John Tomac is a retired professional cyclist who competed in multiple disciplines in mountain biking and road racing during a successful 20-year career. Tomac was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 1991. He's won major international and national titles, and recently relaunched the Tomac bicycle brand with former Answer-Manitou product manager Joel Smith at Sea Otter. Look for a complete test and review of the 2008 Tomac Carbide later this summer.
Q: What gets you up in the morning? >JT:The sun or my alarm.
Q: What's been the biggest highlight of last year for you? >JT:Personally: my younger son winning a national motocross championship and my older son flying planes at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Business: getting a new deal going for the Tomac bicycle brand, and the continued success with the Kenda/Tomac signature series tires.
Q: Where do you see the mountain bike going? >JT: It goes everywhere; it's the all terrain bike!
Q: How much do you get to ride? >JT: Not enough. I ride to test product and do some training with my son. My other work is taking away my riding time, but some day that will change and I will make a come back. Then I'll pay back everyone who has dropped me on a ride the last 10 years!
Q: What would you be doing if you weren't doing this? >JT: I would be working in some type of electrical/electronic technical field. I was schooled in that prior to winning some rather large mountain bike races. That of course jacked up my whole profession.
Q: Biggest highlight over the past 25 years? >JT: Having a great family.
Q: Favourite place to ride? >JT:Earth! It's all good. There's good stuff all over the place. I like the techy rough stuff the best.
Q: Full suspension or hardtail? >JT: What's a hardtail? Come on! Full sus all the way on gnarly terrain!
Q: What are you looking forward to in 2007? >JT:The Tomac bike launch - it appears we're back from the dead. The resurrection has come!
Q: What's your company's most important innovation? >JT: Joel Smith.
Q: Your biggest fear? >JT: Loss of family, followed by the moral decline of the human race.
Q: What makes you laugh? >JT: Hillary Clinton.
Q: How would you like to be remembered? >JT: As someone who did more good than bad.
Q: Three people you'd invite to dinner? >JT: Clint Eastwood, George Bush, and the cowboy who discovered that UFO crash in Roswell.
Q: Who has influenced or inspired you most? >JT: My family.
Q: When did you last crash? >JT: I think I probably fell off of some piece of farm equipment here at the ranch. Or the last time I rode my dirt bike.
Q: Here's $10; what do you buy? >JT: Coffee or beer. Depends on what time of the day it