This is Mr. Billy Savage. He was one of the original Repack racers and the director of the movie Klunkerz. The bike is a real klunker originally built by Joe Breeze and Charlie Kelly back in the day (if I heard the story right). It's a 1935 frame, with 70's cranks, and motorcycle bars and levers. And a Brooks, of course.
The Repack was the first time-trial event in mountain bike history, and the prize of the first race was a bag of "smokables" :lol: . Be aware that the best times established back then, with heavy klunkers, still haven't been beat by today's pros with modern equipment!!! :shock: Yeah, the track remains the same. More here:
http://www.mtnbikehalloffame.com/page.cfm?pageid=14
...and here:
http://www.sonic.net/~ckelly/Seekay/mtbwelcome.htm
One night, there was a showing of the movie Klunkerz. Not only was Billy Savage there, but also many other pioneers of the sport: Mike Sinyard, Joe Breeze, Otis Guy, Jacquie Phelan, Charlie Cunningham... Watching the movie right there on the mountains of Marin, were it all began, was magical. Charlie was telling all kinds of stories earlier that day and he went "this is the road where we went for the first ride into the hills on our town bikes, 40 years ago" - "What, this very same road?! Where I'm standing right now?" - "Yeah, exactly." 8) Apart from the history, the trails around Camp Tamarancho are the sweetest ever: a group of dedicated volunteers worked very hard to build them and keep them open for everyone to enjoy. Cheers to them!
Anyway, you HAVE to see the movie Klunkerz (
http://www.klunkerz.com). It tells the story of the early days in such a fun, relaxed way that it will change the way you think of bikes. Lots of great footage, old photos, and awesome stories. Here's the trailer, WATCH THIS MOVIE!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiD8aBmYu_g
Ever heard the story of the huge bike pile that suplied 100 pre-war frames for the building of klunkers in 76? I have! 8)
This is Charlie Kelly, the coolest guy ever. You could just walk up to him and he would start telling cool stories non stop. He brought the original Repack timers and notebooks with the times and names of the racers. Mountain bike history, right there in your face! Check out the awesome t-shirt (
large size): that's the Morrow Dirt Club, named after the Morrow coaster hub, the must-have hub back then. Another super-cool story is the disappearance of these guys for 20 years:
http://www.mtnbikehalloffame.com/page.cfm?pageid=11
Oh yeah, every one got a brand new 25th Anniversary Limited Edition Stumpjumper replica to ride around on, and we did the Repack descent on these.
Old-school! About half of us suffered pinch flats.
Original mountain bikers, showing off an original Stumpjumper. The coolest people ever, surrounded by cool bikes, awesome singletrack, great scenery, loads of History, and all the breakfast burritos you could eat. Truly, the trip of a lifetime.
Hugo
