Maybe it all started at a corner bike store in Berkeley. In 1973, Velo Sport Cyclery imported bike racing magazines from England – International Cycle Sport, and France – Mirror de Cyclism. One day, an article about England’s Paul Corbett and the United States transcontinental cycling record caught my eye. Paul cycled 3,000 miles in 14 days plus a few hours. My 14-year-old mind was fascinated!
Maybe it started earlier, in 1968. Getting up at five am to deliver sixty Berkeley Gazette newspapers on my Skyway one-speed bike was exciting; the whole world lay fresh and empty, and the city streets belonged to me. Leaves with dew sparkled and the early birds sang their songs. As the sun rose, freedom was my riding buddy.
Maybe it began in 1966, as a few 8-year-old boys enjoyed the dawn’s early light, reeled in a few perch and bass from the San Francisco Bay, and cycled home with their catch. Adventure and love accompanied Mark and me, as we pedaled to the Berkeley fishing pier and back home on Sting-Ray bikes.
This story is dedicated to Peter Rich, Velo Club Berkeley Founder and 1971 Tour of California promoter.
Perrier Classic Poster 1979
The Berkeley Bicycle Club (BBC) was formed in 1979. The Berkeley Wheelmen and Velo Club Berkeley joined forces to create a strong racing club. That same year, a nine-day bicycle stage race the Perrier Classic was held June 26-July 4. Stages of the race were scattered around the San Francisco Bay Area and the Monterey Bay Area. This is a story of Berkeley Bicycle Club’s participation in Northern California races during March-June and in “the longest bicycle race in America” the Perrier Classic. Of 120 entrants in the Perrier race, BBC fielded two teams of five riders each. There was not a women’s Perrier race, so BBC national class riders Heidi Hopkins, Cindy Olivarri, Francesca Saveri and other BBC women found other races in which to compete.
World and National Events of 1978-79
“May you live in interesting times” fits any era. The final years of the 1970s were no exception. They were also years of fun, love, and adventure – especially if your main purpose in life was seeing how fast you could pedal a 12-speed bike down the road. In a world full of upheaval and uncertainty, a focus on athletic challenges always made sense. Yes, 1978-79 were interesting years in so many ways!
The first rap hit, Rapper’s Delight, by the Sugar Hill Gang filled the airwaves in 1979. On June 14, Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev signed the Salt II agreement to limit nuclear armament spending for both counties. Margaret Thatcher became British prime minister on May 3 and Elvis Costello’s Oliver’s Army topped the charts in England. Saturday Night Fever was a global phenomenon and its soundtrack was everywhere. Political upheaval continued in Afghanistan, Cambodia, El Salvador, Ireland, Portugal, and elsewhere. The USA federal debt climbed to $829.5 billion (it was $22.7 trillion in 2019). A first class stamp cost 15 cents and a pay-phone call cost a dime.
1978 Giro de San Francisco Criterium winner Laurence Malone flanked by the men who made it happen: (l-r) ’77 Columbus Day Chairman Tony Alioto, Supervisor Dolson, Mayor George Moscone, George Pagni, Lloyd Stafani, and Supervisor John Malignani.
After racing down Lombard Street (the crookedest street in the world) twenty times in the 1978 Giro de San Francisco, Mayor Moscone gave bike race winners envelopes with cash prizes. First place was $310. I finished third and shook hands with the mayor as he handed me a $210 cash prize. Two months later, on 27 November, the Mayor and Supervisor Harvey Milk were shot dead at the S.F. City Hall. That same month, 909 people died from drinking poisoned Kool-Aid at Jonestown, Guyana; many of the deceased People’s Temple cult members were East Bay residents. However, not all news in the closing months of 1978 was so heart-breaking.
Calvin Trampleasure (USA) starts the Brighton Prologue of the 1981 Milk Race as Race Director Phil Leggit looks on.
All sports have been plagued by drug scandals, cheating, and misconduct. Bicycle racing is no exception. Tommy Simpson, the professional rider who died on the slopes of Mont Ventoux during the 1967 Tour de France, had “speed” coursing through his veins on a blistering hot day in that mountain stage.
