I got word a couple of days ago that a cycling friend was killed while touring in Nevada-
it seems a semi ran him down (and then left the scene) on a highway outside of Las Vegas.
He was an experienced touring cyclist, having ridden all over the US and in Mexico. On this trip he had left his current home in Utah and was headed to points south. He had posted great photos on Strava in the days before - photos of his touring rig, the desert scenery, his camp site next to Lake Mead.... I don't know for certain, but I'll bet he was headed to Baja, as he rides there most winters.
This is the third time I've lost a cycling friend. The first went down in a group ride crash, landing directly on his head. The second lost control when hitting some rumble strips just as he was reaching for a water bottle - landing the wrong way in a concrete drainage ditch. And now this.
The message letting me know, from a mutual cycling friend, said that he died while doing what he loved. And I know this is true.
It hurts to lose friends, and it hurts yet more to lose them this way.
I'm a dedicated road cyclist and I'm not planning to stop. There are risks to everything, including sitting on the couch, and I've accepted that the life I choose has some danger.
(I'm not looking for advice here, so please don't offer any.)
But yeah, it's sobering and sad