# MTB Hall of Fame moves from Crested Butte to Marin



## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

Joe's been talking about this new museum he's working on. Now it all makes sense.

Mountain Bike Hall of Fame announces inductees, plans move to Marin County | Bicycle Retailer and Industry News


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## CCMDoc (Jan 21, 2010)

Fillet-brazed said:


> Joe's been talking about this new museum he's working on. Now it all makes sense.
> 
> Mountain Bike Hall of Fame announces inductees, plans move to Marin County | Bicycle Retailer and Industry News


Why the move?
Marketing and exposure?
I was under the impression that Marin wasn't the most MTB-friendly environment.


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## sandmangts (Feb 16, 2004)

CCMDoc said:


> Why the move?
> Marketing and exposure?
> I was under the impression that Marin wasn't the most MTB-friendly environment.


Marin is the anti-MTB capital of the universe, that's why I am so pleased they are moving there. 98% of all trails in Marin are off limits to bikes thanks to a few very vocal and connected douchebags like Terri Sweet, Mike Vandeman etc. The vocal minority in Marin has long conspired to keep off road bikes limited to fire roads only ignoring the vast majority of trail users. I hope that they will use the hall of fame for more exposure so those trails that our idols first raced on will once again be legal to ride. It is time for our sport to stop taking a back seat to equestrians.


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## CCMDoc (Jan 21, 2010)

Sounds like that is a GREAT reason to be there. I hope that the move drives the effort as you suggest.


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## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

Vandeman is in Berkeley isn't he?

I'm hoping the high school league changes things for the better with trail access. Marin high schools have some deep (talent) and big rosters.


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## FatCloud (May 6, 2013)

Probably has more to do with exposure, SF is a very booming tourist community.


I do hope this opens up the mountain biking in Marin (and maybe that bleeds over to East Bay). At the moment it doesn't seem like people are coming to the Bay Area for mountain biking vacations.


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## Repack Rider (Oct 22, 2005)

I would say that it has to do with Don Cook and Kay Peterson getting tired of the thankless task they have dedicated a couple of decades to.

I have been hoping to find a place for my unique archive, a half dozen file cabinets filled with everything in print about mountain biking for the first ten years or so of the sport. Now it looks like it will find a permanent home.


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## tductape (Mar 31, 2008)

Repack Rider said:


> I would say that it has to do with Don Cook and Kay Peterson getting tired of the thankless task they have dedicated a couple of decades to.
> 
> I have been hoping to find a place for my unique archive, a half dozen file cabinets filled with everything in print about mountain biking for the first ten years or so of the sport. Now it looks like it will find a permanent home.


Interesting and good for you CK, Will your files be set up in such a way that they will be available to the public for research?.


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## jeff (Jan 13, 2004)

Fillet-brazed said:


> I'm hoping the high school league changes things for the better with trail access. Marin high schools have some deep (talent) and big rosters.


And BIG money to boot.


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## oldskoolwrench (Jul 12, 2012)

Repack Rider said:


> I would say that it has to do with Don Cook and Kay Peterson getting tired of the thankless task they have dedicated a couple of decades to.
> 
> I have been hoping to find a place for my unique archive, a half dozen file cabinets filled with everything in print about mountain biking for the first ten years or so of the sport. Now it looks like it will find a permanent home.


CK,

It sure would be nice if there were a way for you do digitize your Archive, so it could be made available online.

I'm a Charter Member, and I don't have a problem with the move; if Marin is the better choice for preserving the Collection, so much the better!

:thumbsup:


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## sbsbiker (Dec 1, 2007)

Will they add more bikes to the displays? CB is nice it's more about the people that started mtbiking, than displaying the evolution of the machine. Lst I was there they had less than 20 bikes, the collection at Absolute Bikes in Sadlia is better.


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## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

jeff said:


> And BIG money to boot.


Yep. I think it could bring some change to the next generation's trail access.



sbsbiker said:


> Will they add more bikes to the displays? CB is nice it's more about the people that started mtbiking, than displaying the evolution of the machine. Lst I was there they had less than 20 bikes, the collection at Absolute Bikes in Sadlia is better.


I think with JB at the helm it will be a first class exhibition for both the HOFers and the bikes. Excited to see how it turns out.


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## sbsbiker (Dec 1, 2007)

I would love to see a complete history of the bikes that developed during this sports growth. That's my interest as many of the HOFers are still living, and easy to meet if you get around. The older bikes not so much. Plus opening the door for corporate sponsership with a Specialized wing, or a Trek wing, showcasing the Stumpjumper line from then to now would be great to see.


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## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

cut and pasted from the Norcal forum:

From the Marin Independent Journal:

Mountain Bike Hall of Fame moving to Fairfax, birthplace of the sport - Marin Independent Journal


THE MOUNTAIN BIKE Hall of Fame, established 25 years ago in Colorado, is moving to the rustic Marin town where a handful of young off-road cycling pioneers gave birth to the now international sport in the 1970s, barreling down Mount Tamalpais on fat tire paperboy bikes they called "klunkers."

The new Marin Museum of Bicycling will be relocating to the mountain bike mecca of Fairfax early next year, taking over the former Good Earth market building on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, organizers announced Thursday.

"It's a perfect location in Fairfax as the gateway to Point Reyes National Seashore and as a hive of bicycling activity," said Joe Breeze, an early hall of fame inductee
and one of the architects of the hall of fame's move to Fairfax. "This is something I've been dreaming about all my cycling life."

Breeze is one of the bike builders and designers who developed the modern high-tech mountain bike. His 1977 prototype, "Breezer 1," is now in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History.

Since 1988, the hall of fame has occupied a small corner of a heritage museum in the former coal mining town of Crested Butte, Colo., population about 1,500, a skiing and mountain biking destination that was also an early location for the first mountain bikers.

