The Radavist

Vacations, holidays, or just plain breaks. We all need them and regardless to how fun you may think this job is, it’s a lot of work. Like, I’ve worked for 8 years in architecture and I thought that was a lot of work. No way. Traveling, shooting photos, maintaining this site, is all work and once a year, I like to take a break.

Granted, the very fact that I’m writing a post today, on the first day of our West Coast Best Coast trip, contradicts the notion of a true “holiday”, but hey, I can’t just leave the site alone for a week!

Lauren and I have been apart a lot this year, she’s been kicking ass in Myanmar doing design research and I’ve been jet-setting around the globe attending various events. So when we had a week or two open in our schedules, I planned a trip.

The general idea was fly into Portland, spend a few days there and then dip down to LA along the Pacific Coast Highway, aka PCH.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with this route, I rode it a few years back on my touring bike, albeit a bit later in the year. In August, it’s a haven for people in the US and around the world, leaving camp sites, hotels, everything booked out for months, making it difficult to plan anything.

Luckily, I’m not a big fan of plans and I have a pretty good idea of where to go, what to see and how long to spend in each place.

The only planning I did was our vehicle. I’ve been wanting either a mid 80’s – mid 90’s Toyota 4×4 4 cylinder pickup since moving to Texas and getting back into mountain biking. Trucks in Texas are crazy expensive and so I extended my search to the west coast, where I found a pretty good deal on a ’96 Tacoma.

It’s red, has a 3″ lift, camper shell and it needs a name. More on that later. Best news is, it runs and will be our vehicle for this trip and hopefully many others.

Yesterday, we did the tourist thing in Portland. Went to a few shops, met friends and took it easy.

It was a perfect day to begin our West Coast Best Coast trip!

How to work the Chris King Gourmet Century
Words and Photos by Eiry Bartlett

A couple of months back I was down in Portland, riding some local hills and catching up with friends who had just completed the Oregon Outback, when an offer of working at the Gourmet Century fell into my lap. I had another tour in the works for the same weekend – it immediately went out the window.

I love long-term reviews. “Here, take this bike, travel with it and shred it for around six months, then send it right back to us.” Pretty ideal, huh? Especially when there’s a no-strings-attached policy. If you like it, do a review, or don’t, no big deal. Just get out and ride it. For The Radavist, that’s how I like to do product reviews: honestly and with no commitments. The problem is, you’ve got to be really stoked on a bike to want to ride it a bunch, and then photograph it / write about it.

Reviewing bikes is something I don’t often do, partially because I rarely get the chance to ride anything else besides my own bikes but mostly because so few companies contact me to review their bikes. One of the companies that has embraced what I’m doing over here is Santa Cruz and I can’t complain. Great company, great bikes and as I said before, no strings attached.

When Santa Cruz offered to send me out a Tallboy LTC with SRAM’s new – at the time – XX1 groupet back in December, I obliged! Who wouldn’t? I traveled with it, raced it a few times and rode the shit out of it for half a year.

While the world of the $8,000 – $10,000 MTB is certainly saturated at this point, I’ve ridden a few of them and yet I keep wanting to come back to the Tallboy and its unique riding characteristics. The best way I can describe the way this bike rides is solid. There’s no “plastic feel” to the frame, no annoying resonance when you hit technical sections and when the bike tells you to go in a particular direction, it’s usually on point… What often requires honing are your own skills and your confidence on that bike in particular.

Let me begin this post with the phrase: don’t blow up the spot, bro. Now, I know I’m posting photos of a few hidden gems, but you don’t have to name them… That said, we also were given “special permission” to access these spots from land owners, so, again #dontblowupthespot, bro. Also, also, remember one thing: this is Texas, people have a lot of guns and a particular connection to their private property. I’ve dealt with angry land owners before. Let me tell you, it ain’t worth it.

Now that that’s out of the way…

Central Texas can be quite unforgiving in the summer months and the only bastian for relaxation are limestone swimming holes, sink holes, aquifers, lakes and other vessels for holding water. The problem is: every frat boy bro and his messy friends camp out with coolers of beer and boom boxes, littering and ruining a lot of these swimming locales, leaving my friends and I seeking refuge in lesser-known locations.

