The Napsack from Poler is one of my favorite products in their catalog. Find out why through this video.
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Radar
Brian Vernor: Out Making Photos for Blackburn
Photo by Brian Vernor
Brian’s got the best mix of work and play. Case in point, his latest assignment for Blackburn. Head over to his Making Blog to read up.
Reportage
CBSP Ride B&W
Excuse the lack of updates today, I’m slowly recovering from a week of madness in SF. These few stragglers were left on a roll of Neopan 400 during the Colorado Bend State Park ride we went on last month. Black and white really captures the looming skies and textures of the ride. I’m digging these!
Click on the above photo to launch the gallery, or here to open in a new tab.
Reportage
Bicycle Camping in Colorado Bend State Park
Jon, Ross and I have been planning a weekend getaway to Colorado Bend State Park for some time now. Texas has a lot of rich, lush campsites, all within riding distance of Austin. Bend, TX was an obvious choice, due to the distance and route it would require us to do in a day. I knew it would be about 120 miles each way and depending on our route, between 5,000′ and 8,000′ in climbing. In the end, we opted out of the extra 3,000′ of climbing, which was a smart move.
We left first thing Friday morning, around 6am and headed out through the neighborhoods to Bee Caves, where we split off on 71. From there, we hit 281 and finally, CR 580, all the way into Bend. While some of the roads were peaceful country roads, a lot of the day was spent on highway shoulders. I brought my Woodville, Ross was on his Sachs and Jon, his Icarus. Since I was the only one who had a touring bike, I carried the food, my supplies, tent and Jon’s tarps, which he planned on making a shelter out of.
The guys carefully selected their goods and we set off. I shot 4 rolls of color film (Portra 800 and 400), as well as a waterproof, disposable camera. The following image gallery is from the entire weekend of camping, swimming and the rides to and from the park. The ride out came in at 117 miles and 4,500′, the ride back was 116 and 4,100′.
This gallery is massive, with over 100 photos and each have a brief description, so don’t forget to read the captions.
Check out the Gallery by clicking the photo above, or click here to open a new tab.
Radar
C.B.S.P. Weekender – God Luck and Good Speed
See larger here / photos from Jon’s, Ross’ and my Instagram feeds
What can I say? I was jamming out to Weedeater during this ride and the title “God Luck and Good Speed” just stuck. We woke up at 6am on Friday and hammered it out to Colorado Bend State Park in Bend, TX. The first day was 118 miles and 4,900′. Initially, I was planning on taking us through 2222 and the hills on the east side of Lake Travis but we found 71 to 281 was actually quite pleasant with the lack of traffic. Doing so shaved off 3,000′ of elevation and after we rolled in on the 8-mile long gravel park-access road on Friday afternoon, I don’t think anyone regretted it.
The gear we packed was light. I brought the Woodville out with two panniers, a tent and my handlebar bag. Jon took a backpack and tarps and Ross was packing the lightest with about 15 lbs. Camping at C.B.S.P. is “primitive” but it’s exactly what we all needed. We cooked and hauled our own food, slept until dawn and consumed far fewer calories than we burned. We woke up Saturday and hiked about 15 miles to Gorman falls before dipping into some lagoons. It was amazing.
Yesterday was a different story. The climb out of the park was made worse by the hour-long torrential downpour. I had a rain jacket, Ross and Jon did not. They were shivering by the time we made it to the first outpost. Shit coffee and loaner wool made it bearable. As well as the local’s commentary: “ya’ll been feeshin’?” “no we’re riding back to Austin” “….” From there, we made great time, save for the flats and stops for food. I pulled hard and I’m feeling it now. There were a few stretches where we pace-lined it for over 10 miles and well over 25mph. We reeled in 116 miles and 4,100′.
My legs hurt for the first time since my “walkabout” in he Aussie bush.
Here’s to the first of many summer-time weekenders. More to come once my film gets developed.
How was your weekend?