"The only place we would have allowed it to go was someplace in Marin, either Fairfax or San Anselmo," said Don Cook, who founded the museum and ran it with his wife, Kay Petersen-Cook, since its inception. "That's where the real heart of mountain biking was developed."

The move to Marin was sparked by an installation on Northern California contributions to mountain biking that Breeze curated last year in the San Francisco Airport's International Terminal along with airport curator Timothy O'Brien and his staff.

"That was a catalyst for my lifelong dream," Breeze said.

After that exhibit, he and two other Marin mountain bike legends, Otis Guy and Marc Vendetti, approached the Cooks about moving their artifacts to a larger museum space in Fairfax.

"We hit him at the right time, when they were ready to move," Breeze said. "It was a struggle for them. Little Crested Butte only gets so many people coming there."

The Cooks didn't need convincing that the sport had become too big for their little corner of the world.

"My wife and I have brought it the international exposure it's gotten," he said. "The key thing to note is this is an American sport that has gone global."

The 3,000-square-foot building at 1966 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. is the same space that Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh once considered for his Terrapin Crossroads music venue.

Plans for the bicycle museum have already cleared the Fairfax Planning Commission and have the support of the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce.

"It's always a good thing to have a new point of interest in town that will have a positive impact in a number of ways," Chamber Executive Director Bob Kopelman said. "It will draw visitors, and visitors are always a good thing for a town. It's definitely an economic benefit. We're very excited about it."

Large photo backdrops of Mount Tamalpais and Pine Mountain, site of the seminal Repack mountain bike races in the 1970s, will line the new museum's north and west walls. The 90-foot-long backdrops, part of the airport exhibit, were given to Breeze by the airport staff to use in the new museum space.

The cycling museum will not only focus on local mountain biking and its history, but also the sport's popularity in Europe and its reach to such far flung outposts as Rwanda, where local bike builder Tom Ritchey supplied cargo bikes for coffee growers to transport their crops to market.

"It will be a cultural center, a place where clubs can come to meet, where we can have lectures on bicycling and movies about bicycling," Breeze said. "It will be a place to celebrate cycling."


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## DoubleCentury (Nov 12, 2005)

""The only place we would have allowed it to go was someplace in Marin, either Fairfax or San Anselmo," said Don Cook, who founded the museum and ran it with his wife, Kay Petersen-Cook, since its inception."

Credit should be given to the late Carole Bauer and a few others for this,

Hall of Fame Inductees - The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame


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## sandmangts (Feb 16, 2004)

Here is a link to the article. Be sure to check out the comments section. It should be interesting when the anti-mtb crowd starts chiming in.

Mountain Bike Hall of Fame moving to Fairfax, birthplace of the sport - Marin Independent Journal


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## Howley (Nov 23, 2005)

How do I make contact to make a donation of an early Witz fork?


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## jeff (Jan 13, 2004)

Howley said:


> How do I make contact to make a donation of an early Witz fork?


Try this address given in the article.
[email protected]

And of course a few pics of said fork.


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

Interesting read. Also, McLean is a tool.

The Angry Singlespeeder: The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame doesn?t deserve to be in Fairfax | Mountain Bike Review


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## jeff (Jan 13, 2004)

Marin locals to the white courtesy phone.


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

mtbr watermarks on everything bugs the **** out of me.


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

Rumpfy said:


> Interesting read. Also, McLean is a tool.


What are you talking about, he invented mountain biking! It's true because he said so and it's on the internet.


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## sbsbiker (Dec 1, 2007)

Also, Durango is hardly the easiest place to get to either.


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

sbsbiker said:


> Also, Durango is hardly the easiest place to get to either.


Flight in is a little rough, ya.

Having Joe B, Otis G, and CK local and involved is hard to beat.


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## Repack Rider (Oct 22, 2005)

Rumpfy, thanks for directing my attention. I have known Mr. Mc for many years and I started hearing these claims since about a minute after I met him.

So a bunch of people I never heard of and who have never contributed visibly to the sport are upset because Fairfax does not have access to the trails like many of the Rocky Mountain towns, and therefore does not "deserve" the HoF.

The HoF is coming here for the reasons I posted when this thread first appeared: because Fairfax has the people, the energy and THE MONEY to do this. The money didn't magically appear, it was the product of hard work by the four individuals making it happen. They deserve to be named, Joe Breeze, Marc Vendetti, Otis Guy and Julia Violich. Joe Breeze is a consummate bicycle historian, and the museum is not just about mountain bikes.



> MARIN MUSEUM OF BICYCLING TO FEATURE
> IGLER COLLECTION OF HISTORIC BICYCLES
> 
> (Fairfax, CA) March 5, 2014 - The Marin Museum of Bicycling announced today that it will display a selection of bikes from the Igler Collection, a comprehensive collection of bicycles dating back to the 1860s.
> ...


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

Repack Rider said:


> Rumpfy, thanks for directing my attention. I have known Mr. Mc for many years and I started hearing these claims since about a minute after I met him.
> 
> So a bunch of people I never heard of and who have never contributed visibly to the sport are upset because Fairfax does not have access to the trails like many of the Rocky Mountain towns, and therefore does not "deserve" the HoF.
> 
> The HoF is coming here for the reasons I posted when this thread first appeared: because Fairfax has the people, the energy and THE MONEY to do this. The money didn't magically appear, it was the product of hard work by the four individuals making it happen. They deserve to be named, Joe Breeze, Marc Vendetti, Otis Guy and Julia Violich. Joe Breeze is a consummate bicycle historian, and the museum is not just about mountain bikes.


I agree with you, Charlie. What's his beef with you guys? He even took another shot at the repack guys in the comment section, quoted directly below. The whole "Mt. Tam is not a mountain" segment of his argument is just odd.



> Marin riders failed to organize in the early 80s and do what we have done SB since then to protect and enjoy our trails with other user groups.


