More Death ...Troy Passes, Way Too Early

There was another death recently.  He was a bicycling friend.  Most of the friends I see on a regular basis are cycling friends.  When I first heard about the death, I supposed it was as a result of a bike accident.  I later heard it was an "accident at home".  I was curious how the death occurred:  fell from a ladder, and hit his head? electrocuted?  I suppose we justify our curiousity with the lie that we want to learn what mistakes not to make.  Would the death be more tragic, or the loss more severe, if it was the result of a inattentive automobile driver crashing into the bicyclist-victim?

In the end, the important part is that we, who are left behind, have lost a part of ourselves.  Troy was an especially lively person, the one who organized a new ride that everyone then found to be one of their favorites.  When we descended from the wonderful climb up Mt Laguna that he put together, it was a party.  We hooted and hollered, and screamed down from the top.  I remember he had just got a new video camera that he had mounted on his handlebars to record the descent.  He was the one who had the latest and coolest gadget.  And he was always so proud of having got a great deal on it.

The church was filled with his friends and acquaintances, and especially with those who were friends and acquantances of Troy's family and closest friends.

He had recently returned from a cycling trip with two of his closest friends.  They climbed the fabled Mt. Ventoux from each of its 3 directions this day ...

Several weeks aftet the memorial service, I ran across some UCC Cyclery teammates of Troy and I learned how Troy died.  He had been shooting a classic shotgun, I think one that had belonged to his grandfather, and a shell got lodged in the chamber.  He took the gun home and later was trying to dislodge the shell, when the gun went off and hit him in the chest.  God, what a waste!  RIP, Troy.