Repack
Steep fire-road descent on Pine Mountain above Fairfax, California.
At a glance
| Source | Author | Role | In one line |
|---|---|---|---|
| It’s All About the Bike | Robert Penn | subject | Birthplace of the mountain bike; Penn rides it. |
It’s All About the Bike: In Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels — Robert Penn (2010)
Source: It’s All About the Bike · It’s All About the Bike - In Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels · Readwise highlight
If you’re not a mountain bike fanatic, you wouldn’t know that Repack is the most famous off-road trail in the world. It’s the birthplace of the mountain bike.
- Role: subject
- In the book: Gravy invites Penn to ride Repack, a steep off-road track dropping about 400 m down Pine Mountain, a foothill of Mount Tamalpais, and finishing near Fairfax. Penn rides it with Charlie Kelly and Joe Breeze and tells how the Repack races, the first in October 1976, drove the evolution of the mountain bike.
- Why it matters: Repack is the birthplace of the mountain bike and the emotional high point of the wheel-building chapter.