The Radavist

Tristan Rawlence’s Loaded Santa Cruz Highball for the 2018 Tour Aotearoa Brevet
Photos and Audio captured by Sven Martin, intro by John Watson

The preparation for ultra-endurance bikepacking events is of mind, body, and bicycle. The latter of which there is no shortage of interest in, both in terms of this website’s audience and my own curiosity. I’ve seen a lot of various gear setups over the years, from Trans America winners taking on 1000 mile road rides, Baja Divide rigs, Stagecoach hardtails, Tour Divide and everything in between. There’s something magical about a fully loaded bike, especially when the owner has put so much thought into every detail, specifically, gear selection.

Photographer and all-around badass Sven Martin caught up with Tristan Rawlence, prior to his departure for the 2018 Tour Aotearoa Brevet, a 3000km brevet which traverses from Cape Reinga at the Northern tip, to the Bluff at the Southern tip in New Zealand. Not only did Sven bring a camera to document Tristan’s setup, but some great audio equipment, which makes for an extremely interactive experience and quite frankly, something entirely new and exciting for the Radavist.

Beginning from a cross country bike ride in 1976 to celebrate the U.S. Bicentennial, Adventure Cycling has dedicated its existence to those wishing to explore the cycle touring routes throughout the United States. To commemorate over 40 years of documenting, publishing and celebrating cycle tourism, the ACA is throwing a party in Montana. Dubbed the Montana Bicycle Celebration, riders from all over the country are flocking to Missoula on July 15th through the 17th. It’s this celebration that prompted a rather large group of people to fly into Banff, Alberta and ride to Missoula along the Great Divide Route.

Kyle and Liz are leaving a few days earlier to take their time and soak in the epicness that is the Tour Divide but before he left, I shot some photos of his Ros 9+ with its new Stinner Frameworks fork. This addition allows Kyle to mount Anything Cages to his bike, giving him the extra room he’ll need on this two-week journey.

Hopefully we’ll have photos from this trip up on the site next month, thanks to Andrew The Maker‘s nifty rolltop handlebar camera bag. If you’re going to the ACA Montana Bicycle Celebration, be sure to give this group of wayward riders a high five and a beer!

2015 was life-changing for not only myself but for the Radavist, its authors and content. For the most part, the year felt like a giant ping-pong game as various stories brought me and the contributors of this website all over the globe. Luckily, the first major story unfolded in Austin, Texas so no traveling was necessary! Check out the Radavist’s 2015 Year in Review below!

2015 was an amazing year for the Radavist. Not only in terms of traffic, or stats, but in terms of content. We take pride in the site, the rides we record, products we feature and yes, the bicycles we document. This year was huge in terms of the places we traveled to and the people we met along the way. With people and places come Beautiful Bicycles and a lot of work!

Without rambling on too much, here’s a list of the Top 10 of 2015 ranked by traffic and social media chatter, from highest down…

While we took a look at my own touring bike yesterday, I will say this with confidence: had I ridden the Elephant Bikes National Forest Explorer prior to ordering my Woodville two years ago, I would have drastically changed my views on 650b, disc brakes and trail.

The National Forest Explorer is a low-trail, 650b bike with disc brakes and a decent, not copious amount of tire clearance. These NFE’s are made by Glen Copus in Spokane, WA and pack quite the wallop of versatility in a beautiful, forest service green package. They’re made from lightweight steel for just the amount of liveliness.