On November 3, 2004, my little brother Mike Nosco was killed in a horrific and devastating traffic accident. Mike was a friend, an uncle, a soldier, a son and a great brother. He was in the Navy for 20 years and was dedicated to his country. Mike was part of a very special elite unit, HCS-5 (helicopter combat support), the firehawks were their mark. The colors of this website are the colors of this elite team. In 2004, Mike was scheduled to be deployed to serve his third term in Iraq, he loved serving our country. He reached the rank of Chief Petty Officer. Mike started serving the community at a young age, he was a Boy Scout reaching the rank of Eagle Scout for Troop 730 in Newbury Park, a tremendous accomplishment.

Mike worked at a biotech company called Amgen for 10 years. He often stopped by my house on his way home to play with my kids and dogs. On this day, we were not home and we can speculate he decided to go home. It was dusk, Mike drove down the Camarillo grade opening up to farmland. He was heading northbound on Las Posas Rd, just north of Laguna Road at the wide bend in the road, when a farm truck and trailer with no lights decided to pull out in front of Mike's truck. Too late, Mike slammed on the brakes, came to a screeching halt, his truck crashed into the back left corner of the trailer. His truck slid under the trailer and he was crushed.

I am a firefighter and heard about the accident over the radio scanner, I had no idea it was my little brother. The coroner came by our house that night and conveyed the devastating news, my brother has left this heavenly earth. Shortly after his death, I hopped on my bike and rode "the course", wallowing in misery every year since his passing, I decided to turn the day around. In Mike's memory, I wanted to give back like he would have and in 2009 I started the 1st annual Mike Nosco Memorial Bicycle Ride.

I, like Mike loved to educate and be involved with youth. In 2009, I coached a local track team. This is where I met Roy Knickman and his son, Andreas Knickman. Roy too is a firefighter at the Paso Robles Fire Department. Roy was my assistant coach and Andreas was on the track team, Andreas was also in troop 730. Andreas was full of energy, strength and spirit. At the age of thirteen, on July 8, 2009, Andreas was diagnosed with metastatic osteosarcoma (bone cancer). We were all shocked at the news. The family spent at times 24 hours caring for Andreas. I witnessed a family come together and sacrifice what they had to keep their child well. Our first two years were dedicated to Andreas Knickman.

At that moment, I decided to get 10 friends and have them pay me $100 and ride the course, the money we raised would go towards the Knickman family. The first year for the ride, we had an overwhelming response and ultimately had over 100 riders join us for the day, raising much needed funds for the Knickman family. The event continues to be organized by friends and family, many wonderful volunteers. An event memorable to not only me but to my family. Your participation would mean the world to us.
www.mikenosco.com
To my brother, Mike Nosco.
~ Jack Nosco