There are few characters so synonymous with mountain biking as Californian Gary Fisher, one of the original Repack gang who are credited with founding our beloved sport. With his famous moustache, bold dress-sense and an attitude to match, Gary has been a lifelong innovator within the bike industry, and at a sprightly 72 years of age he’s still out there shredding those legendary NorCal trails.
Who is Gary Fisher?
Just some bike guy.
What are you best known for?
Making a ruckus and changing things!
What’s your fantasy day?
I’d like to take certain bike racers out shopping for clothes in London, Milan or Paris. When you find somebody’s look, they come alive, like, ‘wow, yeah, this is me!’.
Where do you call home?
I live in Belvedere, a tiny town in Marin County, San Francisco Bay. I grew up here, and there are all of these big long steps around here; I used to ride them two at a time, but I can’t do that any more.
What was your upbringing?
My dad was an architect in San Francisco and he did a lot of projects like the Embarcadero Center and the restoration of the Palace of Fine Arts. I learned to draw from him. My mom was a Hollywood mom; she worked in the movie industry.
What’s your first riding memory?
It was with older kids at the San Mateo Bike Shop. They said they went fast, but they couldn’t drop me. After they said they could make me the mascot, I started crying, so they made me a member. That was my first ride with other people – like, an 80-mile ride at 12 years old!
What was your first proper bike?
It was a Legnano (Italian road bike). It had steel Magistroni cranks and Campagnolo gears, a Regina chain and cluster.
What gets you excited to ride?
A good [road] group that knows how to rotate [take their turn at the front] and ride echelons in crosswinds [fan out in a diagonal formation]. That’s cool, that’s the power of the group. Going fast – I love that stuff!
When was the last time you were really stoked?
This morning. There was this ripping tailwind on one stretch, which was a lot of fun. You need that every day; the bike helps you forget and remember.
Who are your favourite people to ride with?
Paola Pezzo [’90s XC star who won Olympic gold in Atlanta] and her husband Paolo Rosola. They’re very civilised, and to be in that section of Italy and be able to ‘call up’ how and where you’re going to ride is wonderful.
Current go to bike?
I’ve been riding my road bike a lot, but I’ve also got a [Trek/Gary Fisher] Superfly, an old one. It’s all tricked out and is carbon fibre. I have a fatbike, too, but the tyres have got skinnier. I’ve got to get a bike with more current geometry!
What’s a typical day for you now?
I get up early, get my coffee and then I have to go on my ride. Then, if the kids are in, I make sure there’s food in the house. I cook a lot. Because I’m the best cook, they make me do it all!
What’s your role within the bike industry now?
I stepped away from Trek this year. It was a great ride with them but I wanted to do a few Gary-like things. I’m not going to make a bike or anything, I’ve done that. It’s more about working on places to ride bikes, and ideas on things for bikes.
What do you see as the Biggest industry mistakes?
Things can be a little bit on the disposable side. In the US, they allow these bikes to be sold that we call a ‘bike-shaped object’ and ‘landfill in a box’. Unrepairable bicycles – it’s a joke.
Are you a wheels-on-the-ground kind of rider?
I’m not an air guy, but I love watching it. Sometimes I wonder if I should go and jump on an airbag for a while. I like all of that flipping around and everything. But, these days, my (doctor) wife says, ‘nah’. She doesn’t want me getting hurt.
What’s something people don’t know about you?
My grandfather invented the role of script supervisor in Hollywood, and I inherited his stuff. There were a lot of backstage studio shots; he did films like Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita, Lost in Space – he did over 250 films.
What are you up to in 2023?
I'm trying to get into a position to bring higher-quality trail work to the sport by working with the best trail builders in the world – mountain bikers!
This article was originally published in MBUK 418
Words: Steve Thomas
Photo: Dan Milner
