My "retro" website

[Repack Rider]

I have been uploading a lot of pics here because it means I don't have to pay for the bandwidth. I have spent the last few years working on a personal website that covers my mountain bike activities from the '70s to around 1990 when I stopped making my living from the bike industry. If you are into "retro" mountain biking, you can't go any firther upstream than what is on my site.

Gary Fisher and I were roommates from 1971 to about 1976, and in 1979 we partnered up with Tom Ritchey to start a business which we called "Mountain Bikes." That was our brand name for our single product and the name of our company, since then co-opted to describe all modern off-road bikes.

Here is the link to my site. Because I have so much material I have spread it out over a lot of other pages, so you should follow the links on this page to see the rest of it.

[sgltrak]

Cool site.

Thanks for your contributions to the sport.

[ScottyMTB]

I love your website Charlie. I actually found it a while back by googling. I dig all the old repack posters and stuff. The ride pics are cool too? Thanks for starting all this.
Scotty

[laffeaux]

CK, great web site. I have spent many hours reading on your site. I'm glad that you've documented so much of the history, and written down your recollection of events. For those of us that love learning the history of the sport, sites like yours and books like the one by Frank Berto, are great insights into events where we wish we had been present.

Keep up the great work!

[DWF]

Originally Posted by Repack Rider

I have been uploading a lot of pics here because it means I don't have to pay for the bandwidth. I have spent the last few years working on a personal website that covers my mountain bike activities from the '70s to around 1990 when I stopped making my living from the bike industry. If you are into "retro" mountain biking, you can't go any firther upstream than what is on my site.

Gary Fisher and I were roommates from 1971 to about 1976, and in 1979 we partnered up with Tom Ritchey to start a business which we called "Mountain Bikes." That was our brand name for our single product and the name of our company, since then co-opted to describe all modern off-road bikes.

Here is the link to my site. Because I have so much material I have spread it out over a lot of other pages, so you should follow the links on this page to see the rest of it.

Here are a couple of samples. The "Mountain Bikes" ad is our first ever, and ran in a BMX magazine in February, 1980.

Very, very cool. Nice job and thanks for all you've done!

[rutteger]

Great site Charlie. The stuff you've got up there is as 'Vintage, Retro, Classic' as it gets.

Keep those retro scans coming !

[floibex]

thank you ck,

Originally Posted by laffeaux

CK, great web site. I have spent many hours reading on your site. I'm glad that you've documented so much of the history, and written down your recollection of events. For those of us that love learning the history of the sport, sites like yours and books like the one by Frank Berto, are great insights into events where we wish we had been present.

Keep up the great work!

my words, but better english thx eric






not mine, but in my reach.

ciao
flo

[kb11]

CK, your site has been on my favorites list for a long time. It was great to see you with the old gang at the Davis bicycle conference. You guys had lots of cool stories and insight on the birth of this sport, I hope they do it again next year

[Repack Rider]

I bungled the upload that was supposed to accompany the first post in this thread. I'll try again. These are photos from my archives.

The first is our first printed ad, which ran in a BMX magazine in February 1980.

Who's the kid? Gary Fisher, racing cyclocross in 1967.

The three gentlemen posed with their bikes are Monte Ward, Jim Sullivan and Tim Rysdale, the "Ritchey Wrecking Crew" taking the first three places in the 1981Coyote Derby. In 1981 The Ritchey Mountain Bike was by far the most advanced off-roader on the market and it was unlikely you could beat the owner of one on anything else. The mass-produced Stumpjumper was six months away from its first appearance on the market. For the first five years of mountain biking every bike that came onto the market was as nearly an exact copy of this one that anyone else could build. Even though competitive mountain biking has moved past it, this simple design is now the workhorse bike of the world.

And last, Cindy, the most awesome mountain bike babe who ever turned a pedal.

[Fillet-brazed]

Originally Posted by Repack Rider

I bungled the upload that was supposed to accompany the first post in this thread. I'll try again. These are photos from my archives.

The first is our first printed ad, which ran in a BMX magazine in February 1980.

Who's the kid? Gary Fisher, racing cyclocross in 1967.

