More Breaking Away trivia
Bob Schwartz
Who was the stunt double in the movie?
Who was the stunt double in the TV series? (Hint: he later
was US Pro Road champion)
Bob Schwartz
bsch...@cray.com
Gene Bowen
Was it John Eustace? Tell us!
Bob Schwartz
I wrote:
>
> Who was the stunt double in the movie?
Dennis Christopher's double was Gary Rybar, who I believe was
a cat 2 racer in Indiana. That was him behind the semi, and I
don't think he was in the small ring.
> Who was the stunt double in the TV series? (Hint: he later
> was US Pro Road champion)
Shaun Cassidy's double was 1986 US Pro champion Tom Prehn. I don't
know if this one was harder or not. Prehn is more well known, but
the TV series went in the tank pretty quickly and wasn't seen
by many people.
Bob Schwartz
bsch...@cray.com
Andrew R. Coggan
Bob Schwartz wrote:
> Dennis Christopher's double was Gary Rybar, who I believe was
> a cat 2 racer in Indiana.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for refreshing my memory! I've been
wracking my brains trying to remember his name, and couldn't come up
with it.
> That was him behind the semi, and I don't think he was in the small ring.
He really did hit the "double nickle" mark during filming, which means
that the big ring was essentially mandatory.
todd marks bauer
On Fri, 24 Jan 1997, Bob Schwartz wrote:
> I wrote:
> >
> > Who was the stunt double in the movie?
>
> Dennis Christopher's double was Gary Rybar, who I believe was
> a cat 2 racer in Indiana. That was him behind the semi, and I
> don't think he was in the small ring.
Correct. What ever happened to that guy (Rybar)?
> Bob Schwartz
> bsch...@cray.com
>
>
Bruce Hildenbrand
In article <32E8CA...@cray.com> Bob Schwartz <bsch...@cray.com> writes:
>I wrote:
>>
>> Who was the stunt double in the movie?
>
>Dennis Christopher's double was Gary Rybar, who I believe was
>a cat 2 racer in Indiana. That was him behind the semi, and I
>don't think he was in the small ring.
It is not Gary Rybar anymore. It is Karen Rybar.
Bruce Hildenbrand
SRjames
You've got to be kidding.
For real?
Jim Ansite
Bob Broeking
Bob Schwartz <bsch...@cray.com> wrote:
>Who was the stunt double in the movie?
>Who was the stunt double in the TV series? (Hint: he later
>was US Pro Road champion)
>Bob Schwartz
>bsch...@cray.com
Who got paid $75 for two days riding in the race that was filmed? _
Bob Broeking.... they asked any riders who rode the 78 season (78 or
79... I am getting old) to ride in the race they filmed. It was a fun
three days. I grad from IU and rode in the Little 500 for Wilkie Deca
- a dorm team. Bob
Bob Broeking in O'Fallon, IL.... Only here 18 months
"I'll get the rope..."Anderl Hinterstoisser, North Face of the
Eiger, July 19th, 1936... bbro...@apci.net
Tom Schwoegler
On Sun, 26 Jan 1997 19:24:49 GMT, bbro...@apci.net (Bob Broeking)
wrote:
Bob, It was riders from the 1978 race.
Do you remember how mad the Tau Kappa Epsilon team was. They had
qualified 1st in '78 (first time ever for them) and they were very
upset that the "Sigma Tau Omega" (fake frat) team would be in the
front row and not them.
Tom Schwoegler
Tom Schwoegler
On Thu, 23 Jan 1997 08:48:46 -0600, Bob Schwartz <bsch...@cray.com>
wrote:
>Who was the stunt double in the movie?
>
>Who was the stunt double in the TV series? (Hint: he later
>was US Pro Road champion)
>
>Bob Schwartz
>bsch...@cray.com
The double was Gary Rybar from Indianapolis.... and he was in the
large chainring. (I was in the truck telling him when to move out so
he could be seen in the mirror.)
If you look you will notice that (other than the difference in leg
muscle definition) when Dennis is on the bike behind the truck, it is
sunny out and when Gary is on the bike it is overcast. The scenes were
shot on different days.
Also, several years after the film Gary got a sex change operation and
is now Karen Rybar (and I'm serious)
My question for you is, we used a real MASI and a Sears Free Spirit
painted and decal'ed like a MASI. How can you tell which one is being
used. (Sorry, no hints)
Tom Schwoegler
Steve Croft
t...@little500.com (Tom Schwoegler) writes:
>My question for you is, we used a real MASI and a Sears Free Spirit
>painted and decal'ed like a MASI. How can you tell which one is being
>used. (Sorry, no hints)
I haven't seen the movie in awhile but I'll take a wild guess... the
safety brakes are still on the Free Spirit?
steve
rm...@lehigh.edu
>>
>> Who was the stunt double in the movie?
