There Goes My Hero, Watch Him as He Goes

My hero died.
He was hit by a car on a training ride, just 3 miles from his home.

Somehow, it took me 4 days to learn of his death.
Lack of publicity in ultra-endurance sports- you gotta love it(not).

Jure Robic was NASTY. He was coming off his 5th Race Across America win. Dude could ride his bike from west coast to east coast in 8 days.
He was all about his sport.
He once said of RAAM, "I love RAAM, it is the hardest and the toughest. It gets into your blood like a disease."

He could have been rich, had he chosen to market himself. Instead, he used all of his time to ride. Put up or shut up.
One of his crewmembers said, "Jure is all legs and no head. He has to be that way to win these types of races. He could be making money with endorsements, but he is a bike racer, not a business man."
I could relate to this way of thinking. Screw all the begging and negotiating.
Just let me race.

Jure lived in a small apartment with his kid and wife, scraping to get by so he could race. He had no fluff in his life. I can't help but wonder if scraping to get by was what kept his hunger so high. Training and racing HAD to be his income. He forced it to be that way.

I feel like I knew a little bit of what was going on inside his head every day before he mounted his bike.
The financial struggle.
The obsession to do what you love.
The balance of "normal" life around training.

Maybe that's why I feel so sick about the death of someone I never even met.
So untimely.

Man, I really liked his style. I had hoped to meet him one day.
Here's to you, Jure.
krp