Home " Gazette " Obituaries section " Tribute to Roland Grimaud

Tribute to Roland Grimaud

Roland Grimaud 1952-2010

It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of our Randonnées Permanentes coordinator on 5 August 2010, Roland Grimaud.

A member of the Club des Cent Cols since 1987 (no. 2696), Roland suffered a serious vascular accident during the Cent Cols de Vesc tour in 2001. Since then, he has been unable to cycle, but he has always remained very attached to our club and its values. Since 2007, he had taken over from Jean-Marc Lefèvre as coordinator of the Randonnées Permanentes. The Club has once again lost a very human member. In addition to his role at the Club, Roland was very active in the association Bikes for Africafor which he regularly collected second-hand bikes and parts during the Cent Cols trips and assemblies, particularly in Château-Arnoux and Yenne.

Roland was buried on Tuesday 10 August in Bésayes (26).

Our colleague Alféo Lotto attended the funeral:

 "The church in Bésayes was too small to accommodate all those who came to accompany Roland on his last walk.

He gave a lot to cycling, tandem with his wife, the Cent Cols with the Randos Permanentes, the fight against cystic fibrosis and the Fondus de l'Ubaye, Bikes for Africa... A life turned towards others despite precarious health and much suffering. His other passion was gardening, and above all, he loved flowers. Let us wish him a garden full of flowers where he now rests. His wife Françoise, who is also a member of the Club, shared her emotions with us:

I didn't realise that he had left behind so many friends and how much his involvement in the club was appreciated by everyone! He was a discreet but efficient man. Since 13 August 2001 in Vesc, he has had his share of suffering; he has gone but saying to all of us "know how to be enriched by the differences of others".

Cycling has always been part of his life. One of his brothers bought him his first racing bike, and we met because I used to go and watch cyclo-cross races, and thanks to him I discovered a large part of France by pedalling. I called our tandem GAZOU because with him there was no need for Gazou oil, but to hear the Gazoullis of the little birds was marvellous! " 

In tribute to Roland, the regional gathering Southern Alps which normally takes place in September, will now be called In memory of Roland Grimaud. This region was very dear to him, and he generously invited all Club members passing between Embrun and Briançon to stop off at his place.