The three gentlemen posed with their bikes are Monte Ward, Jim Sullivan and Tim Rysdale, the "Ritchey Wrecking Crew" taking the first three places in the 1981Coyote Derby. In 1981 The Ritchey Mountain Bike was by far the most advanced off-roader on the market and it was unlikely you could beat the owner of one on anything else. The mass-produced Stumpjumper was six months away from its first appearance on the market. For the first five years of mountain biking every bike that came onto the market was as nearly an exact copy of this one that anyone else could build. Even though competitive mountain biking has moved past it, this simple design is now the workhorse bike of the world.

And last, Cindy, the most awesome mountain bike babe who ever turned a pedal.

Wow. Amazing stuff CK. Thanks for sharin.

[Repack Rider]

Your bike looks to me like 1982 or early 1983. The fork is Tange and the gruppo is an actual gruppo. The Mitsuboshi "Cruiser Mit" tires were the first light tires on the market, but by the time this bike came out there were good dirt tires available, starting with the original StumpJumper tire.

[banks]

I must say that web site takes me back, love it.
On another note, your sister-I think, Casey, was in the shop, Absolute Bikes in Salida Colorado, a few months ago. She moved to Alma/Fairplay about 1+ hours away. We got talking about the early days and she was surprised that Joe Murray is still looking like he did back in 1984.

Scoty

[laffeaux]

Classic!

I never would have recognized Fisher. He's so young!

I know Sully through his advocacy work. I'd never have recognized him either. I guess the old-timers were all young once.

Great pics!!!!

[abmtnbkr]

Fricken Awsome....Charlie, I just want to shake your hand and say "Thank You". If we ever meet, the beers are on me.

[Repack Rider]

Originally Posted by abmtnbkr

If we ever meet, the beers are on me.

So, uh, where do you live?

Since I'm posting, here's a pic. The guy on the left is Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead. The guy in the middle is me. The other three people are Deadheads that we ran into on a ride and they had to get a picture because their friends were never going to believe them.

[logbiter]

Yes, excellent site! I spent a lot of time there a while back, when I stumbled across it. It's great to see all the history there.
Beers are on me if you're ever in cajun country (Lafayette, LA)!.
Serge

Originally Posted by Repack Rider

I have been uploading a lot of pics here because it means I don't have to pay for the bandwidth. I have spent the last few years working on a personal website that covers my mountain bike activities from the '70s to around 1990 when I stopped making my living from the bike industry. If you are into "retro" mountain biking, you can't go any firther upstream than what is on my site.

Gary Fisher and I were roommates from 1971 to about 1976, and in 1979 we partnered up with Tom Ritchey to start a business which we called "Mountain Bikes." That was our brand name for our single product and the name of our company, since then co-opted to describe all modern off-road bikes.

Here is the link to my site. Because I have so much material I have spread it out over a lot of other pages, so you should follow the links on this page to see the rest of it.

[flyingsuperpetis]

Originally Posted by Repack Rider

I have been uploading a lot of pics here because it means I don't have to pay for the bandwidth. I have spent the last few years working on a personal website that covers my mountain bike activities from the '70s to around 1990 when I stopped making my living from the bike industry. If you are into "retro" mountain biking, you can't go any firther upstream than what is on my site.

Gary Fisher and I were roommates from 1971 to about 1976, and in 1979 we partnered up with Tom Ritchey to start a business which we called "Mountain Bikes." That was our brand name for our single product and the name of our company, since then co-opted to describe all modern off-road bikes.

Here is the link to my site. Because I have so much material I have spread it out over a lot of other pages, so you should follow the links on this page to see the rest of it.

Hi CK. Yep, you've long had the best site on the net for vintage mtb content. Now I'll have to find another secret source to glean all my info from so I sound like I know what I'm talking about... Keep up the good work. I think it's safe to say you've found your audience. I love seeing all those photos you took. Glad someone had a sense of preservation!
Pete

[ssmike]

I too have had your site maked for quite some time. Very cool stuff - thanks! That photo of Jim Sullivan sure also looks an awful lot like Bob Hadley. But my mind may be playing tricks on me. I remember Sully (maybe there are two Jim Sullivans) having sandy colored hair.

[Repack Rider]

Originally Posted by ssmike

I too have had your site maked for quite some time. Very cool stuff - thanks! That photo of Jim Sullivan sure also looks an awful lot like Bob Hadley. But my mind may be playing tricks on me. I remember Sully (maybe there are two Jim Sullivans) having sandy colored hair.

