About 30 years ago, I joined the staff at The Bicycle Exchange in Cambridge , Mass. At the time, Cambridge-Boston was the hub of the East Coast bicycle universe. Among the cast of knowledgeable characters I met that first year in Cambridge, Sheldon Brown stands out. Most of you will be surprised that it was not his bicycle knowledge that distinguished Sheldon, but his photo graphy. Besides being a skilled shooter, Sheldon was a top-notch camera rep airman, noted for his work on Speed Graphic press cameras. But he also stoo d out as a classy rider and Renaissance man. In a community that included l egends like Ben Olken, his son Richard, John Allis and Robert \u201cilli terate in five languages\u201d Celerier, Sheldon was already widely resp ected. That he had the presence of mind to collect all of the bicycle knowl edge that flowed with the beer speaks volumes about his innate intelligence . His presentation of that collected knowledge is proof to a wider world of what a few of us knew even then, that Sheldon was a apecial person. Sheldo n has already been a legend for a long time. May he never be forgotten.
Earle Young
Madison, Wisc.