I hadn’t heard that Richard Ballantyne had died. I learned of his death from Stephen Bilenky’s post here this past weekend. I met Richard in a London bike shop in the late 1980s. I had read his books and it caught me off guard to just bump into him in a bike shop but, it was the perfect setting. We talked for a bit and I remember that while he had a respect for the bike racing that I was into, his interest in bikes was much broader than mine. He owned all kinds of bikes. His books appealed to all kinds of cyclists. He was a vocal advocate for cyclists’ rights on the road and had no problem adopting and defending the recumbent. (Richard later served as Chairman of the British Human Power Club.) I had my first introduction to recumbents by Richard and Mike Burrows. Richard brokered an opportunity for me to ride Burrows’ Speedy SL trike. The Windcheetah. I was amazed at the speed and sensation of the thing but nearly stuffed it into a wall because I hadn’t asked or paid attention to how you were supposed to steer or stop. I was used to having handlebars, not a joystick. Burrows didn’t look too worried, Richard just laughed. As the Times of London put it, “He was a major influence for many cyclists.” To me, he was a rider. guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/07/richard-grant
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 14:00:15 +0000
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