Billy Savage on Mountain Biking Film Klunkerz

Mountain Bike History Captured in a Film Documentary

Apr 12, 2009

An interview with Billy Savage, producer, writer and director of mountain bike history movie Klunkerz focussing on how key players were persuaded to participate.

Suite101 had the pleasure of talking to Billy and asked him how he got all the key players to participate in the Klunkerz film.

Mountain Bike Pioneers and the Film Documentary Klunkerz

Suite101: How did you get all the key players like Jo Breeze and Gary Fisher to participate?

Billy: “During my research I found that, over the years, there had been a lot said in the press with lots of feelings involved so I knew that some of the guys were going to be reluctant to participate. Initially, I was very intimidated to approach successful athletes and businessmen with hectic schedules. I was worried they weren't going to have time for some hippie filmmaker looking for a story. I wanted to spend some time with each subject before I shot them, to get to know them and get them to trust me so I could get to the heart of the material. I was going to take a 'homegrown' approach to making the film, and if they didn't really care for me or the project, it was never going to work.

On one of my fact finding trips to Marin I found myself in Joe Breeze’s living room pitching him on the project. I told him I had no interest in the big business side of things and that I only wanted to know about the earliest days. I felt the true story was during that embryonic period, racing down Repack for nothing other than bragging rights, and possibly a beer or two. There wasn't going to be a hero or villain. They were all heroes to me, and I wanted the drama in the film to be derived from their accomplishments and their competitiveness as athletes and not from their rivalries.

He checked me out pretty heavily, and I think he could tell I was committed. He liked the idea and was willing to give me the phone numbers to almost everyone on my hit list. Now I just had to convince them that I was the guy to do this project! “

Billy: “Gary wasn't the easiest person to get a hold of. When I finally got to meet Gary, he said there were five other guys making the same film. I told him I had a six figure budget, a two-year timeline and I asked him if any of these other guys were that committed. He told me if I really wanted to tell the story, I'd have to find the more obscure characters that participated too. Once he realized that I had already made contact with lots of these folks he was totally on board. He realized I'd done my homework when I started to ask him questions about things unrelated to cycling that he had done in high school. From that moment on, he was IN. He wasn't really speaking with his old business partner much when I started the project, and now they're really buddies again. That makes me really happy.”

Billy: “Mike Sinyard was another one that wasn't easy to track down. Some of these guys are very busy, so you've got to be persistent. After chasing him for the better part of a year I decided to physically confront him. I found out that he would be competing in the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey. I found out the exact time of that particular race and made it up to the start line on my old Klunker. There he was, with his team circled around him. I'd never met him, but I just new this was the guy. Somebody on his team said 'Hey, nice Marin County Klunker!’ That was perfect. He instantly said ‘You're that guy that's been bugging my assistant.’ I told him I was making the movie, with him or without him, and I had already interviewed the other big boys. I told him I would bring a crew from L.A. to his HQ in Morgan Hill for 30 minutes of his time during lunch. We set a date and instead of giving me thirty minutes, we hung out for something like four hours.”

Making the Mountain Bike Film Klunkerz

Billy: “I researched on and off for a couple of years. The first day of shooting was Oct. 21, 2004, the anniversary of the first Repack. I shot on-and-off for about 18 months, editing simultaneously. I was racing to get it done for the world premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival. I finished it the day before I drove up to the festival and I got to watch it with the whole cast for the first time. That was awesome and I had a huge party afterwards, a bittersweet moment as my mother passed away a few days before.”

Buy Klunkerz, a Film about Mountain Bike History

Readers can visit the official website to get a copy of mountain bike film Klunkerz . The film is also available to buy at many bike shops and sporting goods stores as well as online on eBay and Amazon.

The copyright of the article Billy Savage on Mountain Biking Film Klunkerz in Mountain Biking is owned by Helen Smeaton. Permission to republish Billy Savage on Mountain Biking Film Klunkerz in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.