In any case, I support having it anywhere that can support it- Colorado, California - wherever.


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## Flyin_W (Jun 17, 2007)

RR "The money didn't magically appear, it was the product of hard work by the four individuals making it happen. They deserve to be named, Joe Breeze, Marc Vendetti, Otis Guy and Julia Violich. Joe Breeze is a consummate bicycle historian, and the museum is not just about mountain bikes."

Great to see credit given to those who busted azz to make it happen, again. 
Believe too that the museum will increase exposure to act as a reminder to those in power of a growing constituency. 
Equestrians have long held the $$, yet are shrinking & aging, where we are growing in #'s. 
Be sure to track visitation stats, since politicos pay close attention to trends for funding.

It had to relocate, and I see it as a great tool to stop a riptide of bad publicity.


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

Repack Rider said:


> Rumpfy, thanks for directing my attention. I have known Mr. Mc for many years and I started hearing these claims since about a minute after I met him.


I've been exposed to ramblings for a much shorter period of time and I'm already tired of hearing it. I can only imagine hearing it for decades. :madman:
Its a very strange claim he makes.

IMO, the Musuem and MTB Hall of Fame is in the right place with the right people involved. I'm assuming you are also contributing and providing print/photo items where needed? Also a good thing.


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## ameybrook (Sep 9, 2006)

Rumpfy said:


> Flight in is a little rough, ya.
> 
> Having Joe B, Otis G, and CK local and involved is hard to beat.


If you have a vagina, then yes, a little rough


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

ameybrook said:


> If you have a vagina, then yes, a little rough


Oooh. Fun!


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## rismtb (Dec 11, 2012)

Glad to hear the museum is coming home and getting bigger to include the very beginning. I heard that trail advocacy was tough down there but I had no idea it was that bad, That sucks, mtbing is main stream now and most trails can be successfully multi use if all users are educated on the "yield to" IMBA sign. I understand if popular trails see too many users there will be conflicts. In these cases the land owners/caretakers need to build more. Here in Canada we had the same problem with the city of North Van and home owners conflicting with parking and illegal trail building. The local newspaper reporting these conflicts referred to us as foul-mouthed, urinating, pot smoking bikers. ha we laughed and said ya that pretty much sums us up. Years went by numbers of riders increased at a rate that the city realized tourist $$$$$$ and told the homeowners now you have to pay for permit parking, they opened the gate at the trailhead and made a parking lot and allowed NSMBA to build/maintain and rate the trail names by skill level. IMBA did a great job too. I am sure you can turn public opinion around down there with the help of that great organization and local bikers. Apathy had always been with the sport from the beginning, too few giving all their time tirelessly to make things happen. It seems like once mountain biking gained any sort of momentum after the first 10yrs it would fracture into another discipline xc, trails,dh were done on the same bike at a stage race now they are separate, then it fractured again with free ride, stunt riding, dirt jumping and arial big air big hair. I am struggling with trying to find a place to have a similar museum in North Van [we have some serious collectors] but understand that to have a successful museum it has to be a successful business and the only way to guarantee that would be to tandem with a restaurant/brew pub because on its own it won't generate enough revenue to just charge admission to see a bunch of old shopping carts and moth eaten jerseys. Mountain bikers are mainly a bunch of cheap #$%^@'s but they do like their beer and good food. That said vintage bikes are only part of the equation the real meat of history are the stories and what what we did with them. God bless the builders they saved me from being an axe murderer. Viva mtb!


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

ameybrook said:


> If you have a vagina, then yes, a little rough


The people there are d!cks too!


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## sandmangts (Feb 16, 2004)

To me the best thing about it being there is that it REALLY pisses the anti-bike crowd off. Now they can drive by it everyday. I think the ASS wrote his opinion piece without a full understanding of why the move is taking place. Despite what he says there are some great places to ride there and it is getting better.


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

Several of us here know ASS (Kurt) personally. He's a good guy, great rider. I don't happen to agree with his article.

Every time I've been and ridden in Marin, I've seen mountain bikers everywhere. Yes it has its land access problems, but its not like tomatoes are being thrown at the lone mtb'er rolling through town.


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## sbsbiker (Dec 1, 2007)

I would add that no matter what the local politics currently are, mountain bikes were born in Marin, nowhere else can make that claim. Other places may have been quick to take them up, and have accepted them with greater enthusiasm, but you are only born in one place, and I think we all agree that Marin is the birthplace of the Mountain bike.


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## SicBith (Jul 24, 2006)

This absolute horsehizz. Marin doesn't deserve the MTB HoF. Frickin donkey riding trusty hippies. oh wait....there are a lot of trusty hippies in CB to...ah screw it...MTB HoF should stay with the trusty hippies in CB, not with the Mt Tam donkey riders.


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## SicBith (Jul 24, 2006)

Sure guy....just because they advertised it first makes them the inventor of the MTB. Oh FYI Al Gore invented the internet.


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

Easy does it there, tiger.


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## hollister (Sep 16, 2005)

Rumpfy said:


> Easy does it there, tiger.


Screw that.

I love it when he gets all wound up


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## SicBith (Jul 24, 2006)

Grew up in one of those towns and live in the other....I'm just voicing my opinion which is no one place can claim to be the birthplace of mtn biking, and there are a lot of trusty hippie donkey riders in the world they just seem to gravitate to Marin.
If Don and Kay are tired of fighting the good fight I'm glad someone is there to assist them. I do believe more people travel to CB specifically for MTB vacations than they travel to Marin for the same reason.


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## Bigwheel (Jan 12, 2004)

The MTBHOF is not an easy task to take on. Thanks to Carole Bauer for all her efforts up front, Kay and Don for keeping the boat afloat and doing what they could to expand it globally, and to the Marin gang for keeping the lights on. Best of luck to them and be sure and visit the new place if and when you can! I know I will.


