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If you live in a rattlesnake habitat, you’ve probably noticed an uptick in the number of rattlesnakes present over the past few weeks. On a ride in Arizona yesterday, Josh and John had a close call with a Western rattlesnake, Crotalus oreganus. As a lifelong herp fanatic, John penned a few notes on how to stay snake-safe on bike rides in rattlesnake habitat…
Surely, if you read this website, you love nature and animals of all kinds. PUKE is a film our friend Foster Huntington worked on, documenting a group of people who collect owl pellets for money… This project is on Kickstarter and there are some great promotional products like a VHS and t-shirts up for grabs, so if this looks interesting to you, and you have the means to, head over and back this film.
Recently, we got back on an old trail that we used to ride, especially during lunch breaks. We used this trail to train in view of a multi-day bikepacking trip. Over the years, wind and snow have broken and even uprooted many trees, resulting in an unpassable section of singletrack that crosses the coniferous forest. So we decided to clear the passages obstructed by the trees. That’s when we noticed that on some of these trees there were bird nests. From time to time, the characteristic noise of the woodpecker at work could be heard in the distance. At that precise moment, the idea was born to “recycle” some sections of these conifers and create birdhouses with them, letting the rest of the logs follow its natural cycle as humus.
After watching today’s Leave it on the Road post, it reminded me of a piece I read last year, on Science Daily. Coincidentally, I just posted something similar on my personal Instagram account that really resonated with my followers.
If I don’t do something physical, something that causes my heart to race, my legs to ache, then it’s so easy to slump into depressive thoughts. I wonder what the world would be like if more people exercised daily and spent time in the outdoors. It’s the great equalizer…
Telling people to “get outside” is one thing, but emphasizing the importance of exercising and experiencing connectivity to the natural world is one of my main goals with the Radavist. Sure, we post a lot of gear and bike galleries, but the overarching modus operandi revolves around using that gear to further enjoy yourself while recreating in areas that allow for introspective growth.
This is the seventh layout of the Radavist 2019 Calendar, entitled “True Call” shot with a Canon 5D and a 100-400mm lens in Telluride, Colorado.
“Happy 4th of July. Here in the US, we pride ourselves in our Bald Eagle. It’s our nation’s symbol, a proud, noble bird with a majestic call. But have you ever heard a Bald Eagle’s caw? It’s hardly the hearty screech as depicted in movies. That’s because the Bald Eagle’s call is often substituted for the Red Tail Hawk’s.”
For a high-res JPG, suitable for print and desktop wallpaper*, right click and save link as – The Radavist 2019 Calendar – July. Please, this photo is for personal use only!
(*set background to white and center for optimal coverage)
The mobile background this month is of the La Sal Mountains, from Telluride, Colorado. Click here to download July’s Mobile Wallpaper.
I’ve learned something over the years. Balance. Work hard, relax hard. Shoot photos of bikes, shoot photos of nature. Ride a lot, hike a lot. When your hobby, passion and love is also your job, establishing this balance is of the utmost importance. So when NAHBS rolls around each year, I try to have an exit strategy…
This time of year, as warm days are fading, timing is crucial for road trips. As Interbike approached, Mission Workshop / Acre had discussed doing a bit of a photo story with Golden Saddle Cyclery, myself and Sean from Team Dream, who would bring his 1970 VW bus along. We’d shoot instant film from the Impossible Project and document the journey.
Like all trips, things don’t adhere to any schedule, or plan, or route. We knew what we wanted to do and ensured we’d get in at least one ride – more on that later. Since the van was going into the Mission / Acre booth, we had to be in town this morning. After a few hiccups, we made it and most importantly, so did the van with all our stuff!
I’ll have photos from us shredding in the Sequoias shortly, but for now, let’s look at some end of summer car camping photos. Road tripping with three of your friends is the best.
Man, it’s been a busy, busy August. Lauren and I took a much-needed vacation. We had been apart this year more than ever before. With her working in Myanmar and me jet-setting all over the globe, we both needed a change of scenery.
Tonight I get back to Austin and I hit the ground running. Portland, Chico, Los Angeles and Vegas… Lots of projects are in the works and if it all goes as planned, it’ll be a great month on the Radavist.
I know I haven’t posted much this month, but I appreciate the support. From both the readers and the sponsors of the site.
See you at Interbike?
Look, I know you signed up for a “bike blog” when you clicked on this link today, but the truth is, everyone needs a break from the constant rotation of crank arms, even me.
Yesterday, Lauren and I descended a web of slippery, muddy, roots to a waterfall in Kauai and then the sun broke out. Back track a bit…
After sleeping in a tent on the beach during the pouring rain and spotty rain all day, I knew it’d be a wash today at the falls, so when the sun broke out, I grabbed whatever I had laying around and ran out the door.
