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Editorial: A quiet, yet lasting mark
Op-Ed · August 22, 2014


When Tom Teesdale died during the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, our reporter had a hard time tracking people down around West Branch who knew him well enough to share their thoughts. But when we started contacting people in the world of bicycling, his name was immediately recognized, and people had a lot to say, and it was all good.


Working quietly and diligently in his shop, Teesdale may not have been well-known in this city, but his work spoke volumes to avid bike riders and bicycle companies who sought him out for frames — from traditional to custom.

He opened TET Cycles in 1976 and operated out of a shop at 403 S. Maple Street. His warehouse did not bear a single marking or sign that indicated what kind of business he did inside. Yet he sold his frames to cyclists around the world.

When news of his July 21 death came, it sent shockwaves through the bicycling community.

“Tom, although I never met you, you’ve had a big influence on me and my family,” wrote one fan on the TET Cycles Facebook page after Teesdale died. “I ride one of your bikes, my son has (ridden) two of your bikes. … You were a master, and you will be missed. Thank you, Tom.”

“I used to be at that shop on a daily basis and then come up for supper,” wrote another. “I am super sad! He was an artist!”

And “Sorry to hear the news,” wrote a third. “A true artist and an incredible frame builder.”

To those of us who are not avid bicycle riders, we may not be able to understand how some people can spend $700 to $1,200 on a bicycle frame. But one might be able to understand Teesdale’s fame and skill by looking at those who took time to announce his death. In addition to us, his story reached the Des Moines Register, the Press-Citizen, Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, Red Kite Prayer (slogan: The Soul of Cycling), Urban Velo (cycling culture magazine), The Radavist (cycling enthusiast magazine), BikeForums.net and more.

Teesdale’s Facebook page includes the message “Join the Movement,” yet Teesdale himself was a movement.

We can’t help but wonder if that movement will have any lasting impact here in West Branch, like through a memorial bicycle ride in a parade, or what else may come.

Yet Teesdale set high standards that so pleased his customers and partners that not only were they willing to pay his prices, they did so happily and sang his praises.

Tom, we may have not have known you well here in West Branch, but you certainly left a mark with your passing.