Paul Hood Smith, Jr.

On the evening of Friday, September 6, 2019, Paul Hood Smith, Jr, beloved son, brother, uncle, and friend, passed away as a result of injuries from a car accident. He was 47 years old. Paul was born in Towson, Maryland. He attended Loyola High School, where he excelled in languages, studying Spanish, Latin, and Greek. While Paul was a dedicated student, his true love was mountain biking. From an early age, Paul spent most of his time on his bike, searching out trails around Lake Roland near his childhood home. At fourteen, he began entering local bike races and quickly established himself as a promising talent. He joined a crew of hardcore local bikers who camped out at races on weekends and became lifelong friends. By the age of sixteen, he was racing as a pro, sponsored by Cannondale and participating in events up and down the East Coast. Paul went on to major in political science and business at the University of Colorado Boulder. Although a knee injury ended his professional biking career, his passion for the sport kick started his remarkable career as an entrepreneur. Paul launched his first business-selling custom mountain bikes-while still in college and over the course of his life, he founded and built several other companies. Paul always had a million ideas and projects in development, but he also knew how to have fun. He enjoyed traveling the world, especially Europe and South America, and lived in Baltimore, Boulder, Aspen, Los Angeles, New York City, Miami, Buenos Aires, West Palm Beach, Santa Barbara, and Las Vegas. Paul continued biking and crisscrossed the country seeking out the best trails. He would send his family and friends photos and videos of himself and entertain them with stories of his encounters with alligators, mountain lions, bobcats, giant turtles and other wildlife. To him, this was all part of the adventure. He particularly enjoyed sending videos of unusual animals to his nieces, who were always excited to hear a new story from Uncle Paul. The week he passed away, Paul had visited one of his favorite trails-the Blue Diamond Trail in Red Rock Canyon in Nevada and sent a video of the incredible view from the top to his friends and family. At the end of the video, he turned the camera on himself and smiled. He was where he was happiest. Paul is survived by his parents, Paul and Patricia Smith, his sister, Caroline Smith Hickey (Michael Hickey), his nieces, Bridget and Rory Hickey, and many aunts, uncles, cousins, and devoted friends. He was preceded in death by his beloved dog, Hanna, who went to work with him every day and slept under his desk, as well as rode shotgun in his car on several cross-country drives. A memorial service will be held at the Our Lady of Montserrat Chapel at Loyola High School Blakefield on September 29, 2019 at 10:30 am. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in his name to the International Mountain Bicycling Association, PO Box 20280, Boulder, CO, 80308, whose mission is to create, enhance and protect bike trails worldwide, so that everyone can find their own beautiful ride close to home.