The Radavist

Our friends at Otso Cycles are looking to hire a full-time employee with benefits. You can head to Otso to read all about it:

Otso Cycles is seeking an experienced bicycle builder to join the team in our Burnsville, MN facility.

Duties:
-Assembly of complete bicycles
-Packaging and shipping bicycles
-Packaging and shipping spare parts and accessories
-Kitting parts for bicycle sales and assembly
-Servicing demo bikes
-Aid marketing and sales staff at bike demos
-Flex to Wolf Tooth assembly and machine shop as time permits

Contact brendan@otsocycles.com for more details or to apply for the position.

Perhaps you remember this piece we posted a few years back, showcasing the conservation efforts by Arizona-based community members to save the Dells from residential development. Well, on July 13th, the City Council of Prescott, Arizona voted in a Special Voting Meeting, ultimately rejecting the development of this important piece of land in Northern Arizona, saving 474 acres of unique public land…

“Tuesday, July 13, 2021. Remember the date. Prescott, Arizona City Council voted 7-0 to approve the annexation of thousands of acres of land owned by Arizona Eco Development into the city, with the prize being 474 acres of natural open space now under city protection. This culminates a five-year process in which a few caring citizens formed a political action committee, Save the Dells, to achieve this very goal. Save the Dells garnered enormous public support, and through long, sometimes very difficult, negotiations, this date turns out to be the win-win-win successful compromise for Prescott, the people, and the developer. And let’s not forget the thousands of animals that depend on that ecosystem!”

Read more at Save the Dells’ Facebook Page.

Our friends Jon and Nadine’s cyclo-tourism company, Dzil Ta’ah Adventures, based in the Navajo Nation town of Kayenta made it to the travel segment of Condé Nast. We’ve done a few stories with Dzil Ta’ah Adventures over the years, so after you check this out, be sure to visit our archives in the Related footer below…

“It’s important for Navajo Nation to be in charge of this story, because more often than not, that story has been told for, not by, Navajo people,” says Navajo Nation member Donovan Hanley, a legislative staff assistant spearheading tourism development for Navajo Nation Council’s Office of the Speaker. “Jon’s push to tell stories on bikes, the push for adventure, responsible tourism, and sustainable tourism—it really aligns with the Navajo way of life.”

Read the full piece at Condé Nast Travel!

What an amazing achievement! You can still help reach the £400k goal by visiting the World Bicycle Relief’s fundraising site. Check out the full press release below.

New Mexico has been a hot spot for cycling for a while now, with Outside Magazine Magazine ranking some of our local trails in its Best Bike Rides in the World article, and various companies, including BTI calling it home. But what about smaller companies? What is driving them to move to the chile state? Head on over to the Alburquerque Journal to read all about the reasons for this migration of makers. Check out our coverage for these makers in the Related footer…

ABC News has the full report but our thoughts go out to the victim’s family.

“A grizzly bear attacked and killed a bicyclist who was camping in a small western Montana town early Tuesday, triggering an intensive search for the bruin by wildlife officials and law enforcement officers who planned to kill the animal, authorities said.

The pre-dawn attack happened in Ovando, a town of fewer than 100 people about 60 miles (97 kilometers) northwest of Helena, said Greg Lemon, a spokesperson with Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks.”

Read the full report at ABC News. Be safe out there!

With it being a National Holiday here in the United States, we’re taking off the rest of the day to pedal deep into the mountains. We hope everyone had a solid weekend and we’ll see ya back in full swing tomorrow morning!

Esker Cycles is excited to announce a new ride scholarship with the purpose of enabling more people to get outside on mountain bikes.

This summer, Esker Cycles wants to help get you out on the trail. With the Esker Ride Scholarship, we are providing a selected applicant the opportunity to receive a new Esker hardtail mountain bike to help them get out and do anything that they can dream up such as planning their next multi-day adventure or simply enjoying a first-time experience on a mountain bike.

We understand that there are barriers to entry within our sport, one of them being the upfront cost of purchasing a bike to ride. With this ongoing scholarship, we hope to be able to reduce those barriers ever so slightly in the best way that we know-how—by offering a bike to a rider that could use it and providing an opportunity to get out and ride.

Anyone that would like to apply should fill out an application at eskercycles.com by July 31 to tell us why they think they would be a good fit for the ride scholarship, and what they plan to do with a new Esker hardtail mountain bike. Esker is especially encouraging newer riders with a vision for a particular ride or adventure and an interest in telling their story to apply.

It is expected that the selected applicant will carry out their ride or adventure within a year of receiving the bike, and that they will share their mountain biking experience with us through the medium of their choice. The selected rider will receive a Hayduke or Japhy in the size and color of their choice.

Esker started with a mission of getting more people outside on bikes, and this ongoing scholarship is just one small way for us to continue with that mission, and to enable more people to enjoy the sport of mountain biking like we do.

For more information on the program, and to apply, head to eskercycles.com/pages/ride-scholarship

We hope everyone got out and camped under the stars with their friends, both new and old for the Swift Campout! We’ve got some stories to share next week but we just wanted to extend a huge thanks to our friends Doom and Lizzy at Four Corners Guides for taking us out on a river overnighter. It’s not often we get to campout on the river, so this made for a truly unique experience…

Don’t forget to email us your Swift Campout stories!

