The Radavist

While I missed this in time for this morning’s Radar Roundup, I had to share it!

I love browsing Bring a Trailer if for no other reason than gems like this. Vintage cars, much like vintage bikes have a panache unmatched by their modern counterparts. Take, for instance, this 1977 Volvo 244 DL that was refinished in Molteni Orange, one of Eddy Merckx’s teams in the 1970s, and covered in team decals like the original TdF chase vehicles.

These little 2.1-liter inline-four Volvo engines are legendary, yet that is no Merckx. Check out more photos at Bring a Trailer.

Over the past three years, our local bike shops have endured a lot of strife. From the Covid bike boom to supply chain shortages to a surplus of bikes and impending economic turmoil, these small shops have learned to adapt to the ever-changing environment. Last night, I posted this photo to our Instagram, rallying people to plug their local bike shop. In a form of internet solidarity, people shared their location and favorite shop, so I figured we could do it over here on the website.

So let’s hear it! Who is your local bike shop? (drop a link to their IG) and where do you live?

We’ve lost a lot of shops since Covid hit. Let’s hold onto the ones we still have.

Taken in Sincere Cycles, Santa Fe, NM. Love ya, Bailey!

Dillen from Baphomet Bicycles was *involved in an accident in Valdez* (edited 9.6.22), outside of Taos, New Mexico, yesterday, resulting in the loss of his foot. The authorities are still piecing the puzzle together, but Dillen is alive and recovering at a hospital in Albuquerque. We’ve had Dillen and his wife Jenn in our thoughts for the past 24 hours and will post any updates here… Please be safe out there today, folks.

If you want to help, hold tight, Jenn and Dillen are trying to wrap their heads around this situation. You can, however, leave Dillen some love on his Instagram.

*Edit: 9.6.22 – this is a complex story and one that we’ll unfortunately not know what really happened for some time. We’ll do our best to update/edit the post as events warrant.

Edit: 9.7.22 – Dillen and Jenn have a GoFundMe setup to assist with their medical expenses from this tragedy. Jenn annotated the GoFundMe site with the latest update to this complicated story as well. See it at Go Fund Me.

As we shared last week in our Roundup, Ryan Wilson was mugged in Colombia and the thieves took his camera, laptop, and more. Ryan is currently raising money by selling some of his most famous images on Darkroom. Head on over to see his wonderful work and if you can, buy some of his prints. We’re working on aiding Ryan but this will help kickstart his efforts in replacing his stolen property.

From everyone who keeps the wheels rolling over here at The Radavist, we’d like to wish you all Happy Holidays. We’ll be back next week with plenty of content for ya and in the New Year, we’ll be rolling out our 2021 Year in Review posts so stay tuned. Until then, I hope you can get some good riding in and please be safe!

xo

Ever wonder where stolen bikes end up? Well, Bike Index has an in-depth look at a Facebook reseller in Mexico that was selling stolen bikes from Colorado. Alexander’s Bikes had been operating since 2019 and Bike Index uncovered dozens of bikes listed as stolen in Colorado on the Facebook page. This is a really great pice of journalism so be sure to check it out if you have time!

I tell ya what, it’s been a real honor to see so many of my photographs inspire artists to render those vignettes in their own hand style. Jason Pawley dropped this beautiful drawing of Bailey sending his basket bike (again) on his Instagram this morning and it was the first thing I saw when I got out of bed. It’s from our Caja Overnighter post from a few weeks ago. Follow Jason and his work on his Instagram…

Bikepacking Roots (BPR) is excited to share the Love Where You Ride project. Recognizing that bikepackers traverse landscapes from those with wilderness qualities to rural communities to urban areas, we have created a set of Positive Impact Bikepacking practices that riders can apply to travels and racing. We also partnered with the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics to adapt their standard Seven Principles specifically for bikepacking and adventure cycling.

Illustration by Josh Cochran

This past year, we’ve seen more and more people getting on bikes — to commute, to recreate, and to get some exercise. More people riding bikes is great, but it means more interactions with car traffic and city infrastructure. So what laws are in place that help make cyclists safer? Here’s a breakdown of some laws recently enacted in Colorado and elsewhere that aim to keep cyclists (and everyone else) safe. Also, here’s a great resource from The League of American Bicyclists that lists all bike laws by state.

