Image of Sheldon Brown courtesy of WikipediaThe cycling world lost one of it's great mentors on Sunday.
On the 3rd February 2008 Mr Sheldon Brown passed away.
Mr Brown was an extraordinary human being who seemed to make time to share his wisdom and knowhow with just about anyone who needed his help. He created the most comprehensive and candid personal websites I have ever seen. His bicycle maintenance pages were comprehensive and accurate with a descriptive style that showed a great love of his subject and spiced with a good dose of humor.
I found the Sheldon Brown website while trying to figure out a problem I'd had with my bike a few years ago. Since that first encounter I have turned to Mr Brown more times than I can possibly remember, for solutions to all kinds of mechanical problems. His enthusiasm was absolutely contagious and he inspired interest in ideas far beyond the world of bicycle maintenance! Even though I never attempted a fraction of the practical tips contained in his web pages, I always found encouragement and inspiration!
He even answered a couple of emails I'd sent him (before I realized just how huge an audience he had or how popular he is).
I don't know how much longer his website will be hosted but I hope someone will see it's value to the cycling, and web community and choose to keep it alive for evermore.
Thank you Mr Sheldon Guru Brown. You were a rare gem!
His website: http://sheldonbrown.com/home.html
Blog devoted to the the memory of the man: http://sheldonbrown.blogspot.com/
Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Brown_%28bicycle_mechanic%29
2 comments:
Thanks for posting that link Dave; great stuff... lotta reading there!
PS couldn't agree more with your post re "Onwards and upwards"... Bah humbug, why do they hafta knock everything down? Wadya reckon will be left of Stella Maris when they finish... the so called historic preservation barely covers the footprint of the building!
Hi Ian,
Oh Yeh... The Stella Maris. I have to admit I never went there but have known of it ever since I arrived in Darwin. Now that's another place with a long and colourfull history. I got an invite to last Drinks at the Stella Maris and was shocked to learn it too was on the table for being disappeared! I didn't know there were any plans to preserve anything of it.
Shoulda known that would be on the list. Given all the new neighbors in that area. Thanks for the reminder Ian.
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