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Our “From Biocrust, With Love” video documentary is the result of immense talent across the board. One of those talented people, Jeff Cormack did the soundtrack, which he’s listed for free on Spotify. So if you enjoyed the soundscapes as much as the landscapes – both macro and micro – give it a listen! We’ll link it and embed it below.
It’s Travis Engel’s turn to go through the gear that made his year. Somehow, he managed to resist the urge to fill his list with movie podcasts and carbon full-suspension bikes (though there are a couple movie podcasts down in his Playlist). Instead, he’s got an eclectic collection of on- and off-bike goodies. None of them actually came out in 2023, but each played a uniquely pivotal role for him this year.
As 2023 comes to a close, Hailey Moore shares the gear that she turned to again and again this year. Read on for the products that have become indispensable in her bike-touring setup, a couple of apparel recommendations, an off-the-bike surprise, and her 2023 Ride Playlist.
The playful, go-anywhere-themed Element + Pelago Silvo collaboration hits Richard Pool hard with a heavy dose of teenage skateboarding nostalgia. Read on for his review (and accompanying playlist!) for this bullmoose-equipped and gravel-ready commuter, built around an eccentric bottom bracket for the singlespeed conversion this bike is asking for…
These two brands need no introduction, at least I hope not anyway! State Bicycle Co and Ozzy Osbourne, yes, that Ozzy, have teamed up on a capsule collection with jerseys, fleece-lined jackets, a bar bag, and stem cap. It’s a smaller collection compared to what State has done with musical artists over the years but that doesn’t mean it’s any less bad ass.
See more at State Bicycle Co.
So glad this video is out!
“Music For Free” is a musical celebration of wild people and places on the Great Divide from Canada to Mexico. After half a decade of musical tours powered by a bicycle, musician and poet Ben Weaver will ride 2700 self-supported miles from Banff Canada to the US Mexico border carrying his banjo and guitar giving free concerts to the communities along the way. Following the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route on its 20th anniversary year the objective of this journey, aptly titled Music for Free, was to celebrate the people who have supported this iconic route and its riders while dissecting the question “What is wildness?”.
Edited, Directed and Filmed by Keenan DesPlanques
(This film was filmed completely from the power of Keenan’s legs, he rode the entire length of the route with Ben)
Producer and musician: Ben Weaver ”
You can also catch screenings of the video at the following locations and dates:
9.19 – Bike Fun Fest, Missoula, Montana
9.21 – Whitefish Bike Retreat, Whitefish, Montana
9.22 – The Stray Bullet Cafe, Ovando, Montana
9.24 – Fitzgerald’s Bicycles, Idaho Falls, ID
9.25 – Saturday Cycles, Salt Lake City, UT
9.27 – Wolverine Farm, Fort Collins, CO
9.28 – Pedal, Litteton, Co
… then check out this piece on the LA band, Vignes Rooftop Revival, at NPR!
… to liven up your ride. Kyle inadvertently inspired this one, too!
“I met Kyle Kelley one rainy, chilly early evening in July 2016 somewhere in Canada. My two friends and I had been riding in the rain for about eight days straight on the Great Divide, and finally caved and decided to stay at a hostel for a night to dry out. A woman named Liz came down from the balcony to introduce herself; she was also on a bike tour with her partner Kyle, heading to a bike summit in the midwest but taking the Great Divide route for part of the way. We ended up riding with them for a few days across the Canadian border and into the rainbow mecca of dewy Montana. As the storms held on to us by our shoulders, Kyle kept repeating, “ride towards sunlight!””
Check it out at DirtRag!
… about music. Head over to check it out! And check out Gus’ mixtape he made, based on our interview below. I gotta admit, I haven’t listened to a lot of those cuts in over a decade.
I didn’t know who Ben Weaver was before this video, but I’m glad I watched it! Check out his music at his web shop.
I’d like to think and hope that a lot of you listen to vinyl, or have always listened to vinyl. If either of those is the case, then check out these new, nifty slipmats. Black logo printed on super dense, somewhat rigid felt (the good stuff), each mat will ship in a padded mailer and easily outlive your tires.
Shipping these is pricier than I’d like, but they’re still $10 Domestic and $15 International. Limited run of 100. Scoop one up below!
Every year in the months of May and September Chris King challenges his employees to commute to work by bike. Though the majority of our staff bike to work year-round we have a number of folks who happen to live too far away to make a daily bike commute plausible, but during our bike to work challenge months they find a way. Riders are tempted by their ability to earn two extra paid days off per month and are coaxed along by workmates.
I don’t know how many of you are into TYCHO but I’m stoked on how this project with Mission Workshop turned out:
“Mission Workshop and FILTER Magazine went on tour with San Francisco band Tycho, to capture the life of touring musicians. At first glance, it can seem wildly glamorous: Late nights, different cities, fans that adore you…But look a little deeper and you’ll see that the reality of life on the road is very much to the contrary. Though there are good times to be had, the majority of a touring musician’s life is spent in transition. Transition from city to city, venue to venue, and hotel to hotel. Mission Workshop documented a set of shows just prior to the 2014 Awake tour with Filter Magazine and created a photo collection called Lucid.”
View LUCID at Mission Workshop and check out that 40-page book they printed too!
I found this experimental project to be pretty rad, mostly because I love how the experience of riding a bike as a kid can resonate through to your adult life and influence your work.
“Composer Johnnyrandom breaks new ground with musical compositions made exclusively from everyday objects. His debut single, “Bespoken”, explores the full potential of sounds generated from bicycles and their components, transcending the role of traditional instrumentation as the accepted method for creating beautiful and thought-provoking music. The following video gives a glimpse into the creative process behind this unique composition.”
Check out Bespoken on:
“Bespoken” on iTunes: goo.gl/DX8uI1
“Bespoken (Inverted MTB Remix) on iTunes: goo.gl/dsHUdV
“Bespoken” – A breakdown of selected sound elements: soundcloud.com/johnnyrandom
Last Friday, as a part of the Antigel festival, a group of track cyclists raced around the banked corners of Geneva’s velodrome while two electro bands played, Modeselektor (above) and Zombie Zombie. It reminds of something you’d see at a Six Day race. Thanks for sharing, Fred.
Props to Affinity and the Raekwon for putting this together for Ride4NY.
“Affinity Cycles and Raekwon from the Wu Tang Clan have come together to design 3 custom bikes to be auctioned off to aid those hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy. In typical Wu Tang black and yellow, these bikes feature some of New York Cities hardest hit areas, Staten Island, Rockaway, Red Hook and Coney Island.”
Check out more information below, including how you can purchase one of these bikes!
This is not your grandfathers country music and yet it is. I’ve been a fan of King Dude for some time now. In fact, I was at TJ’s first solo show on the east coast and have enjoyed watching him go from diving head-first into Neofolk to slowly morphing into a giant slice of Americana. When King Dude first started, it was a solo act. Shows were dimly-lit as TJ sat on a chair strumming his guitar. In recent months, King Dude has become a band, complete with a new sound and energy. The guys stayed at my house during Chaos in Tejas and I caught their show at the Parish. It was an entirely different experience.
Their new album, Burning Daylight is out October 16th on Dais Records and here’s a single from it, entitled “Jesus in the Courtyard”. You can pre-order the album now at Dais, so get on that.
If you dig this, head over to the King Dude Bandcamp and check out more.
Previously:
Event Recap: King Dude at the Parish
Photo by Ace Carretero
Now that’s what I’m talking about. Taken at Super Champion in Vancouver.
