Just entering the Stromsnes family home it’s hard to miss all the reminders of Lane Stromsnes’ presence. Visible past the dining room table loaded with event flyers and tickets, past the trophy rack underneath the stairs, is the homemade dirt course he used to ride with his son, Ryne, and friends. His bike’s old number, 23, has moved from the Yamaha onto Ryne’s Suzuki, tucked away in the garage until it’s time to ride again.
Stromsnes died in December unexpectedly.
Anyone who knew Lane Stromsnes knew how much he loved motocross, so what better way to remember the man than taking the ride of a lifetime?
To help his family cover his kids’ school costs, friends of the Stromsnes family created the Lane Stromsnes Ride of a Lifetime to remember their friend. Sabrina Stromsnes always knew that people liked her late husband, but didn’t expect anything of this magnitude to happen.
“I very much appreciate it,” she says.
THE LONG ROAD
Lane and Sabrina met at age 19 and 17, respectively, while working at a Thriftway grocery store in Brandon. He was a bag boy, she was a cashier. It wasn’t long before they began their 28-year marriage, and Sabrina entered nursing school while Lane took up welding, a career that didn’t last too long. He eventually chose to go through nursing school, too.
The Stromsneses moved to Plant City in 1991, which is when Lane took a sudden interest in motocross.
“It was just something he’d never done as a kid and, as he got older, he was like, ‘I want to go back to my childhood’ — that sort of thing,” Sabrina says.
Lane took a brief hiatus while in nursing school, but got back into it. He loved to ride 125cc bikes — especially his No. 23 Yamaha — and inspired his son to get into the sport. It had been six or seven years, by Sabrina’s estimation, since Lane last competed in a race, but he still kept in touch with the friends the family made at Dade City Raceway’s dirt track and wherever else he rode. There were several broken bones and other minor injuries, but Lane never roughed himself up beyond repair while riding the dirt bike.
“When you have a sudden death like that, you can not prepare for it,” Sabrina says. “Unbelievably emotional. We’re both nurses. We’ve been in the E.R. forever. We had been doing home health for six or seven months. As nurses, we’re bad patients. ‘That’s not me. That doesn’t happen’ — that sort of thing.”
The turnout for the funeral was bigger than expected. The Stromsneses had to switch to a bigger church to accommodate everyone. Sabrina took a month off of work, and Tampa Bay Emergency Physicians covered her mortgage for four months. Seffner Christian Academy gave Ryne time off, as did USF for daughter, Emily.
Then, because the kids still had school costs to cover, the Plant City community stepped up — namely, longtime family friend Margaret Boswell, who organized the Ride of a Lifetime event.
“I haven’t needed or wanted for, really, anything.,” Sabrina said. “And this burden, just to get it off my plate, is a big thing. As a community, Margaret was like, ‘We got this for you. We got this.’”
HIT THE DIRT
The Lane Stromsnes Ride of a Lifetime is one-part dirt bike ride, one-part silent auction. Because he loved racing at Dade City Raceway, the venue has agreed to host the event.
Some of the items that will be available in the silent auction include artwork, sports memorabilia and tickets, motorcycle accessories, theme park tickets and vacation trips. As far as the sports memorabilia is concerned, fellow motocross enthusiasts should know that world-famous riders Ricky Carmichael and James “Bubba” Stewart have donated some of their own items to be sold in the silent auction. There will also be a 125cc Peace Moto pit bike available. Chief sponsors of the event include Keel and Curley Winery and Gilliam’s Power Sports.
The Stromsneses couldn’t be more grateful to see Boswell, the Plant City community and so many others reach out to lend a hand in their time of need.
“Just the camaraderie, the giving from everyone to help us get through this is wonderful,” Sabrina says. “I couldn’t have done it without everybody.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
IF YOU GO
Where: Dade City Raceway, 36850 State Road 52, Dade City
When: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 26
Cost: $10.
For more information, including sponsorship details, contact Margaret Boswell at (813) 817-4488.