The Radavist

The Maximum is Not the Optimum: Kelly and Mal in New Zealand
Words by Kelly Nowels, photos by Kelly and Mallory Nowels

“The maximum is not the optimum.” My buddy Chip likes to quote this Fabien Barel interview where the French downhill world champ waxes poetic about racing and life. Of course it’s all over my head, I mean this guy is a world champion, but it got me thinking and wanting to explore how optimum applies to bike touring.

Mal and I have been drooling at the thought of a New Zealand trip for years. With winter approaching and knowing that we weren’t getting any younger (we totally are though), we started saving our vacation days and our pennies to make it happen.

Bikepacking with BMXers on Cross Bikes in the Santa Cruz Mountains
Photos by Brian Barnhart, words by Brian Barnhart, Bill Arlew, and Sam Pederson

Introduction by Brian Barnhart

As much as I love bikepacking, I just don’t do it enough. Living in Santa Cruz, it is so easy to surf, BMX, hike or mountain bike, and then spend the night at home. I can’t complain about the accessibility. But when I got a group text about scheduling a long weekend of bikepacking, I was in! The group got narrowed down to two guys I had never met, but I knew we would bond over the experience.

After some planning and a few bike mods, the morning came to pedal into the mountains. The three of us got acquainted sharing singletrack and fire roads, and discussing our packing setups along the way. Billy and Sam had an exciting route planned, now it was time to put it to the test. Three days of riding and two nights of camping in Castle Rock State Park and Butano State Park respectively.

Our bikes and packs created a bond within our group, and also with folks that we talked to along the way. We shared an enthusiasm for being in the middle of nowhere, pedaling our way in and finding our way out. The recently drenched forest was alive with newts, banana slugs, and vegetation, and at night a campfire gave it warmth. We challenged our bodies and were rewarded with endless views and mysterious fog topped mountains. The descents flew by at exhilarating rates, full attention given to every bump, rock, tree, angle and edge. And the flat terrain provided a time to relax and appreciate it all.

We rode hard, and sometimes walked hard when the grade got too steep. We came out better riders and more prepared for next trip. We found that feeling we all crave when we are off our bikes. It happens when the conditions are just right, and our brains narrow our thoughts down to what is happening right now. For us it was climbing steep hills then bombing down the other side through redwoods, chalky bluffs, open meadows, and coastal roadways. Being cold and wet, then warming up as the time and miles passed. Stimulated by scenic overload, quiet of deep forest, and the scent of untouched wilderness we smiled all the way home.

First Time’s a Charm at the Steamboat Ralleye
Photos by Ian Hylands and Kyle Kelley words by Kyle Kelley

A few months ago James Scriven from Niner Bikes reached out and asked me to go on a bike ride with him. I agreed as soon as he asked and only afterwards began to understand what I had signed up for. As the details trickled in I found out that I wouldn’t be riding my own bike, but instead would be on a Special Edition Niner RLT. The bike would be auctioned off after the ride to benefit the International Mountain Bike Association. I wouldn’t even be using my own gear. The bike would be equipped with Blackburn bags, Big Agnes was providing the camping gear and Kitsbow even made a special pair of custom jean shorts for me to wear. Side note: my signature model can be expected to appear sometime in the year 2020.

I’m here in Portland, Oregon attending the Bike and Beer festival at HopWorks Urban Brewery. While I’ll be documenting many of the frames, I’ll also be capturing the general vibes. For now, let’s just check out some bikes!

For the past five and a half years, AJ Lu of Muirandessi Cycles has been working on frames, one by one. After attending UBI framebuilding school, then getting his certification, AJ spent his free time researching the art and history of building a bicycle by hand.

When it comes to new framebuilders, it’s tough to make a leap out into the world and grow your brand or clientele. In the brief time I spoke with AJ, I didn’t get the sense that he was eager to be the next big thing, he just wants to perfect his art and build bicycle frames for people with a purpose.

This Muirandessi Cycles has an interesting story. It was built to be the owner, Lucas’ daily work bike at his company Cascadian Courier Collective. Earlier this summer, Lucas and his buddy Alexander decided to make the trip from Eugene, Oregon to Portland. A tour that most people would plan to undertake with panniers and a touring bike, yet they decided to make it a bit interesting and ate 99 Doughnuts along the way…

Recently it was powdercoated with a metallic flake clear and as the morning sunlight caught each individual flake, the bike illuminated itself in the most flamboyant way. Personally? I freaking love it!

