The Radavist

Last night brought the third and most fun edition of the Beat the Clock Cycling and Cycleast Urbocross race series. Why was it fun? It was a long course, on singletrack, doubletrack, hobo trails and taped sections through woodchips. Also, it had the gnarliest runup I’ve ever seen. This area of town is one of my favorite training grounds and last night, a couple dozen racers found out why. See for yourself in the Gallery!

I remember seeing this frame listed on the Signal Cycles blog as being for sale. It was a tad too big for me and besides, I didn’t need a new cross bike. Someone out there did and eventually, the frame made its way to Austin, Texas, where it was built up by Minor Baker, a local racer. When I saw it at the Bicycle Sport Shop Six Shooter, I thought it looked familiar and sure enough, it was Shannon Skerritt’s old pit bike! I’m stoked to see another piece of rad steel at home in Austin. Check out more in the Gallery!

In the world of cross bikes, there’s something just inherently honest about a single speed race machine. It’s gotta be the big, knobby tires, cantilever brakes, unicrown fork and no-nonsense utilitarianism, right? Wrong. It’s pink and it’s a Vicious Cycles! This bike in particular is over 10 years old and it has been raced extensively over that time period. It’s been wrecked, loved, hated, spit on, puked on (maybe?) and it’s still alive, begging for more. When I was at the Bicycle Sport Shop Six Shooter, this was one of the first bikes that caught my eye.

See more in the Gallery!

This past weekend brought the first cross race of the season to Texas: the Bicycle Sport Shop Six Shooter. Since my first cross race at the end of last year’s season, I’ve been looking forward to this event all summer. I spend so much time on my cross bike during the off-season, that it’s only natural for me to push myself and it, to the test. After getting a good night’s sleep, I cleaned up the bike and headed out to the course to see what Austin had prepared for us.

Turns out, the BSS Six Shooter broke records this year. It was the biggest turn out to a cross race in Texas history. Now, I know that may not seem like a big deal to the Northwest or Northeastern United States but it was a huge turnout. My class had 80 racers register! It was a bit intimidating, but I just broke free like a demon and ended up winning. I guess ripping through the woods really is a great form of “training”. Since I was blasted the rest of the Saturday, I decided I’d shoot photos on Sunday and cheer on my friends.

There were thrills, hella funny spills (sorry Josh, I had to) and good times were had. Check out more in the Gallery!

Locals Only isn’t about exclusivity when used in this context, because truth be told, each time I’ve been on this ride, there are usually more out of towners than locals. It’s more of a way that Kyle and Ty like to throw visitors into the proverbial fire. The first time I did this ride, it was at night, in the rain, during goat head season and with no lights. It sucked. This time, it was rad. I won’t post the route (locals only, breh), but we did about 25 miles and 3,000′.

Check out more in the Gallery!

These days, I can never decide if I want to race, or shoot photos at events like this. Last night’s Cycleast and Beat the Clock Cycling Urbocross looked so rad. Half singletrack and half bike path sprinting seemed like a 50/50 fun to pain ratio for me. I can eat up dirt just fine but I don’t have the fitness for long, paved straight aways. On a whim, after showing up in plain clothes, I entered the race and was doing fine sitting in second until I got a pinch flat. So it goes. At least I got to take a few more photos!

This set is weird. Half of it is of a local racer’s Black Cat SSCX and the other, pre, mid and post race photos. Either way, it’s a bit of radness everyone can enjoy. Check out more in the Gallery! Many thanks to Cycleast and Beat the Clock for putting on this event. See ya next week…

Year after year, the cycling industry flocks to Las Vegas, Nevada, a desert town known for debauchery, gambling and late night shenanigans. Like moths to the flame, people crowd the ailes of Interbike to see the latest technology in cycling, but during the frenzy-filled first day, there’s one thing on everyone’s mind: Cross Vegas.

The past two years have been huge and this year, when Sven Nys was announced in the roster, the heat was on… Since I couldn’t stay for the Men Elite race (see results here), I asked my good friends at Manual for Speed to submit a Guest Gallery. You know those guys right? They’re taking cycling by storm with their unique perspective on the sport.

This year, Manual for Speed will be covering ‘cross extensively (as they do) and what better way to start off the season than with a little Cross Vegas? Check out more in the Gallery and keep your eyes glued to Manual for Speed this ‘cross season!