M.H.C.C. member passes away after cycling accident.
It is with deep regret and sadness that I inform club members of the passing of Mark Fiato. Mark was enjoying a ride with the club Saturday afternoon, May 7th, when his bicycle had a blow out of the front tire. In the resulting accident Mark suffered head injuries from which he could not recover and he passed away in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Mark was an active member of M.H.C.C. who enjoyed many MHCC rides and was co-leading the ride on Saturday. He had many close friends within M.H.C.C and he will be very much missed. I have posted below an email from Mark's family with information about the wake and service for Mark. We will update this news as more information is available
In the local news
Owner of eatery dies in bicycle accident
Mark Fiato, who owned Taco Pronto, suffered head injury after tire blew on his bike during a ride
By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer
First published: Tuesday, May 10, 2005
GUILDERLAND -- Mark Fiato, the well-known Voorheesville owner of Guilderland's Taco Pronto, was killed this weekend in a freak bicycle accident in New Scotland.
Fiato, an avid cyclist, was riding down a steep hill on Route 443 on Saturday afternoon when a tire blew out, tossing 53-year-old Fiato to the pavement, according to police and those riding with him. Fiato was taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital with a head injury, and he died Sunday.
Fiato, who was wearing a helmet, was last in a line of several riders from the Hudson Mohawk Cycling Club on a 32-mile ride from Guilderland High School to Feura Bush and back, said Jim Bethell, a friend who was riding with him.
"They turned around after they heard the tire go," Bethell said of the two riders closest to Fiato.
Bethell, like many people in the area, first met Fiato at the drive-through of Taco Pronto, often said to be the best cheap Mexican food in the region.
Bethell said he had stopped for a snack four years ago at the shop across Route 20 from the University at Albany, just over the city line.
"He said, 'What are you doing with that bike on your roof? You should be riding it,' " Bethell said. "After that it was immediate friendship."
In fact, the two were already members of the same cycling club but had not met.
In the past, Fiato had also raced motorcycles, Bethell said, and was a member of several local and national motorcycle clubs.
Funeral services will be at 8 p.m. Thursday, following calling hours that begin at 4 p.m., at New Comer-Cannon Family Funeral Home on New Karner Road in Colonie. Burial will be Saturday morning in the Jerusalem Cemetery in Feura Bush.
"No matter who Mark came in touch with, he welcomed them with open arms," Bethell said. "He's really a dear friend of mine, and I'm only one of hundreds that are going to miss this guy."
It is with deep regret and sadness that I inform club members of the passing of Mark Fiato. Mark was enjoying a ride with the club Saturday afternoon, May 7th, when his bicycle had a blow out of the front tire. In the resulting accident Mark suffered head injuries from which he could not recover and he passed away in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Mark was an active member of M.H.C.C. who enjoyed many MHCC rides and was co-leading the ride on Saturday. He had many close friends within M.H.C.C and he will be very much missed. I have posted below an email from Mark's family with information about the wake and service for Mark. We will update this news as more information is available
In the local news
Owner of eatery dies in bicycle accident
Mark Fiato, who owned Taco Pronto, suffered head injury after tire blew on his bike during a ride
By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer
First published: Tuesday, May 10, 2005
GUILDERLAND -- Mark Fiato, the well-known Voorheesville owner of Guilderland's Taco Pronto, was killed this weekend in a freak bicycle accident in New Scotland.
Fiato, an avid cyclist, was riding down a steep hill on Route 443 on Saturday afternoon when a tire blew out, tossing 53-year-old Fiato to the pavement, according to police and those riding with him. Fiato was taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital with a head injury, and he died Sunday.
Fiato, who was wearing a helmet, was last in a line of several riders from the Hudson Mohawk Cycling Club on a 32-mile ride from Guilderland High School to Feura Bush and back, said Jim Bethell, a friend who was riding with him.
"They turned around after they heard the tire go," Bethell said of the two riders closest to Fiato.
Bethell, like many people in the area, first met Fiato at the drive-through of Taco Pronto, often said to be the best cheap Mexican food in the region.
Bethell said he had stopped for a snack four years ago at the shop across Route 20 from the University at Albany, just over the city line.
"He said, 'What are you doing with that bike on your roof? You should be riding it,' " Bethell said. "After that it was immediate friendship."
In fact, the two were already members of the same cycling club but had not met.
In the past, Fiato had also raced motorcycles, Bethell said, and was a member of several local and national motorcycle clubs.
Funeral services will be at 8 p.m. Thursday, following calling hours that begin at 4 p.m., at New Comer-Cannon Family Funeral Home on New Karner Road in Colonie. Burial will be Saturday morning in the Jerusalem Cemetery in Feura Bush.
"No matter who Mark came in touch with, he welcomed them with open arms," Bethell said. "He's really a dear friend of mine, and I'm only one of hundreds that are going to miss this guy."