Part commuter, part touring bike, beautiful functionality with that Icarus flair.

Chris wanted a bike that did all of the above. Having already commissioned Ian to build him a matte black road bike, he knew exactly what he wanted in a commuter. Tubus titanium racks, SON hub, Edelux lamp, Chris King, Paul components, custom painted Berthoud fenders, Swift Industries panniers, Jack Brown Blues and White Industries cranks, all being operated by SRAM’s XO long cage rear derailleur and barcons.

A lot of the parts selection was informed by my Geekhouse when Chris was selecting his kit. Dependability was the most important issue yet as we said earlier, it needed to be beautifully functional.

Maybe he’ll have time to get out on a tour? Or maybe it’ll just serve him as it has for the past year as a commuter for Austin, TX.

The poll is in and we have a winner… Get Ian from Icarus Frames to build you a winner by contacting him.

Cyclocross bikes may be designed to race for 45 minutes to an hour in various conditions, but their beauty lies in their versatility. I’ve put in a lot of time on my cross bike over the years, and only a fraction of those hours were spent racing. Instead, my bike’s been on road, trail, dirt, gravel and frontage road rides. With the right gear range, which is now as simple as a cassette or a chainring swap, a cyclocross bike could very well be the only drop bar bike you’ll need.

Companies like Niner are banking on that and while they offer a few ‘cross bikes, the RLT9 Steel is their flagship steel rig. Made from oversized Reynolds 853, with a pressfit 30 bottom bracket and a sweet carbon fork, the RLT9 Steel is being marketed to the “adventure” crowd.

What better way to test a bike’s capabilities than to pull one right from the box, strap three day’s worth of camping gear on it and chase 20 people around the mountains, roads and singletrack in central California?

That’s exactly where my relationship with the RLT9 Steel began… In the San Jose airport.

190 days. That’s over 6 months. For Doug D, that’s how long he’s been living in and on this bike: a custom Brooklyn Machine Works tourer. This frame is in fact the only custom bike the Brooklyn framebuilders have made over the years. Sure, there have been numerous prototypes and one-offs, but Doug’s touring bike is the only completely custom ride they’ve made.

For good reason. A touring bike like this weighs around 100 lbs and carries everything Doug needs to tour all over the east coast and northeast during the harsh winter months. It has specific engineering requirements and plenty of custom details.

It features custom-designed and laser cut dropouts, as well as an integrated cable sheath at the seat tube cluster. Doug specifically requested BMW’s signature double plate fork, with aero blades, specifically drawn to hold the weight of panniers. Then, to top it off, the decals are the first ever die-cut vinyl logos the brand has done.

All in all, it’s a rather straight forward build. Pieced together with whatever spare parts Doug had on him at the time. Take for instance the Dura Ace cranks and Ultegra front derailler. Yet the 48h Phil Wood touring wheels, Paul Touring Cantis, Brooks saddle, hand made front panniers and Arkel bar bag are very much touring specific.

So what’s Doug been doing for 6 months? He’s been visiting various factories and facilities where companies still make goods in the USA. Everything from Easton hockey sticks, to boot makers, military equipment, stand up paddle boards and yes, even bicycle frame builders.

I caught up with Doug briefly in Austin yesterday, shot his bike, took him to my favorite bar and heard stories about stealth camping, staying sane and most importantly, warm during the winter months. He has tons of film and digital photos, which he hopes to put into a book at some point.

Follow Doug on Instagram for more stories and photos. If you see this man on the road, say hello!

Death in the Valley – Team AWOL
Words by Erik Nohlin, Garrett Chow, Dylan Buffington, Sean Estes
Photos by Erik Nohlin and Dylan Buffington

“Let’s ride into the middle of the desert on our bikes.”

It was plain and simple. This was the brief that convinced a few friends to dive into Death Valley head first. We planned the trip in three weeks, the drive took 7 hours, and all of a sudden our feet were planted on the dirt of the Inyo Mountain Range that would lead us into Death Valley. We were set for an adventure but what we found was an epic one.

