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Cycling/Triathlon

Cycling world suffers loss of a true legend

By JESSICA FISH
Published January 20, 2006

St. Petersburg Bicycle Club members say they now are realizing that John Sinibaldi Sr. will not pedal up to the start of the Wednesday and Friday morning rides at North Shore Pool.

The patriarch of U.S. Olympic cycling passed away Tuesday (Jan. 10, 2006) at the age of 92.

Sinibaldi had the strongest mind and body of any cyclist they knew. But, impossible as it seems, the SPBC members, along with 300 friends, family, and fellow cyclists, joined in putting him to rest, alongside his beloved wife, Betty, on a foggy, full-moon evening in St. Petersburg on Friday.

Many noted the weekend's extreme weather, and it seemed almost eerie because Sinibaldi always lived by the weather. He rarely missed a day of cycling during his career, which spanned 75 seasons. If the pavement looked dry, Sinibaldi would get on his bike for the 8:30 ride.

When cyclists questioned the weather, they would call Sinibaldi's house.

"Wait just a minute, and I'll tell you if it's going to rain," Sinibaldi would say.

The kitchen screen door would be heard slamming shut, he'd be gone for a minute, then back on the phone. His prediction was always correct.

The joke around the SPBC breakfast table was that Sinibaldi went out to check his green beans. Gardening was his true love, and he would tend to rows of vegetables.

Ever since the Sinibaldis retired to St. Petersburg in the 1970s, neighbors knew they could hire Sinibaldi to catch pesky possums in his homemade cages, and Sinibaldi boasted about only using organic materials.

Never one to drink a fancy sports drink, even at national championships, Sinibaldi said he drank a liter of juice from his trees every day.

Some club members recalled that years ago, Sinibaldi was thrilled when his so-called "connections with the city" helped him obtain a large quantity of horse manure from local stables, for free.

This would be great for his garden. While Sinibaldi was on the morning ride, the workers deposited the mountainous pile in the middle of his driveway while Betty just happened to be passing by the living room window.

"The neighbor across the street gets a new Cadillac," Betty laughed, joking in her native New Jersey accent. "And this is what I get?"

It was known that any cyclist in need of a repair or advice could walk around to the back of the house for a quick hug or a rear derailleur adjustment.

Cyclist Lisa Pesta was brave enough to sing for Sinibaldi, in front of hundreds of cyclists at Sinibaldi's 80th birthday party, in a packed church across from North Shore Pool.

Mostly known for daring mountain bike racing moves and her carrying of the 1996 Olympic torch, Pesta surprised her SPBC friends. They were not aware she is an accomplished music teacher who plays clarinet and piano and sings with a beautiful voice.

SPBC members knew Sinibaldi was a music fan (he listened to opera and classical music every night before his 9 p.m. bedtime), and the plan was for Pesta to get up on the stage, facing the head table, where Sinibaldi and his family were seated. In a clear voice, Pesta sang Wind Beneath My Wings.

There was not a dry eye in the hall until Pesta reached behind the stage curtain, for her latest art project: a golden hand molded of papier-mache.

"And for your hand pushing me," Pesta sang loudly, after the last verse, laughing and with tears streaming down her cheeks, as she gave Sinibaldi the "Golden Hand Award." The crowd erupted into laughter, realizing Pesta's prank on Sinibaldi.

Sinibaldi's favorite move over the years was to ride past the back of the paceline, placing his hand on the small of a rider's back, propelling them gently forward during a finishing sprint.

Needing the assistance, slower riders always appreciated this gesture, perfected during Sinibaldi's days (1932, 1936 U.S. Olympic Cycling Team) of team racing at Madison Square Garden.

SPBC member Denise Woomer of St. Petersburg is a nurse whose children, Trevor and Michelle, reached national prominence after being mentored by Sinibaldi, and Team MAJIC cycling coach Mike McCollum. Woomer was with Sinibaldi in his final days.

"John squeezed my hand, and there's no question that he knew who I was, and that I was there for him," Woomer said. "He knew he was dying and he accepted it."

Among those coming to pay their respects last week were cyclists who had known Sinibaldi for decades - British cyclists and former U.S. Cycling Federation Florida District representative Ted Bowles and his wife, Jean, also a former national champion cyclist, now living in Tennessee; and Masters World Cup winner Joe Hayes and his wife, Angelle, now living in Port Richey.

Also in attendance were Palm Harbor cyclists Dianne Franz, Bud Bradley and Anthony Monaco of Suncoast Cycling Club. These riders organize the Diabetes Challenge Ride each fall and they honored Sinibaldi, as a former Olympian and U.S. Bicycling Hall Of Fame inductee (1997), at the last several events.

The American Diabetes Association was Sinibaldi's favorite charity, as it was complications from this disease that took the life of his wife.

Sinibaldi's pallbearers were Roger Burke of Seminole and Jean Goergen, Bill "Boston Bill" Hansbury, Rue Morgan, Tom Stevenson and Tino Weidinger, all of St. Petersburg. This group, along with cyclist the Rev. Bill Lindberg, helped sons John Jr. and Robert pay tribute to Sinibaldi.

"After 18 years of having had the good fortune of knowing this very humble and softspoken man, I have come to these final thoughts on John," Stevenson said.

"John was our ambassador to cycling, our institution on two wheels, a national treasure, and our friend. He was our window to the world, when our sport was in its infancy. May we carry it on with the same dignity he has since so maintained."

SPBC member Mel Lucas was the rider whom Sinibaldi saved from a vicious dog attack several years ago when Sinibaldi came riding up behind her. Sinibaldi jumped off his bike and tried to fend off the biting dog, using his bicycle to shield Lucas while waiting for police.

Lucas carried a basket at Sinibaldi's graveside and handed each mourner a sprig of Sinibaldi's rosemary, which was as thick as the tree bark, vibrant, and tough, just like the gardener who had planted it.

Sinibaldi wore his favorite national championship jersey, a gold medal and his old cycling shoes, when he was buried.

At the cemetery the pallbearers all wore their cycling jerseys from the various local clubs. After Lindberg's final remarks, the sprigs of rosemary were tossed into the grave, and the clinking sound of metal was heard, echoing in the wind.

Sons John Jr. and Robert handed each mourner one of their father's cycling medals out of a huge basket. The basket contained a tangle of ribbons and medals from every championship Sinibaldi had ever won. A sticker on each ribbon read "John Sinibaldi, Olympian 1932 and 1936, National Champion 18 Times, Hall Of Fame 1997, A Legend Forever."

"I know John is in heaven right now" Tampa cyclist Ellen Kast said. "John is young, and he's going on bike rides. Betty is waiting for him to finish and come home. He was the best. He is smiling that smile."

[Last modified January 19, 2006, 08:43:07]