Famed mountain biker Fisher draws dozens during Iowa visit

Sun January 25 2009
Posted Jan 25, 2009
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One of the bizarre features of modern technology is that the simplest-looking devices can be unimaginably complex. Take, for example, the mountain bike: It looks as simple as a frame, a couple of wheels and the legs that pedal it, but it is as complex as the precise science that underlies its design, and the almost religious devotion among its community of riders. But you don't have to tell that to bikesmith Gary Fisher, who has spent this weekend in Des Moines to promote the sport with support from the Iowa Bicycle Coalition. "The bike," he said, "is a lot more complex than anyone could ever realize." Fisher, famous as one of the men who invented mountain biking, attracted dozens of enthusiasts to Bike World in West Des Moines on Saturday afternoon — among them old friends, casual fans and star-struck admirers angling for autographs and advice. His rise began in the 1970s, when a small circle of California biking enthusiasts set about building bikes that could pedal over dirt and rocks and climb steep off-road hillsides. Such bikes didn't exist, so Fisher built one from whatever he could find: spare frames, drum brakes, and motorcycle brake levers, according to his Web site. A fellow early adopter, 59-year-old Molly Shevlin of Boone, stopped to see Fisher on Saturday. Shevlin, who used to live in California, said early mountain bikers had a tolerance for danger, careering down mountains on their Frankenstein machines, not knowing whether their brakes would give way. "That's how crazy they were," she said. "The stuff they did, I would never do." Fisher's career as a bike maker grew as the sport became more popular. Flamboyantly dressed Saturday in diamond-shaped tinted glasses and knee-high socks, Fisher said many of his craft's technological advances "would have been thought of as completely impossible" when he first began making bikes more than 30 years ago. Fans who showed up Saturday said Fisher has helped to cultivate the tight-knit mountain biking community, in large part through his down-to-Earth attitude and accessibility. "He's still part of the people ... he can still be a human being," said Jon Edgington, 27, who works at Bike World. "Look at how many bikes have his name on them. He doesn't hold that over anyone or think he's better than anyone else." Fisher said he plans to leave town today, but if you missed him, don't worry. He plans to return for RAGBRAI this summer.