The Radavist

Trackside ’85 at the Berlin Six Day Race – Staffan Jofjell
Words by Staffan Weigel, photos by Staffan Jofjell

Although it’s far from the spartan life of East Berlin, living in the west part of town is not always easy. The instability in world politics is constantly reminding the citizens of how vulnerable their city is. West Berliners stoically maintain a spirit of normality in their isolation. Their celebrations and manifestations of life before the wall serve as rituals that keep the absurdity of the surrounded city at bay…

The 2014 Schwarzwald Giro – Kevin Sparrow
Photos and Words by Kevin Sparrow

Most of us got a good night sleep in our camper. The nights in Freiburg are chilly and it doesn’t start to warm up until the sun peeks over the tree line later in the morning. Everyone met at Biosk at 9:30, for a planned roll out at 10. It would have been nice to get a decent breakfast but Josh and I downed a bowl of cereal and I took a nutrition bar for a reserve. Others stuffed their jerseys full of snacks. We all knew we had a long day ahead of us…

The Road to the Schwarzwald Giro: Freiburg
Photos and Words by Kevin Sparrow

Freiburg is a quaint little town nestled on the edge of the Black Forest near the French/Swiss border. The city is rich in historic buildings and churches. The streets are covered in cobbles, train tracks and tiny canals on the sides of the streets. Bike lanes are everywhere, cyclists and tourists fill the streets for most of the day. The food is cheap the beers are tall…

For the past seven years, Scott and Dickon from Santa Cruz have spent their post-Eurobike recovery in the hills and mountains of the Black Forest, just outside of Freiburg, Germany. Coincidentally, when Lyle from Mission Workshop and myself had a few extra days laying around before our Alps tour began, they invited us to join them.

That meant traveling from Glarus to Freiburg, before heading back to Zurich on Wednesday. That meant a lot of driving but surely it would be worth it. All the details and accommodations were made. Scott and Dickon knew were to stay, where to eat and were mostly familiar with the trails… What other reasons did we need? Back to Germany we go!

Yesterday morning, we engorged ourselves with one of the best hotel breakfasts I’ve had before beginning our journey. I suited up in the new Acre gear, tuned my bike and hopped off through town before we all found ourselves in a tower of switchbacks up and out of the valley.

The Black Forest is a sacred place, filled with lore and mythology. While we saw no Slender Man, or nymphs, I could feel the presence of something the whole day and it wasn’t the eggs from breakfast… Nature still owns the forest. The trees hummed and resonated with the wind. If you break yourself off here, there’s no telling what would happen to you once the sun settled in for the evening.

After a mild case of “lostness” and bordering on bonking, the whim to “take the other trail” turned our planned 3-hour jaunt into an 8-hour expedition through the absolutely stunning trail system. Some were extremely technical and steep, while others were fast and smooth. Then we hit the backside of Kandel with its fast, steep and rocky descents. We all wished we had pads…

We got a taste of everything and for me, the technical, rocky terrain was just a teaser for what awaits in the Alps. The total for the day was about 35 miles and 4,900′ and today, my legs are thanking me.

Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery!

Look, Eurobike is hella Euro and fluoro. I’m not interested in Cube’s offerings, or other large batch bike. I want to see how the smaller shops and distributors are tackling one of the most elusive offerings: the production steel road bike.

Crema Cycles seems to have their solution going in the right direction. Take this Columbus and True Temper mixed road frame. My size, Campagnolo 11, ENVE and Chris King throughout.

This bike is straight forward, lightweight and elegant without being ostentatious. So is there a down side? Not really. Other than I’d like to see one or two nice details to separate this frame from the rest out there but that’s always the challenge.

The Crema bikes look very simple. Something you’d not only travel with, but not cringe about locking up, depending on the build kit (those wheels!). That’s something I can appreciate. Check out more of this very nice bicycle in the Gallery!

Guten tag! I have found the internet…

It’s Eurobike and I have no idea what to do here. Well, that’s not true, I have a few clever posts up my sleeve. After 12 hours of madness, I’ve made my way through most of the show, ran into some people, saw some cool shit, exhausted my shutter finger and the first flask filling #FFF. I managed to get some great shots, including the new White Industries anodized hubs, the return of turquoise Chris King, some rad Tune products, a sexy LOOK, Bear Grease, #Partybrand, body-painting, AWOL, beer, beer and beer.

While I’m working on more content, how about some randomness from the first day? I thought so…

I don’t usually like to make Guest Galleries from press releases but this one is too good to pass up. Introducing Vandeyk, a bicycle company from Germany and their new bike, the Purple Blast. Check out the press release below and the Gallery above.