You're going to be missed Jeff

“Each substance of a grief hath twenty shadows” Richard II. ACT II SCENE II  - William Shakespeare. 

A drunk driver killed Jeff Archer on July 20th, 2016.

Jeff Archer was the owner of a well-known bicycle shop / bicycle museum in Statesville North Carolina called First Flight Bikes and The Museum of Mountain Bike Art & Technology respectively.

I first came in contact with Jeff in 2003 when I placed an antique Ibis Avion SS for sale on Craigslist. Imagine my surprise when I got a response from the other side of the country. After some back and forth emails and a handful of phone calls I was able to work out a deal that Jeff would send me a Yakima roof rack and I would ship him my old bike.

Throughout the years Jeff would serve as my depository for my vintage mountain bike parts, whether he wanted them or not.

As I transitioned from shop rat to freelance writer I would contact Jeff and ask him questions about mountain bike history and the vast majority of the time he was able to answer my questions quickly and in depth.

Earlier this year I was able to wrap up a research project for Jeff concerning the development of the 29”er mountain bike. Jeff was able to fill in many gaps and also did an enormous amount of follow through work by contacting many of the people that were involved with the early 29”ers.

Despite having a long distance relationship with Jeff I didn’t get a chance to meet Jeff until this year. I met Jeff at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Sacramento. We met briefly and both said it was good to finally meet each other face-to-face rather than only through phone calls or emails.

Jeff said he needed to get back to judging the show and since I was on assignment for a bicycle magazine I needed to get back to work too. We shook hands, said our goodbyes and that was pretty much it.

Jeff’s death was as about as senseless as it comes. Most reports suggested that he was walking across the street and was hit by a drunk driver behind the wheel of a truck. Apparently, Jeff’s injuries were so severe that he died on the scene and the driver, Claydon Laurel Turner, was arrested soon afterward.

Unfortunately, North Carolina has pretty lax DWI penalties is it is possible that Turner will serve a light sentence and will probably be back on the road in a couple of years.

I contacted a manager First Flight Bikes and asked him if there was anything that members of the bike community could do for the Archer family. He said it was too early to tell but he would let people know as things developed.

One of the ways I think we can all honor Jeff Archer is to not to drink and drive.

Surrender your keys to a designated driver, take a cab, phone a friend or family member to pick you up. Do anything just don't drive drunk.

Many communities offer free rides for people that had been drinking with a push of a button. 

Other things we can do are to fight for stricter DWI laws and for low-cost drug and alcohol treatment programs.

Jeff Archer touched a broad cross section of cyclists. Not only did Jeff touch the lives of local riders in Statesville NC he affected mountain bike enthusiasts all around the world.

Between running a bike shop and a museum Jeff found the time to write a regular column for Dirt Rag and was instrumental in resurrecting Mountain Goat Cycles.

Jeff  was also deeply involved with the local business community in Statesville, raised a family, and helped out with mountain bike access and answered my stupid emails and phone calls.

You're going to be missed, Jeff.