The Radavist

After looking back through all 800 photos I shot while on bicycle tour through China with Mission Workshop and Factory 5, I had a hard time breaking it down to a cohesive gallery show.

What I began to notice were themes in the photos, not apparent as I flipped through the files, but when I printed out a selection of photos, they began to tie in together. These themes represent not only my eye for cycling in urban environments, but also my background education and professional career as an architect.

China really changed my perspective on the world as a whole. I saw beautiful landscapes destroyed in the name of progress and capitalism. I witnessed a precious and old culture wiped out to assimilate with a preconceived notion of luxury. Everywhere I looked, I saw western civilization to blame.

Globalization, our desire to own and consume had changed China. Granted I had no benchmark for the status quo, I could only gather enough information through examining the landscapes.

The Chinese build for the sake of building. Supply and demand is a skewed balance, tilted in the former’s favor. This growth is unwarranted and most importantly, uncontrolled.

So where did this bike tour fall into place? It was, after all, Mission Workshop’s idea. While I was given no direction, no instructions, I did have really, complete freedom to do what I wanted.

We had an agenda: test out the new US-manufactured Acre clothing while riding a bicycle through some of the most polluted areas of China and document the trip for a gallery show. Was it successful? I’d say so…

Which brings me to this post: a selection of 50 photos, all shot with my Mamiya 7ii and Kodak Portra 400. These photos break down into illustrative observations, all of which are noted in the photo’s title. Some are obvious, others are not.

You’ll see the themes fairly easily and I’d like to hear what you have to say about them. Feel free to critique / comment, just be polite and constructive.

Many thanks to Mission Workshop / Acre, the Factory 5 crew and anyone that helped us on this journey.

Enter day 05 of nothing but Alpine mountain biking with Mission Workshop. My body is still sore, almost a week later and all I can think about is how much fun we all had. The morning was cold, damp and silent, save for the cow bells that somehow echoed through the valley all night, barely being muted by the drunken Swiss wine-tasting party that erupted outside my open hotel window.

Lyle and I awoke at 7am and ate breakfast with Stefan (owner of Stilrad Zurich) and Alberto. 7:30am we rolled out into the misty mountains. From the onset, today was supposed to be quite easy, with a few technical sections and one nasty, nasty climb. At this point, the extra rain clothes and merino base layers I brought became a burden. Every ounce of extra weight in my backpack seemed to pull me back down each climb. Not to mention the 5Dmkii and 24-70mm lens… But hey, that’s my job right?

We made it out just fine, save for a few spills, a few flats and loose legs. All I could think of was drinking a sparkling water and a Radler… 30 miles and 4,000′ of climbing at altitude, on a MTB is no joke.

Check out more narrated photos in the Gallery!

Side note: I want to thank everyone who made this trip possible. Stefan, Alberto, Mission Workshop, Santa Cruz Bicycles and anyone else who helped us out along the way. THANK YOU!

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!

Since I was one of the first people to try out the new Mission Workshop / Acre gear in China, the guys felt that it might make sense to give it a go in the Alps, where Lyle and James have spent the summer shredding. Part of this is also to familiarize myself with the new Acre Hauser pack.

Once Eurobike was over, we left Germany to spend a day in Switzerland. So, after a week of travel and tradeshows, we decided to take to a local trail system here in Glarus. Man, it felt amazing to get the heart pumping and the legs warmed up.

Even though it was only a 10 mile ride with 2,400′ or so of climbing, it was some of the steepest trails I’ve ridden and to think, the best has yet to come. Tomorrow, we head to Freiburg, Germany to ride with the Santa Cruz crew.

Check out more from the first day of the Mission Workshop Acre Alps Trip in the Gallery!

The founders of Mission Workshop began their love affair with the bicycle on mountain bikes in NorCal, so naturally a hydration-compatible trail pack was bound to sneak its way on their already diversified line. As part of the new Acre sub-label, the Hauser trail pack doubles as a pack and a small backpack for urban riding / commuting.

For it being relatively small, the Hauser packs a lot of detailing. Expandable compression straps will hold a helmet, pads or jackets and the expandable roll top increases capacity. The bag itself is actually separate from the harness, allowing for air circulation through the perforated shoulder straps and back pad.

Dual hydration reservoir access points allow nozzles to be routed either way, or you can run two. Unzip the center to find a removable tool roll that doubles as a travel case for just anything you can stuff into it. Two side pockets fit gloves, flasks, tools, pump and other on-the-run necessities.

Top it all off with a Made in the USA, lifetime warranty and you’ve got one solid contender for trail packs.

I’ll be testing this bag in the Swiss Alps next week and will return with more field photos!

Available colors:
Grey, black, blue and Multicam (limited)

Sizes:
Large 750-800 cu in (12L) – $225
Small 600-700 cu in (9.8L) – $200 – shown

Check out more detail photos in the Gallery!