“Put me back on my bike,” were Simpson’s final words. Supporters did just that, and the great English champion pedaled a few hundred meters, then fell over dead. A monument honoring his life now stands at that place on the Mont Ventoux climb.
More recently, Tour de France titles have been stripped from riders who tested positive for using performance-enhancing drugs. Many hid the truth for years – a code of secrecy exists in many sports, not just cycling.
Still, in my 12-years as a racing cyclist in both the United States and Europe, I saw most riders cross the finish line “clean.” The miracle chemicals the human body creates daily to fight disease, ease pain, and create euphoric feelings are always present. Everyone has a personal pharmacy of these chemicals constantly at work. For some, that personal pharmacy seems to work at an entirely more efficient level. Watching Greg LeMond in his first years racing, 1976-79, in California, it was clear a burning passion and love of sport are important pieces of the champion puzzle. However, some riders are gifted with a body that creates those miracle chemicals at a much higher level. In a pain game of a tough race, LeMond was often having fun, while his competitors suffered.
Northern Cal/Nevada District Road Championships, 1977, Chileno Valley Road course. Left to right: Greg Lemond wins Jr race, Calvin in the feed zone, and D. Perry wins the Senior race.
In the world of bicycle racing, there are dreaded sounds. The sound of metal or carbon sliding along the pavement, announcing a crash is one. Air escaping from a tire giving a rider a sinking feeling is another. That “pfssssssss” noise in an especially big championship race can be deadly. Seconds or minutes lost can mean the difference between a great result or an off-the-back performance. When standing on the side of a road, flat tire in hand, waiting for a race support vehicle with your spare wheel, there is a lonely quiet.
Good fortune and unpleasant surprises fill our lives. At times on the very same day. One never knows what lies around the bend, how the wheels of fate will roll.
The 1985 Northern California/Nevada Road Race Championships were held west of Petaluma, California, starting in front of an old country school on Chileno Valley Road. About 120 riders lined-up for the start of the elite category race. With dew on blades of grass in roadside fields, and the sun shining on golden Sonoma County hills, the racers lined up at 8 am. This sweet-smelling, beautiful dawn was sure to bring screaming legs, sweating brows, and a deeply satisfying fatigue by noon.
Apples, oranges, bananas, Snicker bars, and fig bars filled jersey pockets. Water, coke, or apple juice-filled race bottles were popped into cages on each bike. This was the energy food before the days of high octane bars and sport energy drinks. In fact, Gary Erickson, founder of Clif Bars seven years later in 1992, was in the race. He raced on ABC – Avocet that year, we were teammates.
Mark Pringle leads Bill Robertson, Keith Vierra, Lawrence Malone, Tom Ritchey, Gary Fisher, and Tom Bartlett
In the 1970s and 1980s, a hardy and adventurous small group of bicycle racers were sprinkled around Northern California. From Velo Club-Berkeley and Velo Club-Tamalpais and Peninsula Velo to The Reno Wheelman and Modesto Wheelmen, groups of athletes pedaled European 10-speed handmade steel bikes in weekly contests of speed and endurance in the NCNCA (Northern California and Nevada Cycling Association) races.
Olympians, USA national team members, and a three-time Tour de France winner polished racing skills on the slopes of Mt Tamalpais, Mt Diablo, and Mt Hamilton. Free-spirited and fun-loving athletes like Mike Neel, George Mount, Mark Pringle, Greg LeMond, Heidi Hopkins, and Cindy Olivari, challenged each other in races with small prizes but large competition and often heroic drama. Northern California riders achieved an unprecedented respect on the world stage of bicycle racing.
1978 Tour of Santa Inez
The coast town of Santa Cruz, California breeds unique people. Crashing waves and rugged hills with tall redwoods can shape a person’s outlook on life. Bob Leibold was no exception. He loved driving on minor backroads and highways of Northern California and Nevada. He searched for the holy grail of bicycle racing roads for nearly two decades. He passionately discovered new road race courses, then promoted 40-100 mile road races, or 20-50 mile criteriums throughout Northern California. The 1979 Perrier 9-day stage race was the pinnacle of his organizing talents. That race was won by Jacques Boyer, of Monterey, who went on to compete with the world’s best pros in the Tour De France.
