The Radavist

Photos by Chris Lee

Chris’ photos are always great and his 35mm shots from the Red Hook Crit Navy Yard race are nothing short of exceptional. Head on over to his Flickr for more! That portrait of Dan is awesome man.

Photos by Kyle Kelley

“Plenty of Action But No Control” is right. I’m off the bike for a few days after taking a spill on my MTB. Hey, not everyone can have the bike control of Ty. Anyway, if you haven’t noticed, it’s the weekend. That means you better be hitting the roads, trails, dirt, springs and bourbon. Thanks for the inspiration Kyle!

… and are you still following @Tytanium on Instagram? He’s well into the Ride Divide!

I jokingly said the other day to a friend that the hardest thing about my trip to China with Mission Workshop wasn’t actually being in China, it was sorting through all my photos. Over 20 rolls of 220 film, 10 rolls of 35mm were accumulated in the three weeks I found myself in Asia. Imagine having to sort through all that and pull together a concept.

a short preview of the book

This is “The Ends”, a book of photographs that is being released at my photography show at Mission Workshop this Saturday, June 15th. You can Pre-Order the book now and it’ll ship Monday, June 17th. We’ve already got the copies and they look amazing. Each copy was printed in Oakland.

“75 page soft-cover book showcasing John’s photographs from the 1,000km bike tour.

Setting out from Shanghai, John Watson and Mission Workshop began their cycling tour of China’s Yangtze River Delta. Using both film and digital formats, Watson photographed the surroundings and encounters with the local community. Led by their friends from Factory Five, they headed into a frenetic network of massive residential complexes, large industrial parks, and super highways. At first glance, the route seemed straightforward, however, the reality of the 1,000km trip was far more intense than anyone expected.

The following photographs from their trip were taken by John Watson, depicting his impression of what is meant by “the ends justify the means.”

This is The Ends.

Available for sale online and at Mission Workshop San Francisco. Ships Monday 6/17.”

Please spread the word, buy a copy of the book for $35 and roll through the show this Saturday!

One of my good friends and someone that’s come to represent fun times, Ty from Golden Saddle Cyclery, is getting ready to embark on the Tour Divide. For those who aren’t aware, the Tour Divide is a solo bike race from Canada to Mexico along the great dividing range. The word “adventure” gets thrown around a lot these days, but I can assure you, this is a fucking adventure. If you haven’t watched the documentary, Ride the Divide, I suggest you do so!

This is a life-changing ride, something that Ty has been preparing to undertake for over a year and I am stoked for him! Follow him on Instagram, wish him luck and be sure to ask him lots of questions. He loves questions.

Photo by Brenton Salo

This is the window shade of a podium king, captured by Brenton Salo in Portland.

Photo by Michael Williams

I receive what I would consider “gems” in the form of emails from time to time. This one in particular came from Michael in Sacramento. A lifelong Merckx fan, Michael actually got to visit the factory back in 1985, where, as he described, he was too much in awe to focus. Literally.

Amazing… Hopefully, there will be more on the site from Michael in the future. Even if I have to travel to Sacramento to document it myself.

Photos by Brad Wenner

Oh man. I’ve got the touring bug yet again and the newest Poler Adventure isn’t helping. Check it out here!

Here’s a photo of Jeff from Factory 5 riding down an open road somewhere west of Shanghai. After all the smog (which is still visible in the background), trash and shitty roads, sections like this were a gem… I’m ramping up to my book release and gallery show in SF on June 15th. More details to come.

Tools of the trade:
Yashica T4
Neopan 400

So… that’s how Garrett Chow can go so fast on that thing.

Tools of the trade:
Yashica t4
Fuji Pro 400H

Download the high-res here

After a hefty processing and scanning bill, I finally have all of my 2013 ATOC photos. For me, one of the benefits of shooting from the hip with a 35mm camera is catching moments like this and not knowing how they’ll turn out. End of roll / end of road, coming down Mt. Diablo with Garrett, Jeremy and Julie. I’m just bummed the next exposure didn’t make the cut!

While I figure out what to do with all these photos, I’ll let you have the high res to do as you please. Click the link above.

It’s almost the weekend and I shouldn’t even have to tell you to get out and ride. I haven’t shown any of my film photos from China but I can let these two slip through. It’s Jeff, MMC and Tyler from Factory 5 ripping out of the bamboo forest…

Photos by Jacob Rader

This past weekend, I spent my time hanging out with some great people at what is best described as a “luxury cabin in the middle of nowhere”. Texas is like that: a thirty minute drive south and you’re surrounded by nothing. One of the people who spent the weekend with us, surrounded by cacti was Jacob Rader. He’s been a friend for a while but it’s not until you have nothing else to do but talk (and drink), that you really make a connection with someone. As someone who also can’t leave the house without a camera, I can appreciate his lovely work.

Follow his Flickr, for what it’s like to live and ride in Austin, Texas.

You’ve been waiting for the chance to ride. Get out there this weekend…