Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Sheldon Brown and Multiple Sclerosis

I'm a bit behind on my reading, and I was stunned when I learned that Sheldon Brown can't ride his bike anymore. Sheldon has had difficulty walking since about a year ago. He rode his bike through the summer, but he fears his bike-riding days are over, sticking to his Greenspeed trike to help him stay upright.

Sheldon Brown is an fountain of bike knowledge, and he's freely shared his knowledge online since 1994 when he signed up for AOL and joined some bike-enthusiast email lists. He put up his outstanding website in December 1994. He's kind of a hero of mine, and he's the reason I usually spell the gear-changing mechanism "derailer."

Sheldon Brown journals the progression of his disease at this journal page.

Via Bike Design and Bike Friday Walter. I join James and Walter in suggesting participation in the MS Bike Tour to raise funds to find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis. When the 2007 schedule is available, I'll post it to Cyclelicious.

3 comments:

Donna Tocci said...

Fritz - I hadn't heard this about Sheldon. Thanks for the info. MS is a nasty disease and one that effects more people that you'd realize. My cousin has been living with it for over 30 years. I don't know how he does it some days. He is truly my hero.

Whether you believe Tyler Hamilton about his cycling or not, he has a foundation that focuses on helping people with MS and has for years. They organize the MS Global event each fall and have just announced their 2007 event. This is an amazing fundraiser that has participants cycling through Europe, raising money for MS groups. The most amazing thing? People who have MS participate, too! You can find the info here:
www.tylerhamiltonfoundation.org

Anything that people can do to help with the research towards a cure for this disease I personally encourage and thank you.

Anonymous said...

I often come across Sheldon's website when seeking answers to questions about bicycles, but I had no idea he'd been on the Internet for so long. That's a great idea to support him by joining one of the MS bike tours next year.

Yokota Fritz said...

Ironically, Sheldon doesn'treally like charity rides.