"La tristesse durera toujours" (The sadness will last forever): V. Van Gogh. I met Mark, also known to me as "Led", when I moved to Portland Oregon as a teenager build and race bicycles in the early 1970's. We met at my first race there, a criterium, both of us having crashed-out of the race. Licking our wounds on the sidelines we became fast friends, inseparable for the next few years. " Crashing Cousins" we called ourselves! Taking rooms in various group houses with like minded cyclists around Portland, sharing meals, listing to music and going on long training rides. One can just hear the music thumping, emitting from "Led's" room, as he would get psyched to get going on yet another 100k ride. Golden Earring's "Radar Love" was a favorite; or perhaps something from the Classical songbook. Underage, we would time to time, sneak into bars that had live music; hiding in the bathrooms if the Police arrived! We ate cheap food, a Seventh Day Adventist vegetarian restaurant was nearby. We always had a good laugh at the "meat-like weenies" that were on the menu there, but religiously ate the inexpensive veg meals in copious quantities. Often we shared cooking duties and a licensed butcher that sold cheap horse meat was a favorite; we called it "cooked horsepower"! One time coming back from a long ride out the Gorge we stopped in at his parents house to refuel. I will always remember his father looking at us as we were departing the driveway after a visit saying: " You guys have life by the tail". And we DID! Mark always had an envious stable of bicycles, maintained and elegant: A chrome one, a white one, a Merz (old school local cult builder); and he "pulled wrench" at local bicycle shops to support this habit. One time he damaged the tip of a finger that was caught in the chain/cog of a fixed gear he was tuning up prior to an Alpenrose velodrome race. The first thing the thought about was how it would affect his violin playing. Mark loved music as much as he love the bicycle and the Great Outdoors. He was an esteemed colleague, a trusted companion, a brother in arms, an amigo...A bit quirky, odd some might say, but none the less he was lover of life and lived it fully. After I made the 1974 Jr. Worlds Road Team, I left Oregon and cycle racing behind. But stories of "Led" continued to surface along with intermittent contact. My brother took my old race bike, an Colnago Super in Eddy Merckx orange, to college there at Reed and Portland State. My brother had mounted a book rack and kickstand on the Colnago; but "Led" saw it around town and said to my brother that that was not his bike. My brother agreed; but after a short conversation clarifying the situation they too became friends. Also a Martignoni family friend, Helen Lessic, long time lover of Mark's, always kept me informed of what "Led" was up to in and around Portland over the years. He will be missed by ALL. May the sky's be clear and the wind at your back...Ride-On my "Cousin", ride-on...

Posted by Matteo Martignoni on April 18, 2021

I've known Mark since I began racing in 1971, and Mark was one of the established junior racers. We began working together at a bike shop a couple of years later, and for seven years we were workmates. We were lifelong friends beginning then. We rode together, mountain climbed a few times, ice skated a little, and I had dinner with Mark and Helen many times. He was so sharp and so funny he was always fun to work with, to talk to, and just be around. We were born the same year exactly three months apart, and had a tradition of calling each other on our birthdays. We haven't spent much time together in recent decades, but by maintaining that tradition I can say that Mark is one of very few friends that I've kept in more or less continuous contact with for five decades. One of my oldest friends, and I'll miss him. Today is my birthday. I should be talking with him, but writing about him here is a satisfying tribute.

Posted by Randy Shoquist on April 7, 2021

I met Mark when I started working at CycleCraft in 1977. He lit up the shop with his quick wit and expressive resonant voice. Mark introduced me to the Dog Mountain hike when I was new to day hikes near Portland. In the summer of 1978 Mark and Helen and I went to Smith Rock on an overnight trip, camping out right by the river. We scrambled up to the top of the ridge and traversed to the climbing area summits and spent the day just hanging out. I treasure a photo that Helen took of Mark and me. Mark dubbed us “Thor” and “Che Guevara”, which I found flattering. Helen recently sent me the image, not knowing I already had it, so know she valued it too. I feel fortunate to again have worked with Mark the last three years of the Bicycle Repair Collective

Posted by Sherman Coventry on March 27, 2021

I met Mark for the first time in person in 1978 because of my sister, Helen Lessick. I was heading off to the Peace Corps in Zaire (DRC) and I came to Portland to spend two weeks with her before leaving the country for two years. Mark and Helen feted me with lovely, home-cooked meals, and Mark charmed me with his wit and card-playing skills. Years later, Helen’s art opening of “House for Spring” brought me back to Portland in mid-August 1986 . I met Mark as well as both his parents at this event. The next day, Mark came by to drive the three of us to Sauvie’s Island where we walked to find beaver lodges and birdwatch. We picked berries on the way back to the car . We used the foraged fruit the next morning to make blackberry pancakes and then played cards. Such a Portland vibe (in my Reno-desert mindset). Later that Winter if I recall correctly, Mark came to stay in our apartment in Reno for a couple of weeks while my husband and I travelled back to Kunming China to visit his family. Mark later told me how he enjoyed the desert and climate around Reno and having the opportunity to bike around the area. My condolences to his parents, sister, and other relatives and friends who cherished Mark . While I had lost touch with him over years, I can say in all honesty, that I thought of him biking whenever I would see groups of cyclists in Madison WI, as to me, Mark Ledford is and will always be a West-coast cyclist first and foremost. Rest In Peace, Mark.

Posted by Anne Lessick-Xiao on March 9, 2021

Mark passed away too young for so vibrant a man and artist. I met Mark when we were both young and slim and poor. We explored the world, cycling the Canby Ferry loop, summiting Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens, camping on glaciers, and deserts and islands. He was an adventurer, and we shared solar eclipses in the Gorge and Hawaii's Big Island, trekking through Mt. Whitney wilderness and Nevada's Berlin Ichthyosaur wilds. Mark taught me about geology and weather in the West, and shared his passion for classical music and cycling. He had wit and a wicked sense of humor, even as he struggled to master Beethoven's later piano sonatas. He passed on Beethoven's baptism day, so maybe he passed in peace and contentment to the music of the spheres.

Posted by Helen Lessick on March 7, 2021