The Radavist

Our friends at Oregon Timber Trail have a new initiative to raise money for a BIPOC/FTW/Q Scholarship Fund:

In an effort to include those often overlooked or excluded by the cycling and outdoor recreation communities, the Oregon Timber Trail Alliance is offering five $1,000 scholarships to support and encourage Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color as well as gender-expansive, trans, non-binary, women, and queer riders to make their adventure on the Oregon Timber Trail a reality.

This $1,000 scholarship can be used for anything you need to begin your adventure at the Grand Depart on July 10th: gear; travel expenses; food; rent; child care; whatever you need.

Along with the $1,000 scholarship, BikeFlights has generously donated five $300 shipping vouchers and BikeFlights Bike Boxes in case any scholarship recipients need to ship their bikes to/from the trail. We hope that you can join us and look forward to learning more about you with your application.

Learn more and apply here before the April 30th deadline.

Please donate to this fund here, we still need to raise $3,700 to make this a reality.

Last year, I rode bikes all over New Mexico with this guy, @baileygenenewbrey. To limit my contact with people I pretty much rode with the same small group all year and Bailey was in that group.

We often discussed how staying local has been a big change. With Covid shutting down all events, I had no reason to travel. To be safe, and as a new resident of New Mexico, I just kept it to a 100-mile radius of our home and began scouring the map for places to see/fish/ride.

One of the biggest takeaways for me is how a few close friends can make something as severe as an utterly shit pandemic more manageable. We both helped each other through some rough spots, spent nights under the stars, stoked each other out on rides, shot great photos, and most importantly, became really close friends.

It’s moments like this (still within the pandemic) that really make me value close friendship. Who helped you through 2020 and continues to in 2021?

The Valles Caldera is nestled in the Jemez Mountains and is a veritable riding paradise with a vast network of dirt roads, plenty of water, abundant fishing, and even hot springs. Part of what makes the Valles Caldera so great for cycling is the extremely limited vehicular access and it would be nice to have designated camping. These points and more can be made on the NPS website as they’re currently seeking public comment. Head on over and let them know what you’d like to see!

Bob Allen is a longtime adventurer, photographer, and storyteller. In recent years, he’s experimented with a new interactive 360º environmental mapping technology. We’re stoked to present his latest project, dubbed ‘Wild Ice’, so read on for Bob’s words and a 360º map by clicking through below.

Tick. Tick. Tick…

It turns out 60 seconds was a long time to ride no-handed – with my eyes shut. The rotation of my cranks was the only feedback that I had any forward motion. Arms outstretched, I just had to trust my balance and resist the temptation to visually confirm that eating shit wasn’t imminent. Relax. Breath. Just keep pedaling…

Things are moving a bit slow over here this morning after I spent the weekend in Arizona with the Silver Stallion team riding trails with kids and documenting a very busy Sunday in Fort Defiance at the Silver Stallion mobile bike shop pop-up in the Navajo Nation. Being present while this team worked all day in the sun and wind on its community’s bikes was a wonderful thing to witness, so expect some Reportage coming up next week. For now, I just wanted to say thank you to the entire Silver Stallion team for being such great hosts.

Outride’s growing presence in cycling has lead to its first-ever social media campaign dubbed #Outridetogether. Read all about this project below:

Outride is excited to announce the Outride Together Campaign. A national, year-long campaign calling on the cycling community at large to join them in generating more miles, more riders, better health, and stronger communities. This campaign is a call to action inviting industry partners, students, educators, ambassadors, and riders across the globe to demonstrate what we can #OutrideTogether.

You may have seen the Outride Together x Roka campaign recently, in an effort to gain momentum, information and gauge the interest of this campaign, Outride initially set a goal of 5 Million miles for 2021, in their first effort they and the cycling community had a collective mileage count of nearly 13 million miles.

Alongside new industry partners and the community, Outride’s goal with #OutrideTogether is to cultivate a passion for cycling and make the world a more inclusive and equitable place. Open to all riders, Outride invites athletes and novices, adults and youth, to ride with them. The easiest way to contribute is to join the Outride Strava club and log your miles.

How to get involved:
Join the “Outride” Strava Club, follow along with the community on social media, or get your
friends, team, or cycling club together and make your own classy campaign.

Last year, the Cycling Industry Pledge was founded by the RAR. Its intent is to hold companies accountable to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the cycling community with signees making a commitment to actions outlined in the pledge. We’re proud to be a part of this initiative and have signed up once again. If your shop, company, or media outlet wants to sign up, you can read all about it at RAR.

The RAR – Radical Adventure Riders – have launched their podcast with their first episode: “Radical Roots and Responsibilities”:

Listen to the stories behind RAR and RAHOK and meet your co-hosts Rio Oxas and Everett Ó Cillín. This episode highlights voices from past WTF BX summits and speakers as they share their experiences and insights in the light of our present moment.

