YOU would think the laid back town of Dungun was sending off royalty yesterday, as an army of cyclists from all over the East Coast proceeded to accord the late Rozimi Omar last respects fit for a national hero.
Respect was something the humble yet eccentric 43-year old truly deserved because he had given everything for the sport he loved, a fact none who ever crossed paths with him could deny.
He wasn't the star coach who made your daily headlines, more the one roughed it up from dawn to dusk running and keeping afloat his stable of riders he'd scout and tap from the grassroots and equip with the knowhow to take on the world.
The going was never easy for Rozimi, or Jimi as he is fondly known, having to toughen himself by scraping for scraps, like discarded bike parts or components which he would salvage and use for his riders.
Rozimi's home in Dungun is a showcase of salvaged old bikes which have been put to their best use - developing generations of cyclists.
He would beg for funds to send his riders to races and take shorts stints as mechanic, driver or utility worker for teams racing in stage races just to make ends meet.
He'd gone through two marriages by the time of his demise, because none could ever come between his love and devotion towards cycling.
All said and done, he would still shy away from being accorded the credit he deserved, that is if his efforts were ever recognised to begin with.
Having not been invited for the National Sports Awards in 2009, Rozimi stood at the rear of the hall, happy to just witness his most celebrated discovery Azizulhasni Awang rise to receive the Sportsman of the Year award that year.
It was Rozimi, who eight years earlier had picked the notorious Awang brothers Azrul Hafidz and Azizulhasni from the streets of Dungun where they spent their time skateboarding into mischief, and put them on bicycles.
L ittle did he imagine he'd discovered Malaysia's greatest ever cyclist, but Azizulhasni was one among an army of riders picked in Dungun and polished into world beaters by Rozimi.
National cyclists Amir Mustafa Rusli, Nor Ridzuan Zainal and Ummi Hamimah Mohamad were among others who had the honour of being discovered by Rozimi, whose untimely demise following heart failure on Sunday was felt throughout the cycling community.
As the sport slumped into mourning, there was no question what the often disregarded Rozimi had left.
He left behind a life of dedication and total, selfless devotion to the sport, which in this day and age will hardly ever be emulated.
A rusty van and a storeroom full of bikes and parts others called scraps, was all he'd left behind.
But as Rozimi headed for his final resting place in Dungun yesterday, the acoompanying tears that flowed from the eyes of hundreds of cyclists whose lives he'd inspired, probably reflected that the world had lost more than him.
Because, imagine as you may, men like Rozimi are now emphatically confined to history.