Back in the day awesomeness

I stumbled across this picture of my good friend Matt Hebberd from way back in the day ('79?) when he was a 17 year old punk ass trying out a new sport consisting of riding retro-fitted cruiser bikes to places they had no business being. Talk about bad-ass. This looks like it was shot near Gothic outside of Crested Butte, Colorado.

Many you have probably ridden the world famous trails in this valley. Not many of you have ever ridden them on your townie while wearing jeans, with what looks to be a gold anodized 53 tooth front chainring. I think I saw Cancellara ride this chainring in the tour this year... Other stylish elements worth noting:

-The red cords/black turtleneck riding kit on the left, possibly the most functional of the group due to corduroy's less chafetastic nature. Denim would be brutal on a 2 hour climb...
-Matt's chef's cap. Useful if you want to whip up some croissants when you get home.
-The white cable housing, which is now mandatory equipment for the coolest of cool racers.
-The pie plate, which according to BikesnobNYC in this post, is acceptable in this application as a direct result of the shitiness of the derailleur being used.
-Rear suspension... built right into the saddles. Also helpful to scare wildlife out of your way due to the noise rusty springs tend to create.
-Everyone's expression seems to say, "what the f#$% are we doing out here with these town bikes?" Shirtless dude on right seems particularly pissed off. Only Matt seems to have a slightly amused look, probably because his mad riding skills allowed him to actually have fun on his bike.

All this makes Hebb-dogg and the others in this picture way cooler than you or me. So next time I'm feeling a little 'off' on a mountain bike ride as I sail along, suspended on a magic carpet of 6" travel, virtual pivot point, hydraulic braked, 27 speed goodness, I'll think about this crew and HTFU.

And to those of you who did ride 401 (or any trail for that matter) on a cruiser bike with jeans; thanks for figuring it all out back then so I could be a softie today.

Almost 30 years later at Bartlett Wash. Hebberd still showing the way, just as he does at his day job.