OKEMOS — No one knows how many people Denny Vandecar met during his six or so decades in the bicycle business in the Lansing area. But it’s a safe bet that many were touched by his kindness and zeal for life, friends said.
“He was an all-around great guy,” said John Deemer, a friend of Vandecar’s since the mid-1970s, when Deemer went to work for Vandecar after graduating from high school. “He was just a hell of a guy, and, really, so talented – not just in racing but in business.”
Steve Leiby’s association with Vandecar also goes back to the 1970s, when Leiby bought his “first good bike” from the affable shop owner.
“He was easy to get along with and he knew his product,” said Leiby, who now chairs the Tri-County Bicycle Association’s DALMAC Fund committee, the organization’s charitable arm. “It helped that he actually rode bikes. It puts you in a good position to know what your customer needs. He was a straight shooter.”
Deemer and Leiby said the community is going to miss Vandecar, who died Friday from a ruptured brain aneurysm, He was 82.
A “Celebration of Life” party is set for 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Aug. 7 at Cleats Bar and Grille at the Hope Sports Complex on Aurelius Road in Lansing. The family said donations can be made in lieu of flowers to Faith Hospice in Grand Rapids.
Dating to the 1960s, Vandecar owned several bicycle stores, part of a succession of bicycle or motorcycle accessory stores run by three generations of his family in the Lansing area. Denny Vandecar’s son, David, now manages the remaining store, Denny’s Central Park Bicycles in Okemos.
Dave Vandecar described his father as “one of the most generous people I’ve ever known.”
“He’s always taught us to treat people coming into the store like a friend who is coming into your living room for an afternoon. Treat them like friends. Share the love of cycling with other people. You can kind of help change people’s lives by sharing the passion of cycling.”
When he shared the news of his father’s passing with employees on Saturday, David Vandecar said he told them he was adopting a new motto: “With every encounter I have, I’ll always think WWDD – What would Denny Do? That’s how we intend to keep the spirit and legacy of Denny alive.”
Denny Vandecar was an accomplished enduro and mountain bike racer, and dirt bike racing was his greatest passion, friends and family said. He was a state and national champion on dirt bikes and raced all over the world, bringing back multiple gold medals.
“He was always ahead of his time,” said Deemer, who met Vandecar in 1974 while racing motorcycles in Florida. Vandecar introduced himself and invited Deemer to come and work for him. Deemer worked for Vandecar for about a decade before leaving, then went back to work for him again about a year ago.
“We talked from time to time, and then last year, I gave him a call and he said, ‘Yeah, come back in,'” Deemer said. “He sponsored a BMX team. He helped people out in bicycle racing. He knew how to do it. He was a wonderful man.”
For years, Vandecar provided the rolling bike repair shop for the Dick Allen Lansing to Mackinaw Bicycle Tour (DALMAC), said Leiby, who bought one of his two current bikes from Vandecar’s shop.
“Denny stood behind his products better than the manufacturers did, and that created a lot of customer loyalty,” he said. “He touched a lot of people. He was in business for a long time. For most of that time, he was actively in the stores. He wasn’t an absentee landlord.”
Tim Potter, who manages the MSU Bike Service Center, worked for Vandecar during the early to mid-80s. He said Vandecar taught him foundational skills for being a professional mechanic.
“I was in my 20s, and I was very impressed that the owner of the shop was out racing motorcycles,” Potter said. “He did care a lot about the biking community and was involved in bike advocacy; you get that from all the posts in the Facebook notice of his passing.”
Vandecar lived in Holland for the last few years of his life but still came to Okemos a couple of days a week to work in the shop. He also participated in weekly mountain bike group rides, David Vandecar said.
“He was still riding thousands of miles a year, a lot of those rides with my mom,” he said.
Denny Vandecar rode in the DALMAC more than 30 times, the most notable being on his 75th birthday, when he rode 75 miles on the first day of the five-day event, his son said. In 2021, the father and son rode in the 30-mile Bell’s Iceman Cometh Challenge, a cold-weather mountain bike event in northern Michigan, David Vandecar said.
“That was super cool to do that with my dad,” he said.
Denny Vandecar is survived by his wife, Diane; brother, Doug; sons, David and Jon; and five grandchildren.
Contact Ken Palmer atkpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.