My big bad. The guy in the photo is Jim SAMUELSON. Sully's name just came to my fingertips when I wrote it. Glad you guys caught it.

I have a story about Sully the porcine valve guy. When he became National vet champ in 1990 I introduced myself, because I was getting paid by Bicycling to write about the event. He told me that we had met, when he was 16 years old and walking his bike past a stage at Stanford University where a rock band was playing. The roadie seemed to know a lot about bikes, and they talked for a while. Later on we both turned out to be the same people. Much later, like 20 years. He remembered the incident. I didn't.

I enlarged and cropped the Fat Tire Flyer Tomac pic that is the earliest known photo of him in a mountain bike race. I enlarged his bike so you guys could inspect it. I'll do a higher res scan next time I visit the archives (which are not kept in my house).

[Repack Rider]

Here are some photos I took in Crested Butte in the mid eighties. The bikes are hand made, each is one of a kind, built by a couple of guys from somewhere in Colorado. I don't know who they were or what happened to them, but I got the photos.

Notice that the chainstay has been moved to prevent chainsuck, like the "Alien" bike.

[shiggy]

Originally Posted by Repack Rider

...I enlarged and cropped the Fat Tire Flyer Tomac pic that is the earliest known photo of him in a mountain bike race. I enlarged his bike so you guys could inspect it. I'll do a higher res scan next time I visit the archives (which are not kept in my house).

Dang Seekay, He converted a BMX bike! Could that have been at the first/early Sea Otter?

[Fillet-brazed]

Originally Posted by shiggy

Dang Seekay, He converted a BMX bike! Could that have been at the first/early Sea Otter?

The first "Sea Otter" was in 1991, and at that time it wasnt even called that, it was the Laguna Seca Challenge where the top pros battled in a stage race that had road and mtn stages. Lance Armstrong won. I htink the next year or maybe 93 it got the name Sea Otter.

Heres what Tomac said about that shot:


"That's one of my first mountain bikes that I built up from a 24 bmxer and it's also one of the first X-C races I raced in. That would put it at..I believe the winter of 85-86 and
the race was the Tour of Tampa Land in the SanFernando Valley foothills of
So.Cal.. "

[Fillet-brazed]

Originally Posted by Repack Rider

My big bad. The guy in the photo is Jim SAMUELSON. Sully's name just came to my fingertips when I wrote it. Glad you guys caught it.

I have a story about Sully the porcine valve guy. When he became National vet champ in 1990 I introduced myself, because I was getting paid by Bicycling to write about the event. He told me that we had met, when he was 16 years old and walking his bike past a stage at Stanford University where a rock band was playing. The roadie seemed to know a lot about bikes, and they talked for a while. Later on we both turned out to be the same people. Much later, like 20 years. He remembered the incident. I didn't.

I enlarged and cropped the Fat Tire Flyer Tomac pic that is the earliest known photo of him in a mountain bike race. I enlarged his bike so you guys could inspect it. I'll do a higher res scan next time I visit the archives (which are not kept in my house).

Tell us about this picture CK, was he pretty much a complete nobody at this point or was his name already getting around in the mtb world? Do you remember how he did by chance? He said it was his first mtb race, quite a historic/neat shot.

[moonter]

Originally Posted by Fillet-brazed

He said it was his first mtb race, quite a historic/neat shot.

There's so many cool things about that picture.

In no particular order:
The bum bag! (Fanny pack)
The HUGE seatpost.
The cables taped to the frame.
The Mt.Zefal pump mount.
The Suntour(?) shifters.
The Rivat Cyclocross shoes.
No granny ring.
Sidepull brakes!

[BobHufford]

CK,

Great site! Love it and loved the bikes. I had an '84 recently, but it was too small and had to find a new home.





Thanks for all the great history!

Bob

[Guitar Ted]

First, thanks CK for your dedication to preserving the heritage of mountain biking for the rest of us followers.

That Tomac pic looks as though he may have squeezed a twenty six inch wheel/ tire in the front. Not much crown clearance there. Also, from the perspective of the shot, the front tire should appear slightly smaller than the rear, if they are the same diameter. That doesn't appear to be the case. 26X 24? What does anybody else think?