If you’re planning on heading out to a Swift Campout this weekend and want to share your outing with the world, drop us a line as we’d love to host your photos and stories. All you gotta do is shoot enough photos for a Gallery (20-40) and write as much as you’d like. Shoot the photos (sized at 2000px wide) and words over to ReadersRides@theRadavist.com and we’ll be sure to share as many as we can. :-)

Molly Cameron is fundraising to offset the expenses of doing national advocacy work while launching a national organization for LGBTQ+ representation in the bicycling industry and sport and we’d like to share Molly’s efforts here at the Radavist. This organization needs funding immediately to continue doing this advocacy work and to launch the organization.

This initial round of fundraising will be applied directly to offsetting expenses already incurred:

– travel to interface in person with local individuals and regional orgs, business leaders, and communities to build relationships
– housing at events, summits, meetings and conferences
– on the ground travel expenses
– outreach to the business, sporting and advocacy communities
– work hours in meetings, connecting and interfacing with national and global businesses and organizations
– writing copy, editing, producing policy, mission statement, pledge/declaration and developing action items
– interfacing with advisors and our advisory board on consulting, advice and steering the organization
– compensating members of the LGBTQ+ community that are assisting the organization
– cost of the website hosting and email services
– media production and planning
– setting up business structure at state and federal level
– cost associated with setting up Non-Profit 501c3 status

Molly has been toiling behind the scenes doing LGBTQ+ advocacy within the bicycling industry and sport for the last 20 years and recognized that it is time the community has confidential, dignified representation within a national lobbying organization that works FOR our community on all aspects of cycling…

Let’s help Molly’s efforts reach the $20,000 goal. If you can, please donate at GoFundMe.

We’re Offering a Free 6-Month Trial Membership to Adventure Cycling Association

The Radavist and Adventure Cycling are teaming up to offer you a free 6-month trial membership to Adventure Cycling Association.

As a nonprofit organization, Adventure Cycling Association’s mission is to inspire, empower and connect people to travel by bicycle. As a passionate group of bicycle travelers, they believe that any adventure, no matter how small or large, can be a transformative experience.

Perks of membership with Adventure Cycling include:
-A subscription to Adventure Cyclist – the only magazine dedicated to bicycle travel
-Discounts on Adventure Cycling maps as well as deals on hotel stays, gear, and apparel
-Access to trip planning resources and more!

Head on over to Adventure Cycling to sign up!

Trails don’t just build and maintain themselves. It takes time, personnel, and money! The Oregon Timber Trail is in the middle of a fundraiser, where you can donate money and get some of their limited edition swag. Head on over to the Oregon Timber Trail to see more!

We’ve been sent this article by a number of readers in response to last year’s Wilderness piece we hosted (thanks, y’all!) and yes, this is a contentious subject but it’s well worth the read over at the Atlantic. Here’s a quick excerpt:

In 1851, members of a California state militia called the Mariposa Battalion became the first white men to lay eyes on Yosemite Valley. The group was largely made up of miners. They had been scouring the western slopes of the Sierra when they happened upon the granite valley that Native peoples had long referred to as “the place of a gaping mouth.” Lafayette Bunnell, a physician attached to the militia, found himself awestruck. “None but those who have visited this most wonderful valley, can even imagine the feelings with which I looked upon the view,” he later wrote. “A peculiar exalted sensation seemed to fill my whole being, and I found my eyes in tears.” Many of those who have followed in Bunnell’s footsteps over the past 170 years, walking alongside the Merced River or gazing upon the god-rock of El Capitan, have been similarly struck by the sense that they were in the presence of the divine.

Read the full piece at the Atlantic.

A welcome letter to the bike businesses putting down roots in the Land of Enchantment

Maybe you’re a frame builder fed up with congested lines of traffic to the area’s best singletrack. Maybe you own a cut-and-sew bike bag operation and are looking for access to phenomenal long-distance gravel routes through some of the country’s most vivid landscapes.

Whatever work and aspirations brought you to New Mexico, we’re glad you’re here. Welcome!

Here in New Mexico, you’re joining a growing cohort of companies that make up the backbone of the state’s fast-growing outdoor recreation economy. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham – through the incredible public-health, social justice, and climate change policy she has advanced since she took office in 2019 – has prioritized outdoor recreation efforts. The Governor views the outdoor industry sector as a key way for the state to diversify its economy away from reliance on fossil fuel extraction.

That’s why the Governor is investing in outdoor recreation businesses. The New Mexico Economic Development Department, led by Secretary Alicia J. Keyes, has many, many tools to support new and growing businesses, from infrastructure and job training grants to low-interest loans and help to navigate federal stimulus programs.

There are so many programs, in fact, that I won’t delve deep into all the acronyms or specifics here, other than to stress that there is financing (again, grants, loans, and more) available for a business like yours. I will also point you in the direction of two helpful resources to get you started: The Economic Development Department and the New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division’s websites.

Finally, I’ll leave it at this: If you own an outdoor recreation business and you want to move it to New Mexico, please reach out. We have financing and other resources to support you and your vision.

Most importantly, please reach out. You can contact me with any questions at Alexandra.navas@state.nm.us. We’re here to help welcome you to the Land of Enchantment.

Axie Navas is the director of New Mexico’s first Outdoor Recreation Division, which is committed to sustainably growing the outdoor recreation economy in the state.

Earlier this month, we hosted the eleven finalists and winners of the “Lael Rides Alaska” 2021 Femme-Trans-Women’s Scholarship.” A GoFundMe has been set up to help the finalists who didn’t win the scholarship, in an attempt to help them reach their goals this summer. Head on over to the GoFundMe to read all about it and donate if you can.