Tamalpais Awards honor California leaders

IMBA Trail News
Volume 12, Number 2
May 1999

Mountain bicycling pioneers of the San Francisco Bay Area honor current leaders of the northern California bicycling community through the Tamalpais Awards, which recognize persons who have become active leaders within the past five years or whose contributions over a longer period of time have gone largely unrecognized.

The Tamalpais Awards have two categories. The West Peak Award honors an individual for outstanding achievement in advancement of bicycle technology. The East Peak Award honors an individual for outstanding achievement in promotion of bicycle advocacy. The dual trophies symbolize the two sides of bicycling that were a driving force for mountain bike pioneers: bicycle recreation and bicycle transportation.

The third annual winners, announced in March, are Patrick Seidler, director and president of Wilderness Trail Bikes in Mill Valley (East Peak Award) and Sky Yaeger, product manager and vice-president of product development and marketing at Bianchi USA in Hayward (West Peak Award).

The Awards are presented by mountain bike pioneers Jacquie Phelan, Scot Nicol, Joe Murray, Marilyn Price, Steve Potts, Charlie Cunningham, Mark Slate, and Joe Breeze. Each of these pioneers has been inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame.

Patrick Seidler has been a tireless community worker since the 1970s. His work with Marin County government, his involvement with the Marin North/South Bikeways Committee in 1993, and many similar projects since have helped pave the way for the Marin County Bicycle Coalition's progress towards improved bicycle transit infrastructure. Seidler lives in San Rafael, CA. He can be reached at: (415) 389-5040.

Sky Yaeger is responsible for all aspects of concept and design of the highly successful and useful Bianchi Milano town bike. Her cafe racer is perfect for in-town use and has helped inspire the bicycle industry to focus on broader uses of bicycles beyond recreation. Yaeger lives in San Rafael, CA. She can be reached at (510) 264 1001.

Past recipients of the award were: John Castellano, Sweet Spot Suspension (East Peak, 1997); Maury Hull, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, UC Davis (East Peak, 1998), Dave Snyder, San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (West Peak, 1997); and Carolyn Helmke, Bay Area Rides and Bike to Work Day (West Peak, 1998).