As an amateur wheel builder I have laced up at least 40 sets of wheels over the years, and when people ask me where I learned how to build wheels, I'd tell them "Sheldon Brown taught me". "You KNEW Sheldon Brown?", they would ask, with an impressed look on their face. "No, I never met him" was always my answer...
Several years ago I was in Boston attending a conference, and having a few hours to myself on the final day I decided to drive out to Harris Cyclery in West Newton to meet (and to personally thank Sheldon). It was there on the Harris showroom floor where I saw my first Rivendell in person; an Atlantis. As I stood gawking at it, a store employee approached and asked "How can I help you?" "I was hoping to say hi to Sheldon", said I. "Oh, he's at Interbike this week", said he. "Bummer, I wanted to thank him." So I stood there and chatted for another twenty minutes or so with the man who introduced himself as Elton Pope-Lance, and who kindly showed me around the shop, including his stunning Hetchins "commuter" with silly-gorgeous lug work (which he apparently traded from Sheldon)... And then I left the shop. A few months later Sheldon passed away. I never did get to thank him in person. I recently had the pleasure of seeing Elton again at the Philly Bike Expo (where he was tag-teaming with Peter Weigle and Peter White). I asked him how Harris (a true brick and mortar bike shop) was managing to survive, and he said it's getting much tougher, with internet competition just undercutting them... Reminded me just how special these shops are... The ones that embody the Rivendell philosophy (like Hiawatha, Long Leaf, Joe Bike, and Harris Cyclery... to name just a few.) So if you're ever in Boston, take time to stop in at Harris Cyclery and meet a special group of people who carry on the great work started by an extra special man. And THANK YOU, Sheldon Brown. BB -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
