Held in Central Texas last weekend, the inaugural edition of Klunkerz was a hootin’ and hollerin’ good-time klunker MTB race and fundraiser that drew a crowd of more than 250 people. Read on for an exuberant gallery of photos from Maxwell Johnston and some perspective on the event from organizer Jerrika Sterling, who founded the event to memorialize her late husband…
Words by Jerrika Sterling, photos by Maxwell Johnston
Last weekend, the Central Texas bike community threw it back to ‘76 to celebrate the roots of mountain bike racing. Jeremiah Work of Team Trail Party (@teamtrailparty) and I hosted Spider Mountain Bike Park’s first-annual Klunker race, and it was a hit.
My husband, Kyle Sterling, died from cancer in January 2020. He was only 27 years old but his taste in music, style, and bikes aligned with trends of the 70s. He was a vintage bike collector and self-proclaimed “klunker lover.” In searching for a way to memorialize Kyle, creating a klunker race in his name became the obvious choice. Kyle wouldn’t want the race to be focused on his death. Rather, he would want it to have a positive impact on someone else. So, we decided to donate the proceeds of the race to the sports program at a San Antonio foster home. This includes providing kids with things like baseball bats, dance shoes, and even bike helmets.
When Jeremiah and I started planning this event, we had no reason to think it would have the impact that it did—especially being located in Central Texas. What started as a quirky way to memorialize my husband and raise money for kids quickly evolved into a movement and expansion of our MTB community. When the race was first announced, most people had never really thought about the origins of the sport, and only a handful of people had bikes that fit our klunker criteria (rigid fork and coaster brakes), but we ended up with over 40 participants and about 250 spectators. People traveled from all over the country to attend, including one of the “Founding Fathers of MTB” and organizer of the first documented MTB race in 1976, Charlie Kelly.
San Antonio locals are now hosting weekly klunker rides, and people have already started hunting for parts to build bikes for next year. The future of this event has many possibilities, including a weekend-long festival and potentially bringing it to other cities.
As modern-day mountain bikers, we look for ways to make our bikes lighter, faster, and more capable. We compare components and are quick to make upgrades to get our flashy rigs more efficient. Klunking brings us back to the basics, puts everyone on a level playing field (almost), and refocuses on the original light-hearted spirit of riding your bike downhill. The race shook things up in a way we didn’t know we were craving, and I’m stoked to watch the waves it will continue to make.
You can learn more about Klunkerz, make a donation to the cause, and buy merch over at KlunkerzMTB.com.
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