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Sunset on Sunset Ridge Trail

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Sunset on Sunset Ridge Trail

Nomenclature is often an intuitive byproduct of one’s, most notably the one who does the naming’s, experiences. A local example, here in Los Angeles, is Sunset Ridge trail. Yes, it’s a ridge trail and yes, it really, really comes alive at sunset, especially in that low, soft winter light.

Last night, the Wednesday Slacker’s ride, aka Wednesday Warriors, aka freelancers union shredders, aka whoever wants to ride on Wednesday, took 11 souls up into the San Gabriel mountains for a New Years party ride. We brought food including but not limited to: fried chicken, sandwiches, chocolate almonds, gummy bears, beer and trail mix. Our troop sat atop the old Echo Mountain ruins and watched the sun fall behind cloud cover before moving on through the myriad of trails before descending Sunset Ridge.

It was one of those evenings where the mountains really began to sing. Not with sounds however, but with light. Stopping to soak it in was a requisite before shredding the dusty and rutted trails, so parched for water that our fee for usage were dusty eyes and dried chains. We rode just about 12 miles and climbed 3,000′. If you’ve yet to do this loop, I highly recomend it!

Check out more photos below and Happy New Year!

Reilly’s Breadwinner Lolo Road

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Reilly’s Breadwinner Lolo Road

People often refer to steel road bikes as “lifetime” bicycles. A few years back, Reilly was looking for just that, a lifetime road bike. He scoured the internet, looking at all the offerings before settling on Portland’s Breadwinner Cycles and their Lolo road bike. These frames are made in-house, at Breadwinner in Portland and can be configured with various options directly from their website. Reilly’s build is beautiful, without being flashy, relying on Shimano Ultegra’s longevity to keep the wheels and gears turning.

Little details really make the build, like his Yanco handlebar bag, Manual for Speed bar tape and Vittoria Corsa tires on Pacenti rims. Bikes like this are just so right…

The Radavist and MWBA for the Haramokngna American Indian Cultural Center

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The Radavist and MWBA for the Haramokngna American Indian Cultural Center

Thanksgiving is a time to bring community together and help out any way possible. This year, we wanted to do something for one our local Southern California Native American tribes, the Haramokngna. Along with the Mount Wilson Bicycling Association, we made an homage water bottle to the popular “Red Box” area on Mount Wilson. Red Box is one of the few places in the San Gabriels that offers shade and most importantly, a place to fill up your bottles at a spigot. This area is marked by a beautiful red box, painted with Haramokngna petroglyphs and designs, from which it gets its name.

On the weekends, the Haramokngna American Indian Cultural Center is open, serving cold sodas and snacks. Just about every cyclist in the Los Angeles area has been through this oasis, either on their road or mountain bike and has benefitted in some way from the Haramokngna American Indian Cultural Center’s services.

We’re selling these bottles, exclusively at Golden Saddle Cyclery, alongside MWBA with all proceeds donated to the Haramokngna American Indian Cultural Center. Stop by and pick one up and know your money is going to a solid cause.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Dirty Mulholland at Sunset

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Dirty Mulholland at Sunset

A favorite ride is always amplified by winter light and cycling tourists. Tonight, Kyle and I took Kelly out on a Dirt Mulholland sunset ride, which turned into a Topanga Creek Outpost banana bread run, turned mad-dash through Melrose gridlock at rush hour. The thrills are never short on this ‘cross-town jaunt. If you’ve never done this route, be sure to check it out on Strava and click-through to check out more photos…

Seeking Cloud Cover on Iconic Los Angeles Rides

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Seeking Cloud Cover on Iconic Los Angeles Rides

Over the past week, nature flipped a switch. Suddenly, like migrating birds, the 100º weather had flown to the southern hemisphere, leaving behind clouds, cooler temperatures and even traces of precipitation. Basically, the perfect ingredients for successful dirt bike rides. All summer, I’d stuck to shorter, partially shaded rides, or banked on getting in my mileage before the heat of the day and now I felt comfortable taking off up my favorite dirt climbs.

Tis the Season for Spooky Rides

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Tis the Season for Spooky Rides

This post is coming in late, because we didn’t finish our ride until late today. We saw some spooky shit on our ride. If you look closely, you can see Kyle in there and maybe the dude pushing his bike up, carrying the compound bow and arrows too. It was really wild, but we didn’t stick around to find out what he was up to.

Hopefully, everyone is having a good All Hallow’s Eve!

A Few from the Golden Saddle and Rapha Cycle Club LA Sunset Ride

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A Few from the Golden Saddle and Rapha Cycle Club LA Sunset Ride

Last night, as part of the Rapha Rides series, a group of cyclists rode from the Rapha Santa Monica store to Golden Saddle Cyclery for a super chill “photography” ride up to the Helipad in Griffith Park to watch the sun set over this golden city. Half were in plain clothes and half were kitted out, but all enjoyed some beverages. Towards the end, Kyle requested for help in picking up the area’s trash, prompting everyone to pitch in. Because you can’t take photos when the area has trash all over it… Check out a few more below!

