Al Farrell, Patron Saint of Mountain Biking MBAction photo
It’s with great sadness that CORBA must report that Al Farrell, the Patron Saint of Mountain Biking, died in a motorcycle accident near Palm Springs on April 15. Al was a generous benefactor of CORBA throughout our 33-year history. Al, an investment manager, used to live in Beverly Hills and came early to our sport. He traveled extensively and enjoyed riding in new places around the world.
When CORBA was founded in 1987, Al was one of our first contributors. In 1988, when CORBA helped create the International Mountain Bicycling Association, Al made his first donation to IMBA in CORBA’s name. In 1989, as CORBA’s trailbuilding efforts grew, Al bought us a collection of trailbuilding tools so we wouldn’t be dependent on agency inventory. These were just the first of many years of friendship, good counsel and contributions. In 1991, CORBA created the Al Farrell Award, our highest honor to recognize individuals and groups for their “outstanding contribution to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and its visitors”.
In 2013 Al submitted CORBA’s nomination for induction the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. Al was himself inducted into the MBHOF in 1991, having already established a long-lasting legacy.
It wasn’t just CORBA who he supported. BTC East Bay, BTC Marin, SHARE, and our local L.A. Wombats were among the beneficiaries of his generosity. Al was an early supporter of NORBA (pre-USA Cycling) and he boosted prize money at early races. It’s fair to say that he helped create professional mountain bike racing. He was a Founding Angel of the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame; a long time supporter of Trips for Kids, and dozens of other mountain bike organizations and programs.
Just recently, he made a substantial Founder donation to the California Mountain Biking Coalition. He was gregarious, generous and always ready to do what was needed to be done. For more information on Al’s contributions to the mountain bike community, check out Mountain Bike Action’s tribute at https://mbaction.com/in-memoriam-dr-al-farrell-a-patron-saint/amp/
We send our heartfelt condolences to his wife Shirley and the Farrell family. We’ll miss you Al, but we’ll never forget you. Thank you.
