3/2018

Paul gets his first mountain bike back!

Paul & grandfather Johnson at the Chequamegon 40 bike race

1987 Diamondback Arrival

See the photo? That’s me before the start of the 1988 Chequamegon 40 mountain bike race in Hayward, Wisconsin.

The distinguished gentleman standing to my left is my grandfather, Helmer “Blackie” Johnson.

Those are my two bikes, a yellow 1987 Diamond Back Arrival (on the car) and a black & yellow splatter paint 1988 Diamond Back Arrival. These were on the cutting edge of mountain bike technology in the late ’80’s with aluminum frames and Shimano Deore XT components (but I didn’t like the oval Biopace chainrings though, so I changed those out.

These bikes represented the first sponsorship deal I ever had, getting a special price on the bikes and my race entry fees paid by Erik’s Bike Shop.
The bikes were stolen out of our garage a month after the photo with my grandfather was taken. Thirty years later, with a little luck and some help from Ebay, I have a replacement for the yellow one. Couldn’t be happier. I still need to replace the Biopace chainrings to make it just right.