On long rides, moments and memories start to blend into each other, making it hard to differentiate this mountain from the next, that turn from this bend. As part of the Team AWOL spirit, there is a responsibility to tell a story. Whether that be with photos or reports, every rider will explain the pain of a climb a little differently than the next. This is something that is taken to heart especially when riding with a group. In this report, we are including everyone’s voice as a way to adjust the method of storytelling. We find this to be essential to understanding the bigger picture. Not only do we view and take in the photographs, but the style and reflections in each of their writings bring unique perspectives to understanding the truth in the story…

Yesterday I went down to the LA River Camp Coffee meet-up to drink some coffee and see what this weekly gathering is all about. While I was there, I shot Errin’s Box Dog Pelican rando bike, set up with panniers.

This bike was made by Banjo Bicycles – they’re made by Winter now – in production runs and are sold by Box Dog Bikes in small batches. Errin’s has seen some mileage, which you can follow along on his blog Frontage Roads. I love randonneur bikes that become commuters when they’re not being drug through the shit on a brevet.

See more details in the Gallery and many thanks to Errin for organizing the LA River Camp Coffee meetups, more on that tomorrow!

This past weekend, some buddies and I went on a little camping trip. Some of us had to be back in town the following day, while others went on through Monday. The lucky bastards… One of the early returnees, along with me, was Jonathan. It was his first camping trip here in Austin, since recently relocating from Omaha, so we wanted it to be a good one.

There’s more to come on the ride itself (oh and it was a good one), but I thought I’d take a minute to feature his rather unique Surly Disc Trucker…

You’ve seen this bike before, you just thought it was a one-off paint job. Back when Erik rode the Transcontinental Race, he used a Poler Camera Cooler for a bar bag, prompting Benji from Poler to reach out to Erik – Benji pays attention to what’s going on in the cycling world… For instance, these panniers have been in the works for a while.

After a quick visit to Portland, Erik and Benji schemed on something for the AWOL project for Poler. The great thing about these AWOL bikes is their versatility. 1-trakk rippers, around-town, bar bike, touring bike, dirt touring bike, dirt-drop brap machine. They do it all, including the 370 mile trek across Oregon for the Oregon Outback.

We knew we wanted to do a big ride to *shoot the bike, but weren’t sure where, when or how we’d do it.

When the Oregon Outback was announced, Erik reached out to me and I said yes, not knowing what I was getting myself into. It was a hell of a ride and afterwards, we stayed with Benji and began discussing the bike’s launch.

Next week, these bikes hit dealers. On the 6th of September to be exact. MSRP, availability and other information is on the way, or you can just call your local Specialized shop. Prior to the launch, on September 5th, I’ll be having a gallery show at Poler’s new storefront in Portland with an opening reception. Aka, a party. More info on that to come…

For now, check out some details in the Gallery!

*Believe it or not, this is the same bike that Erik rode during the Oregon Outback. I had to painstakingly photoshop out all of the Poler insignia. Front lamp and saddle bag not included! Comes with panniers and front pannier rack.

Dissecting my Oregon Outback photos has taken two full days and rather than dumping everything into one huge gallery, I thought I’d break it up a bit into something that everyone can discuss separately: bikes.

People obsess over setups for rides like this. From frame material, to geometry and wheel size, I saw everything.

Erik and I were on stock, straight out of the box, AWOL Comps. Erik painted his to look all crazy. Mine was just black. I had bikepacking bags and my Swift Ozette rando bag, Erik used panniers and the new AWOL rack. Most people used Porcelain Rocket or Revelate bags on their flat bar MTB.

Personally, I felt like a drop bar bicycle offered more riding options and were inherently faster than a rigid or a hardtail MTB. That said, most of the field were on MTB rigs of some sort. There was one fatbike, a few 29+ but for the most part, the rigid 29r ‘adventure’ bike platform ruled all.

A lot of these bikes were built specifically for the Outback, which is insane!

As I began sorting through all of my photos, I realized that my favorite thing about this ride was getting to know complete strangers. Watching their struggles unfold and seeing how they coped with the incredible feat that was upon us.

These Bikes and Faces of the Oregon Outback will forever remain engrained in my riding psyche. The rest of the story will unfold shortly. Until then, enjoy this Gallery.