Check out this full article at our parent company, The Pro’s Closet.

Our friends at Silver Stallion have a fundraiser going on right now with People for Bikes and Ride Spot:

“In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, we pledged to donate $10 for each of the first 500 riders who completed a Ride for Gratitude Challenge to Silver Stallion Bicycle and Coffee Works. Thanks to your outstanding participation, we hit our goal in the first week! With half of November still to go, our friends at SRAM generously offered to match our $5,000 donation if we can get 200 riders to ride 100 miles by the end of the month! That’s 100 miles total, not all at once. Silver Stallion is a small nonprofit bicycle recyclery based in Gallup, NM, serving Dinétah (the Navajo Nation) and the surrounding communities with a mission to empower and develop youth and young adult vocational skills in the bicycle repair and specialty coffee industries.”

Find out how you can help out at People for Bikes!

Shift Cycling Culture has a new initiative afloat I think you all will be pleased to read:

“Dear cycling industry colleagues,
As a group of business leaders from across the cycling industry, we have become acutely aware that climate change is not only a future risk, but a current one, which is accelerating before our eyes. We are proud that cycling plays an important part in decarbonizing our world, by enabling people to ride their bikes, enjoy the outdoors and make cities more liveable by taking cars off the streets. At the same time, the way in which we in the cycling industry make and sell products is also contributing to the problem. We need to change this, but we can’t do it on our own, which is why we’re making an urgent appeal to you, our partners and competitors across the wider industry.”

Read the full commitment and see which brands are spearheading this endeavor at Shift Cycling Culture.

American Classic recently relaunched as a tire company, offering a variety of sizes for road, gravel, and e-bikes at an approachable price point. Coinciding with the relaunch, American Classic has established an ambassador program and is currently seeking applicants.

All types of riders and racers are encouraged to complete the application form to be considered. American Classic will then follow up and provide tires to those selected in exchange for feedback, fun content, and the charge of spreading the joy of cycling.

Bikepacking Roots’ latest route – the Northwoods Route – is a ~600-mile-long circumnavigation of the western half of Lake Superior, primarily following gravel roads, relatively smooth two-tracks, rail trails, and short sections of pavement through thick forests and along countless lakes of all sizes. This loop has been created to be inviting to riders on both mountain or gravel bikes, and riders will find that resupply options are relatively frequent along the way. Singletrack alternates and trail networks along the way offer options for riders looking for more technical riding opportunities – loaded or unloaded – and to experience the many unique trail systems built near communities along the way.

Head to Bikepacking Roots for the full breakdown of this epic route!

Perhaps you read our announcement last month about The Radavist merging with The Pro’s Closet?

These are exciting times, and we’re excited about many new initiatives. One of those includes hiring an editor to help take some workload off my shoulders.

After running this platform solo for 15+ years, I think it’s safe to say it’s time for a right-hand editor to help out. Well, we put out a call for applications for this position, had some great interviews, and were pleasantly surprised to find one of our endemic contributors fit the role perfectly.

Josh Weinberg has penned and photographed some wonderful pieces for The Radavist over the years and his contributions will help with our vision for 2022 and beyond. For the past few years, he’s spent his time working for Arizona State University where he used SEO and other web tactics to grow its online degree programs. We’ll be tapping into Josh’s knowledge for growing The Radavist while leaning heavily on his photography and organizational skills to continue our pursuit of documenting cycling’s Radical Atavists.

We compiled a list of some of the stories Josh has shared with The Radavist over the years below in our Related Archives, so take a few minutes to check those out!

I’d like to personally thank Josh for being such a solid companion over the years and look forward to seeing him grow his role here at The Radavist! I might add, he’s got a stellar eye for medium format photography, so be sure to give him a follow on Instagram!

– John Watson, founder, and director at The Radavist

Bikepacking Roots has been searching for a new Executive Director all year and today the announcement came that Ally Johnson will be taking over the organization from its co-founder Kurt Refsnider. To introduce Ally, BPR has a great interview with her, so head on over to give it a read!

We really value Bikepacking Roots’ community-driven, across-the-aisle collaborations over the years and are excited to see where Ally will be taking the organization and how The Radavist can continue to support the company’s efforts.