Lost a friend on the trails today

[redir]

I lost a friend to his 9 year battle with cancer just the other day. 51 years young. IT sucks. Ya never know. Carpe Diem!

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by redir

I lost a friend to his 9 year battle with cancer just the other day. 51 years young. IT sucks. Ya never know. Carpe Diem!

Sorry to hear this. Cancer sucks.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by Velocipede

I had this happen with a friend of mine. Crazy fit guy, 3% body fat. Umptinetime State and National Champion in Tri and Du and Top 5 Worldwide. Died on a training ride. We took off up a hill and he hung back a bit. We turned around and found him on the side of the ride. Massive heart attack.

Sorry to hear about what happened. It's incredibly tough to handle.

I've been melancholy all day. Really sad. And I didn't even know Jeff...just his wife and the other couple... I've been thinking of the brave fight that they all put on.

[reuben]

Originally Posted by C40_guy

I've been melancholy all day. Really sad. And I didn't even know Jeff...just his wife and the other couple... I've been thinking of the brave fight that they all put on.

It's called empathy. It's a good trait to have, but it can also be painful, as you're aware. I've been through similar empathetic "events".

I hope that you, his wife, and his family all come out OK in the long run.

[fmradio516]

sorry to hear this.. its always weird.. doesnt matter how much you know someone..

[zero85ZEN]

15 years ago I lost a friend in a similar way. He and his wife were on a mt. bike ride on a beautiful mid April day and he died on the trail from massive cardiac arrest. Super fit and active guy in his late 40s or early 50s. (Younger than I am now...time is a strange thing.)
Always smiling and pleasent when he came into the bike shop I worked at. Would bring all us shop rats softdrinks and snacks (when we weren't working on his bike even)! Just a super kind, friendly, throughly decent human being.

Two weeks ago lost a former co-worker and friend to (I think) cardiac arrest as well. Hadn't been in touch for a few years except through Facebook and it was on Facebook that I learned that he'd died. Shocking in so many ways. He was only 61. Again, super active marathon runner. Super decent human being. Always friendly and fiercely kind to everyone.

I think of them often and try to use them as inspiration/roll models to be a better person every day. Especially in stressful situations or moments of anger/impatience/etc. I try to stop, breathe and think about how they lived their lives and the interactions i observed them have with others (and me), and moderate my responses and actions. Of course they weren't perfect, as non of us are, but I hope that by remembering them in this way (and hopefully modifying my behavior based on their behavior/conduct) I can become both a better person and continue to honor and remember them.

[phoenix]

So sorry to hear. Condolences to you and his family and friends.