RIP Sheldon Brown
A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Brown_%28bicycle_mechanic%29">man </a>of uncompromising integrity, he is essentially the biggest reason so many of us have converted to single speed cycles. <a href="http://sheldonbrown.com/home.html">His website</a> is still <i> the</i> defacto site for info on bicycle repair.
I saw him cycling once last year, on Huntington Ave, smiling.
I never met the dude, but I've spent many hours on his web site. His wheelbuilding page helped me lace up a set of custom wheels for an 80's BMX bike I restored a couple of years ago. They came out like butter.