Lucy Macmillan is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Her vivacious laugh is infectious before an early morning ride. She is passionate about trail riding, never complains, rides an awesome Tamalpais steel hardtail handmade by former WTB frame builder Will Hassinger, supports her local shop, cares about her surroundings and other trail users, cares about you, listens, remembers… the list goes on and on. I could turn on the faucet of appropriate accolades and it would never run dry. Lucy probably wouldn’t like to be showered with praises, but hey, some people deserve it, whether they like it or not. More people like Lucy would make this world a better place.
Lucy kicks off our Rad People Who Ride series on our blog. Check back for more Rad People Who Ride and for now, enjoy the following questions, responses, and pictures.
Name: Lucy Macmillan
Home Shop and City:
Tam Bikes, Mill Valley CA
Favorite WTB or Freedom product:
Tires, especially Mutano 2.4, the old VelociRaptor! All bike seats
Favorite Ride:
Pretty much anything on Mt Tam! Tenderfoot is the best way up from Mill Valley, I never get tired of it. Have just started exploring Tamarancho again too – super fun.
Background, how’d you get into riding, what kept you going with it?
Growing up back east I always had a bike as a kid and my sisters and brothers and friends and I would ride everywhere we could since we lived in a pretty rural area. We rode in the woods for fun around our houses, making jumps and in the summers we would ride pretty far through the woods on old trails to and from the local pool every day. I remember loving the feeling of going anywhere I wanted. I kept riding on and off mostly for fun through college. You see a lot on a bike. Once I came out to San Francisco (I didn’t have a car) I would ride my road bike over the golden gate bridge to get to Marin - I loved Marin, it was the only green place in the summer! When I eventually moved to Mill Valley, I biked and hiked everywhere on Mount Tam and the headlands, which naturally led me to pick up mountain biking. I love being and working outdoors and enjoy being off the road, so mountain biking is a perfect fit. It’s also way more challenging (like downhill skiing) if you want to make it that way. Big bonus is you meet a lot of fun, like-minded people on the trails, many of whom you have as friends for a lifetime.
Lucy, keeping it real in Moab, UT
Tube or Tubeless, why?
Tubeless – I rarely get a flat!
3 most important things to bring with you on a ride?
Water bottle
Phone
ID
Craziest thing you’ve seen or witnessed on a ride?
A giant meteor back in the late 1990s one early morning ride up Tam. It lit up the trail and trees like it was a sunny day, I could hear it as it passed over. Then everything got dark again.
Most important lesson to teach the groms?
Respect the trail and everyone on it. If you run into a conflict for whatever reason, it’s best to just keep going. Have fun.
Left my wallet in… (fill it in): hmm…left it on top of my car a few times but usually found it. Not sure how this fits in?
Anything you’d like to plug, courtesy of WTB’s blog?
Just that I hope all trail users recognize we’re all out there for the same reason. Let’s try to get along. A little effort goes a long way. That could be the lesson to the groms also.
Gooseberry Mesa, UT – rocks, sand, and singletrack make for good times