Eugene A. Sloane gained a passion for bicycling in middle age when he picked up a 3-speed to get back into shape in the 1960s.
He loved it so much that he jumped at the chance to write a book on the subject for Simon & Schuster. The result was “The Complete Book of Bicycling,” probably the first modern end-all beat-all book for bicyclists. It was published in 1970 and found a waiting audience.
Sloan died Saturday at age 91 from the complications of pneumonia at a hospital in Wilmette, Illinois.
Sloane's son says his father did all the work on the bikes and took illustrative how-to pictures in the basement of their home.
“Although mechanically inclined, he wasn't especially patient, and his workshop was often filled with loud invective as he struggled to assemble scattered parts.”
The book went through several editions and updates to keep up with developments. Meanwhile, Sloane bike toured around Europe and rode on the Green Bay Trail with friends into his 80s.
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