CORNWALL, Vt. (BRAIN) — Tim Blumenthal, a journalist and cycling nonprofit leader, master storyteller and “nicest man in the world,” died March 30 at 70 after a two-year battle with cancer.
“Tim loved adventure — he famously never took the same route twice — always wanted to learn by going home a different way,” Lise Blumental, his wife of 46 years, told BRAIN. She said he loved to travel and led staff trips to Europe as well as family ski trips. He loved all sports and comic movies. “He was a great downhill skier, racket sports player, runner and rider ... a lover of and student of wine ... a brilliant storyteller, and he had amazing stories to tell. And he poured his heart into being a good husband, dad and grandpa,” she said.
Tim was born in New York City and grew up in Rye, New York. He graduated from Colgate University in 1977. His first job was as sports editor of the Southern Vermont Valley News in West Dover, Vermont, before VeloNews editor Ed Pavelka lured him to join that magazine, then based in Brattleboro, Vermont. He was at VeloNews from 1980 to 1984, later joining Bicycling and then moving into broadcasting as a writer, consultant and commentator for NBC Sports and ESPN, where, among other things, he helped cover cycling events at seven Olympic Games.
He entered the advocacy world in 1993 when he became executive director of the International Mountain Bicycling Association in Boulder, Colorado. IMBA grew from a budget of about $100,000 to several million dollars a year during Blumenthal's time there. He led IMBA until 2004 when he joined the new industry group BikesBelong (renamed PeopleForBikes in 2013) as president and CEO. He stayed with PeopleForBikes until retiring to Vermont in 2020.
PeopleForBikes grew rapidly under Blumenthal's leadership, which included a successful campaign to sign up one million cycling supporters. Many conversations and speeches included his firm belief that “When people ride bikes, great things happen.” Under his leadership the organization merged with the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association in 2019 to become the industry's main trade group as well as an advocacy organization.
Through it all, he continued a life of adventure and built connections with family, colleagues and friends.
Specialized Chairman Mike Sinyard told BRAIN in a text this week, "Tim was the best of the best. What a great human being, (he) arguably did more for the activity of cycling than anyone. All the great works that he’s done and the way that he did it. The history is amazing. Such a great leader, selfless, always thinking about the greater good with a wonderful smile."
Felix Magowan, the former publisher of VeloNews, met Tim in 1983; they were later neighbors and friends in Boulder. "He went on adventures all over the world and never lost that childlike quality about doing something new, in addition to being one of the most professional people in the bike industry," Magowan told BRAIN. "His legacy is that he built the world's largest cycling advocacy organization, along with his legacy of treating people well along the way."
“One of his great (and many-times realized) ambitions was to swim in both the Atlantic and the Pacific ocean on the same day, though he'd be just as happy in a local lake or pond,” said an obituary the family shared on Legacy.com. “Tim loved quoting his favorite movies and never found a map he didn't study meticulously. He was commonly referred to as the ‘Nicest man in the world.’”
Besides Lise, Tim is survived by his two children, Ryan Blumenthal of San Francisco, and Jana Lustig of Los Angeles; son-in-law Daniel Lustig, and three grandchildren; brothers Tom Blumenthal and wife Amy Andrews of Riverside, Connecticut, and Andy Blumenthal of Frisco, Colorado; and his aunt, Jane Gilman of Los Angeles. He was predeceased by his mother, Mary Newkirk Blumenthal, and father John Irving Blumenthal, both of Rye, New York.
Tim was diagnosed with stage 4 thymic carcinoma in early 2024.
Instead of gifts, the family asked that donations be made to PeopleForBikes, or call an old friend and share your favorite Tim story. A celebration of life will be planned for later this year.