Chasing Fall on Mount Piños

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Chasing Fall on Mount Piños

Southern California has been an October oven, with temperatures hanging out in the 90’s and 100’s for months now. Last week, we had enough and organized a group shred sess on Mount Piños, our favorite, yet not so frequented trail network about an hour and some change from Golden Saddle Cyclery. The drive isn’t bad either when you factor in the fact that everyone is going the opposite direction on Interstate 5. We sent out a text thread and gauged interest. Cache, one of the shop mechanics at GSC wanted in, as did Kyle, Serena, Colin, Matt from Mount Wilson Bicycling Association, and myself.

Truthfully I was a little worried about this ride. You climb about 3,000′ in 10 miles and it’s straight up with no change in grade. I hadn’t ridden since South Africa, save for a few grocery store runs, on a lower saddle, across flat terrain. While I was concerned, I’m not one to sit around and wait for the recommended four weeks of recovery, especially since I hadn’t felt pain in over a week. The human body is strange like that. It’s like a tea kettle, only whistling when it’s hot. I had been going hard leading up to South Africa, a bit of “training” if you will, which consisted of mostly doing bigger riders on dirt and here in LA, that means lots of steep grades. After South Africa, it was so hot out that I couldn’t ride even if my body was in working order. There’s nothing more miserable for me, not being able to exercise at all, yet I found motivation in the distraction-free life of being forced to sit at the computer every waking moment. Regardless, it had been what felt like an eternity… Was I finally rested up?

Metro Bike Mountains of Madness – Carter Chappell

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Metro Bike Mountains of Madness – Carter Chappell

Metro Bike Mountains of Madness
Words by Carter Chappell

If you have been to LA recently maybe you have noticed the new Metro Bikes that launched last late year. They are essentially three-speed commuters by Trek that are built around a bombproof steel frame and held together by an army of tamper-proof bits. You cannot in any way take the tires off if you get a flat or do much outside of raising and lowering the seat to change the bikes fit in any way. It’s pretty much that last thing you would want to do any sort of long or hilly ride on.

From the UK to California: Adeline and Her Mercredi Hardtail

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From the UK to California: Adeline and Her Mercredi Hardtail

Yes, those astute readers of this website will recognize this bike. Kyle photographed it at Grinduro Scotland already, along with the bikes of other builders. It was the only mountain bike in the bunch and it coincidentally won the People’s Choice award at Grinduro Scotland, which is why it’s here in California right now. Adeline makes Mercredi Bikes in the UK. Her torch time is usually spent on road and ‘cross bikes, but this mountain bike was her first, in terms of building and the first MTB she’s owned. A serious cyclocross racer, it didn’t take much for Adeline to adjust to racing this mountain bike at Grinduro, where she won. I’ve always been of the opinion that riding mountain bikes will enhance your ‘cross skills and she’s quickly finding that to be true.

Floyd’s of Los Angeles

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Floyd’s of Los Angeles

Well, that’s something I never thought I’d see; Floyd Landis and Kyle from Golden Saddle riding a tandem. Last night, Floyd’s of Leadville were in town, so they wanted to throw a shindig at the bike shop including a ride in Griffith Park and free tacos by 100 Tacos. Floyd’s are out promoting their new CBD oil capsules that aid in sports recovery and can be sold online, legally.

This weekend has been fun. You do not disappoint, Los Angeles! See more shots from the ride below.

Scouting the la Tuna Fire in the Verdugo Mountains by Bike

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Scouting the la Tuna Fire in the Verdugo Mountains by Bike

Los Angeles is no stranger when it comes to wildfires, even in the short time I’ve lived here and while most of the fires over the years have been in the San Gabriel mountains, I never expected to have a fire ravage my favorite place to ride, the Verdugo Mountains. You’ve probably heard of these mountains before, we post a lot of photos here on the site from their peaks, fireroads and singletrack. To give you some perspective, the dirt roads are 7 miles from my front door, with the first saddle being exactly 10 miles. The peak, at least on the road, tops out at 3,100′ and it’s a long, steep way up, with climbs averaging between 10 and 18%.

The Cub House’s Soft Opening is this Weekend

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The Cub House’s Soft Opening is this Weekend

For those of you who have been missing the Cub House, well, their new location is just about ready to be opened. The new locale is just a few blocks from their old spot but has wayyyyy more space and that means more goods. Be sure to catch the opening party on Friday, along with rides happening Saturday and Sunday, leaving from the Cub House and Golden Saddle. Saturday’s ride is co-supported by 100 Tacos and Floyd’s of Leadville, so expect tons of entertainment.

The Radavist 2017 Calendar: September

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The Radavist 2017 Calendar: September

This is the ninth layout of the Radavist 2017 Calendar, entitled “Sunset Sprints” Shot with a Canon 1DXmkii and a 100-400mm lens in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.

“As the summer sizzles away and we’re greeted with the autumn #lightbro, down here in LA, it doesn’t look like the heat is giving up anytime soon…”

For a high-res JPG, suitable for print and desktop wallpaper*, right click and save link as – The Radavist 2017 Calendar – September. Please, this photo is for personal use only!
(*set background to white and center for optimal coverage)

The mobile background this month is from Point Reyes National Seashore Click here to download September’s Mobile Wallpaper.