Trek Founder Richard Burke Dies at 73

The founder of Trek Bicycle Corporation Richard Burke died last night following complications from heart surgery. He was 73.

Burke founded the company in 1976. It's headquartered in Waterloo, Wisconsin, about 30 miles east of Madison. Though he claimed to be not much of a cyclist himself, he built the company into the world's largest bicycle company in the United States.

Burke's son John is the current president of Trek and a vocal bicycle advocate. John was on Capitol Hill promoting the bicycle as an agent for social change and meeting with President George W. Bush last week at the National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C.

For more insight on the late Burke, read this 2006 article from Inc.com.