>
>a cat 2 racer in Indiana. That was him behind the semi, and I
>don't think he was in the small ring.
I think he was, although to make sure I'll watch the movie tonight and make
sure. The question is, was he really going anywhere near 60 mph? I think
not... (although it wouldn't be that difficult for a cat 2)
\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//
Rafael Raban ,__o ,__o _____ ,__o
ph. (610) 758-0078 _- \ <, _- \ <, ____ _- \ <,
Lehigh University ( ) / ( ) ( ) / ( ) _____ ( ) / ( )
Materials Science & Engineering
e-mail: rm...@lehigh.edu
http://www.lehigh.edu/~incyc/cycling.html
Mark H. Black
Ahem -
Now that's what I call a "cutter"! (sorry)
Mark
---------------------------------------------------------------
Bruce Hildenbrand (bhi...@stelvio.eng.sun.com) wrote:
: In article <32E8CA...@cray.com> Bob Schwartz <bsch...@cray.com> writes:
: >I wrote:
: >>
: >> Who was the stunt double in the movie?
: >
: >Dennis Christopher's double was Gary Rybar, who I believe was
: >a cat 2 racer in Indiana. That was him behind the semi, and I
: >don't think he was in the small ring.
: It is not Gary Rybar anymore. It is Karen Rybar.
: Bruce Hildenbrand
Mark Hickey
rm...@Lehigh.EDU writes...
>
>>In article <32E8CA...@cray.com> Bob Schwartz <bsch...@cray.com> writes:
>>>I wrote:
>>>
>>> Who was the stunt double in the movie?
>>
>>Dennis Christopher's double was Gary Rybar, who I believe was
>>a cat 2 racer in Indiana. That was him behind the semi, and I
>>don't think he was in the small ring.
>
>
>sure. The question is, was he really going anywhere near 60 mph? I think
>not... (although it wouldn't be that difficult for a cat 2)
Actually, it would be fairly difficult indeed, unless they were
both going down a fairly significant hill. I did a little calculation
and figured that with the "normal" gearing of the time a rider would
have to be turning about 187rpm to hit 60mph with a 52/13. If he
was indeed in his small ring (figure a 42) he would have to be spinning
a whopping 231 rpm. I haven't seen the movie in years, but I know
for a fact the rider drafting the truck wasn't anywhere near the
200rpm range. Just another "Hollywood moment", I'm afraid.....
Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.cynetfl.com/habanero/
Home of the $675 ti frame
Tom Schwoegler
Close, The brakes on the Sears bike are DiaCompe and not Campy. On
Campy, the cable comes down on the left side (as you face the bike).
The DiaCompe comes down on the right side.
Tom Schwoegler
John Everett
In article <5cqld3$34...@ns3-1.CC.Lehigh.EDU>, rm...@Lehigh.EDU says...
>
>>In article <32E8CA...@cray.com> Bob Schwartz <bsch...@cray.com> writes:
>>>I wrote:
>>>
>>> Who was the stunt double in the movie?
>>
>>Dennis Christopher's double was Gary Rybar, who I believe was
>>a cat 2 racer in Indiana. That was him behind the semi, and I
>>don't think he was in the small ring.
>
>
>I think he was, although to make sure I'll watch the movie tonight and make
>sure. The question is, was he really going anywhere near 60 mph? I think
>not... (although it wouldn't be that difficult for a cat 2)
I haven't seen the movie in a very long time, but wasn't it a Cinzano truck?
Perhaps a support vehicle for the Cinzano team over from Italy, with the
speedometer calibrated in kph? Of course when was the last time you saw a
cycling team with a semi for a support vehicle? Then again, 60kph is no feat.
Even an old fart like me can draft trucks at 70+kph, although I prefer dump
trucks to semis. They don't accelerate as fast.
Also I seem to recall Dave passing a "Bloomington 60" sign as he hooked up
with the truck. The implication being that he drafted the truck at speed for
60 miles. Yeah, right!
--
jeve...@wwa.com (John V. Everett) http://www.wwa.com/~jeverett
Gene Bowen
Was that really you driving the truck in the movie? If so, you have a
friendly face and a nice smile. Thanks for sharing your trivia with us.
I started racing because of the movie, and I ride a 1978 MASI Gran
Criterium in training. It really is a good bike.
