I came across this historical gem on youtube. Evening Magazine, a 1970s television news magazine on a San Francisco CBS station, produced a segment about the new craze sweeping Marin County, Klunking. The clip has some excellent footage of a race down the Repack course as well as interviews with Charlie Kelly, Gary Fisher, and others. It’s obviously not as comprehensive as Klunkerz, the 2006 documentary on the subject, but it’s nonetheless an amazing peak into the early history of mountain biking.
Connect With The Bike Story
-
Recent Posts
Categories
Archives
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
Good Readin’
Those dudes look so goofy riding in those clothes.
Goofy? Really? What, they’d look so much cooler if they were in spandex and lycra? I have always found it humorous that no one rode with helmets back then, which were readily available from cycling and other sports (like skateboarding, etc.), but guys like Charlie Kelly made sure to wear elbow and knee pads. Rector pads, no less!
Favorite mountain bike quote of all time? That baked guy saying…”Klunking is muddy in the winter, and dusty in the summer.” Classic!
Don’t take it personally, Billy boy. Just because you’re too fat to ride Lycra doesn’t mean you can diss it. Cooler is relative and, yes, it feels ‘cooler’, but it feels foolish until you’ve been riding all day. Nobody is confusing road bikes with mountain, but it ain’t fun to ride HARD in cotton for more than two hours. It doesn’t wick and it holds sweat and water forever. As far as helmets, you find it funny but you point out the BAKED guy and wonder why? Hmm, hard to say Mr. Dazed and Confused…
Geez Johnny, lighten up. I wasn’t taking it personally, until you started attacking me. Do you work for Canari or something? That wasn’t really a diss to the great advances made in cycling clothing, just a simple comment. Those were the right threads for riding Repack back then. You wouldn’t want to bail in the dirt and ruin your best wool jersey, would you? There’s definitely a reason for technical togs of today. I own plenty of them and they fit me just fine. BTW: Do I know you? You make it sound like I stole your girlfriend or something.
Don’t worry Billy Johnnie is a Tool. Klunking for life!
Oh, I forgot to mention that you can see these and many more 1970s cycling fashion faux pas in my documentary KLUNKERZ, available on Amazon.com.