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The Adventures of Paisa the Colombian Mountain Pup

Reportage By: Ryan Wilson

The Adventures of Paisa the Colombian Mountain Pup

I was just starting to get into the flow of life in Colombia. Waking up in the morning in a small village to seek out whichever local bakery had the most people flowing in and out to grab breakfast. Hitting the road while the air was still cool.

The evening before, I had rolled into the tiny old town of Toche to a chorus of agitated dogs looking to announce my arrival. Back 10+ years ago this town used to be a particularly dangerous place due to its remote location making it attractive to folks trying to avoid the law, but these days it’s mostly just home to a small number of Llaneros (cowboys) and their animals.

Early the next morning, I rode through the town’s totally empty streets. I stopped to take a photo as a friendly pup that I’d seen the evening before came running up toward me with a lot of excitement in its step, though she never came too close. Just watching what I was doing from a safe distance.

After a stop in the shop, I pedaled my way up the start of the day’s long and steep climb to “Alto de La Línea”. This was a stretch of road I’d been looking forward to for a very long time.

Radar

A Dog’s Tale

Raven is a 13-year-old retired trail dog from Squamish, British Columbia who’s spent countless days frolicking on loamy singletrack beneath towering spruces. Old age has slowed her down, and now Raven happily lies in the driveway, watching dog after dog, and their human, head for the hills.

Radar

Kona Full Moon

Kona Ambassador Henry Cruickshank created this beautiful short animation:

“It’s all too easy to be disheartened by not having anything to look forward to, no events or races or group rides. But maybe we need to look to our canine friends, who need no reason to be fit and will run for the sheer love of it. We worry about our fitness, our training or lack of it, our pacing… dogs don’t care what size or shape they are, never worry about keeping up with their faster friends and will attack every hill with gusto, not caring if they have enough energy to make to the top.

Dogs are always ready: a simple play bow is all the invitation they need to race around.

Be more dog.”

Crust Clydesdale Fork-Equipped Fuji Sundance: by Spencer Harding

Reportage By: Spencer Harding

Crust Clydesdale Fork-Equipped Fuji Sundance: by Spencer Harding

Ya ever wondered if you could keep only one of your bikes, which would it be?  At this point in my life I’d have to say my Fuji Sundance with a Crust Bikes Clydesdale fork up front.  This is my “daily driver” that serves for commuting, errand running, Costco runs, carrying coworkers home, or just taking the dog out for a spin. Vintage 26” rigid bikes are the bikes that just wont die and continue to show themselves as being so damn useful, and nothing compliments that better than the Clydesdale fork.

LA River Jump with Caché

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LA River Jump with Caché

The thing about Instagram is while sometimes you end up with these great one-off shots, that have very little story behind them, they end up living on this low-res platform which most people interact with solely on a cell phone screen. Last Saturday, Kyle, Caché, and I headed down to the LA River to take a photo Caché had previously shot with his cell phone. I wanted to get a nice, high res, professional photo because Caché’s eye for urban lines have resulted in many awe-inspiring takes on what it means to ride a MTB within the Los Angeles city limits. The resulting photos made quite the splash on our Instagram but I wanted to share them here as well.

For Caché, he looks at the MTB as a tool for exploration within and on the outskirts of this sprawling mega-metropolis. In the newest print-edition of Bike Mag, Caché gets a full spread of his riding and art as a mural painter with graffiti roots in LA’s scene.

Give him a follow on Instagram and check out some more randoms from our morning in the LA River drainage network. The last shot is my favorite. Which is yours?

Paddles n’ Puppies: A Visit to Alpacka Raft HQ

Reportage By: spencer harding

Paddles n’ Puppies: A Visit to Alpacka Raft HQ

Paddles n’ Puppies: A Visit to Alpacka Raft HQ
Words and photos by Spencer Harding

I’ve been fawning over Alpacka rafts for years but have yet to obtain one. I have used the shitty Klymit one, which resulted in my raft flipping while holding my camera at the end of a rapid. I learned the hard way that there is only one true name in the packrafting game: Alpacka Raft.

Last year my friend Molly (see our last trip for more cute photos of her and Sprocket) got a job working at Alpacka Raft HQ in Mancos, Colorado. Mancos is a quaint town nestled right between the full-on Rocky Mountains and the eastern edge of the Colorado Plateau. Ever since she got the job I had been waiting for an excuse to stop by and check out the factory. Turns out Mancos is not even close to being on the way from Salt Lake City to Denver (to meet up for this year’s DFL the Divide trip) but was well worth the detour.

Another One of Bicycling’s Raddest Dogs: Denver!

Radar

Another One of Bicycling’s Raddest Dogs: Denver!

An early photo of Radavist contributor Morgan Taylor’s trail dog, Denver, has just been featured over at Bicycling Mag’s Instagram on the last day of their Raddest Dogs photo contest. We submitted our own rad shot of Golden Saddle Cyclery shop dog, Stella – which you can vote for until 11:59 p.m. ET, tonight! For the full story behind this photo, head over to the Bicycling feed, and follow the life and times of Morgan and Denver on Instagram.