His name might not be very familiar to a lot of cyclists, but Jobst Brandt can be considered one of the most influential figures in modern cycling. A trusted advisor, confidant and mentor to many of cycling’s movers and shakers, Jobst passed away earlier this month. He was 80 years old, and his legacy directly informs what you ride today.
There has been an outpouring of tributes and memories from all corners of the cycling world, as people fondly recall Jobst’s support, ideas and influence. Tom Ritchey recently wrote an engaging post recalling how Jobst influenced Tom and the Ritchey products and brand.
In addition to writing about Jobst’s engineering input, unique vision and personal inspiration, Ritchey shares stories about how…and where…Jobst liked to ride. Here are a couple of excerpts from the article.
“Jobst was a different sort of rider, through and through. He was the force behind these huge, unusual rides happening in Northern California. It was a small, brave and slightly crazy group of us riding road bikes up into the fire roads and cow trails of the Santa Cruz Mountains, long before mountain bikes.”
“Most notably, Jobst knew rides that nobody else knew. If I found narrow tire tracks way off the paved roads in the Santa Cruz Mountains, I knew they were his.”
Read the entire post over on the Ritchey web site.
(The photos we used here have been reposted from the original article on the Ritchey site.)
