The Radavist

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!

… to move into our new office! Since relocating to Santa Fe last March, we’ve been looking for an office to run the webshop out of and to solidify the life/work balance. We finally found one, only a short bike ride from our house, so we’re going to be spending the day moving into it. We’ll see you back tomorrow with plenty of Radar and great Reportage to whet your appetite. I hope you can enjoy this day off.

First of all, I just wanted to thank everyone for reaching out, noting some bugs that are going on right now with the site. We’re aware our RSS feed has stopped, as well as the comment count. We’re also working on our social media plugins, which push our posts through to Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for all your help and patience. Grant is working on it.

xo

It’s always exciting to see makers in this industry grow and that’s the case with the UK’s Restrap, which recently moved from a 6,290sqft factory to 12,250sqft, doubling their production space. Check out their press release below, along with more photos of their new digs.

While we’re typically not in a space to post job openings in the cycling industry, this one feels like an opportunity ripe for those wanting to push the Adventure Cycling Association forward in a great direction. Right now, Adventure Cyclist Magazine is hiring for an Editor-in-Chief:

“Directs the planning, production, and administration surrounding Adventure Cyclist magazine, which includes working with an established corps of 40+ freelance contributors, pioneering new contributors, and working closely with other programs/departments to promote internal business units that are critical to the success of the organization.”

See the full lineup at ACA!

Rapha is growing their support for women and not just professional cyclists. Today the brand announced its sponsorship of two charismatic personalities, Sarah Sturm and Lael Wilcox. Both of these women are great representatives of the gravel/adventure/touring market and we couldn’t be more stoked for them. Rapha also launched a women’s Instagram, so keep an eye on that for more updates as events warrant.

Our announcement after the insurgency at the Capitol triggered quite a few ex-readers to write in with messages like this. Unfortunately, this letter is the only one suitable to post online. Let us be clear here, if you support the events at the Capitol on January 6th, you do not embody the cycling culture we promote here at the Radavist. The terrorist insurgency represents white supremacy in the United States. As a free publication, we try to offer the best cycling entertainment on the web but don’t get it twisted, we oppose the insurgency at the Capitol and will always speak out against such actions.

Today is Martin Luther King Day, in which we honor the birthday of the civil rights activist. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, and we’re still fighting white supremacy as a country, over 50 years later.  The January 6th insurgence is yet another example of the hurdles we need to overcome in this country. 

The author of the email above is essentially asking us to remain silent because he does not agree with our position. Unfortunately, civil rights are political to people like the author. For us, basic human rights and civil rights are not political. All humans are equal and should be treated as such. We will not sit by like a majority of the cycling industry in silence. Our hope is that we can breach this line and create an industry that joins in unity as we rid the United States from this plague and makes cycling more open and accepting to all genders, races, and creeds.

Today we donated to the ACLU to assist in the battle against white supremacy.

Thank you.

The Adventure Cycling Association just announced five new U.S. Bicycle Routes in four states – Maryland, New York, North Dakota and West Virginia – plus Washington, D.C., adding 290 miles to the U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS). Check out a breakdown of each of the four-state routes below.

I’d like to think the actions of our company have proven that we are trying to make cycling a better, more inclusive place. That’s not saying we don’t have a lot more work to do, that we are anywhere near the horizon. We cannot stop pushing towards this goal of ridding the outdoors/cycling of white supremacy and making this community more inclusive. The actions by those white supremacists/terrorists who stormed the Capitol this week is simply evidence of the challenges we face as a nation. We will continue to do our best. Thank you.

What a year it’s been. As you might imagine, we need some time off to rest, recover, and spend time with our families. We’re going to take the rest of the week off but will be back on Monday with our year-in-review posts, some of our favorite moments, and the top Beautiful Bicycles of the year.

The first week of the new year, we’re going to have a very special restock of our made in the USA Radavist hats as well as some other goodies.

Enjoy the Holidaze and let’s look forward to a brighter future.

xo

It’s no secret that for the past few years, we spend a lot of time on the road traveling to bike events. We often spend 7 months on the road, visiting gravel races, MTB events, framebuilder showcases, or just checking out the cycling communities and rides in various towns all over the Western United States. 2020 put a damper on that with Covid-19 but this year I’ve been building out a desert tourer and road trip vehicle of a different sort, an HJ75 Troopcarrier from Australia. This “long van” is one of the most capable and compact RVs in the world and unfortunately, we never got this specific model of Toyota here in the States.

When BF Goodrich caught wind of a recent interview with me where I discussed desert touring… by bicycle. They had to know more. How in the world do you ride in the desert on a bike? So I sat down with them for an interview about the Radavist and what it means to “Shred Lightly.”

Guide books like this are where I get a lot of inspiration for bike rides and tours.

The piece might be common knowledge for a lot of y’all but it’s always nice to push a positive message for outdoor recreation on a large platform like that. Head over to BF Goodrich Garage to check it out.

If you’ve been to the Crust Bikes website over the past few days, you probably noticed a message that reads:

“Thanks for the six years of support, it has been a ride. Closed until further notice.”

Now, this set the internet into a frenzy. How could the bike company that has been seemingly killing it for those past six years suddenly fold? Well, they didn’t fold. I was waiting on a returned text message from Matt all weekend before I posted anything and my suspicions turned out to be true.

This website helped launch Crust Bikes. I met Matt in Austin back in 2015 and shot his personal prototype 26+ Evasion. At that time, I was really blown away at how thoughtful everything about the OG Evasion was. I knew Matt was onto something. The brand launched right when the adventure/gravel/touring stuff took off. As expected, Crust Bikes did blow up! Everyone at Crust has been moving so fast that they haven’t had time to figure out what sustainable growth looked like.

Then Covid hit and international supply chains were halted. Fast forward to today, Crust’s stock of frames is low, and thus, Matt’s emails have gone through the roof. While they’re waiting on new frames to be delivered in 2021, Matt and Cheech, and the entire team are using this downtime to restructure their business, rebuild their website, and figure out how to grow and operate more sustainably.

It sucks to suddenly see their site with that message but please just know, they’re not going anywhere. They all just need some time off and some space. Please respect this moment in time and don’t reach out to them. Let them work and recover in peace. If you want to pour out some emotion in the comments here and just let them know how much Crust Bikes means to you, you’re totally free to do that, just don’t send Matt another email. ;-)

xo

I met Mitchell many years ago while riding opposite directions on the Tour Divide and since then we’ve kept in loose internet contact. Mitchell and Matt are launching a new shop in Knoxville with an amazing goal and I wanted to share it with everyone:

Howdy, we’re Mitchell and Matt, two regular people who ride bikes. We also happen to be starting a non-profit bike shop in the Historic Old City district of Knoxville, TN. We’re calling it Two Bikes and our mission is to give away a bicycle for every one we sell.

To make this happen we rely on donated bikes – and bike parts – which we refurbish and sell for reasonable prices. The shop will also serve as a hub for the fast-growing and diverse Knoxville cycling community by offering public repair stations, mechanics classes, a taproom showcasing local beer, a resource library and – when things return to normal – an event space.

We believe in the transformative power of bikes, not just as a means of exercise or a social object, but also as a tool for personal mobility, freedom and autonomy. From the latest carbon space bike to the modest be-fendered and basketed commuter, we hope you’ll agree that with each bicycle the world becomes a more wondrous and positive place. As such, Two Bikes is committed to lowering the barrier for entry to this brighter world by providing access to affordable bikes and to creating a more inclusive and egalitarian culture through honest, unintimidating service.

We’re documenting the process of starting the nonprofit online too. If you’d like to follow along, the best spot is probably Instagram.