My blog chronicling my journey to earn my pro mountain bike license. Also talking about things from the bike shop and stuff that I think is interesting or cool.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

RIP. . . Burry Stander

It's unfortunate that this is the topic for my first blog post back after a bit of a break.  Burry Stander (top 10 mountain biker in the world) died about a week and a half after being hit by a taxi while training in his home country of his South Africa.  For some reason it is even sadder that he was killed on a road bike than if he died while mountain biking, I'm not entirely sure why, maybe because it's some how more senseless, or not so directly tied to what he was so good at.  Either way it's very sad to see.  I never met Burry, but I've always gotten the sense in reading stories that he was involved in that he was a genuinely nice guy, which seems to be supported by the stories that have followed his death.  It has certainly made me think about about my mortality after his death, but after thinking about it, my belief that there is inherent risk in simply living (it's probably more likely that I'll die in a car accident than I will as a result of mountain biking, for example), and that you should be aware of these risks, but you can't let reasonable risks paralyze you into not doing things you enjoy (especially if they're good for your overall health), has only been strengthened.  It certainly also illustrates that life is precious and can be fleeting and that it should be cherished and enjoyed.

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