What could be a better mode of transportation for five young B.C. shredders embarking on classic southern B.C. roadtrip than an old skoolie dubbed the Cool Bus? With the legendary freeride TV shows from the 2000s serving as inspiration and Shimano’s new gravity shoes on their feet, Jacob Murray, Natasha Miller, Lucy Van Eesteren, Mateo Quist and Ryder Bulfone climb aboard the Cool Bus and set out on a four-day, 1,000-kilometer pilgrimage into the past.
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Radar
Radar Roundup: New Ortlieb Bags, EVOC Bikepacking, Ronnie Goes Roadie, and Repurposed
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Radar
Bikepacking 1,300km on the Great Divide & BC Trail | Part 1
Three friends bikepack 1,300 km over 3 weeks through BC and Alberta on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) and BC Trail in snow and record-breaking heatwave. Follow @Sir.Bikes.Alot on Instagram for more!
Reportage
When I Say Hike, You Say Bike: A Swift Campout Double Feature
It’s pretty clear that I really like bikes, and I really like camping. A lot of us are here because we like combining the two. I’m also very lucky that my partner also likes bikes and camping, and we live in a place where it’s fairly easily accessible to do both. However, For whatever reason, I’ve never managed to actually do a trip over the Swift Campout weekend, and, it looked like the same thing might happen this year! So, we decided that we might cheat a little, and do a close-to-home, Thursday night camp and take advantage of some beautiful weather. All the while still getting our respective work, and school days in. Ideally leaving the rest of the weekend open to *maybe* sneak another ride and camp night in, you never know.
Radar
Home Town Trails with Micayla Gatto
Micayla Gatto is a ripper and a damn great performer at that. Diamondback has pulled together a Home Town trails series with her and this is the latest in the series, Episode 5 where she takes us to some of her favorite local trails in British Columbia. This video we get an insider’s look at Pamplemousse and Takeout the Doughnut…
Radar
Alone: A MTB Self-Film by Kaz Yamamura
Kaz from Mahalo My Dude artfully captures the vibe many of us are feeling with solo rides these days. Great shots and editing, Kaz!
Radar
The Knolly Cache Steel is In Stock
Remember Morgan’s review of the Titanium Knolly Cache? It dropped here on the Radavist just a few months after the Knolly Cache steel was announced. That was back in August of last year. Knolly finally announced they have stock of the Steel Cache, including two build kits and a frameset. You can buy the Steel Cache with a GRX 810 group for $3788, or a GRX 600 for $2899, and the frameset for $1250. Head on over to Knolly to see the component breakdown for each build kit and check out Morgan’s review of the Titanium Cache for a refresh on how capable this bike is.
Radar
Local Loam in Kamloops, BC
Jeff Kendall Weed shot over his latest video in his Local Loam series, taking place in Kamloops, BC, the home of freeriding…
“I found mountain biking in the late 1990s, and one of the most influential videos of the era was Kranked. Much of this was filmed in the hills surrounding Kamloops, BC, and to this day, the region is still famous for many massive jumps. However, the actual riding experience of the general public wasn’t quite anything to write home about. The KBRA formed as a way to help organize the voice of the mountain biking community, with a goal of representing the actual riders in town. In conjunction with the amazing work of the KPCC, the riding opportunities for the average mountain bikers are now plentiful. To me, this is a great example of advocacy done right!”
Interested in learning more? Join the KBRA (Kamloops Bike Riders Association) and support growing the sport in Kamloops.
Radar
48 Hours in the Chilcotins
Photographer Margus Riga gets a much-deserved profile in the much-revered Chilcotin Mountains in BC.
Radar
Steel and Rubber’s Sunshine Coast Overnighter Gallery
Words by Morgan Taylor. Photos by Geoff Campbell.
A couple weeks back I shared a set of rider portraits from a trip we took out of Vancouver and across Howe Sound to the Sunshine Coast. It was a simple winter overnighter, mostly on rural roads, with a great group of friends. Geoff and Pat, who are preparing to ride the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route this summer, keep track of their rides at Steel and Rubber with route data, travel stories, and great photos.
Check out a selection of Geoff’s photos below and head to Steel and Rubber for the gallery and story!
Reportage
We Will From Now On Be Found in the Mountains – Morgan Taylor
Words and photos by Morgan Taylor.
Bikes instead of flights. That was the idea. Stephanie and I have been scheming on this plan for quite a while – about nine months to be exact. You see, we got married back in October, and wanted to go on an extended trip to celebrate. Over the winter we threw ideas around about what kinds of bikes we could ride on our honeymoon trip, and then keep running as fun all-rounders when we were back home.
We landed on the Soma Wolverine, a bike that in its few short years has developed a bit of a cult following. What surprised me, however, is that not many people had built these bikes with 27.5 wheels. There were so few people out there doing it that I wondered whether it would work out. I calculated wheel diameters, I stuffed various wheels into Wolverine frames on trips to the city, and I eventually decided that 27.5 with a larger volume tire was our ticket. More on the bikes in a later piece, though.
As the months moved along, a plan came together to ride straight from home in southeast BC, over the two mountain chains to the Rockies, and loosely follow the Continental Divide with national parks in our sights. Glacier, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton were within striking distance. At some point we’d head west, likely to northern California to see Yosemite and the Sierras on the way to Los Angeles. None of this was set in stone, though; we simply wanted to follow our noses and local recommendations on a mixed surface adventure through the western US.
Reportage
Camaraderie in British Columbia’s Selkirk Mountains – Morgan Taylor
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.
