In Memory
 

Just an idea here. In memory of Sheldon Brown.....Instead of letting his redstar go to waste how about donating it to a current non redstar member. Maybe look for a younger member who can't afford the $25.00 who has really added to the quality of BF.

good idea!!!

Bear with me. I'm working on tracking down Sheldon's favorite charities.

Or, perhaps "adopt a member in memory of Captain Brown". I think I will do that, if possible.

Perhaps now he can get a gold star...

East Hill

I would suggest it be a custodian for Sheldon's red star, not an adopt-a-member or just a current non-red-star member. I think it should reside in the Bicycle Mechanics forum where Sheldon was most active and made, overall, the most significant contribution to cycling.

And I would suggest for consideration members such as Retro Grouch (who also freeranges over to Classic), Hillrider and several others who, in my humblest of all opinions, make excellent contributions in the spirit of Sheldon Brown.

^^ That seems like a good idea. BF members who contributed and were well respected should be entitled to a post humous 'gold star' -- and Sheldon Brown should be it's first recipient. imo.

^^ Actually, sydney first, then Sheldon.

I am embarrassed to say I have never heard of a "gold" star. What is it?

We don't have a Gold Star......some of the members just want to honor Sheldon, garysol. It's not a bad idea either.........;)

Not a bad idea at all!!!!!!!!

Any updates?

As flattering as this suggestion sounds, I can't do it. Just doesn't seem right to me.

While it's an objective of mine to make contributions in the spirit of Sheldon Brown, I don't feel like I pack the horsepower to do it. I don't have his depth of knowledge and I doubt I've been as consistantly respectful to people who hold opinions that differ from mine..

There will never be another Sheldon. We should be grateful for the opportunity we have had to experience his knowledge and wit this closely. Without the miracle of computers and the internet I couldn't have gotten to know the type of person he was. It was a wonderful thing.

Unfortunately, now Sheldon's gone. He can't be replaced.

That doesn't mean we could not contribute a star to you in his memory, is this not true?

Sheldon's memory will live through the small kindnesses we show to each other.

East Hill

That's a nice gesture, but a bit off track. I need to find out what charity Sheldon would have wanted us to support. Then I will see if maybe I can give stars to members that donate to the charity. I've got a couple of other ideas that I'll need to work out the details for, but first I need to know which charity.

Any assistance would be much appreciated.

Yes, I agree it would be good to support charities which Sheldon also supported.

What kind of assistance were you looking for?

East Hill

I haven't found anything online, and haven't heard back from anyone at Harris yet. I need to know which charity. A quick pat on the back to anyone that knows.

I would think that contributions to the MS Society would not go amiss, and would certainly be relevant, but you are correct, I can't find anything online offhand.

I'll keep looking.

East Hill

One suspects Sheldon's charitable interests were not medically related, but rather in the arts. He also was NOT a fan at all of bike-a-thons to the point of saying they were bad for cycling's image. I doubt he would, in all honesty, be terribly impressed by people involving themselves in MS rides just because he had the ailment.

While I feel really, really honored that a couple of folks have thought of my name regarding some kind of memorial for Sheldon, I don't want to wear Sheldon's star.

I did not know he was not a fan of bike-a-thons, but I most certainly did get the idea that he truly loved the arts.

East Hill

All right, RG, no star for you then ;) .

East Hill

What about donations to other cycling related charities, such as Dave Zabriskie's fledgling YieldToLife.org (already working for change in Utah, Brian :) ) or any of the countless local advocacy groups that may impact a user's local area (e.g. in my area there is the Chicagoland Bike Federation or the League of Illinois Bicyclists).

Not trying to open a can of worms here, but there are tons of worthy groups out there to support that might be worthy of recognition. Maybe a roll-call in a separate sub-forum, if users wanted to be recognized for their support?

I couldn't find anything that confirmed he had MS, only mysterious MS-like symptoms. I may just contact a few charities over the coming days, and see if they can get something going. I recently blogged about the charity that gives away thousands of bikes to needy kids each year. A donation to them in Sheldon's name can't be a bad idea.

Zabriskie's is a good one, and I'm on good terms with their PR firm, which also handles Interbike. Coincidentally, I'm putting together a list of charities for another site I work for, so I've got a stack of contacts. There are only so many hours in a day though.

I agree, and I will do a write up about Sheldon Brown on my blog later today. I will include the name of the charity, and link to your blog as well if that's all right with you. It's been a bittersweet week for me with cycling...

East Hill