Feb
4
Just heard the sad news that bike community treasure Sheldon Brown passed away last night. He will be missed by scores of bikers, but he leaves quite a legacy behind online that will continue to inform and entertain cyclists everywhere.
Sheldon and me at Interbike 2007 after his interview.
I had the pleasure of meeting Sheldon at the 2007 Interbike for the first time. I had spoken to him before on the phone a few times over the years when I had a technical bike question and he was always very nice. Opinionated, to be sure, but nice. We both had a connection to Harris Cyclery: he famously worked there and they were my local bike shop and sponsored the team that I began bike racing with back in the early 90’s.
Leading up to Interbike 2007, one of my many responsibilities was lining up guests for our “Good Morning Interbike” show filmed in the Media Center and broadcast live over at the main Interbike website. GMI was fashioned after your typical morning news/talk show and had some recaps/previews of Interbike events and happenings and interviews with interesting industry folks.
I came up with the idea to have Sheldon on when I was doing some shop visits in the Boston area last Summer after Pedro’s Fest. Since I hadn’t been back to Harris since the mid-90’s, I made a point of stopping by. Sheldon would make the perfect guest, I thought to myself. He’s interesting, opinionated, loved by thousands of cyclists, and not too many people had had a chance to meet the man or hear him talk. An interview would be a great opportunity for people to get to know what the man himself - the man behind Sheldonbrown.com - was like.
The interview was great. Richard Fries, the host of GMI, knew Sheldon well, being a fellow New Englander, and had some fun with him. Richard had come up with the idea of playing a game with the last guest each morning called “Dead or Alive” where he would throw out ten bike-related topics and ask them to rate them dead or alive. Stuff like fixed-gear bikes, 29″ mountain bikes, road bikes, pro road racing, etc. As you can imagine, Sheldon was quick to opine on each. The photo below was his reaction to one such topic that he felt especially passionate about.
“3-speed internal hubs? Alive!!”
So where’s the video of this great segment, you ask? Well, I’m embarrassed to say that we had some challenges with some of the footage we shot at IB including, unfortunately, the GMI segment with Sheldon. Other priorities came up in the meantime, and getting it finished got pushed down the to-do list. Of course, now I will try to get that piece finished and get it posted as soon as possible. Stay tuned.. I’ll post when it’s ready. (To see the Day 2 episode of GMI which includes a Dead or Alive segment with with Sky Yeager and Tim Parr of Swobo, click here.)
Our thoughts here at Interbike go out to Sheldon and his family today. Thanks for sharing him with the rest of us!
Comments
9 Responses to “Sheldon Brown”
Leave a Reply
Rich, Great tribute to someone who was a wealth of knowledge and will be greatly missed by many.
It’s a sad day. I’m looking forward to seeing the video, Rich.
Holy moly. The last ride for Sheldon Brown. That’s hard to swallow, but my next wheelie is dedicated to his memory. Time to go get on the bike . . .
Nice memory, Rich. Thanks for sharing it with us all. Love the photos, too! They are special treasures now.
I was looking for video of Sheldon on the internet and amazingly there isn’t any. When you post your video, I’ll make it the bicycle clip of the day on our site.
[...] of American Bicyclists. Chico Gino posts Allen's words at his blog. Rich Kelly recounts his personal encounter with Sheldon Brown at Interbike, including some great photos of Sheldon proclaiming "IT'S ALIVE!" when [...]
[...] Interbike Times [...]
it is hard to find the words to give props to someone who has made such a huge impact on individuals as well as the entire cycling community of the world at large. nobody will ever be able to fill the void of Sheldon. All we can do is remember his wonderful contributions and personality and try to keep his vision of our community alive. i loved what he would write about his family, and how he cared about them so deeply. what a wonderful person who selfless gave so much of himself in order for others to enjoy cycling.
may his family find comfort and strength in the thoughts of thousands or millions who are thinking of you during this difficult time.
respectfully,
binny bin
I had the opportunity to meet Sheldon at a bike show called Cirque in 05. It was a chance meeting as he stopped to take a photo of one of my vintage bikes a RIGI. We chatted for a moment and he explained he took the photo for his collection as he never saw a RIGI in the flesh so to speak. I was able to capture a photo of him taking a photo of my bike and it is attached here. Just my small tribut to a legend in the hobby.
RIP Sheldon
Ray