Edwin Benet

A Celebration of Life for Edwin will be held October 27, 2 pm to 5 pm at Four Winds Farm, 5735 Adams Road, Fitchburg, WI, fourwindsfarmfitchburg.com.

After a courageous 2-year battle with bulbar-onset ALS, Edwin passed away Tuesday Sept. 24, surrounded by family, and his devoted dog, Leo. Edwin was steadfast from the beginning; he would tackle this devastating disease on his terms, with dignity, and with a zeal and determination he showed as a cycling entrepreneur in the Fitchburg, WI community. He also did it with passion, sharing what he could of himself every day, as a husband to his wife, Mary, and father to his two grown sons, Kyle and Sean, and his extended family. 

As his friends know, for three decades Edwin’s love of cycling led to treks of 5,000 to 8,000 miles each year. He worked in bike shops from Boston to Madison, first as a mechanic, and later in sales. It was never enough for Edwin to simply repair or sell someone a bike, he was on a mission to proselytize every customer he served to the wonders of cycling. In 2013, that lifelong desire led him to open his own store, Fitchburg Cycles, and to the lucky people from the greater Madison, WI community who were fortunate enough to have purchased a bike from him.

 Edwin would never tell you this, but his passion for the freedom of cycling gave him stemmed from a series of medical challenges, starting at birth in 1961 as a premature twin who lost his brother when he was born. He endured several retina surgeries in childhood, and later, a motorcycle accident, and most devastatingly, a collision with a car during a bike commute that required 14 hours of facial surgeries and nearly cost him his life. Years later, cataract surgery gone awry would cost him the sight in one eye, but, the cup always half full, Edwin was happy that it allowed him to see well enough with his left eye so that he could obtain a driver’s license for the first time in his life. Up until then, even during the frigid Wisconsin winters, he rode his bike to and from work. 

Edwin told a local newspaper last year all of these traumas prepared him for the biggest fight of his life that was the come. He got the terrible news five months after he sold his shop and started retirement. In the beginning, he spent his time with us playing games, watching his favorite TV shows, taking care of the house, walking Leo daily at a nearby dog park, and following his favorite sports teams, the Celtics and the Patriots. As the disease ravaged his body, Edwin spent some nights in the emergency room, and generously shared many of his frustrations in excruciating detail, pecking out long notes on his cell phone to friends and family. “When I do something like scoop the kitty litter it takes me a half hour to get my breathing back… I noticed that you called me yesterday,” he would begin. “But I can’t answer my phone because I can’t talk anymore. My tongue and lips are not moving at all. I can barely moan…The whole thing is starting to consume me, and I am not sure what to do about it. I want to keep living my life with integrity and energy!” 

On a gray and cool Tuesday afternoon, Edwin died with both intact. “I think about life in a different way now,” he typed earlier. “All the positive things that I have been holding on to, I have to let go. And the negative things I deal with minute by minute, I will be able to free myself from. It all balances in the end, which I am focusing on now.” 

The day before his passing, he was still controlling the remote for the Monday Night football game and somehow got himself out of bed, with a little help, to use the bathroom. He listened to music and gave a thumbs up when he liked a song and nodded when we asked him questions. I wondered how he could manage this but then I remembered. Edwin always said, “always keep the pedals turning.”

He is survived by his beloved wife, Mary; two sons, Kyle and Sean; his four siblings, John, Lorenzo, Maria and Pia; and his parents, Sarah and Pete. (Edwin's passing was preceded in death by his oldest sister, Shaun). He also was survived by his numerous in-laws and 20 nieces and nephews.