The Radavist

Wade from Vulture Cycles is one rad atavist. While he and I had never formally met before, I’ve long admired his work. Last year, we saw his travel bike and this year while up in Bend, Oregon at the Chris King Swarm event, I met Wade formally and shot this Vulture Cycles Cruiser, modeled after a 1938 Colson Imperial. Now, cruisers are not supposed to be perfect, so turn off your detail-vision, and put on your shred spectacles.

Wade made this frame from Tange Ultra Strong MTB tubing, which he shaped and bent to fit his precedent. It was built around a Morrow hub that Cameron Falconer handed off to him years ago. Fresh Air Cycles, Travis from PAUL’s old shop, had the hub and Cam bought it from Travis, before handing it off to Wade. Remember Travis’ Falconer klunker-inspired MTB? The rest of the parts Wade had “laying around” like all builders and makers do, including the 1980’s Ashtabula forged steel cranks – who coincidentally made tons of components for Schwinn back in the day – and a S&M Redneck stem. The pedals are Suntour XC Pro and those bars are custom made by Wade. Oh and a Campy hub… just because.

Yeah, this bike just oozes cool, style, and the Vulture Cycles ideology. Wade’s a pretty cool guy too. We talked about Death Valley, core samples in Dry Bone Canyon, White Top Mountain, park rangers finding dead tourists and other tales from the desert. Exactly the kind of conversation I like having at a bike event. Party on Wade!

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As the snow melts in the high desert of California, Nevada, Oregon, and the rest of the West, small towns like Bend, Oregon begins to welcome the influx of mountain bikers thirsty for a hefty serving of dirt, before the sun cooks it into dust. It just so happens that Memorial Day weekend in Bend has historically been prime for such a feast of trails.

Years back, the Chris King Gourmet Century was held in this mountain town, tapping into not only the vast amount of singletrack but also the food culture. While the Gourmet Century brought about a lot of good times, it ultimately was a lot of work, eventually causing the brand to move onto more low-key, informal gatherings. That’s where the Swarm idea came from. In short, Chris King wanted to engage with the community of Bend, one of their local dealers, Crow’s Feet Commons, and do it in a lower-stress environment. It was open to the public and best of all, free.

As the invites were posted on social media and this website, none of us knew exactly how many people would show up. Since it was Memorial Day Weekend, the town of Bend was busting at the seams already with tourists and mountain bikers seeking solace on the trails of this mountain bike mecca. Our trip to the event began in Los Angeles, where we loaded up the Cruiser with everything we’d need to camp, ride bikes, hike, and document the happenings. Two days later and we were rolling into the sleepy town of Bend, just prior to the three-day weekend and the first ever Chris King Swarm.

Smoked and Stoked: Riding High in Central Oregon
Words and photos by Colin Frazer

Growing up outside of Eugene, I’d spent Summers camping and swimming in the rivers, lakes and hot springs that define the west side of Oregon’s Cascade range. Mountain biking was still a fledgling sport at the time and I was only vaguely aware of the burgeoning meccas sprouting up around me. Since I really only started riding after high school, I’ve been wanting to get back home to do some bikepacking for a while, but the right conditions just hadn’t come around. With all the rad work that Gabe and crew have put in making the Oregon Timber Trail a reality, the interest was brewing and a small crew started to form. Adam and Sam, childhood friends from Colorado, would come over with me from Bozeman, Corey and David, childhood friends from Ohio, would come from Seattle and LA respectively, for a week or more of shredding central Oregon.

330 Miles of the Gorge Backcountry
Photos and words by Gabe Tiller

The Gorge Backcountry route is a 330-mile loop leaving Portland which encompasses lesser known vistas and lightly trafficked asphalt and dirt ribbons through lush forests, river canyons, and rocky escarpments both north and south of the mighty Columbia River.

Wade’s Vulture Cycles MTB Is Just the Way He Wants It
Photos and words by Dylan VanWeelden

Some people you just don’t forget. Wade is just one of those fellas. I remember meeting him for the first time and he gave me a lighter with a Vulture Bikes sticker on it. Having spent a career in marketing coming up with endless gimmicks for brands this simple swag piece was perfect. The sticker lighter was cheap, easy and nailed his client on the head.

Part time builder for Vulture Cycles and full-time custom air plane builder Wade is the kind of guy you want to shoot the shit with around the fire. A wild man that lives off the beaten path. A free spirit that laughs to no end. A man that creates his own ride the way he wants to.

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Trail Working for the Trans-Cascadia and Oregon Timber Trail
Photos and words by Dylan VanWeelden

In Oregon, it is not uncommon to see two rolling waves moving with equal speed and swell in opposite directions. The Pacific is chaotic and tumultuous and the rocky beaches and moody weather facilitate this diversive behavior. But occasionally these waves move toward each other, combining and colliding with a massive, wild spike of energy — more beautiful and twice as tall as anything else on the horizon.

This is exactly the type of energy that came together last weekend in the mountain bike community. http://trans-cascadia.com/Trans-Cascadia (the 4-day blind format enduro race) and the newly founded Oregon Timber Trail (bikepacking trail going across Oregon) joined forces to create one hell of a trail building party. Over fifty cyclists, from top enduro racers to core bikepackers, shared rakes, saws, loppers, and endless Basecamp beers around the fire.

Bikepacking Oregon’s Big Country
Photos and words by Gabe Tiller

Third time’s the charm, right? Taking our combined knowledge from two previous bikepacking trips deep into Southeastern Oregon’s Big Country we had linked up the best features of this stark, vast landscape. We would start by traversing the until-recently occupied Malheur Wildlife Refuge, head up and over Steens Mountain, across the dry Alvord playa, and up into the the unknown Trout Creek Mountains before briefly slipping into Nevada and returning to our car by way of Hart Mountain eight days later. Logistically it’s an intimidating route, so we scheduled short days, therapeutic hot spring soaks, and ample time for sage bush whacking and accidental mud wallowing.

Three Sisters Three Rivers
Photos and words by Gabe Tiller

This trip has been steeping in Limberlost’s coffer for quite some time. A lot of trips we’ve been and help create like the Oregon Outback were amazingly fun, but lacking the singletrack I crave. Last year’s Pushwacking the Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route re-kindled our interest in one of the first bikepacking adventures I had read accounts of: Scott Morris’s 2010 Oregon Three Rivers route.

Coming Together at the Trans Cascadia
Photos by Dylan VanWeelden, words by Kyle Von Hoetzendorff

“I love it when a plan comes together.” – Hannibal – Every single episode of the A-Team.

Picture this, you arrive at a parking lot just off the main road of very small town that is set alongside a river amidst vast stretches of timber covered mountains. Waiting for you is a series of off road ready shuttle vans. You load in your bike and gear then you’re whisked away to a remote, wifi-less, electronic less, civilization-less beautiful mountain lake. This is your idyllic base camp, and during the day you will be racing blind on little known trails where deep loam sits just ready for the shredding. Over four days and 21 stages you will gradually race your way back towards the better known trails of Oakridge, Oregon.