[Repack Rider]

Originally Posted by moonter

There's so many cool things about that picture.

In no particular order:
The bum bag! (Fanny pack)
The HUGE seatpost.
The cables taped to the frame.
The Mt.Zefal pump mount.
The Suntour(?) shifters.
The Rivat Cyclocross shoes.
No granny ring.
Sidepull brakes!

There is no QR on the rear wheel, and the dropout looks so wimpy that I wonder why he didn't tear it off.

Of course John Tomac was an unknown when the shot was snapped, just another kid riding his home-built racer. Only later, when he became, you know, John Tomac, did the significance of the shot become apparent.

[grawbass]

Originally Posted by Guitar Ted

First, thanks CK for your dedication to preserving the heritage of mountain biking for the rest of us followers.

That Tomac pic looks as though he may have squeezed a twenty six inch wheel/ tire in the front. Not much crown clearance there. Also, from the perspective of the shot, the front tire should appear slightly smaller than the rear, if they are the same diameter. That doesn't appear to be the case. 26X 24? What does anybody else think?

I was just thinking the same thing.

[ssmike]

Originally Posted by Repack Rider

My big bad. The guy in the photo is Jim SAMUELSON. Sully's name just came to my fingertips when I wrote it. Glad you guys caught it.

Jim Samuelson! Yes it is. I haven't heard that name in a loooong time. He used to be a regular in the shop I worked in the 80s/90s and was a helluva nice guy.

You got some sweet shots of Cindy. How about some shots of another early cutie - Carmen Carrouche? Didn't she and Roy Rivers take off on a 'round the world sail boat trip?

[shiggy]

Originally Posted by ssmike

Jim Samuelson! Yes it is. I haven't heard that name in a loooong time. He used to be a regular in the shop I worked in the 80s/90s and was a helluva nice guy.

You got some sweet shots of Cindy. How about some shots of another early cutie - Carmen Carrouche? Didn't she and Roy Rivers take off on a 'round the world sail boat trip?

I remember Carmen! She was a cutie. At the 1986 NORBA Points Series Race in Eugene she arrived with Rivers and Thomasberg in the WTB team GTO/LeMans convertible. They had fork mounts bolted to the body in front of the trunk. Got Paul talking about that car a couple of weeks ago.

[banks]

Whoops, not your sister, Michael Kelley's sister, now Casey Patterson NORBA Nationals '84, 1987 RAAM.

Scoty

[banks]

This is Mike Rust's Shorty, which he still rides. Back in the late '80's, he and Don McLung were making Shorties in Colroado Springs, then Salida, only 23 made. The chain stays were made from Tange ultralite frok blades, wicked short top tube, chainstays, wheel base. The later frames have a curved seat tube, which enclosed a frame pump.
Check out the custom intergrated Campy seat binder skewer & top pull front derailleur.

Scoty

[laffeaux]

Originally Posted by banks

The chain stays were made from Tange ultralite frok blades, wicked short top tube, chainstays, wheel base.

What's the reasoning behind the super short TT?

[Repack Rider]

Originally Posted by ssmike

You got some sweet shots of Cindy. How about some shots of another early cutie - Carmen Carrouche?

How about the two of them together? This was what I could find with a quick dive into the archives. I'll look around for more shots of Carmen.

[ssmike]

Originally Posted by Repack Rider

How about the two of them together? This was what I could find with a quick dive into the archives. I'll look around for more shots of Carmen.

Now that's HOT! Hot from the Factory Pilots down to the Rivats.

[shiggy]

Originally Posted by Repack Rider

How about the two of them together? This was what I could find with a quick dive into the archives. I'll look around for more shots of Carmen.

Thanks, Seekay!

And how about the square chainstays in Cindy's "Ross"? The same stays were on her "Schwinn", too.

[ssmike]

Originally Posted by shiggy

I remember Carmen! She was a cutie. At the 1986 NORBA Points Series Race in Eugene she arrived with Rivers and Thomasberg in the WTB team GTO/LeMans convertible. They had fork mounts bolted to the body in front of the trunk. Got Paul talking about that car a couple of weeks ago.

There's quite a few stories about road trips in that car - including the "off-road" excursion. That is the all-time best team vehicle. Because of that car, I've always wanted a '62 Cadillac convertible with a rack set up just like the WTB GTO. There's got to be an acre of trunk deck lid on a 62 Caddy!

