I received this e-mail from Charles Colerich  I hope you enjoy reading it.

Hello Simeon,

Part of the mountain bike craze in the US can be traced back to the UK.

I lived in New Mexico (USA) during the 70's. I managed a bike shop for
much
of that time. We used to get cycling magazines from the UK before US
publications became popular. We were really intrigued by several
articles
on "Rough Stuffing" in the UK.

During a road race in 1975 a friend and I got dropped really badly by
the pack on a climb up a 3850 meter (12,600 ft.) mountain. We gave up on
chasing the pack and turned onto a dirt road. We kept riding and
eventually the road turned into a single track. We ended up riding all
the way to the top of the mountain on a dirt trail with road silks and
gears.

My friend owned the bike shop that I managed. We were importing European
cyclo cross bikes with long wheel bases, relaxed angles and cantilever
brakes but had never tried them off road. We sold them for use as
touring bikes. I was also building frames at the time.

During the next week we put together some off road bikes and took them
out that weekend. That was the start of our love for off road bicycling.
My friend continued riding a cyclo cross bike with dropped bars. I built
a lugged frame that was similar to early commercial models that came out
during the 80's. I also opted for upright bars with some motor cycle
components. We rode cyclo cross sewups on soft surfaces and I used some
cheap Wolber 700 x 35C commuter bike tires for rougher rocky trails.

Over the next 4-5 years we rode all over the mountains in Northern New
Mexico and Southern Colorado. I ended up in Northern California working
as a manufacturing engineer in metal working and machining. I had
connections with many of the frame and component builders in the area.
The attached picture shows the bike I still ride. It's a lugged Reynolds
531
frame with 700Cs that I built about 10-12 years ago.

A quote from the RSF main web site:

"The history of the RSF goes way back to its foundation in 1955, long
before anyone had ever heard of Marin County. It was formed by cyclists
who wanted to get away from roads and cycle on tracks, and byways.

Bikes then were a world away from their modern-day counterparts. Steel
frames, no suspension, no V-brakes and gearing to make your hair curl."

Simeon,

Thanks for your response. Please feel free to use my message on your web
site.

Attached are 2 pictures from a ride we did in the Jemez Mountains in
Northern New Mexico, USA in 1977.  The area was on the slopes of Valle
Grande an extinct volcano. We were riding at about 2,500 meters. This
was true rough-stuff riding as there were almost no trails, tracks or
roads through this area.

That's me standing on the log. We stopped for minute because our friend
got a stick caught in his from wheel.

Regards,

Charles Colerich