The Radavist

We’re very stoked to kick off 2021 with this very unique build from Matt for our first Readers’ Rides of the year. Read on below for Matt’s words and a full build list!

In the summer of 2017, Lael Wilcox rode all of the major roads in Alaska, totaling 4,500 miles on mixed pavement and gravel. Lael is fourth-generation Alaskan. This is where she began endurance riding and her goal to get to know her home state.

In 2020, Lael went back to Alaska with her girlfriend Rue, a photojournalist, to ride together and document her project of riding all of the roads.

This scholarship is intended to enable another woman to design and ride her own 1,000 mile Alaskan adventure in the summer of 2021. This scholarship is open to a woman (including femme, trans and non-binary) of any age with any level of bicycle touring experience. We are looking for positive energy and a strong desire to experience the remote roads of Alaska and have some fun.

The recipient of the scholarship will receive a Specialized Diverge bicycle, Revelate Designs bikepacking bags, PEARL iZUMi apparel, a premium subscription to Komoot, Easton wheels, a Wahoo ELEMNT ROAM GPS, Big Agnes camping equipment, Rene Herse tires, a year subscription to Bicycle Quarterly, Trail Butter, and a $1,500 travel stipend provided by Easton.

Prepare a digital application based upon the questions on the following page and send to Lael Wilcox and the selection team at laelridesalaska@gmail.com no later than February 6, 2021. Provide your responses as the text of an email. The recipient of the scholarship will be announced April 5, 2021.

The scholarship selection team includes Lael Wilcox, previous scholarship recipients Kailey Kornhauser and Brooke Larsen, Abigale Wilson from PEARL iZUMi, Cari Carmean from The Radavist, and Natsuko Hirose from Bicycle Quarterly.

Head to LaelWilcox.com to apply for this scholarship!

This week’s Readers’ Rides comes from Michael in Vancouver, BC. His Granville Burtly Road with a beautiful Sunset Fade graces our website this Friday morning. Enjoy!

Fires aren’t going anywhere in California. Soil Searching founder, Fanie Kok, shares this intimate profile of Dillon Osleger, a man building a conservation movement that has us all thinking about how to protect what we have now instead of rebuilding once it’s already gone.

The 2020 Chris King ‘Not So’ Open House brings together a group of the very best bike builders and bike brands to showcase the brand’s new colors and products for 2021. Each of the ten builders being featured stepped up to produce an amazing bike that showcases the new additions to their new color offering (black with gold infill text and gold!) There are also some great edits from brands like Yeti and Specialized, so see those below!

CKPC had a lot of fun putting the video edit together, so enjoy!

Riding a hardtail on a bicycle tour requires some problem solving, particularly if your bike doesn’t have rack mounts. Like the Specialized thru-axle we posted yesterday, which uses a Syntace thread pitch, the Rober Axle Project’s Cargo thru-axles solve this problem, yet RAP offers various thread pitches and axle widths. They also make various axles for hauling trailers. Head on over to Robert Axle Project to see more!

Specialized launched their new Stumpjumper EVO line today and with it, another banger of a product video.

Roval’s newest wheels are an ultra-light 1365 gram wheelset, which is even lighter on your wallet. The Alpinist CL pairs the lightweight climber’s Alpinist rim with the bombproof DT Swiss 350-series hubs and gossamer DT Swiss Aerolite spokes.

Alpinist CL Highlights:
-Carbon, Clincher (tube-type) / Rim Depth: 33mm  / Rim Width: 21mm internal
-Hubs: DT Swiss 350, CenterLock, Sealed Cartridge bearings, DT Swiss Star Ratchet internals, 12mm thru-axle compatible, convertible to Quick Release. Shimano HG freehub.
-Spoke Count: 24 front, 24 rear
-Spokes: DT Swiss Aerolite T-head
-Nipples: DT Swiss Alloy Pro Lock Hexagonal
-Front Spoke Pattern: Two-cross/Radial (2:1) Rear Spoke Pattern: One-cross/Two-cross (2:1)
-Hand-built
-Weight:  601g (f) 764 (r) 1365g (set)
-MSRP: $1600
-Extras: Roval padded wheelbag. No-Fault crash replacement policy. Lifetime warranty.

Available at Rovalcomponents.com and Roval/Specialized Retailers

Chuck Teixeira’s lifelong passion for riding is equaled only by what he has done to advance the sport. He embodies the ingenuity, craftsmanship, and dedication that we strive to achieve, and he has been instrumental in making cycling better for all of us.

And now Chuck needs our help; his home is gone. The CZU August Lightning Complex fire has ripped through the Santa Cruz mountains, destroying dozens of buildings, incinerating tens of thousands of acres and displacing tens of thousands of people. Chuck’s home was one of those that burned to the ground, only ashes remain. The sweat and blood he poured into building his mountain refuge is gone – reduced to smoke and embers. His scores of rare and vintage bicycles – a rolling museum of cycling’s evolution and a living archive of his inventions and innovations – reduced to melted metal and plastic. His hand-build hotrods – each representing thousands of hours of meditative hard work – charred beyond recognition. Beyond the tangible, and all the more devastating, Chuck and his wife Debbie lost the dream of spending the rest of their lives together in the sanctuary they built.

WTF BX announces that the 2020 SJ Brooks Scholarship is now accepting applications!

The 2020 SJ Brooks Scholarships seek to increase access, reduce barriers, and center voices specifically for BIPOC cyclists who identify as femme, trans, woman, non-binary, intersex, two-spirit, or genderqueer. The application will close at 9pm (PST) on August 27, 2020. Those selected to receive one of the SJ Brooks Scholarships will be notified by the week of September 21, 2020.

**Applicants must self-identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, person of color) and FTWN-B (femme, transgender, woman, non-binary). All skill levels, abilities, and body sizes are encouraged to apply. All applicants who do not identify as BIPOC should spread the word to BIPOC cyclists in their community circles.

The cycling community and industry raised $20k for the scholarships. This financial donation will allow recipients to receive up to $2k to pursue a spirited endeavor and has helped support a committee to oversee the application process. WTF BX also received cycling and camping gear packages valued at $3k each and bikes for 9 recipients. These combined contributions will allow WTF BX to offer up to 18 scholarships specifically for BIPOC FTWN-B cyclists!

Thank you to the cycling community and the following cycling brands who helped make this happen: @eastoncycling, @iamspecialized, @evo, @konabikes, @surlybikes, @velocioapparel, @chrome_industries, @revelatedesigns, @ridewithgps, @gaiagps, @cnocoutdoors, @bedrocksandals, @topodesigns, @ombraz, @blackburndesign, @biketiresdirect, @boschebikesystems.us, @fernwehfoodco, @fix_that_bike, @planet_bike, @msr_gear, @microcosm_pub

See more and apply at the SJ Brooks Scholarship page.

Justin and Cory Williams from Legion of Los Angeles give the new Tarmac SL7 a rip.