# Ken Kifer

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{{Short description|American sport cyclist (1945–2003)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{primary sources|date=August 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = <!-- include middle initial, if not specified in birth_name -->
| image       = Ken Kifer.jpg
| alt         = 
| caption     = Kifer on a tour in 2003
| birth_name  = 
| birth_date  = October 23, 1945
| birth_place = [Pittsburgh](/source/Pittsburgh), [Pennsylvania](/source/Pennsylvania)
| death_date  = {{Death-date and age|September 14, 2003|October 23, 1945}}
| death_place = [Alabama](/source/Alabama)
| other_names = 
| occupation  = English instructor
| known_for   = Cycling, Walden
}}

'''Ken Kifer''' (October 23, 1945 – September 14, 2003) was an American writer, [bicyclist](/source/bicyclist) and [webmaster](/source/webmaster). Kifer was a [Walden](/source/Walden) scholar<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www-personal.umich.edu/~riin/ken.htm |title=This website is dedicated to the memory of Ken Kifer |publisher=Personal.umich.edu |accessdate=2014-05-03 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131122174629/http://www-personal.umich.edu/~riin/ken.htm |archivedate=2013-11-22 }}</ref> and admirer of [Henry David Thoreau](/source/Henry_David_Thoreau), and wrote ''Analysis and Notes on Walden''. His website is still a source of information on [bicycling](/source/bicycling) and especially [bicycle touring](/source/bicycle_touring).<ref>{{cite web|author=portrait gallery, open road galleryadventure cycling, bicycle touring, bicycle travel, bicycling, cycling, bike touring info, bike touring, bike resources, adventure travel by bike, bike maps, how to bike tour, how to travel by bike, cycling tour |url=https://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/portrait-gallery/natural-traveler/ |title=Open Road Gallery Online &#124; Resources &#124; Adventure Cycling Association |publisher=Adventurecycling.org |date=2010-05-02 |accessdate=2014-05-03}}</ref>

Kifer was killed by a [drunk driver](/source/drunk_driver) in September 2003 while riding his bicycle {{convert|6|mi|km}} from his home near [Scottsboro, Alabama](/source/Scottsboro%2C_Alabama), USA.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-37758.html |title=Ken Kifer killed by drunk |publisher=Bikeforums.net |date= |accessdate=2014-05-03}}</ref>

==Biography==
Kifer was born in [Pittsburgh](/source/Pittsburgh) to Paul and Dorothy Kifer and moved to [Gadsden, Alabama](/source/Gadsden%2C_Alabama) in 1954.  He attended [Jacksonville State University](/source/Jacksonville_State_University) and was a fan of [caving](/source/caving).<ref>{{ cite web |author=Ken Kifer |url=http://archives.catnet.dk/www.kenkifer.com/writing/anycave.htm |title=How to Get into Any Cave |date=2000 |accessdate=2018-08-18 }}</ref>
A keen cyclist, Kifer went on many long and short tours, many of which he chronicled on his website,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bikeidaho.org/sites/default/files/www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/touring/index.htm|title=Bicycle Camping and Touring -- Cycling Travel Advice and Long-Distance Touring Travelogues}}</ref> and several that he did not, including one to the west coast of the United States that took him through Montana.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/portrait-gallery/natural-traveler/ |title = Natural Traveler {{!}} Adventure Cycling Association|date = 27 August 2012}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* Archives of Ken Kifer's web site: [http://www.phred.org/~alex/kenkifer/www.kenkifer.com/], [http://archives.catnet.dk/www.kenkifer.com/], [https://web.archive.org/web/20120717064053/http://www.kenkifer.com/ on Wayback Machine], [https://www.bikeidaho.org/sites/default/files/www.kenkifer.com/ at Bike Idaho].
* [http://www.majortaylorassociation.org/kifer.htm A Forgotten Hero], an article about cyclist [Major Taylor](/source/Major_Taylor) by Kifer.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130611082953/http://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/portrait-gallery/natural-traveler/ Article on Kifer] from [http://www.adventurecycling.org Adventure Cycling].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20031013190311/http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bicyclingadvocacy/ Bicycling Advocacy discussion group started by Kifer].
* [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1118353/ Why promote cycling?], Ken Kifer, Letters, [The BMJ](/source/The_BMJ), 2000 Aug 5; 321(7257): 386.

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kifer, Ken}}
Category:1945 births
Category:2003 deaths
Category:American male cyclists
Category:Male touring cyclists
Category:Touring cyclists
Category:Road incident deaths in Alabama
Category:Cycling road incident deaths
Category:Writers from Pittsburgh
Category:University of Alabama alumni
Category:Cycling writers
Category:Cyclists from Pennsylvania
Category:20th-century American sportsmen

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ken Kifer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Kifer) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Kifer?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.