Featuring interviews with Grace Anderson, Devin Cowens, Alex Villalba, Olivia Williams, Kai Conradi, and Molly Sugar.

Check out more at RAR and grab this episode wherever you listen to podcasts.

We’re pleased to introduce the Backcountry Bike Challenge by Ride With GPS and our friends Kurt and Kait. Check out the full press release below, particularly if you like a challenge and are looking to ride your bike off-the-beaten path…

Got five to ten minutes of free time today? Want the chance to win some products from some of your favorite brands? Head on over to Bikepacking Roots’ Bikepacking and Adventure Cycling Community Survey and fill out the survey for a chance to win big from these companies:

This is the second of a two-part series on how human-caused climate change is affecting the cycling experience, why we as cyclists should care about those impacts, and what we can do as individuals and as a community to combat those impacts. Part I of this series connected cyclists to a few examples of the realities of climate change, and Part II here outlines what changes we as cyclists and the cycling community can make to improve the future of our pursuit in a changing climate. If you only have 5 minutes, jump to the end of this article to read the action items toolbox to quickly learn more about what you can do to make a difference…

This is the first of a two-part series on how human-caused climate change is affecting the cycling experience, why we as cyclists should care about those impacts, and what we can do as individuals and as a community to combat those impacts. Part I of this series connects cyclists to a few examples of the realities of climate change, and Part II will outline what changes we as cyclists and the cycling community can make to improve the future of our pursuit in a changing climate.  

Yesterday’s hate crime shootings in Atlanta left us in a state of shock all day. Asian Americans have not had it easy in this country, especially last year with the pandemic blame of 2020 being so rampant. Hate crimes leave this country feeling shocked, angry, and helpless. This is becoming an increasingly common problem in our country and today, we’d like to extend a hand in support for the Asian American community. We will continue to dream about an America without such heinous acts.

Hallie Silva is taking on the Tour de Los Padres this year and is running a fundraiser to help raise awareness for the area. Hallie reached out with some details of her effort, including some organizations she’s currently fundraising for:

“I’m a teacher in Santa Barbara riding the Tour de Los Padres this year as to bring awareness to, and fundraise for the San Marcos Foothills Preserve. This public space is the ancestral home of the Chumash and one of the last remaining access points for front-country wilderness in Santa Barbara, and right across the street from the junior high I teach at. This access point is being currently threatened by corporate luxury home development. 

I’m currently collecting donations that will go directly to two local organizations:

Seeds to Forest Defense, an autonomous group of Chumash, BIPOC and white allies protecting the land who center Indigenous ecological knowledge. They also work to provide resources such as lawyer fees for the indigenous folks who were arrested in ceremony while protecting our public lands. 

The second organization is Save the San Marcos Foothills Preserve, led by Channel Islands Restoration, whose mission is to purchase the undeveloped property next to the San Marcos Foothills Preserve at fair market value, to protect it forever as public open space, and to restore the native habitat. You can learn more at their website, https://www.savesanmarcosfoothills.org  “

If you can and would like to help out Hallie’s efforts, you can donate to her cause. Right now, she’s $1,000 into her $3,000 goal. Expect more to come from Hallie in the near future.

Grav.Elle, a gravel cycling resource site for women, by women, has launched today and one of their first stories features our friend Sarah Sturm:

“Ever since I was a little kid growing up in Albuquerque, I remember always wanting to do things differently. That same mentality has morphed into my adult life for better or worse, and when I started my journey into the world of cycling I felt real friction. I got into cycling, specifically racing road and cross when I was in college. I remember seeing and learning from my peers all of these ways to be an athlete. Eat this, do this, don’t do this. And for years I subscribed to that; I wore what I was supposed to wear, I limited what I ate, I trained, I raced and I wasn’t really having that much fun.

So I quit.”

Head to Grav.elle to read the full story.

SRAM is hosting four stories by a few of its sponsored athletes including Ayesha McGowan, Renee Hutchens, Lael Wilcox, and Isabeau Courduier over at their website. If you have a few minutes this week, we highly suggest reading one, two, or all of these stories.

It’s 2021 and women’s cycling is still fighting for their equal piece of the pie, as illustrated here by artist Thomas Slater. The InternationElles have had enough. These ten female cyclists and three crews from across the globe, are united in the fight for equality. Their hope is through activism, that they can boost women’s cycling. Right now, they have a GoFundMe to raise €5,000 as equal prize money to the top 5 women’s podium for the upcoming 2021 Strade Bianche. The above illustration might seem like an exaggeration but the payout at the recent Omloop Het Nieuwsblad paints a clear and concise picture…

Hopefully, the UCI, USAC, and other organizations will get with the times.

Previously known as WTF Bikexplorers, the Radical Adventure Riders are looking forward to increasing and enhancing gender inclusivity and racial equity in the bicycle and outdoor adventure communities. As WTFBX did, the RAR is doing so by providing connection, education, resources, and support for the community.

See more at RAR and we look forward to continuing to support this organization!