|
Bike-maker dies at RAGBRAI
by Gregory R. Norfleet · News · July 24, 2014
Tom Teesdale’s last entry on his TET Cycles Facebook page, made July 20:
“Night two. Two tet cycles bicycles today. A 2014 and an early 1990s with a Cathy Jo paint job. #ragbrai #tetcycles”
The internationally known custom bicycle frame builder of West Branch died Monday after riding on the second day of the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, according to ride organizers.
The Des Moines Register, which organizes RAGBRAI, reported Tuesday that Teesdale was the man who died Monday on the route between Terril and Graettinger.
According to RAGBRAI officials, he was treated by a trauma surgeon, nurse, critical care paramedic and ambulance personnel for a medical condition, not an injury. He was transported to Palo Alto County Hospital in Emmetsburg, where he was later pronounced dead.
Teesdale had been riding with family members at the time.
He opened TET Cycles in 1976 and operated the shop out of 403 S. Maple in an old white-and-grey warehouse with no signs to indicate what he did inside. He produced frames for cyclocross, mountain, road and tandem bicycles.
“He was an Iowa fixture,” Schlick Cycles co-owner Greg Smith said. “He had a ton of experience and was an unassuming guy.”
Smith said he had known Teesdale for about 25 years and met him when Smith sold parts for a bicycle wholesale company. He said he was shocked to hear of Teesdale’s death when Teesdale’s son, John, called him in Milwaukee.
“I just stopped by last Monday while heading out west,” he said.
Smith called it “fitting” that Teesdale should die while riding a bicycle, and in RAGBRAI.
“It sounded like he was doing what he loved to do,” he said.
John MacTaggart, co-owner of Pterocycle Trike Systems L.C., said Teesdale helped his father’s company build the first bicycle with a sail that harnessed the wind to help propel it. John then rode the Pterosail from St. Augustine, Fla., to San Diego, Calif., making the first 3,000-plus trip across the country three years ago in a bicycle propelled by wind, solar and pedaling — it took him 46 days.
“Oh, man,” MacTaggart said when a reporter broke the news of Teesdale’s death. “I’m heartbroken. That’s horrible news.”
MacTaggart said he considered Teesdale “a wizard of sorts,” in part because his beard and pipe reminded MacTaggart of Gandalf from the JRR Tolkien “Lord of the Rings” books, and in part because of Teesdale’s expertise in building bicycle frames.
Teesdale was known most by the MacTaggart family for his recumbent bicycles. MacTaggart said he contacted Teesdale just a couple of months ago about a new project.
“He was working on a new design for us,” MacTaggart said.
Pterocycle moved from North Liberty to Houston, Texas, a few years ago but MacTaggart said he would still visit Teesdale from time to time.
“I’d go to his shop, I’d sit there and talk about design — I’m an marine engineer myself — and he always got a big kick out of that, talking about what it was like going on a ship, the cooling systems, the big engines.”
At 62 years old, Teesdale had reduced his bicycle production to about 60 per year, Smith said.
MacTaggart said Teesdale will surely be missed.
“In his shop, he had tools from like a different era,” MacTaggart said. “He was very social and warm. It was a trip in itself visiting his shop. I’m definitely going to miss him.”
Chris “Crispie” Pestelosy, who shared a building with Teesdale and had been friends with him for about 30 years, said he was not up to talking about Teesdale when contacted by a reporter Tuesday.
Greg Spielbauer of Chassis Engineering met Teesdale through Pestelosy, and was impressed with Teesdale’s custom-made frames.
“He was well-known in the bike world,” Spielbauer said. “He was pretty sought-after.”
Spielbauer said he did not know Teesdale that well, but knew he was interested in beekeeping and even had a couple of bee hives. A couple of years ago, workers were cutting down a tree across from Chassis Engineering when they found a bee hive, and Spielbauer said Teesdale came by and tried to save the hive.
Teesdale was married to Cathy Jo and the two had four sons — John, Matthew, Andrew and Jacob — as well as a daughter, Kate.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
