There's a split log “park bench” at the top of Dreaded Hill in the Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in Orange County, California.
It marks the approximate location where Mark Reynolds was attacked by a mountain lion as he fixed the chain on his mountain bike and was killed in 2004. Here are articles about that cougar attack on the cyclist.
Later that same day the mountain lion attacked Anne Hjelle, pulling her off her bike. She was riding with a group, however, and a friend held onto her legs while others threw rocks at the cougar until he let go of her head, which was in his mouth.
Reynolds' body was found nearby; Sheriff's deputies shot and killed a 110-pound mountain lion prowling around the vicinity later that night.
Friends built the bench to commemorate the 35-year-old cyclist. But Reynolds' memory is also served by the Children's First Bike Fund set up soon after his death.
An announcement for Reynolds' memorial services notes that he would hit up fellow cyclists for a couple of bucks now and again to purchase bikes for kids whose families couldn't afford to spend the money. He'd go through churches to find the kids, then deliver the bikes himself.
The Orange County Register recently spoke with Reynolds' mother, Dona Reynolds, in St. Joseph, Missouri. She says the charity, now called the Mark Reynolds Fund, has given away more than $30,000 worth of bikes to children in Orange County, California, as well as Missouri and Illinois.
Hjelle, the other person attacked by the mountain lion that day, also helps in the fund-raising and bike giveaways through her cycling club, the Trail Angels. The cyclist told a local TV station that the fund has raised enough to give away some 125 bicycles in each of the past two holiday seasons.
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