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nicolas

Found this...I think it's an early 1985 photo so Greg has his la vie claire jersey but still rides an earlier Gitane bike...with no decals !

verktyg

Nicolas,

Here's a picture of LeMond when he was still a Junior. This was taken at the 1978 Cat's Hill Classic Criterium in Los Gatos, California:

"The 1978 National Classic Cat's Hill truly lived up to its name. It was one of the great duels of all time, as National Senior Champion Wayne Stetina and Junior World Champion Greg LeMond broke away and tried to drop each other lap after lap. Early in the race, Wayne rolled a tire on Massol, forcing him to run up the hill, pushing his bike. He then borrowed a bike and chased for three excruciating laps before regaining the field. Not too much longer, Wayne and Greg were at the front of the field, and the the question grew in everyone's mind: Could the talented junior beat the accomplished senior? As they rounded the final corner, it was LeMond in front, and to the delight of the crowd he won the sprint handily. Greg lists this win as one of his most memorable."

Chas.

lofter

heres a pic of greg and a fellow from right here in springfield illinois where i live. larry doering. he and his brother gary were a force back then. i have one of larrys frames . its a melton . made by mike melton who worked on the 84 olympic track frames. it was my first high end bike which i have still today.

heres an old pic of both gary left larry right

gary at the 78 red zinger classic which became the coors classic

and finally gary at the final stage of the tour of america in 83

i had fun riding with gary never rode with larry . gary still rides today on team mack from here in town http://www.teammackracing.org/
ah the good ole days

verktyg

Lofter,

Neat pictures. Monte of Italy was based out of Aspin, Colorado for a while. He was importing top quality hard to find Italian stuff and sponsored teams around Southern Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona during the late 70s.

Chas.

nicolas

nicolas

Same bike but not necessarily the same day...do anyone know what is "monitor pass" ? is it some sort of competion ? I mean, he wears #457 !

verktyg

Nicolas,

Monitor Pass is in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. the elevation is 8,314 ft. (2,534 m).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monitor_Pass

Monitor Pass is part of the infamous Tour of California "Death Ride".

http://www.deathride.com/

129 miles (207 km)

5 passes

15,000 feet (4,572 m) vertical climbing

Monitor Pass 8,314 ft. (2,534 m) at 10% climb for over 9 miles (14 km)
Ebbits Pass 8,730 ft. (2,660 m) with some 25% places
Carson Pass 8,520 (2,596 m)

Here's some photos of Monitor Pass, Ebbits Pass and Carson Pass;

http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/projects/geoweb/participants/dutch/VTrips/EbbetsPass.HTM

http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/projects/geoweb/participants/dutch/VTrips/CarsonPass.HTM

http://www.tim-thompson.com/monitor.html

I've never ridden any of these passes but I have driven over all of them in a car.

Chas.

nicolas

Apparently this last picture was taken cimbing Monitor Pass.

Noticed the helmet ? Was Greg afraid of falling down a cliff ? This is prior to the first Giro helmet, no ?

verktyg

That looks like one of the old rock climbing or kayaking helmets riders used instead of the Bell "mushroom" helmets and Skid-Lids because they were more aerodynamic.

Anything is better than a leather hairnet. Shocked

Chas.

sandranian · Site Admin

The Russian guy wore one of those in "American Flyers", remember???

Paul Wiseman

The helmet is a Brancle. At the time it was one of the lightest had shell helmets around. This is before they used the polystyrene impact absorbing material. Next big thing on the market was the good old faithful Bell (can't remember the model). It still had a thick outer shell, but had polystyrene inner. The first of the really lightweight Giro designs came next.

lofter

i remember the skid lid. looked like a cinelli hair net but was hard plastic with the top exposed. it had horrible thick plastic straps that went around the ear then had a chin strap attached to that. i think lon haldeman used to wear one when he did the raam. down right ugly i tells ya.

verktyg

I still have a circa 1976 Bell "mushroom" helmet. Mine is a second generation model which has a little better ventilation and more comfortable straps than the original 1975 helmet.

I came around a corner a little too fast once, it was right after a rain shower and I skidded on some wet leaves. I slid into the curb at an angle and went flying over the handlebars. I struck the curb with the temple area of my head. The Bell took the full impact without a scratch. I'd hate to think of what might have happened if I hadn't of been wearing it.

Skid-Lids had lots of side protection but not much on top. They were also hot because the foam padding didn't absorb heat or perspiration. The plastic tubing straps were uncomfortable too. The snap on plastic visor was about the only positive feature.

On a training ride in the late 70s nine of us where in a an echelon paceline rounding a bend at the top of a slight hill. We were fighting a 30+ mph head wind. A big gust blew over the lead rider into the pack and he took all of us down. I watched a friend in front of me wearing a Skid-Lid land right on the top of his head. Fortunately he was OK and so was everyone else.

This weekend there was a classic Cinelli leather hairnet on eBay made of a shiny silver metallic fabric. Bling-bling. I was going to bid on it but the price got too high. Sad

Chas.