World’s Best Mountain Biking
Passion for bicycling comes in different forms. Some have turned their bicycling passion into a profession.
Passion for bicycling comes in different forms. Some have turned their bicycling passion into a profession.
In the world of documentary filmmaking, there are few endeavors as ambitious and captivating as an around-the-world mountain-biking adventure. Enter James Hong.
The Great Mountain Biking Video produced in 1987 is now celebrating its 35th anniversary. So hard to believe that it’s been that many years since we buckled into our toeclips and rode up and down the local San Diego mountains to introduce the world to the sport of Mountain Biking.
What a gorgeous day in October 1993 it was when our small (three-person) video production crew arrived in the lovely town of Gangtok, Sikkim, India. My husband, Mark Schulze, and I had decided to participate in the First-ever Himalayan Run and Mountain Bike Trek, and to document it in our video, “Full Cycle: A World Odyssey.” So our friend, Mark Eveslage (aka “Marco”), decided to join us on this “endless summer on wheels” as Director of Photography.
One of my most amazing mountain-bike race adventures occurred in 1989 (in Big Bear Lakes, California) while I was participating as a downhill racer on the Tioga Downhill event of the Fall NORBA Nationals. Unfortunately and only recently did I learn that downhill racing at Big Bear was ended because of too many lawsuits and the skyrocketing cost of insurance. That’s a shame, because I’d love to hammer down one more run as a 67-year-old woman with two bionic knees to prove to the world that I’m still fat at heart.
Ever since I explored Greece as an intrepid single 24-year-old in the late ‘70’s, I had longed to return, but not alone. This time, I wanted to share the magic of that golden land and its mythological roots with my soulmate. Ah, childish dreaming. Yet another myth, you may be thinking, for not many women ever find their prince. And so I humbly thank the gods and goddesses for the moment my eyes met his, on that theatre balcony in Encinitas, California, on Valentine’s Day, 1982.