[colker1]

Originally Posted by Repack Rider

How about the two of them together? This was what I could find with a quick dive into the archives. I'll look around for more shots of Carmen.

this thread is sooo cool.. sorry for the cliche but those 2 fast babes on mtn bikes are everything. the cindy pic in the thread's top is even more beautifull.. thanks mr. Kelly. job well done. up to your legend status standards.. thanks.

[mikesee]

Originally Posted by banks

This is Mike Rust's Shorty, which he still rides. Back in the late '80's, he and Don McLung were making shorties in Colroado Springs, then Salida, only 23 made.

I was in Don's shop about a month ago. He had at least 3 of those bikes hanging, I think 2 of them were complete, plus a coupla frames. Built up with wicked, wicked long stems--think 170-180mm long. Don preferred the short tt/long stem thing because that long rudder acted like a steering damper on the descents--instant return to center.

Cool thread.

MC

[Repack Rider]

I spent the afternoon rooting through the files and scanning random items.

Here is a paragraph from the May, 1983 Bicycle Dealer Showcase, a trade magazine. This issue would have been put together shortly after the New York trade show where Gary and I had shown our bikes for the first time on the East Coast. It was also the same trade show where the formation of the National Off-Road Bicycle Association was announced to the bicycle world.

[Rumpfy]

Originally Posted by Repack Rider

I spent the afternoon rooting through the files and scanning random items.

Here is a paragraph from the May, 1983 Bicycle Dealer Showcase, a trade magazine. This issue would have been put together shortly after the New York trade show where Gary and I had shown our bikes for the first time on the East Coast. It was also the same trade show where the formation of the National Off-Road Bicycle Association was announced to the bicycle world.

Perfect! That was a cool read!

It was quite an honor to meet you today CK!

[Fillet-brazed]

Originally Posted by Rumpfy

Perfect! That was a cool read!

It was quite an honor to meet you today CK!

Yep, great stuff today CK. Thanks again for everything!

And, wow, I sure hope we can get atleast a small fraction of all your photos posted.

[Repack Rider]

Originally Posted by ssmike

How about some shots of another early cutie - Carmen Carrouche?

MMmmmmm. Beer.

[ssmike]

Originally Posted by Repack Rider

MMmmmmm. Beer.

Mmmmm, beer - right on!

[Pottser]

Hey CK, this is great stuff to read. Those pictures and stories are sogood. BTW, we had a interview years back for a dutch magazine. I even found a picture of the article on your site. You might remember it. In fact, you might remember this interview being taped. This was easy to get it worked out into an article. I might still have it somewhere. Maybe I can find somebody to get it digitized and send it to you. We had a really nice talk and I still remember all the stories you told me.

Originally Posted by Repack Rider

So, uh, where do you live?

Since I'm posting, here's a pic. The guy on the left is Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead. The guy in the middle is me. The other three people are Deadheads that we ran into on a ride and they had to get a picture because their friends were never going to believe them.

that is/was Tinker's Adroit, isn't it?

thanks for the thread!

Carsten

[ScottyMTB]

Originally Posted by Repack Rider

My big bad. The guy in the photo is Jim SAMUELSON. Sully's name just came to my fingertips when I wrote it. Glad you guys caught it.

I have a story about Sully the porcine valve guy. When he became National vet champ in 1990 I introduced myself, because I was getting paid by Bicycling to write about the event. He told me that we had met, when he was 16 years old and walking his bike past a stage at Stanford University where a rock band was playing. The roadie seemed to know a lot about bikes, and they talked for a while. Later on we both turned out to be the same people. Much later, like 20 years. He remembered the incident. I didn't.

I enlarged and cropped the Fat Tire Flyer Tomac pic that is the earliest known photo of him in a mountain bike race. I enlarged his bike so you guys could inspect it. I'll do a higher res scan next time I visit the archives (which are not kept in my house).

Looks like a Mongoose 24" Pro Class. Those are definately pro class rims. I dig the Redline 401 cranks. I am going to go throw mine on my single speed.

