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American Makers Series Part 1: Paragon Machine Works and Their SRAM UDH Dropouts

Reportage

American Makers Series Part 1: Paragon Machine Works and Their SRAM UDH Dropouts

Motivated by the renewed interest in American manufacturing following the COVID pandemic, Erik Mathy shares part one in a new series where he will document how American makers of fine bicycle parts make a single part from the very start to the finish. At each stage he will ask the person doing the work two questions and take two portraits: One of the part and one of the worker. In his own words, this is a project to “explore both the processes and the people who make some of the most interesting, purpose-driven and—in their own way beautiful—bicycle parts in the world.” Read on for his first installment with a visit to Paragon Machine Works and an in-depth look at how they are making their new SRAM Universal Derailleur Hangar dropout.

San Francisco Pride Cat 2023: Where Bike Messenger and LGBTQ+ Culture Meet

Reportage

San Francisco Pride Cat 2023: Where Bike Messenger and LGBTQ+ Culture Meet

In many places, June is Pride Month, or simply “Pride”. What started as a series of civil rights riots in June of 1969 after a police raid of a gay bar in lower Manhattan called “The Stonewall Inn” has become much more. It is now a worldwide celebration of LGBTQ+ culture and the continued demands for basic human rights. For context, it was against the law in the ‘60s to serve alcohol to gays or lesbians in New York City. Legal or civil protections for any part of gay life were essentially non-existent worldwide. Being openly gay was an invitation for discrimination, abuse, or worse.

Too Small To Stomp Out: Reflections from 2023 “Meet Your Maker” in Napa, CA

Reportage

Too Small To Stomp Out: Reflections from 2023 “Meet Your Maker” in Napa, CA

Meet Your Maker is an ongoing series of rides hosted by the Northern California bike-making community and finally returned to Skyline Wilderness Park in Napa, CA this past May after a nearly eight-year hiatus. Always excited to document cycling culture, Erik Mathy loaded up his touring bike and headed to the event from his home in the Bay Area with his usual eclectic mix of handmade cameras and lenses in tow. Below, Erik shares reflections on a few aspects of the memorable weekend that resonated with him, in addition to a series of interviews, a gallery of uber-creative analog portraits, and scenes from the event.

“Just Treat Us Like Humans” Interviews and Portraits of Para-Cyclists at the 2023 Sea Otter Classic

Reportage

“Just Treat Us Like Humans” Interviews and Portraits of Para-Cyclists at the 2023 Sea Otter Classic

Last year at the 2022 Sea Otter Classic, as I was walking through a parking lot near the Expo I came across a pair of athletes with the most incredible bicycles I’d ever seen. They were rugged, heavily-built trikes with two mountain bike wheels in the front and a massive single fat mountain bike tire in the back, and an electric drivetrain was apparent on each. Both athletes were in wheelchairs. Later that weekend I’d see them, and other para-cyclists, compete in both the Downhill and Dual-Slalom events. It was the first time para-cyclists had been given their own separate classes in any Sea Otter event. I was flabbergasted and, honestly, in awe of not just the bikes but by the para-cyclists and how hard they were sending it on every single run. I came back to Sea Otter this year to talk with and document a few of these athletes.

“A Big Motherf*cking Rock!” 2023 Paris-Roubaix Femmes Before and After Interviews with the EF Education-Tibco-SVB Team

Reportage

“A Big Motherf*cking Rock!” 2023 Paris-Roubaix Femmes Before and After Interviews with the EF Education-Tibco-SVB Team

We’re interrupting our regularly scheduled broadcasting to bring you this story from the World Tour side of our sport, because it’s just too damn inspiring not to! Erik Mathy had the fortuitous opportunity to witness this year’s Paris-Roubaix Femmes race where dark horse and EF Education-Tibco-SVB Team rider, Alison Jackson, took the top step on the podium after a five-up sprint in the velodrome. Erik shares before and after portraits and interviews with Alison and her teammates about her momentous result!

Mission Crit 7: The Return of the Classic

Reportage

Mission Crit 7: The Return of the Classic

Like many events and people in recent times, the Mission Crit came back to life this year after a bit of time off. Call it what you will, a vacation, perhaps. Regardless, for the first time in two years Mission Crit founder/race director James Grady dusted off the bullhorn, timing equipment, cones and barriers to run a race that is currently one of a kind. Since the unfortunate folding of Brooklyn’s Red Hook Criterium in 2019, the Mission Crit has remained as the sole surviving high profile fixed gear criterium race in existence.

Conversations About Gravel and Change, Part Two: Rach McBride

Radar

Conversations About Gravel and Change, Part Two: Rach McBride

Rach McBride, Non-binary Professional Triathlete & Life Time Grand Prix Participant: Rach McBride is, in the words of Kimo Seymour, “a fucking badass”. A three-time Ironman 70.3 champion, Rach has committed to racing the entirety of the inaugural Life Time Fitness Grand Prix. They are also the only non-binary athlete participating in the series. This is the second in a series of interviews about the change that’s happening in cycling as seen from the vantage points of people involved in one of the biggest drivers of that change: the gravel cycling world. For each of them, Erik Mathy sits down with the interviewee for a conversation, recording it so it can be transcribed down to their words.

Conversations About Gravel and Change, Part One: Kimo Seymour of Life Time Fitness

Radar

Conversations About Gravel and Change, Part One: Kimo Seymour of Life Time Fitness

This is the first in a series of interviews about the change that’s happening in cycling as seen from the vantage points of people involved in one of the biggest drivers of that change: The gravel cycling world. For each of them Erik Mathy sits down with the interviewee for a conversation, recording it so it can be transcribed down to their words. The interviews are then edited for clarity and brevity. This means removing the inevitable “Uh” and “Um”’s that we all use as well as conversational tangents. Erik also removes himself because, as the interviewer, he deems his voice isn’t important. It’s the words of people like Kimo Seymour, Yatika Fields, Kristi Mohn and others that matter more. This will be an ongoing conversation, so please come back often as further interviews are published.

Radar

Ride Slow. Take Photos. Video

We embedded this feature in today’s Reportage but are posting it in our Radar as well…

Cyclist Erik Mathy rides from San Francisco to Tucson along the historic Butterfield Overland Trail. Lugging his large-format camera, handmade ‘dollar bill’ lenses, and shooting on X-Ray film, Erik documents his interactions with a variety of people — from artists and activists to the border patrol — as he explores the subject of migration against the landscape of a politically divided American southwest.

The Desert Ramble – Erik Mathy

Reportage

The Desert Ramble – Erik Mathy

The Desert Ramble
Photos and words by Erik Mathy

It all started some months back when Jason, aka Gnat, set off a discussion amongst a small group of us. The topic? A fatbike only bike-packing trip along the Kokopelli Trail to celebrate his birthday with Glenn, Eric, Lelan, Jim, Bobby, Brady, Cass, Tim and myself. The Kokopelli is a gorgeous, 142-mile, multi-use trail connecting two of the great meccas of mountain biking in the United States: Fruita, CO and Moab, UT. It features a ton of technical single track, rocks, places where we’d carry our bikes up embankments, and long stretches of desert. Once we got to Moab, we’d spend a day riding the Porcupine Rim Trail before doing one last incredible overnight camp on Kane Creek Road.