Bruce Frech

Ray Sachs said:

I don't know how many folks on this group know Bruce Frech. I know he
posted here from time to time. In any case, very sad news. Bruce was
killed in an automobile accident on Saturday morning near West
Chester, PA. Fittingly, he was on his way to a ride.
Sorry to have to report this,

I find myself saying this all too frequently these days: a mile, today, for
the fallen. My sympathies to those he left behind.

Tragic. Tragic.

the wind chill was 6 degrees

Ray said:

I don't know how many folks on this group know Bruce Frech. I know he
posted here from time to time. In any case, very sad news. Bruce was
killed in an automobile accident on Saturday morning near West Chester,
PA. Fittingly, he was on his way to a ride.
Sorry to have to report this,

-Ray Sachs

I remember Bruce. Sorry to hear about the bad news. My condolences go
out to his friends and family.

--
Mark Chandler
Superior, CO
http://www.MileHighSkates.com

Ray said:

I don't know how many folks on this group know Bruce Frech. I know he
posted here from time to time. In any case, very sad news. Bruce was
killed in an automobile accident on Saturday morning near West Chester,
PA. Fittingly, he was on his way to a ride.

That is sad news. My prayers to his friends and family.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | It is a scientifically proven fact that a mid life crisis can
_`\(,_ | only be cured by something racy and Italian. Bianchis and
(_)/ (_) | Colnagos are a lot cheaper than Maserattis and Ferraris. --
Glenn Davies

"Ray" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I don't know how many folks on this group know Bruce Frech. I know he
posted here from time to time. In any case, very sad news. Bruce was
killed in an automobile accident on Saturday morning near West Chester,
PA. Fittingly, he was on his way to a ride.
Sorry to have to report this,

-Ray Sachs

I live in California and posted a message in rec.rides looking for places to
rent and ride in the West Chester PA area while I was on vacation. It was
the height of summer, my form was good and I really didn't want a couple of
weeks setback which happens to me with a full week off the bike. Plus I
can't go a week without riding because... it's a week without riding. All
the shops I was referred to only had hybrids or mtbs. Bruce posted a reply
and offered to loan me a bike and take me on a ride. I brought my pedals,
he set me up on a Kestrel with 9sp DuraAce that fit me perfectly. He took
me on a great ride with a Friend of his named Charlie. We hammered for 55
miles through beautiful quiet backroads. I couldn't believe how generous
he was to a stranger except that upon meeting him, going to his house and
riding with him, I found that cycling was so deep a part of his heart and
life that a fellow cyclist was not a stranger to him. Thank you Bruce.

I was lucky enough to know Bruce for about 7-8 years. I'm not a racer
and will never be anywhere near as strong a rider as he was, but I'd
see him on rides every now and then and he'd slow down long enough to
say hello and shoot the breeze for a little while. I'm a transportation
planner in his home county and we worked together on advocacy efforts
and met at least every couple of months with a regular advocacy group.
He was always quiet, modest, kind, and very very knowledgeable and
helpful. He was a rare guy, and now gone far too soon.

I'm planning on going to the memorial service on Saturday - I'll pass
all of these kind notes onto his family.

-Ray

Ray said:

I don't know how many folks on this group know Bruce Frech. I know he
posted here from time to time. In any case, very sad news. Bruce was
killed in an automobile accident on Saturday morning near West Chester,
PA. Fittingly, he was on his way to a ride.
Sorry to have to report this,

That is truly awful news. Bruce was a real class act - one of the
good guys. He'll be terribly missed...

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

Ray said:

I don't know how many folks on this group know Bruce Frech. I know he
posted here from time to time. In any case, very sad news. Bruce was
killed in an automobile accident on Saturday morning near West

Chester,

Quoted message said:

PA. Fittingly, he was on his way to a ride.
Sorry to have to report this,

-Ray Sachs

Very sorry to hear this. Goodbye, Bruce, we will miss you.

Doug

Ray said:

I was lucky enough to know Bruce for about 7-8 years. I'm not a racer
and will never be anywhere near as strong a rider as he was, but I'd
see him on rides every now and then and he'd slow down long enough to
say hello and shoot the breeze for a little while. I'm a transportation
planner in his home county and we worked together on advocacy efforts
and met at least every couple of months with a regular advocacy group.
He was always quiet, modest, kind, and very very knowledgeable and
helpful. He was a rare guy, and now gone far too soon.

I'm planning on going to the memorial service on Saturday - I'll pass
all of these kind notes onto his family.

Yes, that's nice. Please give my condolences to his family and friends.

