close to me this year, as ritual of the bike community. I'm pretty sure that whoever put up the ghost bike was not an immediate associate of Jim's. I was at his funeral today, talking to his sister Carol and my father, both of whom have known him for 60+ years, and some other family members, and I asked them if they had seen the bike and if they know what it was. I explained to them the tradition, and basically told them that the bike was a way for his brothers and sisters on two wheels to pay their respects and honor his life.

These family members, including his sister of 65 years, have been very moved by the fact that anyone would do this, especially possibly even not knowing him yet still taking him as family. I told them I'd been looking into it and hadn't figured out who did it. Whoever you are, they really want me to thank you. I want to thank you. I want to thank you so much. Your gesture is beautiful and meaningful, even to people who don't ride bikes. It is a sign of yet one more community that is proud to claim Jim as a member. I can't thank you enough.


To swcommuter, who remembers his Raleigh:

Your words bring tears to my eyes. Yesterday and today I was at the church that he was basically a fixture at for decades. The minister on Sunday had asked anyone in the congregation who wanted to to write down a few words about Jim, memories or reflections. He said today that he had been expecting 20 or so. 40 would have been wonderful. As of today there are over 125 handwritten notes on their bulletin boards, from people aged 5 to 80, talking about Jim's influence on their lives. I took me 45 minutes to read all of them yesterday. There were memories, inspirations, and at least a dozen comparisons to the stories of the life, actions, and attitudes of Christ. There were a few that struck me profoundly. You have reminded me of one of them. It said "Jim was how the world should be."

So when you say "Clearly he was one of us before most us ever were." I know what you mean, and in more than just the bike-lover sense.

I'm going to try to stop crying now.

Everyone else posting to this forum: Thanks for your words. I’m going to share them with my family. It really means a lot to me. Not that you did it for me. It just means a lot. I want you to know.


To the angry,
the vindictive
and the "two wheels good - four wheels bad" crowd:

I know that there are a lot of accidents that involve careless drivers hitting bikers. I know that there are some senses in which riding a bike is often a better decision that driving a car. I also think that all people are of equal value, regardless of the decisions they make.

Truthfully nobody knows exactly what happened. It's possible the driver was at fault. It's possible they weren't. I'm not interested in speculating about what probably happened. Maybe we'll find out. I do wish that they had stopped, regardless of whether or not the crash was preventable. They could have called 911. They could have offered an explanation.

Many people, including friends of mine, people on this website, etc., have wished that this nameless driver be suffering right now, that some unfortunate fate befall them, that they get what they "deserve". I understand this sentiment, but I know that there's no place in this world for anger or revenge. I just hope that this person has been transformed in some way for the better by this event as many of us have, even if not in the same way. The lesson they are learning right now is not the one that we are learning, but it's not supposed to be. Maybe they'll come forward, or be found. Maybe not.

I leave you kind people, brothers and sisters on two wheels, with these words from another of the written testimonials from his fellow churchgoers, ones that I can guarantee to you are as true as they come:

"Jim would be the first to forgive the person who killed him, and would even pray for their reconciliation".

I'm going to try to do that, too. I want to be like Jim.


Love,
Derek


p.s. RIP and rock on beautiful precious Rachel Dow. Hopefully we will cross paths with you Saints again. Word up to you and Jim and both of you please know that it has been an honor. Your friend, brother, lover, student, Cha Cha D.

I passed the Ghost bike today - it's a very visible reminder to every driver driving through that stretch of road.

Derek,

Thank you for writing that. The more I learn about Jim, the more he sounds like the kind of guy I hope and try to be.

Peace to you and all of his family and friends.

Dave