Friends and family are mourning the death of a beloved Austin cyclist and writer.
Andrew Tilin, 52, died Saturday, after a driver hit him while he was changing a flat tire on his bike.
The crash happened about 9:14 a.m. near Marshall Ford Road and North FM 620, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
A pickup truck driver traveling southbound on FM 620 hydroplaned and crossed into oncoming traffic, DPS said. As a result, the driver of another pickup truck traveling northbound collided with the driver, which caused the pickup truck to spin into the other lane, striking Tilin, troopers said.
"He died doing what he loved," Andrew's ex-wife Madeleine Tilin told KVUE Sunday. "He's always loved cycling."
They were married for about 20 years, she said. They had two children: Isaac, 18, and Leila, 15.
"Even to this day, I always worried about getting that call," she said. "I answered the phone without even saying hello. I just said, 'Is everything OK?' She was crying and she said, 'No.' Andrew had been hit by a car, but it wasn't good."
Shellie Oroshiba, Andrew's girlfriend of four years, was the emergency contact on Andrew's rider ID, she said. Andrew's friends called her as soon as the crash happened. She then called Madeleine to tell her the news.
"Andrew was a person who would always light up the room. Whatever the situation was, his quick wit would always bring smiles," Oroshiba said.
But now those rooms are a little darker, and those smiles are a little smaller.
"The net he threw, the net of friends and family he had, is so wide there will never be a big enough space for all the people who will miss him to honor him," Madeleine said.
Madeleine and Oroshiba plan to honor him in the way they said Andrew would've wanted.
"Andrew would want everyone to celebrate all of the goodness and the joy and not grieve forever. To live life and to live life beautifully," Madeleine said.
"I'm gonna get on my bike and ride. That's what I'm going to do," Oroshiba added. "Gonna keep on honoring him by taking care of myself, taking care of the kids, and doing the things that we loved."
Friends and family hope to hold a memorial for Andrew soon.
Tilin is best known as a writer for his contributions to Outside Magazine and his book, “The Doper Next Door."