Gene Bowen
Bruce Hildenbrand
In article <5cu8d6$q...@news1-alterdial.uu.net> mhi...@cynetfl.com (Mark Hickey) writes:
>rm...@Lehigh.EDU writes...
>>
>>>In article <32E8CA...@cray.com> Bob Schwartz <bsch...@cray.com> writes:
>>>>I wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Who was the stunt double in the movie?
>>>
>>>Dennis Christopher's double was Gary Rybar, who I believe was
>>>a cat 2 racer in Indiana. That was him behind the semi, and I
>>>don't think he was in the small ring.
>>
>>
>>I think he was, although to make sure I'll watch the movie tonight and make
>>sure. The question is, was he really going anywhere near 60 mph? I think
>>not... (although it wouldn't be that difficult for a cat 2)
>
>both going down a fairly significant hill. I did a little calculation
>and figured that with the "normal" gearing of the time a rider would
>have to be turning about 187rpm to hit 60mph with a 52/13. If he
>was indeed in his small ring (figure a 42) he would have to be spinning
>a whopping 231 rpm. I haven't seen the movie in years, but I know
>for a fact the rider drafting the truck wasn't anywhere near the
>200rpm range. Just another "Hollywood moment", I'm afraid.....
One shot in the movie definitely shows the rider who is supposedly drafting
the truck in the *small* chainring. My guess is that, as with all Hollywood
movies, this scene was added after the actual 55mph scene was filmed and
that when that particular scene was added, the rider was not going anywhere
near 55mph.
Bruce Hildenbrand
Michael Monson
>
> One shot in the movie definitely shows the rider who is supposedly drafting
> the truck in the *small* chainring. My guess is that, as with all Hollywood
> movies, this scene was added after the actual 55mph scene was filmed and
> that when that particular scene was added, the rider was not going anywhere
> near 55mph.
>
> Bruce Hildenbrand
>
Probably needed to show the cranks spinning *really* fast and that meant
using the small chainring.
--
Mike Monson
Dave Hayes
In article <5cu8d6$q...@news1-alterdial.uu.net>, mhi...@cynetfl.com (Mark
Hickey) wrote:
> rm...@Lehigh.EDU writes...
> >
> >I think he was, although to make sure I'll watch the movie tonight and make
> >sure. The question is, was he really going anywhere near 60 mph? I think
> >not... (although it wouldn't be that difficult for a cat 2)
>
> Actually, it would be fairly difficult indeed, unless they were
> both going down a fairly significant hill. I did a little calculation
> and figured that with the "normal" gearing of the time a rider would
> have to be turning about 187rpm to hit 60mph with a 52/13. If he
> was indeed in his small ring (figure a 42) he would have to be spinning
> a whopping 231 rpm. I haven't seen the movie in years, but I know
> for a fact the rider drafting the truck wasn't anywhere near the
> 200rpm range. Just another "Hollywood moment", I'm afraid.....
The story I heard at the time was that, yes, Gary did draft the truck at
close to 60 Mph for the cameras. In his big ring of course. Could have
been on a "significant downhill"... but needn't have been, as Semis give
wonderful drafts. Remember, spinning wasn't the lost art back then that it
has become now that 12s and 11s are readily available.
The shot of a rider's legs spinning furiously in the small ring was
probably put in to emphasize how fast you'd have to pedal to go 60. The
film editor was either clueless to the fact that the small ring was
incongruous, or knew what he was doing and figured that the _average_
viewer wouldn't catch on.
All in all, not as bad as a contrail in the skies over "Daniel Boone."
Dave Hayes
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Tom Schwoegler
I as in that truck and he got up to 58mph. The Cinzano on the truck
was just a little light humor that was added.
I also don't think we ever tried to imply that he could draft at 60mph
for an hour.
You have to remember that when you are behind the truck you are in a
slip-stream. The tough part for Gary was when he had to move out from
behind the truck to be seen in the mirror. As I recall it took us
about 3 hours of filming to get everything we needed. To this day I
can picture him spining like a madman. If you really think about it,
it was a very dangerous thing to shoot especially on an open highway.
At the time the largest Campy front chainring I could get my hands on
was a 53 from my own touring Paramount.
As far as the small chainring shot. I was not there the day it was
shot. or I would have caught it easily. You can tell the days when we
shot the truck scenes with Gary and with Dennis. On the day we shot
with Dennis is was sunny and with Gary it was overcast. The shot with
Dennis in the wrong chainring you can see the bright shadow on the
road. With Gary in the long shot, showing the truck, Gary and the
highway in the distance it is clearly overcast and just about to rain.
