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This September, John Shackleford, a 25-year-old NYC bicycle messenger, will traverse 1,114 miles on a bicycle along a mixed-terrain route known as the Underground Railroad, all to inspire the Black youth of America to experience cycling. Who else is hyped for this one?
Head to Underground Railroad Ride to find out how you might be able to help John on this life-changing experience.
‘Forgotten Highways’ is a film of documenting self-supported travel bike bicycle and cultural discovery set in the Whanganui District of New Zealand. The film is a journey through a challenging landscape following the historical trails to and from one of NZ’s most significant rivers (or Awa).
What would you see on a bike tour in Tanzania? This video showcases the sights and sounds from a six day tour with One Bike Tanzania.
BINGO Components is a new company that is looking to make problem-solving products for your bike, beginning with the B1 headset spacer. These 5mm thick 6061 aluminum alloy spacers are anodized black and feature two loops to attach stem caddy-style bags.
You can run them above or below the stem and it even works with shorty MTB stems. These are made in Oregon and retail for $20 at BINGO Components.
Perthshire Gravel worked on this lovely project, titled Drovers:
“Filmed on the Drovers Trail, a new 331-km-long gravel bikepacking route in Scotland, ‘Drovers’ tells the story of the ancient drove roads, an important part of Scottish history, which inspired Scotland’s greatest writers like Burns and Scott. The new video from round the world singlespeed cyclist and film-maker Markus Stitz follows him on his adventure on the route, retracing the footsteps of the cattle drovers on their journey from the Cairngorms through the Tay Valley to Crieff, which became Scotland’s most important cattle market in the end of the 17th century.”
Towering over Flagstaff and the surrounding area, the series of mountain summits comprising what are contemporarily referred to as “San Francisco Peaks,” or just “The Peaks,” have held spiritual and cultural significance since long before Spanish colonists arrived and began assigning names to geologic formations.
Colt takes us to the Valles Caldera, a magical place outside of Los Alamos, NM for some bike fishing and camping vibes. Give Colt a follow on Instagram, he does some great work!
Bikepacking Roots is releasing the long-awaited Bears Ears Loops bikepacking route network – 700 miles of riding options through the high deserts and subalpine wilds of central and southeastern Utah. Their goal with these routes are to empower riders to confidently and safely immerse themselves in the remarkable but intimidating landscape, develop an informed sense of place, and experience some of all that is at risk to be lost if the Bears Ears region is not protected.
The journal entry following my first bike trip reads: “Why does recording life events feel so vital? Because memories can’t be trusted to stay in place. Because in their wake remains the shadowy outlines of phantom feelings—forms so great and vague that we long to recall the experiences that gave them flesh and weight. Okay. Bike trip.” On the next page I taped five sheets of 3×5 pages, carefully ripped from the pocket journal that I carried with me on the bike. I did this for the sake of chronology in my journaling, so that all of my day-to-day reflections remained bound together, in order, but in leafing through the past, I enjoy the three-dimensional quality that my inserted notes lend to the entry.
In 2019 Gaëlle and her Bombtrack headed out for a staggering loop around Europe, covering all it’s countries within. From the heat of southern Spain to the frozen coast of Scandinavia, while traversing the Carpathians somewhere in the middle – home to brown bears and wolves…
May 9, 2020:
“Also, if you’re interested, riding from Mammoth to Tahoe and back in June…”
This non sequitur caught me off guard. It was also exactly what I’ve wanted to hear for a while. I have long admired the big days my buddy Connor puts in the mountains. Slipped in the middle of casual conversation (mostly about bikes) between two friends, was the invitation to join in on one of his epic adventures. An invitation to partake in the fun, madness, joy, suffering, and glory.
In 2019 Jonny Moses biked the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. The GDMBR is a 2700 mile off-road bike tour that follows the continental divide along the spine of the Rockies from Banff Canada to Antelope Wells New Mexico. He rode this route in order to both challenge himself and to challenge the narrative of who does or doesn’t belong in the outdoors. His aim is to encourage kids of color that the outdoors and outdoor recreation IS for them.
