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Otis Guy
Induction Year: 1993
Web Site: www.otisguycycles.com
In 1974 I first started
riding 1940’s Schwinn "balloners" bikes with my road racing buddies Joe Breeze
and Marc Vendetti. The feeling of freedom those old bikes gave us was
breathtaking. We were able to cover distances crisscrossing over Mt. Tamalpais
not accessible on foot giving us the feeling of closeness to this precious and
beautiful area. The bikes were much more comfortable than our road bikes.
Instead of sew up tires they had nice fat tires that rarely flatted.
Anyone who tried out my
old Schwinn loved the way it rode and it’s simplicity. Here was a bike that
opened up new ways to explore the outdoors on dirt trails and allowed the rider
greater comfort while doing it. This style of bike riding would become a gateway
for many to embrace the outdoors and would change cycling worldwide.
The highlight of my
thirty plus years of racing on the road and off the road is to have been the
only person to have raced the original Repack---the first ever organized
mountain bike race (which I also have won ) in 1983 the first Mountain Bike
National Championship in 1983 and the first Mountain Bike World Championships in
1990. I have operated Otis Guy Cycles, a cottage industry custom bike frame
business, since 1983. Otis Guy Cycles sponsored the first ever cross country
racing team riding fully suspended bikes.
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