Remembering Dave Fouts

A few weeks ago, Chris and I sat down with Dateline NBC to talk about our friend and Rollfast teammate, David Fouts.

If you watched the episode, you already know how his life ended. Dave was murdered in 2020. His wife and an accomplice were charged. She was convicted of conspiracy. I’m not going to retell the crime here. That isn’t why we did the interview, and it isn’t why I’m writing this.

We said yes because we wanted people to know who Dave was.

Dave was an early Rollfast member (an OG). He helped shape what this club became. He showed up for a lot of events he would have loved to ride. Instead he worked them, so everybody else had a better day.

Our biggest event was the Rollfast Gran Fondo. Dave drove the pace car for several years. He’d lead the peloton for four hours. He’d also show up at 4 a.m. to help us set up the festival area. After the race he stayed for the party, listened to riders tell their stories, and helped us clean up until 9 or 10 at night. A full day. He loved it. He loved being in the mix. He loved watching people have a great time.

That’s the Dave I knew on the bike too. Grinning ear to ear going into a finish because we were the fast guys and he loved that feeling. Later, when Rollfast shifted toward what we call mental fitness, he fit that just as naturally. He wasn’t only chasing results. He was the kind of teammate who made the room better.

Chris knew that side of him as well as anyone. She was a constant at our team camps and handled cooking for the team. Dave was often in the kitchen with her, hanging out, helping, talking. That’s how a lot of our friendship with him got built: not only on the road, but behind the scenes.

When things at home got ugly, Dave stayed with us for about ten days. We spent a lot of nights at the kitchen table talking about his relationship. Looking back, those conversations sit heavy. At the time, we were just trying to be there for a friend.

I’d already turned down another TV show that wanted to cover his death. It felt like shock-and-awe television, the kind that turns a good man into a punchline for not seeing it coming. I was out. When Dateline called, I had the same guard up. Then Marissa from their team spent a long phone call with me, came to Indiana more than once, met high school friends, went to his childhood town and remaining family, and sat with me in Carmel for hours over coffee. She actually wanted to know Dave. That won me over.

Chris wasn’t even supposed to be on camera. A teammate had a last-minute conflict the day before taping, Dateline asked if she’d join me, and she said yes. Her stories were better than mine. I’m biased, but I’m also right.

We watched the episode on a Friday night while my family was in town for my parents’ dual 80th birthdays. I was proud of how they presented Dave. It was emotional to relive. Chris is less emotional than I am. She thought the show was solid and professional. For me, the piece that really got me was the short tribute video. That’s what I most wanted out in the world about him.

You can watch it here: Remembering Dave Fouts

After his death, we organized a memorial ride we called DaveFast, a spin on Rollfast and Dave. The first couple years, the public really showed up. People I didn’t know. People who’d been impacted by his life and just wanted to be there.

For those of you who rode with him: remember his smile. His humor. His heart.

And if Dateline is how you’re meeting him for the first time, know there was a real man behind the episode. Real qualities. Real values. He helped us build something great at Rollfast and in the Indiana cycling community.

He is missed.

— Matt Tanner