Colt Fetters takes us through his gear list for bikepacking trips in the desert. As you can imagine, the desert is one of the harshest environments to tour through, so check out Colt’s recommendations here.
I’m not at all accustomed to talking about my love for backcountry mountain biking within the confines of a stale hotel ballroom. In a past lifetime as a geologist, I gave plenty of ballroom presentations about glacial erosion, cosmogenic radionuclides, and Arctic climate change – it’s easy to get academics to connect to your words in such a bland setting. But how do a couple of mountain bikers get an audience of equestrians to connect with a shared passion for the backcountry from within the confines of a suburban cube?
When I went on my first bike tour in the summer of 2009 from Seattle back to California I had a decision to make, take my camera or take a tent. I grabbed my old Hasselblad 501CM and hit the road. I had never gone on a long-distance tour before and I hadn’t much thought about any of it, I had a copy of Bicycling the Pacific Coast and some camping gear, I was gonna be fineeee. I had no plans for what to shoot along the ride, but when I got home I found that about 90% of the images I had shot were of the many people I encountered along the way. That was a moment of clarity for me and one that would define my photographic motivations for almost a decade afterward.
On a recent ride, I broke out my trusty Mini Sawyer filter, after storing it per the instructions and cleaning it the night before, to find that it just didn’t work all that well anymore. Granted this filter had probably only been used once or twice before. The stream from the filter was more of a trickle which struck me as odd as I haven’t filtered any silty streams. Granted, when you’re re-hydrating, you should be sipping water, not chugging it so it didn’t bother me at the time. Filling my bottles though, took forever.
It leads me to think there has to be a better filter for smaller, back-country rides where water is a concern. We have lots of streams, creeks, and tributaries here to drink from on big rides, which is nice but I’d love to find a better filtering option. We use an MSR pump filter for bike and backpacking trips but they take up a lot of space. Filters like the Scout Inline and MSR Thru-Link inline filters look appealing but what if you don’t ride with a bladder all the time? Steripen? Iodine? Surely you’ve got opinions, so we’d like to head what you use!
Karla and I were on route before Covid-19 had been detected in Mexico, but as we saw the situation develop we decided to pause our trip and go home. It feels weird to have our outdoor space reduced to a small backyard after being on the limitless open road, but we stay positive and hope you’re all safe and to see you on the road once all this passes. Stay strong and cheers!
We leave San Ignacio and after a chill ride we make it to Laguna de San Ignacio where we join a whale watching tour. On our previous segment we had seen whales spout from the coast, but seeing them dive under the tiny boat we were on was an amazing experience. Back on dry land we stop at the tiny store in town for a quick resupply, where the lady behind the counter is actively scrolling on her phone and she expresses her concern about “the new virus”. This area relies heavily on sea related activities and the main buyer is China, but because of Covid-19 all product shipping has been stopped, leaving people without part of the income they count on for the rest of the year. She’s also worried about being in a touristy spot, where most of the visitors are from abroad.
While we’re all locked down in our homes, a lot of us are biding our time planning tours and travels. One of the ways we can help you with that is by teaming up with the Adventure Cycling Association to offer you a free, 6-month trial.
The Radavist and Adventure Cycling are teaming up to offer you a free 6-month trial membership to Adventure Cycling Association. Become a member with Adventure Cycling Association today and unlock the keys to a wealth of resources and valuable tools that will ignite your dreams and plans for bicycle adventures of any kind — whether short overnight trips, weeklong tours, cross-country rides, or around-the-world journeys.
Perks of membership with Adventure Cycling include:
-A subscription to Adventure Cyclist – the only magazine dedicated to bicycle travel
-Discounts on Adventure Cycling maps as well as deals on hotel stays, gear, and apparel
-Access to trip planning resources and more!
With over 50,000 members, Adventure Cycling is the nation’s largest bicycling association. We exist to inspire and empower people to travel by bicycle. Sign-up now!
*This 6-month free trial membership is valid only for new members and must be sent to a U.S. mailing address.
Sign up at Adventure Cycling