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

hollister said:


> Screw that.
> I love it when he gets all wound up


Haha! Been a while since we had a crazy SicBith blow up? I can't remember what it was about last time.



SicBith said:


> I'm just voicing my opinion which is no one place can claim to be the birthplace of mtn biking,


I agree, no one or no one place can claim to be the birthplace of mountain biking. I do think the _sport_ of mountain biking originated in NorCal though.

I get the impression that the MBHOF wasn't getting all that much attention or traffic out in CB, though I can't confirm it. Sounded like it pretty much just limped along maybe due to location and set up?

Marin proper might not be an MTB destination, but the greater Bay Area definitely is. Awful lot of trails available within 60 mins of where the museum is set to be located.


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## SicBith (Jul 24, 2006)

Rumpfy said:


> Haha! Been a while since we had a crazy SicBith blow up? I can't remember what it was about last time.
> 
> I agree, no one or no one place can claim to be the birthplace of mountain biking. I do think the _sport_ of mountain biking originated in NorCal though.
> 
> ...


It will be tough to compare visitation numbers for the MTB HoF as most, if not all of the CB MTB traffic is in the summer. In the winter most of CB is focused on skiing. We'll see how many visitors it gets in Marin from mid June to early Sept. It will certainly get more visitors in the winter. Either way it's Don and Kay's decision to make it certainly wasn't stolen from them.....I think
Sport of DH mtn biking certainly has roots in Marin. Sport of xc and endurance mtn biking was most likely established its roots elsewhere.
I think CB has Marin beat in quality and maybe quantity of trails within 60mins traveling radius.
Glad my rants of the past are still etched in your brain. you just can't quit me can ya.


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## Bigwheel (Jan 12, 2004)

Inferring that this is some kind of hostile takeover is dumb. Think again. 

I do agree that Gunnison County has the Bay Area beat for quality and quantity of trails though. However I don't see how that matters where the Hall is located.


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## Repack Rider (Oct 22, 2005)

Rumpfy said:


> I get the impression that the MBHOF wasn't getting all that much attention or traffic out in CB, though I can't confirm it. Sounded like it pretty much just limped along maybe due to location and set up?
> 
> Marin proper might not be an MTB destination, but the greater Bay Area definitely is. Awful lot of trails available within 60 mins of where the museum is set to be located.


The MTB HoF in CB occupied 169 square feet in a building whose primary use was a restaurant owned by Kay Peterson. The sport is bigger than that.

Regarding the # of people who come to Fairfax to ride v. the # who go to CB:

CB is buried in snow for half the year. Fairfax is open all year. Maybe the hundreds of people show up in Fairfax every weekend to ride mountain bikes didn't come from Florida to do it. Maybe they came from Oakland. The money is just as good, and wherever they come from, they fill the town. They drink the local beer and eat the local food and buy their Tamarancho day passes at one of several big local bike shops, where they might spend a few bucks on something else.

Having been to both towns, mountain bikers in Fairfax outnumber those in CB by dozens to one. Fairfax is within bike riding distance or a short drive of half a million people. Apparently these people aren't bothered by the fact that they aren't heli-biking in Vancouver or uplifting at Alpe d'Huez. They still bring their bikes to Fairfax.

Then there are the road bikers. Fairfax sits astride Sir Francis Drake Blvd, the gateway to all the cycling in West Marin. Many people park in Fairfax to ride on the road in pleasant countryside. By starting in Fairfax, they don't have to ride through the urban maze, with stop signs every few hundred feet and the San Anselmo police staking them out, and you can ride for twenty miles before you hit the next stop sign. Cyclists either head west, starting at the last traffic signal on Sir Francis Drake (the exact spot of the museum, BTW) or riding up Bolinas Road to Mount Tam.

Fairfax is a convenient distance from San Francisco, 20 or 25 miles depending on where you start from in SF, and dozens of riders in big club groups use the town for a halfway point and lunch stop before riding back across the Golden Gate Bridge. CB does not have that.

The people who invented surfing lived at the beach. The people who came up with mountain biking lived where all kinds of riding was fun, not just mountain biking.

Fairfax can support half a dozen businesses with cyclists' money, but CB could never do that since they can only ride half the year. CB is a ski town with great riding in the summer, but the mountain bikers will never outspend the skiers. Cycling does not drive the CB economy like skiing does.

On one of my early trips to CB, I was shocked at what wimpy descenders the locals were, despite their toughness on the climbs. But we ride all year every year, with no breaks, and they were just getting back on their bikes after the annual hiatus of five or six months. They won the uphills, because it's 9000 feet and they lived there, but there was no comparison when we turned around for the ride back to town.

Here's another argument for Fairfax. Who TF do these people think OWNS the artifacts on display? I haven't seen my own bike, Breezer #2, the second most collectible bicycle in the world, in maybe twenty years. Ditto Charlie Cunningham. The HoF has one of only seven or eight complete collections of the Fat Tire Flyer. Is there another town with as many inductees?

Our opinionated singlespeeder does not have one percent the curriculum vitae of those involved in this effort, but he complains about how and where they keep their own collections. Consider the source and evaluate it on that basis.


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## sbsbiker (Dec 1, 2007)

SicBith said:


> Sure guy....just because they advertised it first makes them the inventor of the MTB. Oh FYI Al Gore invented the internet.


Sorry if I miss spoke, but I was taught that some interesting characters in Marin thought up putting a Deraileur onto a cruiser bike so that they could ride up, the hills they had been bombing down.

Lots of people took up the flag after seeing what a good idea this was, but you can't give credit to someone who copied and improved the basic idea of a geared off road bike, only to the first person who scratched his head and welded on that hanger to get the bike geared for uphill. I will not name names cause I wasn't there.

