Chatsworth’s Tomac Steers Toward New Bike Pursuit

On a recent winter day, John Tomac rode his mountain bike north on Owensmouth Avenue, slicing effortlessly through a bitterly cold head wind that flattened his long, blond hair. Ahead were the Santa Susana Mountains, which would provide him with shelter--not only from nature but from man as well.

Tomac, the 1988 National Off-Road Bicycle Assn.’s overall champion, trains in the mountains near his home in Chatsworth. But he also is becoming more involved in road racing, which has taken him out of the mountains and onto the asphalt. And as any bike rider in Los Angeles knows, the mountains, despite their rugged terrain, can be more hospitable than the mean streets.

“I try to stay off Valley surface streets,” Tomac, a 21-year-old bachelor, said.

But that is almost impossible for Tomac, who trains as much as 25 hours a week, mostly on streets. “People throw stuff at me,” he said. “They get belligerent and think I’m taking up too much of the road and try to do something about it.”

Not that he has to duck tire irons. Mostly, it’s ice from soft drinks. “A lot of people don’t understand road racing here in the U. S.,” Tomac said. “It’s not like Europe. If you take a training ride in Europe, people cheer you. Here, they throw a Big Gulp.”

But drivers who make Tomac a drive-by icing victim should beware: He may catch up to you at the next light. Or next county. A member of the U. S. National Cycling Team and ’88 Criterium national champion, Tomac is capable of sprinting 40 miles an hour for short distances on flat land. He also can complete 130-mile mountain races in 6 1/2 hours.

Tomac trains almost every day and, from March through September, races almost every weekend. His favorite road routes take him along Los Angeles Avenue in Simi Valley all the way to Port Hueneme, about an 80-mile round-trip. He also likes to ride the Sierra Highway into Antelope Valley, despite the constant buffeting as cars and trucks whiz past.

“The major problem is traffic,” he says. “I can only hope people pay attention to what they’re doing.”

Riding up Owensmouth, Tomac turned at a light, cut diagonally across Lassen Street when the coast was clear and veered onto a bike path that paralleled a drainage ditch. Going north again, he hit the chilling wind, but it didn’t bother him. Off-road racers, who often experience blazing heat and numbing cold on the same ride, have to learn to ignore discomfort. Tomac learned early.

Growing up in the small Michigan town of Owosso, Tomac started BMX racing when he was 7, riding every day, even in winter. By the time he was 16, he was national champion in his age group.

Tomac’s sister Deana, older by four years, usually drove him to out-of-state races. At a race in Florida five years ago, she changed both their lives. That’s when she met and fell for a pro BMX racer named Robby Rupe. They were married a year later and moved to the Valley. Rupe introduced Tomac to mountain racing in the winter of 1985, when Tomac was living with them on an extended visit.

“As soon as we found out how good he was, we encouraged him to move here permanently,” said Rupe, who works in the transportation department at The Times’ Valley plant.

The Rupes’ small spare bedroom that Tomac first moved into is now filled with riding paraphernalia and medals. There is also a large color photo of Tomac winning a race, his face and body caked with mud.

“He used to have pictures of all the top guys, but pretty soon he was beating them,” Rupe says, “so he took their pictures down.”

Between them, Tomac and Rupe have turned their garage into a private bicycle repair shop. About a dozen bikes hang on hooks and a workbench is covered with specialized tools. Before he goes for a ride, Tomac feels his tires for pressure and adds a few pounds with a hand pump.

Tomac’s mountain bike is a Mongoose. It was given to him by his primary sponsor--he also has deals for clothing, tires and sunglasses. Although still designated an amateur, Tomac “makes a pretty good living” on his bike. (He has won as much as $4,000 in one race. U.S. Cycling Federation rules state that a rider can win as much as $2,000 a day and remain an amateur; additional money must go into a trust).

Tomac plans to become a pro road racer by 1991, which means he will have to move to Europe, where all the major races--including the Tour de France--take place and top riders can make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. To prepare for Europe, Tomac has been reducing his involvement in mountain biking. Last year, 70% of his races were in the mountains, but only half will be this year.

Tomac is aware that a career in road racing usually ends when a rider is in his early 30s. Although he trained as an electronics technician at Edison Tech in Sherman Oaks, Tomac isn’t sure what he wants to do when his racing days are over.

“But I’ll try to keep it fun,” he says.