Ibisians Interviewing other Ibisians Part III
Scot Interviews Tom

Q. Where do you like to say you grow up?
A. Born in San Francisco, spent a brief time in Sunnyvale, CA, grew-up in Saratoga, CA

Q. What is your favorite barnyard animal?
A. Whoa, this could be trouble. I’ll go with pigs – I always thought Wilbur from “Charlotte’s Web” was a good soul.

Q. When did you realize that you had a thing for bikes?
A. When my neighbor – Billy Benham got a new heavy-duty Ashtabula ‘gooseneck’ and fork for his Sting-Ray around ’77, but the hook was really sunk when my best friend from high school’s older brother - Ray came home from Cupertino Bike Shop with a new mountain bike made by Ritchey in ’83.

Q. What was your first bike “job”?
A. I worked at an REI store in Cupertino from ’87 to ’90. It was where I first met Scot, though I doubt he’ll remember it. We were an Ibis dealer and Scot came down with Andy Grayson to do a demo in the store. It’s also where I first met Hans’s wife – Carol, which led to me meeting Hans. She came into the store one day and told us a strange story about balloons with arms floating hand-in-hand. Yeah, I know, you’ll just have to ask her yourself.

Q. Coolest bike ride you ever did?
A. Wow, this is tough. Probably this one Fall I was trying to fit in one last after work ride before the day light hours became too short to do so. I rode to the top of Monte Bello Rd by myself, and just as I reached the top the sun was setting. I decided to descend into the canyon on the far side of the mountain anyway as I had done mountain bike rides by moonlight many times and had ridden this particular trail more than anywhere else - so I wasn’t all that concerned. However, it turned out that there was no moon that evening and by the time I got to the canyon floor it was pitch black. Suddenly something that was very familiar became completely foreign. My sense of space and sound were altered and I fumbled my way down the trail focusing as intently as I could on whatever sensory input I could pick up from my opaque surroundings. After what seemed like an eternity riding, crashing, walking and riding again I emerged from the trail and returned to the paved road. As I pedaled my way past many homes with their windows lit up from inside I could see the families inside gathered around the television watching whatever they watched, and I couldn’t help but wonder about the fact none of them had any idea about the crazy adventure that I had just experienced or that waited for them just outside their doors.

Q. Worst bike ride you ever did?
A. Strangely enough this was also a contender for the best ride, but about ten years ago I went on a mountain bike tour in Mexico with my friends Joe and Kim. We were camped along a river at the base of a steep canyon in the mountains outside of Culiacan on New Year’s Eve when we were robbed at gun point. One of the guy’s woke me from my tent by tapping the barrel of his M-16 on my forehead. Though they seemed determined to try to unnerve us, Joe and I stayed much calmer than we had a right to be. I think that the situation was just so beyond our control there was nothing that we could do other see how it played out. The banditos finally left us unharmed and a little lighter in the pockets. Nonetheless, the area was beautiful and I love the touring lifestyle – ride, eat, sleep. Marvelous simplicity.

Q. Most exciting aspect of this Ibis thing?
A. Being around of this incredibly talented group of individuals and contributing where I can. The whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts. Moreover, I feel that I have so much to learn from this experience.

Q. If you could bike anywhere, where would it be?
A. The Demo’ Forest in Soquel.

Q. Do you have any siblings?
A. Yeah, I’m the youngest of four - two older sisters and an older brother.

Q. Did you ever have a mullet?
A. Does it count if the result wasn’t intentional? I should probably deny it, but photographic evidence from the early 90’s would turn me out.

Q. Furthest you ever drove to ride a bike?
A. About 26 hours - thirteen from the Bay Area to Phoenix and then another thirteen into Mexico.

Q. Furthest you ever flew to ride a bike?
A. Roughly 7,000 miles. I did a downhill race in Taiwan. I think the course was built on a land fill because there was trash everywhere and random pieces of scrap metal protruding from the ground.

Q. Wife, Kids, Pets, Cars, Airplanes?
A. Married to Alexis, no kids, a newly acquired dog named Marco (notice the resemblance?), two nondescript cars [ED-Tom drives a mini-van!], no airplanes

Q. Fastest you ever went on a bike?
A. I’ve gone as fast as 58 mph in several different places, but Sierra Rd. in San Jose in probably my favorite place to go fast.

Q. Hobbies?
A. Other than riding, I was trained as an illustrator and like to draw when I have free time – which is rare. I enjoy reading and movies, and I’m trying to become a competent handyman through working on our well worn home.

Q. Have you ever ridden your bike anywhere illegal?
A. Uh, no comment.

Q. Have you ever hit your head in an elevator?
A. Yes, in one of the more spastic acts of youthful exuberance I used to try and jump and touch the ceiling with my hand or head whenever I could. That included elevators. I come from a very tall family and I think it was part of my eagerness to fulfill my destiny of being tall as well.

Q. What is the worst thing you’ve ever eaten on a ride? (boogers don’t count)
A. A Power Bar. When those things first came out they were harder than rocks and tasted like saw dust. It felt like you were going to remove your molars with every bite. Thankfully they’re much softer and tastier these days. ;-)