The other tell tale sign is the muscle definition in Gary's legs that
Dennis did not have.
Another interesting thing that will give you an idea of Gary's
ability. In the Little 500 race scenes when the camera angle is low
(getting the close shot of pedals from behind). The camera crew made a
bolt-on camera platform that held the camera about 4 inches off the
ground and about 8 inches off the side of the bike. The camera weighed
about 20 pounds. Think about what it takes balance-wise to ride
something like that, especially knowing that the attached camera is
not cheap.
Tom Schwoegler
Bruce Hildenbrand
Another piece of interesting trivia concerned the racing bike Dennis
Christopher used on the road (it was an orange peel-colored Colnago).
The story as it was related to me was:
The film crew wanted to have a whole bunch of spare bikes around for
shooting the scenes with Dennis Christopher so that if a bike got
dirty or crashed in a scene, they could just use a backup and not waste
any time cleaning or fixing the bike.
When they approached the people who distributed Colnago, they actually
wanted a color other than orange peel. However, since they needed
something like eight bicycles of the same size and color, the only
color available was orange peel because it was not very popular.
So, the film crew had to settle for the orange peel color.
When the movie came out, shazaam! the orange peel color was the most
requested color of the Colnagos in the US!
Bruce Hildenbrand
MHALDY
What a minute..I thought that the bikes were made by Masi. Were they
really Colnago's or Masi Gran Criteriums?
Matt
Bruce Hildenbrand
In article <19970205170...@ladder01.news.aol.com> mha...@aol.com (MHALDY) writes:
>What a minute..I thought that the bikes were made by Masi. Were they
>really Colnago's or Masi Gran Criteriums?
My error! The story is true the brand name was changed(?!?!) to protect
the innocent. The bike was indeed a Masi. My apologies to Fiorello
(or however you spell his first name) Masi and all the loyal Masi
owners out there.
Bruce Hildenbrand
Rick Halterman
Was Dennis the lead character in the movie? If so, it was a Masi...
UCP...@unlvm.unl.edu
In article <19970205170...@ladder01.news.aol.com>
mha...@aol.com (MHALDY) writes:
>
>What a minute..I thought that the bikes were made by Masi. Were they
>really Colnago's or Masi Gran Criteriums?
don't know if it was a Gran Criterium model (when did Masi put out those?)
but it was definitely a Masi. The team 'CINZANO' italian team in the movie
had baby blue Colnagos, but Dave's bike was a orange Masi, (the decals are
plain 'MASI' on downtube).
The story that the crew wanted any other color than orange (but it's all the
distributor had in stock at the time) is true, but it was a Masi not a Colnago.
Not that it matters really....both sweet makers.
--Conrad
Tom Schwoegler
The bike that Dave Stoller rode was a Masi Gran Crtierium made in the
USA. At the time the film was made there were 2 Masi brothers making
them, one in Eurpoe and one in the US. We had 2 of these bike along
with an extra fork that was bent for use in the shots after the
"pump-in-the-wheel" scene. We also has a Sears bike parinted orange
for the special effects shots . We asked Masi for a set of decals but
were turned down. The decals on the Sears bike were hand painted. A
clear case of the paint and decals being worth more than the rest of
the bike.
The story about the crew not wanting orange is totally false. Steve
Tesich, who was present for the entire filming specifically asked that
the bike Dave rode was a Masi and that it was orange. He rode one of
the Masi's every chance he got. I believe that he got to keep one of
them. (I still have the broken Masi fork)
As far as the Colnago's go.... Two of the guys who were hired to play
the Italian team members already had Colnago's. So we purchased 2
light blue ones from Ochsner International in Chicago. The other bikes
were a different color. We got light blue because that was all that
was available. I was given one of these at the end of the filming and
still own it.
There was a story going around Chicago after the film was released
that a shop in Chicago supplied all the Colnagos. In fact, he actually
had sold the Colnago's to the two other two riders before they were
asked to be in the film. John Van De Veld, and Eddy VanGuyse rode the
light blue ones.
I know this first hand as I was charge of this stuff, check the
credits for my name, it's there twice.
Tom Schwoegler
Michael Monson
In article <5dane4$k...@engnews1.Eng.Sun.COM>, bhi...@stelvio.eng.sun.com
says...
> My apologies to Fiorello
> (or however you spell his first name) Masi and all the loyal Masi
> owners out there.
