Outdoor activities have long been part of the fabric of Central Oregon. Now, an exhibit at the Deschutes Historical Museum charts the history of mountain biking and how it became an integral part of the region’s identity.
This month the museum unveiled its exhibit, “Klunkers and Stumpjumpers.” The name stems from two different types of mountain bikes used in the sport’s early days.
In one of many photos on display at a new exhibit at the Deschutes County Historical Museum, two mountain bikers ride on Awbrey Butte in Bend, Oregon in 1976.
Courtesy of the Deschutes County Historical / Courtesy of the Deschutes County Historical Society
Visitors can see early versions of the mountain bike, far more primitive than the expensive machines used by riders today. Photographs show riders carrying a bike weighing nearly 40 pounds on their shoulders up Mount Bachelor.
Kelly Cannon-Miller said it was a two-year effort to collect all of the exhibit’s interviews, documents and artifacts.
Much of the material focuses on how technological advances led to more durable and lightweight bikes. Other items pay tribute to the riders who worked to establish mountain biking trails in Central Oregon.
While Bend is renowned for its mountain biking today, this wasn’t always the case. Few trails specifically for mountain biking existed in the 1980s. Riders back then often went off trails entirely, Cannon-Miller said.
“This little bit of having fun on the weekends by this group of folks ended up becoming what’s a multimillion-dollar part of our tourism and recreation economy today,” she said.
She said many of these early riders still live in the area and are still biking today.
“Klunkers and Stumpjumpers” will be on display at the Deschutes Historical Museum in downtown Bend until January 2024.