This evolution is still ongoing, with 29ers,27.5ers, dual suspensions, fattes, and all the other innovations that have made the geared off road bike into the mountain bikes we all love. 
If this isn't the truth, or I am revising history please inform me different. I was living in Oklahoma at the time, and was in the 8th grade. I didn't get to witness the birth, if you did and can tell me of another place where this "gearing" of a bike for off road use was done first, please do tell.


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## stan lee (Mar 5, 2006)

Repack Rider said:


> The MTB HoF in CB occupied 169 square feet ...


I have fond memories of the HoF in CB behind the kite shop and the one in the old restaurant. I'm excited to visit the one in Marin because of everyone involved but to compare and contrast the two or saying one spot is better than the other seems to deter from what's it's all about. I'm happy to look at and read about old bikes no matter where I am.


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## rismtb (Dec 11, 2012)

I think Al invented global warming as well, its $%#@ cold here


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## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

stan lee said:


> I have fond memories of the HoF in CB behind the kite shop and the one in the old restaurant. I'm excited to visit the one in Marin because of everyone involved but to compare and contrast the two or saying one spot is better than the other seems to deter from what's it's all about. I'm happy to look at and read about old bikes no matter where I am.


Well said.


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## DoubleCentury (Nov 12, 2005)

To build on what StanLee said, I think people might be over analyzing this. That anyone is willing to host and maintain a museum that honors the origins of mountain biking and the people, places, and events involved should be commended. We should be thankful that Carol started it and Don and Kay kept it going for so long, each volunteering a lot of time and effort to make it happen. I am glad to see that someone else wants to keep it going.


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## colker1 (Jan 6, 2004)

DoubleCentury said:


> To build on what StanLee said, I think people might be over analyzing this. That anyone is willing to host and maintain a museum that honors the origins of mountain biking and the people, places, and events involved should be commended. We should be thankful that Carol started it and Don and Kay kept it going for so long, each volunteering a lot of time and effort to make it happen. I am glad to see that someone else wants to keep it going.


This.


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## SicBith (Jul 24, 2006)

Repack Rider said:


> The MTB HoF in CB occupied 169 square feet in a building whose primary use was a restaurant owned by Kay Peterson. The sport is bigger than that.
> 
> Regarding the # of people who come to Fairfax to ride v. the # who go to CB:
> 
> ...


Sorry but I feel compelled to defend my position a little bit.

You are right sir...CB has a snow problem in the winter. Some folks ride snow bikes on a few of the trails in the winter. Marin on the other hand has an access problem year round. This Tamarancho place charges money to ride there???

There are more people in Fairfax you are obviously correct, though I'm not sure what heli biking in Canada or lift access riding in France have to do with it. Is the "more people" thing good or bad when it comes to riding. I'll venture a guess that higher % of the population ride bikes in CB than Fairfax.

Yes we shouldn't leave the roadies out....you can park in town for free, grab a cuppa joe, fill up ur tire for free, stop at the last stop sign as you leave town and not hit another one going south or west for 30miles. Do the police stalk cyclist in Marin??? really??? weird...by the way at mile 58 of the 60 mile out an back when you realized you left your car unlocked, windows down with keys in the ignition and your wallet on the roof. There is a 99% chance they will all be there when you get back. 
CB does not have the Golden Gate Bridge that is true. But... Marin does not have Bald Eagles and Elk. Few if any people from CB will go to the Golden Gate and jump off, but I bet more than a few folks from the bay area will come to CB and try to get a picture of their kid on an Elk.(sorry a little Colorado humor)
There's lots of mtb and road riding in Marin and it is all fun, ya ever try snow biking in Marin??? Didn't think so.
CB supports 7 or so bike shops (yes not all are bike specific year round, but you can get a tune, parts, and your wheel trued in all of them) while not all bikers ski, I would venture a guess that 80% of skiers, bike. I don't think Fairfax could survive on a tourist based economy. It's nice to have all those high paying jobs even if the commute is a bi**h. eh...
You should visit CB more often, they might not ride year round (though some do) but they do spend some time in the backcountry hiking or on the xc trails skate skiing. Different skill set, little hard workout on the lungs though. If you haven't been there in a while calling out descending skills is a little narrow minded. I'm sure many of them can would rebuff your call out in the first three turns. I will also guess many CBers would put the hurt on you up your own hilly Fairfax trails by 3/4 of a joint. They would save you a hit or two, that's just the kinda people they are.

Where did the HoF originate?

All the goofing aside it is really nice for the HoF to have a chance at seeing some different and certainly more visitors, and I'm sure the colorful people of Fairfax will do it right. There are claims from both sides as to where people started riding bikes up and down mtns and hills. There is no doubting that the boys in Marin have some history, good (Breezer, WTB, Otis Guy) and bad (specialized) so does the CB crew Cook boys, Wes Willits (settle down, i know he quit CA. and move to CO. but you gotta respect his "New Sheriff" 650b was before it's time) Whoever put a derailleur on first to make climbing easy or whoever came up with the CB chop to shorten chainstay length making cruiser bike handle better, it's all a great story to tell.


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## Repack Rider (Oct 22, 2005)

SicBith said:


> Where did the HoF originate?


CB. I remember that when I heard about it, I told Gary Fisher, "If we're not in it, they don't need it." Whom do you suppose they picked to MC the first induction ceremony? (*blush*)



> All the goofing aside it is really nice for the HoF to have a chance at seeing some different and certainly more visitors, and I'm sure the colorful people of Fairfax will do it right. There are claims from both sides as to where people started riding bikes up and down mtns and hills. There is no doubting that the boys in Marin have some history, good (Breezer, WTB, Otis Guy) and bad (specialized) so does the CB crew Cook boys, Wes Willits (settle down, i know he quit CA. and move to CO. but you gotta respect his "New Sheriff" 650b was before it's time) Whoever put a derailleur on first to make climbing easy or whoever came up with the CB chop to shorten chainstay length making cruiser bike handle better, it's all a great story to tell.


