Anyone heard of "Baker's Bikes" circa 1980, more than likely Seattle/PNW area
05-24-23, 10:59 AM
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Anyone heard of "Baker's Bikes" circa 1980, more than likely Seattle/PNW area
I found handwriting on a track fork steerer tube that says "Baker's Bikes June '80"
05-24-23, 12:15 PM
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He later had an excellent racing clothing company called Baleno, made sublimated jerseys for pretty much all the teams around here.
But that's not the main story. He's mostly remembered around here as a great racer (state champion), coach, mentor, ride organizer and all-around great guy. The Velodrome in Marymoor park near Redmond WA, previously known as just Marymoor Velodrome, is now named the Jerry Baker Velodrome in his honor. He ran it for years,and organized the USA National Championships when they came here, as well as the Goodwill Games with Russian and Eastern-bloc athletes.
I got to ride with him a lot and though we weren't friends, we were friendly. I'm forever grateful for his Sunday training rides in the winter, when all the teams would get together and twiddle little gears on a flat ride, many on fixed. It was a huge social scene but also good training. Phil Anderson (5th in TdF and 2 stage wins, several Classics wins and countless others) used to do that ride back when he was married to a Seattle woman and spent winters here. I outsprinted him at one of our "town line" sprints, though of course he wasn't racing! (I think I heard him mutter about how stupid it was to sprint in January...)
But basically anyone who was anyone was on those "Jerry Baker rides" as we all called them. He also led a New Year's Day ride each year that was similarly well-attended and super fun, always turned into a balls-out race by the end.
We all miss him terribly.
Mark B
Last edited by bulgie; 05-24-23 at 05:47 PM.
05-24-23, 12:54 PM
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Mark hit the nail on the head about Jerry Baker. A great guy, and very important in the Seattle bike racing scene during the pre bike boom days and after. I met him in 1972 or so, I think he worked at Boeing as an engineer but imported and sold hard to find racing bike parts on the side. I never knew him to have a retail shop, he sold things out of his house. He lived on Mercer Island for many years, before Microsoft millionaires drove up the housing cost. He was very smart, and was interested in much more than just bicycles. He is missed. Jim Merz
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