The Radavist

The remote arid lands of the United States’ West have always called strongly to me – the sandstone canyon country of the Colorado Plateau, the broad detritus-filled valleys and formidable ranges of the Great Basin, and the cactus forests of the Sonoran Desert to name a few. These characteristically dry landscapes all exude a unique, powerful beauty and a particularly intimidating shared aura arising from the scarcity of water. Beyond that, broad swaths of these regions are sparsely inhabited, and that remoteness combined with the aridity can be especially challenging for anyone looking to adventure in the backcountry, whether it’s for single- or multiple-day outings. But in many areas, the water is out there if you know where to find it and plan your route with that in mind, and in this article, I am going to walk through my process for planning out trips in the desert.

Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…

Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…

Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…

The accompanying gallery includes photos from a few of the areas in Arizona burned by wildfire in just the past 15 months. 

My friend Joe and I stood atop Spruce Mountain just below the fire tower one last time this past Friday, admiring the surrounding peaks and forests of the Bradshaw Mountains. We both live just a few miles from this summit, and we share a love for big rides in the chunky, challenging backcountry trails deeper in the range. But today’s ride was a short one, first thing in the morning. Up on that vista, my eyes hopped from one patch of brown to the next, each a cluster of dead pines and firs. The ongoing drought is having a devasting impact on these forests. To the north, smoke from the nearby 40,000+ acre Rafael Fire filled Verde Valley with an impenetrable brown haze.

This video from Kuat, featuring Kait and Kurt from Bikepacking Roots‘ records on the Kokopelli Trail is so well done!

Spanning 138 miles of the rugged landscape between Moab Utah, and Loma Colorado, the Kokopelli Trail is one of the original great bikepacking routes of the American West.

In November of 2020, Kait Boyle and Kurt Refsnider set out to explore the possibilities, testing their endurance against the current FKT (Fastest Known Time) records. Their journeys began long before the starting line, and the progression of record times on this trail is far from over.

Stay tuned for the release of Faster For Now later this spring 2021!

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…

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.  

Remember all those wild Reportage reports from bikerafting in Colorado and Utah with Four Courners Guides we’ve posted over the years? Well, Doom and Lizzy have launched a fantastic project born from those endeavors and more:

“We launched the IndieGoGo Campaign December 21st (soft, unofficial for all our fans and followers). You can start pre-ordering the book now through January 29! What is The Bikeraft Guide? It’s a community multi-media storytelling project that will ultimately result in a comprehensive book on bikerafting. It will be the definitive guide on the sport, and includes a comprehensive history section, “The Pirates of Bikerafting” Anthology (a collection of stories from 15 of the world’s best bikerafters) and a how-to section, mostly by Steve “Doom” Fassbinder, but also including interviews with various experts. It will also have a safety section by the “packraft safety guy” and author of the Packraft Handbook, Luc Mehl, a repairs section by Alpacka Raft repairs manager, Ben Phillips, and a Positive Impact Ethos section contributed by Bikepacking Roots.

In addition, this project includes our new The Bikeraft Guide Podcast, and short films in the The Bikeraft Guide enewsletter, on the IndieGoGo Campaign page, on @TheBikeraftGuide Instagram page and on the Four Corners Guides blog.

Our goal with the IndieGoGo Campaign is to raise $20-$30K through pre-sales of the book and “Perks” donated by our sponsors. This will pay for printing, distribution, contributors and editing. We’re really relying on you – aspiring bikerafters and people who love great adventure stories – to help us make this dream a reality.”

Head to the IndieGoGo to support this project!

With the news today that Bike, Powder, Snowboarder, and Surfer Magazines have been shuttered by their owner, American Media, we can’t help but feel an immense loss in print magazines. This news was shocking, as Bike Mag’s content has always been sharp, including the last entry on their website, penned by Bikepacking Roots‘ Kurt Refsnider dubbed “Solutions for Smaller Bikepackers” which offers up a lot of pointers for cyclists who don’t ride a size large frame. Head on over to Bike Mag to read all about it.

Our friends at Sim Works are throwing a raffle to raise money for a handful of organizations, with the goal of aiding in social reform. The raffle starts today, June 26th, at noon, and closes on Friday, July 3 at 5pm (PST).

$25 for a raffle ticket (per entry). 100% of proceeds will be donated to the organizations.

Also, all customers spending $100 or more in the SimWorks web store will be added to the raffle participants list, and 10% of their merchandise total will be donated to the organizations that SimWorks has elected to make financial contributions.

–BLACK LIVES MATTER
–DON’T SHOOT PDX
–NAACP
–BIKEPACKING ROOTS – THE BIPOC ADVENTURE GRANT
–WTF BIKEXPLORERS

Head to Sim Works to buy a raffle ticket at 12 noon PST today!

We are pausing today’s content to make a statement. As a community of people who share the love of cycling and the outdoors, we need to listen to the voices of the oppressed and I feel that we can respectfully put the day-to-day content on hold to encourage each and every one of you to reach out to your communities, reach out to your BIPOC friends, and listen.

Without putting aside our daily distractions, we cannot do this.

The injustice being documented on social media right now is heart-breaking. Protests pave the way for reform. Or at least they have in the past. From the civil rights movement to the Vietnam War, this country has bound together in the past to fight for the voices unheard.

George Floyd was the tipping point for what has happened to the Black American community since slavery. His face has become the icon for Black freedom. Breonna Taylor’s brutal killing by police and Ahmaud Arbery lynching by members of his community all paint the grim reality our country needs to overcome. These names are added to the hundreds of Black Americans killed by cops.

Black Lives Matter. Say it. Say their names. No Justice, no peace.

This is a pattern that has arisen in this country and what we’re seeing today represents the last straw for our BIPOC brothers and sisters. We need to demand accountability for the police, our legislature, our city officials, our national officials, and our own communities.

The following organizations need your eyes and support:
–Campaign Zero
–Reclaim the Block
-Please read their  petition
-George Floyd’s family has a GoFundMe
–Minnesota Freedom Fund
–Brooklyn Bail Fund
-ActBlue allows you to make multiple donations between 38 community bail funds
–The Bail Project
–National Bail Fund Network
–Black Visions Collective
–Gas Mask Fund
–NAACP Legal Defense Fund
–Communities United Against Police Brutality
–Northstar Health Collective
–Free Them All for Public Health
–The Atlanta Solidarity Fund
–Know Your Rights Camp
–Fair Fight

The Radavist has donated money from its funding to support a number of these organizations this week. If you have the means to do so, we’d like to encourage you to do the same. If you don’t have the means to, don’t feel pressured. Do what you can within your community.

To make a difference within the cycling community, Bikepacking Roots has just announced a new grant program to help address racial inequalities related to access to outdoor experiences. The BIPOC Bike Adventure Grant will provide funding to recipients for an empowering bike adventure of their choosing and will help elevate the recipients’ voices. It’s a small step forward, but seeing as most of the outdoor industry has remained silent, we’re hoping that this will spur additional action.

The comments are closed for a few reasons, most importantly, you should be reading, learning, and listening elsewhere today. We’ll be back with content but right now, this needs to be addressed.

And as always join a protest if you feel that it is safe. Walk with your BIPOC community. Listen.

To help raise money for the Wild West Route and Bikepackingroots.com, Long Distance Studio has a collection of goods for sale, with 50% of the proceeds going to help fund Bikepacking Roots’ efforts. You can head on over to Long Distance Studio to see more of their offerings in detail. Don’t miss our features on the Wild West Route by Molly Sugar at part 1 and part 2!