Scotty

[Built4Speed]

Hey Charlie. I'd like to add your website link to my crappy website (after seeing yours,neat).Thanks for bringing mountain biking to us and to ME because right now I'd be a 300 pound monster eating cheesy poofs and finding my chihuahua between my butt cheeks. TMI...Sorry.I'm tired.
Again Charlie and the rest of mountain biking's pioneers.THANK YOU!

[Built4Speed]

And last, Cindy, the most awesome mountain bike babe who ever turned a pedal.[/quote]

[Fixintogo]

Outstanding historical website - long overdue. Here's to hoping this whole "mountain bike" idea takes off!

[Repack Rider]

Originally Posted by Fixintogo

Outstanding historical website - long overdue. Here's to hoping this whole "mountain bike" idea takes off!

I am indebted to Dean Bradley of Action Now magazine for this snapshot of the "mountain bike" industry circa early 1981. (I have split the page in two to keep the file sizes down.) With one exception, the bikes are reworked old-style "cruisers," upsized BMX bikes, or in one case a lightweight "motorcycle.".

The exception is the Ritchey Mountain Bike. Rather than starting with a BMX bike and making it bigger, or a beach cruiser and adding gears, we started with a road bike and made it tougher. Aside from ours, the closest to a real bike is the Lawwill ProCruiser, but anyone who ever rode one of these motorcycle style bikes and then rode a Ritchey Mountain Bike had no trouble deciding which one he wanted. For the next five years no bicycle company bothered to do any of their own R&D, because we had already done it, and everything that hit the dirt before 1987 was a copy of this bike. Only when the market flattened and became more competitive did any other bike company start doing their own innovation.

Sometimes it is hard for me to believe that a few guys with a passion for bikes changed so much, but here is the evidence. I have another snapshot of the industry from a 1981 trade magazine that is a little more comprehensive but basically shows the same thing. I'm putting together another page for my website to display this stuff.

[Guitar Ted]

I've got an aquaintence that owns one of those Kos cruisers. He got it when he was a kid out in California and he has kept it original, and maintained up to this day. He let me ride it, and while it's definitely a fun bike, it's certainly a handfull to climb with, and feels all wrong unless your going downhill. Thanks for bringing us the inovations that you did to the mtb world. You say that the geometry was inspired by roadbikes? Now that's ironic! Some mountain bikers from my early days would have their hackles raised by that comment!

[ssmike]

Originally Posted by Repack Rider

I am indebted to Dean Bradley

See Kay - if you want to get in touch with Dean to "pay back the debt," let me know via PM and I'll get you Dean's info.

Funny - I was looking at the photos without my glasses so I couldn't read the names, but needed to find my glasses to read what kind of bike that Ritchey was - so it's not only riding it but a visual thing too that sets the Ritchey apart

[Repack Rider]

Originally Posted by Guitar Ted

You say that the geometry was inspired by roadbikes? Now that's ironic! Some mountain bikers from my early days would have their hackles raised by that comment!

It wasn't so much the geometry, which was pretty slack at an original 68-degrees (compared to 72-74 on a road bike), and had the BB raised, but the style of construction. We were the first 26-inch bike makers to have a road frame builder doing the work rather than a BMX builder, so the construction method (lugless bronze-welded) and the straight diamond frame are standard road bike stuff. The head angle is different from a road bike, and the tubing is tougher straight-gauge ChroMo, and everything else is widened to make the bigger wheels possible. No other maker was using road-style curved tapered fork blades at that time, although within three years they all were.

[lazyracer]

Hey Charlie, This is "Wiley Coyote" (a.k.a.: Jim Harlow, former promoter of the COYOTE DERBY 1980-1983) ... how are you doing?

Where did you get the pics of the RITCHEY WRECKING CREW? I still have that 1980 COYOTE DERBY finish line picture, it is hanging on my wall in the garage! I still have some old ROSS BIKES posters and other stuff from that era, haven't really thought about it for a long time though.

A little Trivia: Monte Ward, the winner of the 1980 COYOTE DERBY (pictured above) now works for the Orange County Transportation Authority.

Our family just recently sold an old vacation cabin in the Big Bear (So Calif) area this summer, and when we cleaned it out I found a whole bunch of old mt bike race flyers and stuff in the wastebasket, it has been there for over 20 years! I also found some debris strewn from when John Parker (YETI BIKES) sent Russ Worley there to train for a couple weeks, I think that was around 1988-1989 ...