"gwhite" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Ray said:

I was lucky enough to know Bruce for about 7-8 years. I'm not a racer
and will never be anywhere near as strong a rider as he was, but I'd
see him on rides every now and then and he'd slow down long enough to
say hello and shoot the breeze for a little while. I'm a transportation
planner in his home county and we worked together on advocacy efforts
and met at least every couple of months with a regular advocacy group.
He was always quiet, modest, kind, and very very knowledgeable and
helpful. He was a rare guy, and now gone far too soon.

I'm planning on going to the memorial service on Saturday - I'll pass
all of these kind notes onto his family.

Yes, that's nice. Please give my condolences to his family and friends.

That goes for all of us.

Joselas said:

"Ray" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I don't know how many folks on this group know Bruce Frech. I know

he

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

posted here from time to time. In any case, very sad news. Bruce

was

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

killed in an automobile accident on Saturday morning near West

Chester,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

PA. Fittingly, he was on his way to a ride.
Sorry to have to report this,

-Ray Sachs

I live in California and posted a message in rec.rides looking for

places to

Quoted message said:

rent and ride in the West Chester PA area while I was on vacation.

It was

Quoted message said:

the height of summer, my form was good and I really didn't want a

couple of

Quoted message said:

weeks setback which happens to me with a full week off the bike.

Plus I

Quoted message said:

can't go a week without riding because... it's a week without riding.

All

Quoted message said:

the shops I was referred to only had hybrids or mtbs. Bruce posted a

reply

Quoted message said:

and offered to loan me a bike and take me on a ride. I brought my

pedals,

Quoted message said:

he set me up on a Kestrel with 9sp DuraAce that fit me perfectly. He

took

Quoted message said:

me on a great ride with a Friend of his named Charlie. We hammered

for 55

Quoted message said:

miles through beautiful quiet backroads. I couldn't believe how

generous

Quoted message said:

he was to a stranger except that upon meeting him, going to his house

and

Quoted message said:

riding with him, I found that cycling was so deep a part of his heart

and

Quoted message said:

life that a fellow cyclist was not a stranger to him. Thank you

Bruce.

I think we can all only hope that someone say this kind of thing about
us.
Thanks
Bill C

Bill C said:

I think we can all only hope that someone say this kind of thing about
us.

But not TOO soon... ;-)

Seriously, I think Bruce would be blushing over all the
(well-deserved) praise he's getting. But that doesn't change the fact
he deserves it - I drank a toast to him last night and hope his family
is coping with their loss.

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

"Mark Hickey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Bill C said:

I think we can all only hope that someone say this kind of thing about
us.

But not TOO soon... ;-)

Seriously, I think Bruce would be blushing over all the
(well-deserved) praise he's getting. But that doesn't change the fact
he deserves it - I drank a toast to him last night and hope his family
is coping with their loss.

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

BTW, I dropped into the local Pro shop last Thursday and Robby now is
selling Habaneros and says that they're hands down the best deal he's ever
sold. And he likes the way they ride. He spend a half hour trying to sell me
one.

Sorry to rehash a sad moment, and such an old thread, but a few of you may enjoy this........

I knew Bruce Frech. I knew his brother Jac better. As a 14 year old kid in 1977, I started working for Jac Frech at TailWind Bicycle shop, in the hot, stank second floor of an old building, in Creamery, PA. Jac hired me to help fix bikes, and I fit in almost immediately with the crew that hung out, and worked in the shop. I worked wednesdays, thursdays and fridays all summer long, doing repairs and learning about bicycling as a life style, not just a hobby, or a way to get from point A to point B. I learned about the Velodrome, Yogurt, Jazz Music, and thanks to people like Bruce, I learned about life, as he always had time to sit and talk to a 14 year old kid, and give him advice with girls, parents or how best to fix a flat on the side of the road. I remember him as a laid back, easy going, caring and generally, always happy person, who always had something nice to say to me, and made me feel good about myself. He was a pleasure to be around.

I helped Jac and the crew move to Schwenksville when it was time for Jac to move to a bigger and better facility, and since then, would stop in every so often, albeit less and less, to say hello and recall a happier time in my life, as it was a simpler time. I stopped there this last monday, and found out Jac sold the business 6 years ago. I looked him up, left a message and spoke to Jac today. I asked about Bruce and learned of his untimely passing. I was saddened by the news.

I know the mods or Admin may delete this, but I felt compelled to at least make an effort to tell a little something about Bruce, as it seems, some of the nicest people I've met in my life, enjoyed the slow pace of riding a bicycle, and always had the time to talk to a 14 year old kid, no matter how busy they were, or how trivial his question may have been. I'm 50 now, and I try to pass that same treatment onto people these days, because of how valuable and validated people like Bruce made an awkward 14 year old kid feel, back in a little bicycle shop in Creamery, PA, 36 years ago.

Thank you Bruce.

Dave Krause
Slatington, PA

.......