[BullittX]

The faculties of the University of California, Berkeley, and the
University of California, Los Angeles, have jointly ranked the invention
of the mountain bike as one of “25 brilliant California ideas that are
shaping the future.”
The UCLA and UC Berkeley faculties, working with the editors of /UCLA
Magazine/ and /California/, the university and alumni magazines of UCLA
and UC Berkeley, rank the invention of the mountain bike as one of 25
“transformative” and “brilliant” California ideas “that were either
created or took off in the past 25 years.”
Others in this exclusive compilation include the discovery of the
structure of the early universe, pioneering stem cell research, the
invention of the iPod, the development of the Internet search engine,
and the development of computer-generated imagery.
The judges include “dozens of educators, researchers, and scientists at
both universities.”
The award is explained in this admiring language: “Ushering in an era of
‘extreme sports,’ mountain bikes helped change the way Americans view
athletics. Outdoor sports was no longer just a distraction for the
intrepid young. We adopted a ‘sports-for-life’ ethos, according to Gary
Fisher, who credits the change to a motley group of off-road racers on
the slopes of Mt. Tamalpais in the late seventies.”
See these links to read more about this remarkable honor:
http://www.alumni.berkeley.edu/calmag/200701/ideas.asp
http://www.alumni.berkeley.edu/calmag/200701/id_intro.asp
http://www.alumni.berkeley.edu/calmag/200701/id_cyclist.asp