Nice to see somebody still keeps track of all the good times!!

Wiley Coyote (a.k.a. Jim Harlow)
Crestline, CA

[Repack Rider]

Originally Posted by banks

Whoops, not your sister, Michael Kelley's sister, now Casey Patterson NORBA Nationals '84, 1987 RAAM.

Of course. Today I was riding a singletrack near Fairfax, on my way up to Repack to check out the new grading job, and who should I run into on the trail but Michael. So I told him about how this guy on a website thought I had a sister named Casey, and we had a laugh.

BTW, Repack has been graded for the first time in about 30 years. It's not at all challenging as far as staying on your bike, but you can go really fast. Really fast. You could knock 15-20 seconds off the record easily.

I was riding with Alan Bonds, who was the third roommate in a house we shared with Gary Fisher back in the day and who won the first Repack race. When we got to the bottom we looked at each other, and decided that whoever ran the road grader must have been a mountain biker. He put in some awesome jumps that double as waterbars, and he took out that pesky rock that made the off-camber turn at the bottom hard to make.

[ssmike]

Wiley Coyote - Alice B. Toeclips is a lookin fer you. Says you have to check out http://www.mountainbikeroots.com/ Get in touch with her through her Wombats site.

[TraumaARNP]

...were men, and goils were goils...no confusion as to gender; no girly boy spandex clothes; camel toes definitely not an option...just real riders, on real bikes (read dirty and devoid of bike candy), lugged boots and rolled up dungarees, body hair everywhere...I mean, jeezzzzz...todays bikers are no different than a can of fruit salad. Whatever happened to the beef in mountain bike riding?

[victorthewombat]

Man oh man I'm getting a stiffy remembering Carmen. Yeah baby. Swinger!

VTW

[ssmike]

Originally Posted by victorthewombat

Man oh man I'm getting a stiffy remembering Carmen. Yeah baby. Swinger!

VTW

Yeah VTW - Thanks for bringing back this thread.

[bcd]

i like cindys page.

do they stll have a momorial seatless ride somwhere?

[Captain Dondo, Retired]

Seekay! I feel like this is Never Never land and I've found the Lost Boys. Old mountain bikers never die, they become avatars at MTBR.com. My favorite Cindy Whitehead quote ever was, "Is there any alcohol in these?" Brian Stickel and I were working as undercover race promoters at some function at the OTC in Colorado Springs one winter and we'd repaired to some cowboy bar for line dancing and Kamikazi slamming. After about the third pitcher, Cindy was laughing like Elmer Fudd and I don't recall much else. They tell me I had a good time. Fortunately, I never found an open tattoo parlor during any of those excursions with Brian, aka Brahn from Ah-o-wah (Brian from Iowa).

[Repack Rider]

Dondo,

I'm not hiding, so you must be. I'm out here pimping my website tirelessly, and moving pianos six days a week for fun. Who else gets a hobby that pays so well?

Did I mention that I have a website. Did you find your own photo in there yet?

On my website.

[Bigwheel]

Originally Posted by Captain Dondo, Retired

Seekay! I feel like this is Never Never land and I've found the Lost Boys. Old mountain bikers never die, they become avatars at MTBR.com.

Now all we need is a campfire and a rousing round of Kum-by-ya

[Captain Dondo, Retired]

[quote=Repack Rider]

Did I mention that I have a website. Did you find your own photo in there yet?

I saw that photo. Would you believe I still have that jacket? And it almost fits!

Yes, I'm hiding. But it might be safe to come out now. I gotta get back to the campfire. Bob needs help with the second verse of Kumbaya and I'm still all about the harmony.

Why don't pianos need to move on the seventh day? This worries me.

[Repack Rider]

Originally Posted by Captain Dondo, Retired

Yes, I'm hiding. But it might be safe to come out now. I gotta get back to the campfire. Bob needs help with the second verse of Kumbaya and I'm still all about the harmony.

Why don't pianos need to move on the seventh day? This worries me.

Maybe they do, but I never see it happen because I'm out riding my bike. This weekend I'll be roadying for a few shows, including one with the Jefferson Starship on Saturday.

All my friends want to know when you are coming out.

To California, of course.

Don't think I didn't notice that you are quoting me in your tagline. Here's another you can use: "Orwell was an optimist."