Homage to Brown

Ever since my son, Ian, moved to Providence, I’ve been planning on a pilgrimage (by bike?) to Harris Cyclery, only an hour north of Prov, just outside of Boston. This sidetrip would not have been geared to seeing another bike shop, nice as that experience can be - and as great a shop Harris Inc. apparently is. No, my plan was to shake the hand of a mensch named Sheldon Brown.

Now all of us in the cyclosphere have learned of Sheldon’s death. (See the links below.) And to judge by the postings on bike-related sites all over the web, a great many riders of all descriptions are mourning the loss of a person they never met but who became a real and trusted presence in their lives.

I’ve gone to Sheldon’s web resources many times, looking for some bit of advice on parts, wheels, and more – but also, as a fellow sexageniarian, to enjoy his boyish enthusiasm for two-wheelers (and three-wheelers, for which Sheldon, who suffered from MS his last few years, had developed a passion born of necessity).

A good part of Sheldon’s charm came from his openness to the issues of everyday bikers, not just the performance-oriented. He knew that cycling culture and development of bike transportation depend on our all pedaling together as one.

Sheldon is already much missed. I’m sure, though, that his spirit must be present at the shop he worked for – so I’m still planning that pilgrimage. And I hope the web resources he created will long be available, because here we’re not talking about mere information… As Walt Whitman said, and I paraphrase, Whoever touches these words, touches a man.

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