Goulburn cyclist Mike Navybox was known for his generosity and positive nature in the face of adversity.
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His death on an attempt to ride 10,250 kilometres through Europe has left friends and family in shock, and remembering his courage and kindness.
The tour took him up the peaks and across the countrysides of France, Italy and Spain, and was nearing its end when Mr Navybox died early this week after riding in Andorra, in the Pyrenees.
Friends, who learnt of his death on Monday, were yet to find out the cause but there are unconfirmed reports he suffered a heart attack or stroke.
Mr Navybox, a beloved member of the Goulburn cycling community and highly regarded in Australian motor racing, was riding the three European grand tours and had finished the ninth stage of La Vuelta a Espana.
The 63-day ride, also taking in the Giro d'Italia and Le Tour de France, was his project to raise public awareness about the importance of early detection, intervention and prevention of cancer, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
He had fought through all three illnesses, undergoing surgery and tests in treating kidney cancer following a 2011 diagnosis.
A serious accident in the passenger seat of a high-performance car two years later had him back in surgery, when he had three vertebrae fused together.
His cycling tour was also a message to others with cancer, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder that they weren't alone.
Friend and Goulburn Cycle Club president Adam Lambert said Mr Navybox wanted to show people they could achieve whatever they put their minds to.
"He was an amazing guy. The whole cycling community in Goulburn is absolutely shell-shocked," Mr Lambert said.
"The fact he is now gone is beyond belief. I don't think we really understand the enormity of it right now.
"The cycling community will feel this loss tremendously."
Friends and family back home were following Mr Navybox's tour through his social media posts and were readying to celebrate his finish.
"We were all riding with him, to a certain extent," Mr Lambert said.
Mr Navybox's death coincidentally followed the end of a stage he finished by honouring Jarrod Coveney, a Goulburn Cycle Club member who died late last year.
Mr Navybox, a well-loved coach and mentor to motor racing drivers, was known for his ability to pass on his knowledge and skills in the sport.
Motor racing driver Brad Shiels was 14 when the coach took him under his wing. Mr Navybox would spend hours teaching him, and later gave him work as an instructor.
"He's the one who got me to where I am today," Mr Shiels said.
"He was a really generous guy. He did way more than he needed to for me.
"He wanted to help everyone."
Mr Shiel's father Steve said he hadn't met anyone with a more positive approach to life than Mr Navybox.
He was an "absolute gentleman's gentleman", friend Dave Pennells said.
"I never heard Mike ever talk poorly about anyone," he said.
Mr Pennells said his friend of 20 years was also one of the most underrated drivers in Australia and had coached many talented students.
"He just had that ability to reflect his knowledge to the people he was coaching," he said.
"The place is a poorer one without him."
Mr Navybox leaves behind his partner Melissa, two children, Emily and Ben, and his mother Peggy.