Afterwards, I realized the sunblock-scented shirt I picked off the bathroom floor was the Yonder Journal Corndoggin’ shirt and I couldn’t think of a better tee to be wearing.
Anyway, thanks for the patience, I’m a week from being home, with my bikes and my other camera equipment. Now, get out and enjoy the summer!
Ok. Seriously. Now it’s a vacation. Nothing against hanging in cities but it’s damn stressful trying to get around and see all your best buddies. Well, a different kind of stress, especially when compared to driving with the windows down and music blasting down some rad gravel road with no one in sight. That’s stressful.
Lauren and I spent the day on a route I planned out to take us from Portland to the 101, without getting on any major highways. It ruled. Then, a wreck happened on the 101 and we had to take a 50 mile detour. That didn’t rule. Getting to eat at the Local Ocean in Newport, Oregon made up for it though.
I didn’t shoot a lot of digital today, because I’m shooting medium format, but I did get a little trigger happy at a nice little beach spot before we called it a night.
Check out some in the Gallery!
Let’s see, where were we? Oh yeah. We left off with the Blackburn Rangers at the top of Granite Mountain – 7,000′ – in the Prescott National Forest. Camp was set up, we consumed calories, sat around a propane campfire and after we killed all the liquor, we settled in for the evening. The weather report called for a 60% chance of rain and temps in the low 40’s. All was well, right? Wrong…
We had a busy day ahead of us. One filled with supplying the Whiskey Off Road racers with bacon and high fives. The plan was to descend to around 4,000′ at a site right before the last climb of the day and before a stretch of technical 1-track. From there, we’d blast music and shove bacon down the gullet of any hungry racer. My job for the day was to document all the fun…
Check out the full day’s Reportage from the Whiskey Off Road race with Blackburn in the Gallery!
I’ve been stoked on this project since first posting about it! Now you can rent or buy the 11-minute documentary Hunting for Monsters at Vimeo!
“Lake Iliamna, Alaska’s largest lake, is home to many native communities, the worlds largest sockeye salmon run, potential site of the controversial Pebble Mine and the elusive Lake Monster – Illie. On a hot mid-July, Bjørn and Brent were deposited to the far shore of Cook Inlet in a landing craft cargo ship and began their human powered journey through Iliamna country to Bristol Bay, hoping to catch a glimpse of the illusive creature and slice of Alaska where monsters can still roam free.”
It’s that time of month again. I’ve got all kinds of Randomness left over from a Recent Roll. Actually, a few Recent Rolls. There’s some LA, Pasadena, Austin, Moab and Fruita photos in here, all noted in the photo’s captions. Got a favorite? Point it out. Open up some commentary…
Tools of the trade:
Mamiya 7ii / 80mm
Portra 400 / Ilford HP5
Road Cycling in the Valley of Death
Words and photos by Ryan Wilson
Death Valley National Park is one of those places that frequently gets overlooked as a destination for cyclists. Probably because it’s too miserably hot to do just about anything there for a good portion of the year. There’s also no cell service at times for 40 miles in any direction, and some of the best roads in the area are some of the most isolated in the country. That sounded right up my alley, so I planned my first visit in November 2012, when I was looking for some new mountains to ride while the Sierras were snowed in.
It’s been real fun! Thanks to Giro for showing me the #SantaCruzEffect, all the participants for the camaraderie and all the frame builders I got to hang out with. Oh and Paul, keep on rocking man!
Today we went on an insanely fun ride from Giro’s HQ through Mount Charlie, Highway 236 and now, we’re in cabins on the coast where we’re staying the night… As always, there’s more to come but for now, here’s a banana slug that enjoys Black Cat fillet brazed stems.
Some of the best experiences I’ve had on “bike trips” haven’t been related to cycling at all. Case in point: in the early talks of the Frostbike agenda, Jeff from All-City recommended that we drive 4 hours north of Minneapolis to the southern shore of Lake Superior.
In this frozen land, there were caves, which during the summer months, held many great alcoves and vistas out over the lake, but in the winter, when it’s cold enough, they became in chrysalis. This isn’t an annual occurrence either. This year was the first year in a decade that the water has been cold enough to freeze.
Everything is frozen, even the water that typically seeps through the sandstone cliffs, causing cascades of icicles, many of which are big enough to deliver a fatal blow if they were to fall. Behind these curtains, lie numerous caves, most of which are covered in a solid 3″ of ice on all surfaces. It’s really something else.
Tuesday morning, Jeff, Kyle and I ventured out into the madness and at some point I expected to see 7′ tall albino penguins or at least a shoggoth. But alas, the Old Ones are long gone.
See more in the Gallery!
I had a blast at Frostbike, riding fatbikes, drinking, eating and hanging out with my dudes Jeff and Kyle! There’s much more on the way…
