Noted Cyclist Andrew Tilin Killed By Car Near Round Rock

AUSTIN, TX — Noted Austin cyclist Andrew Tilin— author of "The Doper Next Door" — was killed on Saturday while changing a flat bicycle tire on the side of a road, according to reports.

Tilin, 52, had been riding with a group of bicyclists from the Grupo VOP cycling club in foggy and misty conditions along RM 620 when he pulled into the the side of the road to fix a flat tire before being hit by a truck careening into him, Outside magazine reported. The pickup truck reportedly had collided with another vehicle before it spun out of control and struck Tilin, according to reports.

The collision occurred along Marshall Ford Road and FM 620 Road, medics reported. Tilin's sister, Tracy Tilin McKendall, later confirmed to Outside the victim was her brother and the father of two did not survive his injuries. Tilin received immediate first aid from a rider in the group who is a surgeon, but the life-saving efforts proved futile, the magazine reported.

Austin-Travis County EMS medics first alerted to the ultimately fatal collision on Twitter albeit without identifying the victim who was described only as a man in his 50s. A woman in her 20s sustained minor injuries from the incident but was expected to survive, according to medics.

The Austin American-Statesman noted Grupo VOP’s Saturday morning ride on which Tilin embarked on Saturday was one of Austin’s longest-running club rides started 19 years ago. Tilin’s death marked the first serious injury or fatality, a biking official told the newspaper. Typically, the group rides what cyclists refer to as “the Dam Loop” on Saturdays, traveling along parts of Bee Cave Road, Loop 360 and RM 620. The group was about 30 miles into a 50- or 60-mile ride when the fatal collision occurred, according to the report.

“Andrew was one of those rare people who truly radiated joy for his work, for the values of the magazine, and for the people he loved—and there were many of them,” Mark Bryant, who hired Tilin to work for Outside in 1991, told the magaine. “He was an exacting and thoughtful editor and a really fine writer, and his work will certainly endure. But beyond the work itself, what’s always meant so much to so many of us at Outside over the years is his kindness, his compassion, his sense of humor."

The cyclist gained prominence after writing his 2011 "The Doper Next Door" book exploring how legal supplemental testosterone affected his bike racing performance, giving unique and compelling insight into the world of doping. During the course of the year, Tilin took testosterone as part of a legal hormone replacement therapy and described in his book how this affected him both physically and emotionally. His biceps bulked up noticeably and his sex drive increased, he documented in his book. But the added testosterone made him irritable and moody, giving rise to conflicts with some of his cycling friends.

Members of Grupo VOP reportedly now are planning a memorial for their fallen team member.

In a tragically ironic twist, Tilin had written about the dangers vehicles pose to bicyclists for Outside. "When drivers screw up or drive too aggressively — or with outside malice — the consequences are usually dire for bicyclists because of the harsh realities of physics," he once wrote. "Cars are massive metal beasts. Bikes are not."

Members of the cycling community expressed their condolences and sadness via social media as news spread of Tilin's death.

This is terribly tragic. His book Doper Next Door was brilliant, essential reading. Thoughts with his family and friends

Author and Cyclist Andrew Tilin Dies in Collision | Outside Online https://t.co/yPlSL11KeI
— Jason Gay (@jasongay) February" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/jasongay/s... 18, 2018

Oh,that's really sad. A brave man,to embark on a doping program to report the effect was crazy,but fascinating. #AndrewTilin was ostracized but admitted,"it was naughty and fun". #Outside #TheDoperNextDoor
— Lennie George (@LennieGeorge16) February" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/LennieGeor... 18, 2018

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