gutted RIP Amy

I'd opened this to write about G-ster day two.

Can't now.

Finishing up lunch i got a text. A friend just said they felt sick, then a DM saying they really felt violently ill.  I was oddly just out enjoying the sun after lunch, in the sun, glorious summer day in early october.

Initially I thought, someone got something at Night Weasels, but then in the DM over to regular twitter section and saw...

my whole feed.

every
single
tweet

finally scrolled down through, not knowing how, or where she was or what happened till i got to one that said:
"American cyclocross racer Amy Dombroski has been hit and killed by a truck while training in Belgium."

and the incredulity and fear as to what happened were instantly replaced with absolute gut wrenching horror, sadness... and tears...

Dombroski

People talk about #NECX as having a distinct identity sometimes. We do. We identify like a family.  A big fucking dysfunctional family but we are, a family. Some of us only talk in person, but we relish the time together when we all do get together.  We can't wait to see each other again at the next race, or on the street, or for coffee, or beer.

We take for granted that we will see each other again....

Life is fragile. It is delicate.

a memory:
The Boston Luna MTB chicks spearheaded by Roz brought Amy down for a woman's CX clinic one year (a few years ago now).  They held it at the old MRC course in Wrentham. Greg W and I were there, he had his daughters and this friend of his, Rachel trying cyclocross for the first time.  My daughter did the clinic, had fun, why? Because Amy made it fun. It was a hugely positive experience for my kid. And Rachel is now a CX racer.

This weekend is going to have a layer of sadness on top of the celebration of bikes. At least it will for me.

Amy will be missed...

http://instagram.com/p/fA80yXsJ3P/
https://twitter.com/CyclismasEditor/status/385829866672648192/photo/1
https://twitter.com/MMDMcMahon/status/385833299291435008