"There are claims from both sides as to where people started riding bikes up and down mtns and hills."

I know one side. I was not aware that there was another. Crested Butte had never seen a mountain bike and no one in that town had ever raced on dirt before my friends and I pulled into town in September 1978. By that time we were in our third season of downhill racing and we were already building our own fat tire bikes from the ground up. There was NOTHING in CB MTB worthy until Marin riders showed them the way. They had "town bikes" that were close to useless once you left town, which is why they didn't leave town on them very often.

Don't believe me? Read the original CB newspaper articles from 1978, where the locals express absolute amazement at this new bicycle phenomenon, and the "California boys" who practiced it.

So Crested Butte does not represent any "side" of the discussion of the origin of the sport, because mountain biking there was imported from Marin. Who IS the "other side?"

BTW, this is all covered in my book.


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## Bigwheel (Jan 12, 2004)

Wes Willits (settle down, i know he quit CA. and move to CO. but you gotta respect his "New Sheriff" 650b was before it's time)

That legal weed up there must be mind numbing. Your credibility just dipped to 0.


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## SicBith (Jul 24, 2006)

Repack Rider said:


> CB. I remember that when I heard about it, I told Gary Fisher, "If we're not in it, they don't need it." Whom do you suppose they picked to MC the first induction ceremony? (*blush*)
> 
> "There are claims from both sides as to where people started riding bikes up and down mtns and hills."
> 
> ...


I guess you missed the part of the article that says your Marin crew showed up for the third annual tour. So I guess that means they had been riding their klunker bikes for at least two years before you should up. The other side of the story are the guys who showed you what mtn biking is all about... you know in the mtns... Pearl pass is a little different than Mt Tam. eh...

I would imagine in a town the size of CB it would be understandable that the news of riding bikes in the mtns might not travel as fast as in the Bay area.

I'm not going to argue my opinion with you as apparently you were there I wasn't, I was 3yrs old living in the east bay when you started riding on Mt. Tam. When I moved out to CB I was all in on the mtn biking originated in Marin story. I learned pretty fast the story I believed might have some cracks in the foundation, that is a fact.


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## SicBith (Jul 24, 2006)

Bigwheel said:


> Wes Willits (settle down, i know he quit CA. and move to CO. but you gotta respect his "New Sheriff" 650b was before it's time)
> 
> That legal weed up there must be mind numbing. Your credibility just dipped to 0.


I'm ok with you thinking my credibility is 0. I'll guess you never rode that bike.

14 million the first month in weed sales in CO. 25% tax. Once a years worth tax records is public there will be more states making weed legal.


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## jeff (Jan 13, 2004)

Put the shovel down. You might want to research who BW is.


SicBith said:


> I'm ok with you thinking my credibility is 0. I'll guess you never rode that bike.
> 
> 14 million the first month in weed sales in CO. 25% tax. Once a years worth tax records is public there will be more states making weed legal.


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## SicBith (Jul 24, 2006)

jeff said:


> Put the shovel down. You might want to research who BW is.


So now I'm suppose to be afraid of buckshot?


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## tductape (Mar 31, 2008)

Stick a fork in it. Done.


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## tductape (Mar 31, 2008)

Bummed I never got to see the CB museum before dismantle. It would be cool if they gathered up some of the early local steeds and continued on. Why limit MTB museums to just one?


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## hollister (Sep 16, 2005)

SicBith said:


> So now I'm suppose to be afraid of buckshot?


Hell no.

This is even better than last time

Get some!


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## Repack Rider (Oct 22, 2005)

SicBith said:


> I guess you missed the part of the article that says your Marin crew showed up for the third annual tour. So I guess that means they had been riding their klunker bikes for at least two years before you should up. The other side of the story are the guys who showed you what mtn biking is all about... you know in the mtns... Pearl pass is a little different than Mt Tam. eh...


I hate to be lectured about events I took part in and you read about somewhere. How would I establish credibility with you? Show you my clippings? I tried.

The "third annual" Pearl Pass tour was the "second actual." The CB locals, who were not cyclists, had dragged their town bikes over Pearl Pass in 1976, riding much of the way in pickup trucks, just for the lark. They had done this exactly once, and it didn't happen the next year in 1977. The tour only happened in 1978 because we thought they were like us, based on a somewhat inaccurate magazine article we had read, and showed up with our bikes for the ride.

There would not have been a 1978 Pearl Pass tour if the local pride had not been on the line. When a bunch of people come 1000 miles to ride, and one of them is a GIRL, you don't bail on the ride. We forced them to do it, just by being there.

They didn't have the equipment or the experience, because mountain biking was unknown in CB in 1978. Joe Breeze, Gary Fisher and I worked for three days to make seven or eight of their bikes serviceable to get over the pass. What they rode was pathetic, especially next to our hand-made custom bikes. They had town bikes with high rise bars, feeble New Departure coaster brakes that were cooked on the descent into Aspen. No derailleur gears, no front brakes.



> I would imagine in a town the size of CB it would be understandable that the news of riding bikes in the mtns might not travel as fast as in the Bay area.
> 
> I'm not going to argue my opinion with you as apparently you were there I wasn't, I was 3yrs old living in the east bay when you started riding on Mt. Tam. When I moved out to CB I was all in on the mtn biking originated in Marin story. I learned pretty fast the story I believed might have some cracks in the foundation, that is a fact.


I didn't meet the Cook boys and Wes, and Sandy Hague, Kay Peterson or Carole Bauer, real athletes, until I returned to CB. None of them rode bikes until they saw ours. They were all Nordic skiers. By the fifth annual (fourth actual) tour in 1980, only one of the CB people who went with us in 1978 took part (the infamous Neil Murdoch), and one third of the 90 participants were from Marin.