>
> Bruce Hildenbrand
>
You got my curiosity up so I had to check the signature on my old Gran
Criterium. It's "Faliero"
--
Mike Monson
Benjamin Goldberg
Tom Schwoegler (t...@little500.com) wrote:
: The bike that Dave Stoller rode was a Masi Gran Crtierium made in the
: USA. At the time the film was made there were 2 Masi brothers making
: them, one in Eurpoe and one in the US.
Tom,
Thanks for the very interesting movie trivia. Quick correction on the
above statement: The father, Faliero Masi, had been making bikes in
the U.S. since late 1972. The son, Alberto (?) Masi, stayed in Italy
and made Masi's there (which could not be imported under that name due
to the name conflict).
-Ben
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Lois Stanley
Tom,
A friend of mine ran into Gary in Chicago and says that Gary is now a she.
Was my bud yanking my chain?
Thanks.
Dave S.
Long529
As a former Delta Chi Rider, i can say Truthfully that Gary did ride
behind the semi...at about 50mph. He would do it on a regular basis, along
with his teammates( all delta chi's) Wayne and Dale Stetina.
Eric Long
Gene Bowen
Mark Hickey wrote:
>
> lon...@aol.com writes...
> >
> >As a former Delta Chi Rider, i can say Truthfully that Gary did ride
> >behind the semi...at about 50mph. He would do it on a regular basis, along
> >with his teammates( all delta chi's) Wayne and Dale Stetina.
>
> before I ran out of spin (only a 46x12 top gear). This was on a MTB
> with slicks and a front shock - amused the passengers to no end....
>
> Mark Hickey
> Habanero Cyles
I would motor-pace my son behind my pick-up with a shell on it. As we
rounded the last curve, I would hold my speed while he sprinted to pass
me. The fastest he ever did it was at 53 mph. He could do it almost
every time at 49 mph.
But then, we were both inspired to race bikes by "Breaking Away."
Gene Bowen
Mark Hickey
Tom Schwoegler
No he was not. Gary is now Karen.
Andrew R. Coggan
Okay, top this...many years ago back in Indiana, I got caught up racing
a large corn-harvesting combine driven by three farm kids (who couldn't
have been more than 12 or 13 years old). I could draft this big machine
no problem, but could only get clear for a half-mile or so at a time. It
was really something, that big beast bouncing along on its fat front and
skinny rear tires at 25-30 mph, engine screaming at redline...I'm sure
if their father(s) knew what they had done with his multi-thousand $$
piece of equipment, they wouldn't have been able to sit for at least a
week!
The other fun thing about growing up where I did in Indiana was racing
the occasional Amish buggy whose driver (almost always a young fellow)
just couldn't stand being passed by a cyclist...
Ahh, those were the days!
Jim Martin
I'm not sure this will top your story, Andy, but it's a good one anyway:
In 1985 I was in El Paso on a business trip. The morning before my
flight home, I had about 2 hours for a ride. I went up Trans-Mountain
Highway (2000 ft climb in four miles) from town, and down the other side
(same elevation change but 7 miles). Great decent. Somehow I thought
that Trans-Mt made a big loop and came back in to town, but after I got
to the bottom of the other side and took a left (the I-10 service road I
think) I saw a sign that was something like 25 miles to El Paso. I was
about to turn around and go back over the pass, when I saw a truck with
a HUGE sheet metal building on the trailer. I decided to take a chance
and started drafting it. The driver noticed me and seemed to like the
idea. I drafted that BUILDING all the way to my hotel at speeds of 25 to
40mph, and made my flight. Good thing, because my boss was on that trip
too, and I had the rent car keys.
Really,
Jim Martin
Robert Poh
Started with leg shaving...one thing led to another...
Rob
Lois Stanley
Tom,
I heard this from Herb Meingast, who is so deadpan, I couldnt tell if he
was serious. He said a woman walked up to him and started talking to him
like she was an old friend.
She was, as a he.
Dave S.
Gobike4fun
I thought everyone drafted trucks/buses/cars/combines.....
I used to live in Pasco County, Florida, thirty miles N. of Tampa. Pasco
Countiy's primary export was (is?) fill dirt for construction projects in
Tampa. I used to hang around the dirt pit's entrance to the road, waiting
for a dump truck to draft. They are great, becuse they take s-o-o-o long
to get up to speed, which was generally 45-50mph. The only problems were
dirt flying in your face, and dead armadillos at 45mph. Since the road
was perfectly flat and had no stop signs/lights, I could draft for 12
miles without coming off the back. Those were the (young and stupid)
days.