As some of you may have heard, James (Willow) Williamson died at 6:47am local time while participating in the Absa Cape Epic in South Africa.  James was taken to the hospital the morning after the second stage when his teammate couldn’t arouse him. I had the pleasure of riding the first 5 minutes of the 2008 World Solo Championships with him and was there to see him take the win and hang out with him at the after party.

At 26 years of age, James was the editor of Enduro magazine and had a positive outlook on life and the sport of mountain biking. Many of us spend years or an entire lifetime trying to find a single moment of accomplishment, however James had no doubt filled a book of accomplishments and died doing something he loved the most.

Like many racers, James kept a blog for you to follow up on his adventures.