When you say you, "...learned pretty fast the story [you] believed might have some cracks in the foundation," whom did you "learn" this from? I'm in the photograph. Are they?


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## sbsbiker (Dec 1, 2007)

Repack, you are not going to sell books if you publish it all here. 

Great to hear from one that was there. 

I remember reading about these happenings, and got bit by mountain bikes. I couldn't afford any of the custom bikes available, and bought a Murray Baja to ride around. My friends laughed all day at my Murray, said a 10 speed dirt bike was the silliest thing they had ever seen. 10 years later, everyone had one in their garage. That Murray showed me the fun of off road riding, and sometime i wish i still had that bike in my garage, next to the vintage rides I lusted after back then, but could only afford recently. 

Cant wait to read the book.


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## SicBith (Jul 24, 2006)

They are not in that picture Charlie, though I'm sure they would have liked to have been. 
I firmly believe there is no one place that mtb originated. Towns and people can claim whatever they wish, but some miner riding a townie up to Irwin in the late 60's can claim he started it as much as some road racers with time and money to build bikes from premium materials can. What about the euros? They rode their fancy geared bikes in the mtns, I'm sure they can claim something as well.
Thanks for the story and colorful commentary though. Like I said when I moved to CB from the Bay area I was very proud of the fact that mtb was born in Marin, but then I started to believe it was going on at the same or earlier times in other places as well. There is certainly no doubt that the Marin crew made more money from the mtb industry, that I will concede. Thanks Mr. Kelly


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## rismtb (Dec 11, 2012)

There is no ground zero. It goes to the place that has THE most volunteers and donated cash to make it bigger and better. Like everything else in the mtb world the people who make it happen are the ones that tirelessly thru passion push thru all the negativity and make dreams a reality. We are running out of time to capture history and feed the the little nippers so where the site is a minor issue. **** have a sate light venue in CB


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## mainlyfats (Oct 1, 2005)

tductape said:


> Bummed I never got to see the CB museum before dismantle. It would be cool if they gathered up some of the early local steeds and continued on. Why limit MTB museums to just one?


I tried to go once, off season - November. I had to do the long-way-round drive because I didn't rent a 4x4 out of Denver and when I got there, the museum was closed. Someone made inquiries to try and find someone with a key when they saw me periscoping the door, but to no avail.

I met a nice woman at a coffee shop who was selling up a small horse ranch she owned because the cost of living was getting crazy and the market was right for a move to lower ground.

It struck me then as a weird place. Part resort town; seasonal, transient, feral. Part trustafarian nightmare. Part frontier - like genuine frontier - like a small, hip town in the arctic.

Got a nice email from the the HOF folks offering me a water bottle if I made the return trip when I sent them them a note saying that their open hours on the website were wrong. They seemed great.


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## Repack Rider (Oct 22, 2005)

SicBith said:


> They are not in that picture Charlie, though I'm sure they would have liked to have been.


Got a name?



> I firmly believe there is no one place that mtb originated. Towns and people can claim whatever they wish, but some miner riding a townie up to Irwin in the late 60's can claim he started it as much as some road racers with time and money to build bikes from premium materials can. What about the euros? They rode their fancy geared bikes in the mtns, I'm sure they can claim something as well.


Just because people "did it," does not mean that they made it possible for others to "do it" or inspired others to "do it." I have been told about others who had similar hobbies, but who never influenced anyone outside their immediate circle. I didn't know about any of them until people started telling me that we must have got our ideas from all these people we had never heard of. A lot of people had the initial idea. We were the first to take it to the next level.

A "safety" bike from about 1900 bears a striking resemblance to an early mountain bike, but it wasn't a mountain bike. I have said for decades that people rode dirt before there was mountain biking. But they were not mountain bikers, because neither the sport nor the equipment existed.

Where do you suppose the first races were held that could be identified as "mountain bike" races? Where were the first modern bikes built and who gets credit for building them? Where were multiple gear, fat tire bikes first offered for sale? What bike became the template for every MTB built before about 1985, and where was it sold?

(Ironically, the original Tour de France was a "mountain bike" race. Terrible roads, and you had to do your own repairs. Then they got away from it with all the support and better roads, and we had to re-invent it.)



> Thanks for the story and colorful commentary though. Like I said when I moved to CB from the Bay area I was very proud of the fact that mtb was born in Marin, but then I started to believe it was going on at the same or earlier times in other places as well. There is certainly no doubt that the Marin crew made more money from the mtb industry, that I will concede. Thanks Mr. Kelly


I didn't make any money. That's why I wrote the book, it's my last chance.


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## stan lee (Mar 5, 2006)

Put on this T today, is it a collectors item yet?


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

Who's going to the grand opening?

The Marin Museum of Bicycling and Mountain Bike Hall of Fame


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## DoubleCentury (Nov 12, 2005)

I'm in!


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## Repack Rider (Oct 22, 2005)

I might as well walk over.


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## SicBith (Jul 24, 2006)

Rumpfy said:


> Who's going to the grand opening?
> 
> The Marin Museum of Bicycling and Mountain Bike Hall of Fame


I would go if it was in Crested Butte. JK guys..... I hope it's a great night.


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## Repack Rider (Oct 22, 2005)

A couple of months ago I was in Nevada City visiting my brother from another mother, frame builder Chris Kelly. While I was there, this amazing "bike" arrived at the Tour of Nevada City bike shop.

I told Joe Breeze about it, and he came and took a look. A couple of days ago he asked me if I could make a run to Nevada City and bring it down for the opening of the Marin Museum of Bicycling. I said I would do it if he could get me a truck to drive. Based on my sterling reputation as a long-distance driver, Joe's neighbor loaned me the truck. (She also said, "Hey, you delivered my piano!")

