The Radavist

To begin, it is important to say that I am not a doctor, a data analyst, or an economist. Am I an expert regarding the growing pandemic that is becoming one of the defining events of our lives? No, I am not. I am a bike mechanic who likes to take photos. There are smarter people out there who could (or should) be writing about this, but as it is, you have me. And I find it extremely difficult—even inappropriate—to talk about this year’s Mid South without acknowledging the massive elephant in the room. For some of you, these images or just the thought of a large group gathering may be upsetting. You would be right to feel that way, and I get it. If this were any other year, it would have been a widely celebrated event, filled with love and excitement from the greater cycling community. In a lot of ways, it still was. But given that upside-down is the new normal, here we are.

Intro

Arrowhead 135 is a race that evokes superlatives: coldest, most extreme, most brutal. Routine sub-zero conditions encountered on the 135 miles of Northern Minnesota snowmobile trails tests riders like few other races in North America. The stories surrounding Arrowhead tend to center male-dominated, human-versus-nature narratives and the gear that riders carry to overcome the challenge. When my friend Amanda Harvey registered for the race, I approached her about a project that offered a new angle on Arrowhead.

With Grinduro spreading its wings across three continents this year, landing on the western side of Japan at Madarao Kogen with Salsa Cycles this fall. A resort mostly known for its deep powder and tree skiing welcomed some early season visitors as over 300 cyclists descended upon the ski town. The resort’s main chalet served as the staging ground for the expo and meals for the event. With the threat of Typhoon Hagibis on the horizon, the largest Typhoon to hit this region of Japan since 1958, people were nervous about the viability of the event. The storm was forecasted to reach the resort and produce very heavy rains and strong winds midday Saturday, right during lunch between the two planned rides for the day. With safety and ride-ability in mind, the organizers decided to swap the afternoon ride to the morning and add a segment. This was the more dirt/singletrack focused portion of the day which I don’t think anyone was bummed about. At 19 miles the route still has over 3000 ft of elevation gain.

Editor’s note: Jarrod recently attended Saddle Drive, Quality Bicycle Product’s outdoor showcase for their forthcoming products. This included components, accessories and complete bicycles from brands like Salsa, Surly and All City. Jarrod spent two days there, photographing new components on day one and on day two, complete bikes. Here’s day one.

Saddle Drive is the Best
Words and photos by Jarrod Bunk

Saddle Drive is an event that is very similar to Frostbike, however the premise is a bit different Saddle Drive allows QBP dealers and media some time on 2017 Products. The tradeshow aspect is a bit toned down, to allow for maximum time on saddle. Following the All City party the night of arrival, day one started off slow. I was able to ride the new Karate Monkey from Surly, The Salsa Cycles Woodsmoke, new Mukluk, and the All City Spacehorse disc to name a few. Spending most all of day one riding bikes in high alpine was, well, one of the best experiences of my life, and being on some stellar bikes made it that much sweeter. Thanks to Kyle and Bobby for taking me to the top at Pluto and shredding back down.

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Words by Morgan Taylor, photos by Scott Haraldson.

No matter how you slice it, our little corner of the world is out of the way to get to. We are surrounded by wilderness in all directions, which presents both opportunities and challenges. The two major east-west highways in BC diverge around us in order to traverse the four chains of glacially carved mountains toward the continental divide, and relatively few people find reason to come through this neck of the woods.

Frostbike’s the Best
Photos and words by Jarrod Bunk

I look forward to this time of the year, I get to catch up with friends, check out fresh bits from companies that I dig. You could say that Frostbike is a mini Interbike, without the tedium. QBP invites some of its dealers each year to view bikes, parts, and projects. Bikes, I love them, I love getting people on them, I love riding them. We all do right? QBP does a great job of creating bikes that small groups want and promoting cycling though all of their brands. Frostbike isn’t about just QBP brands though, there are plenty of non Q-brands that display here.

Its been said that there ain’t no party like a QBP party ‘cause a QBP party don’t stop. Obviously winding down after a day of seminars and bike stoke needs to happen. I look forward to the All City ’17 model year release every year. Jeff has a great program over there!. The log lady is a show stopper. Speaking of show stoppers, Whiskey Parts Co. has a pretty awesome project this year. They displayed six bikes as parts of their Whiskey Six Select, and let me just say oh man, these bikes are beautiful, from a custom Salsa Cycles Horsethief to a Retrotec, there is sure to be something for everyone.

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The Soulcraft Dirtbomb is an incredibly versatile bike and a worthy tool to tackle an event like Grinduro. It’ll eat up dirt roads, singletrack and pavement alike but most importantly, it’s strong enough to withstand the after party. Which at events like last weekend, tend to go on ’til dawn.

Sean from Soulcraft knows a thing or two about handmade bikes. He learned the trade from legends like Bruce Gordon and Salsa Cycles, so it’s fitting to see his framesets carrying on many of these ideologies, just in an updated, modern form.

This bike in particular clears the Bruce Gordon RockNRoad tires, features PAUL Klampers, Chris King and WTB wheels and SRAM’s CX1 group, with a 10-42 cluster.

Like I said, it’ll take on anything you throw at it and still party ’til dawn.