Circa 1984

Amazingly enough, my Bridgestone MB-1 is still up and running. This bike has seen some of the best mountain biking trails from coast to coast. It is certainly a classic (to me) from early in the mountain biking technological and style development and fairly unique compared to some of the S-company productions. It was a departure from the state of the art at the time because it was one of the first to recognize (incorrectly for the most part) that the new mountain biking craze had something to contribute to the then even more obscure cyclocross sector...and hence this bike originally came with drops. The picture barely resembles the original bike as everything except the frame and rims have been changed to aftermarket parts throughout the years; including a Ritchey ultralight Force stem back when they made them as long as 169mm (to accommodate my height) which results in massive deflection at the end of the bars, Cooks Bros cranks (after spinning one during a race in Canaan) and BB, Tange fork (not a choice for replacement after an unfortunate run in with a tree), cantilever brakes (probably 3 full sets of upgrades installed through the years) with rear brace to replace center pulls, flat bars with 90s style bar ends (which I still ride on my "new" '04 Fisher Mt. Tam hard tail), flight seat, several sets of clipless pedals, many times over all of the "disposable" parts like chains/chainrings/clusters/cables/derailleurs/etc and the most recent (perhaps 5 years ago) addition of 1.25" slicks for my commuter/road bike conversion. This bike is truly part of me, as are all of my riding partners over the years. Most memorable is how this bike provided the only solace for me following a startling move back east that put me off balance and completely out of my element with no friends. And of Bob, the best riding partner, rock and roll show companion and most generous friend a person could ever ask for. I may just own this bike forever...but hopefully will upgrade someday to full suspension for my primary mount for off-road adventures. For those of you that have spent significant time in the saddle on acoustic motorbikes, you know how I feel about this bike after more than 25 years of service.