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Larry Abrahams remembers the day he and Jakub Solovsky arrived at Castle Rock State Park near Los Gatos after a cold, rainy bike ride, “soaked and miserable.” Abrahams said he turned around and went home, but Solovsky continued on the full 80-mile ride.
“That was Jakub — he did not have a fancy bike or gear, but he loved riding and challenging himself and others,” Abrahams said, calling Solovsky, who died July 11, a “kind, considerate, yet challenging partner and leader.”
That rainy day was the last time they rode together. Solovsky, 34, died in a head-on collision on Highway 35 in Woodside earlier this month. He was riding southbound when a black Porsche traveling in the opposite direction struck him. The car’s 28-year-old driver was speeding and failed to navigate a curve in the road, according to California Highway Patrol officials.
The crash that killed Solovsky occurred less than a year after another cyclist died at the intersection of highways 35 and 84 in Woodside, known as Four Corners. At the site, a white bicycle memorializing the victim is flanked by signs calling for drivers to slow down.
Solovsky was a visiting postdoctoral student from the Czech Republic, working on computational simulations related to carbon sequestration as a research scientist at the Reservoir Engineering Research Institute in Palo Alto. He lived in East Palo Alto.
The 34-year-old was a member of the Western Wheelers, a recreational bicycling club for riders of all experience levels. Cindy Asrir, a fellow Wheeler, said Solovsky would do the hardest and longest rides, but would always circle back to check on slower riders, making sure no one was left behind.
Shawnery Hardin, who rode with Solovsky regularly, said Solovsky was the “king of social repeats.”
“After a difficult climb, he would always double back down the hill to make sure all of the other riders made it up safely,” Abrahams said.
While Solovsky was an advanced rider, he always put the group dynamic ahead of his personal goals, his fellow cyclists said.
“A lot of people at his level get caught up in their numbers, but he seemed to have a really healthy attitude toward managing his fitness, and on the group rides, it was the people and group who came first,” said Irene Hu, adding that Solovsky “cheerfully” did many slow rides with her while she was injured.
Solovsky’s younger sister Kateřina Škardová described her brother as a “very special person” and said she echoed many of the sentiments his cycling friends expressed.
“It was amazing to read about the exact same things that come to my mind when thinking about him — how he would casually cycle huge distances and elevations, acting as if it were completely normal, always wanting to beat his last accomplishment, but still making compromises so he could share the experience with others,” Škardová said. “Jakub took that same all-in approach to everything he did: his scientific work, ultramarathons, disc golf and the many other hobbies he picked up throughout his life.”
People who knew Solovsky described him as quiet yet influential.
“Some people are more about actions than words, and I would say Jakub was definitely that,” Asrir said.