You might say, "Why not throw it on a bike rack?" At 7'6" end to end and about 150 pounds, a bike rack wouldn't hold it.

So my friend Pat and I made the trek. Here's the machine. Stop wetting your pants. It's not 200 years old, it's only 100, a reproduction of an 1815 "Draisenne," made in the early 20th century.

View attachment 993296
View attachment 993295


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

Neat. Is it just there for the opening or is the mtbhof its new home? I would have thought you would have at least held out for a beer too ck.


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## burritoguru (Aug 22, 2008)

I am planning on riding from SF, if anybody else wants to ride along we can figure out a time and meeting place.


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## hollister (Sep 16, 2005)

Rumpfy said:


> Who's going to the grand opening?
> 
> The Marin Museum of Bicycling and Mountain Bike Hall of Fame


I'm in


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## Repack Rider (Oct 22, 2005)

girlonbike said:


> Neat. Is it just there for the opening or is the mtbhof its new home? I would have thought you would have at least held out for a beer too ck.


As I left they were preparing to mount it permanently over the front door.

The Fairfax town council has passed an ordinance saying I don't have to pay for any beer I consume inside the city limit, so that problem has been solved.


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

Repack Rider said:


> As I left they were preparing to mount it permanently over the front door.
> 
> The Fairfax town council has passed an ordinance saying I don't have to pay for any beer I consume inside the city limit, so that problem has been solved.


That is awesome!


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## Repack Rider (Oct 22, 2005)

Stopped by the museum to sign a huge pile of my books in preparation for the big opening. Although the museum is not officially open, the shop has been doing business now for several months. I was glad to hear that Fat Tire Flyer is the best selling item in the museum shop.


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## 70sSanO (Nov 20, 2013)

Good to hear. Fat Tire Flyer is a great book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I would think that it would be the best selling book at the museum for a long long time.

John


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

Repack Rider said:


> Stopped by the museum to sign a huge pile of my books in preparation for the big opening. Although the museum is not officially open, the shop has been doing business now for several months. I was glad to hear that Fat Tire Flyer is the best selling item in the museum shop.


Best selling item?...it's the only item being sold in the museum shop!

Kiiiiding, kidding. See you Saturday.


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## Repack Rider (Oct 22, 2005)

Rumpfy said:


> Best selling item?...it's the only item being sold in the museum shop!


I think they sell logo hats also.

Yesterday Joe sent me up to Nevada City to pick up this item, which he wanted in time for the opening.

Don't know why he wanted it. Damn thing doesn't even have pedals.


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## hollister (Sep 16, 2005)

ToNC is a great shop(first Ron Miller bike made hanging from the ceiling), there's another great shop with some hanging history just down the hill from the lumber yard too(forget the name)

Fantastic city


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## sbsbiker (Dec 1, 2007)

Repack Rider said:


> I think they sell logo hats also.
> 
> Yesterday Joe sent me up to Nevada City to pick up this item, which he wanted in time for the opening.
> 
> ...


Neither does my kids Strider, did you ride it?


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## Uncle Grumpy (Oct 20, 2005)

Repack Rider said:


> View attachment 993354


I love those early model fixies.

Grumps


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## Repack Rider (Oct 22, 2005)

Last night the Marin Museum of Bicycling held an invitation only "V.I.P." reception in advance of the Grand Opening For Everybody Else. They let me in anyway.

I came down during the afternoon and helped Otis assemble the stage in the parking lot. Marc Horwitz showed up on his Trailmaster, so I posed his bike and my Breezer #2 in the bike rack.

Later in the evening the promised glitterati were assembled. Among those on hand, Tom Ritchey, Alan Bonds, Chris Chance, Geoff Haliburt, George Mount, Jacquie Phelan, Wende Cragg, Mark Slate, former curators of the MTB HoF, Don Cook and Kay Petersen Cook, and of course the museum principals, Joe, Otis, Mark Vendetti and Julia Violich.









New curator Joe Breeze and former curator Kay Petersen Cook









Scot Nicol explains bicyle technology to Tom Ritchey, while George Mount tries to pick up tips without looking like he's interested.








Nobody invited Chris Chance, so I told him to show up and dare someone to throw him out. Obviously no one did.









"The name is Bonds. Alan Bonds."








Marc Horwitz spruces up the newly restored Tofu Trailer








Here's Marc in 1981.


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## Repack Rider (Oct 22, 2005)

Today's Official Grand Opening brought out an amazing crowd.

I was disappointed to find that this ten foot tall bike is not really operational.
View attachment 994067


Steve Potts, Jacquie Phelan and Charlie Cunningham
View attachment 994076


Alan Bonds sported a new Koski BroCruiser
View attachment 994075


Scot Nicol is like, really really tall.
View attachment 994074


Geoff Halaburt photobombs Chris Chance, Steve Potts and Charlie Cunningham.
View attachment 994073


Me, Jacquie, Denise Caramagno and Charlie Cunningham.

View attachment 994072


The Tofu Trailer and attached Trailmaster graced the roof.

View attachment 994071


Maurice Tierney photobombs has betters, Wende Cragg, Kay Petersen Cook, and Denise Caramagno.
View attachment 994070


Chris Chance showed off his 2015 model.
View attachment 994069


Joe Breeze and Mert Lawwill.
View attachment 994068


Denise and Charlie.
View attachment 994077


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## LeeDumler (May 23, 2014)

That was a hoot! It's a privilege to have such a wealth of mountain biking history open up just down the road. I definitely plan to visit often, and give me a shout if you ever need any volunteer help C.K. 

Many thanks to you, Joe, Otis and everyone else that made this possible.


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## hollister (Sep 16, 2005)




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## hollister (Sep 16, 2005)




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## hollister (Sep 16, 2005)




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## mainlyfats (Oct 1, 2005)

Great pics Hollister/CK! 

What on earth was attached to the ORDINARY track-end?


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