Be it on a mountain bike, cross bike, or in this case, simply driving outside of the Austin area to swim has proven to be quite fruitful this summer in particular. We hike in and leave nothing but footprints and tire tracks.

Last sunday, we ruled summer as we partook in some classic Central Texas cliff jumps and lounging… enjoy the Gallery!

Tools of the trade:
Mamiya 7ii / 80mm
Kodak Portra 400

There are very few experiences like riding a custom bicycle, but when it comes down to it, there are plenty of frames out there that are completely fitting for most people. These frames were designed to be raced, or just plain ridden, like many of the bikes on the market today. While they might not be custom-fit, they were fine-tuned for their intended use. In short: if the frame fits, shred the shit out of it.

Cole was looking for a new road frame last year and while it was tempting to go continue saving for a custom steel rig, he decided to keen an eye on eBay and Craigslist, in hopes that something, light, tight and Italian might pop up in his size. Low and behold, it did. A NOS Rossin crit frame from the early 90’s hit eBay one day and soon, it arrived in Austin. All for around $700.

He chose Campagnolo Athena 11, Mavic Open Pro rims, a classic 3TTT Pro Chrome Columbus stem, Deda bars, Zipp post, Fizik Antares VS saddle, Speedplay pedals and some reliable Conti rubber. The build is very tasteful and the lines of this classic race bike are seducing enough for even the seasoned carbon ‘pro-minded’ consumer to second guess their recent ‘upgrade’…

Thanks for dropping by the office today Cole!

The Vancouver Island Badass 200
Words and Photos by Eiry Bartlett

The plan: 6 women, 6 bikes, 2 days, fully self-supported bike-camping trip around southern Vancouver Island, covering 200km+ and completing the Rapha Women’s 100 in true Pacific Northwest style. Confirmations were sent, gear lists made, training rides were organized. Really, the most important thing was that our kits looked good together.

Well, apparently life can really get in the way of fun. My girls were picked off like ripe cherries on a summer day and by time the trip rolled around we were down to three, but we were three totally stoked, badass ladies ready for whatever was thrown our way. A smaller group meant a smaller vehicle and the addition of our dutiful camp commander – soon to be known as Captain Sparkles – who was willing to transport our food and gear to the campsite while we made our way across the wilds of the Cowichan Valley.

Weird weather happened, kooky locals, drivers – speeding like bats out of hell, and all the benefits you’d expect cycling a route that starts in a logging zone and ends in a gorgeous temperate rainforest.
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Western Recreation Photos – Week 01: Words and photos by Yonder Journal

THIS IS A SURVEY OF RECREATION IN THE AMERICAN WEST. The primary purpose of this project is to explore, document, and publish a permanent, voluminous, wide-sweeping, and studied record of the State of Recreation in the summer of 2014.

I’ve learned a lot in the past two years and so has Ben at Argonaut Cycles. He looks at his made in the USA, fully custom carbon road bikes as a project that’s ever-evolving. With each frame, he learns more not only about his customers, but his own process. My Argonaut was perfection in my eyes and while I loved it, some things about it made it less than ideal for my lifestyle and by that I mean, I travel. A lot. At the time, Ben didn’t offer a traditional seat post, only an ISP…

The NYC Women’s 100 Rapha Ride
Words and photos by Chris Lee

This past Sunday morning, women all over the world took part in Rapha’s Women’s 100 ride. Every year this globally-coordinated event challenges female athletes of all skill types to ride 100km together as a group.

At this point, my Geekhouse Mudville is about as worn out as I am. It’s traveled the world multiple times and each trip to Australia, the build is slightly different.

Looking back, had I known this bike had clearances for up to a 42c tire, I would have ditched the 33c world a long time ago. For big, big rides, those 40c Nanos are the way to go. Surly’s Knard 41c looks like a great option as well, but I’ve yet to try them.

Over the past few years, this bike has proven itself to me time and time again. While there are a few characteristics that make a cross bike less-than-ideal for big tough dirt rides, I’d say it’s an all around, solid tool for the job. Even doing ‘road rides’ on a 40c ain’t as bad as you’d think.

Looking forward, I’m not sure what kind of bike I’d like to use for ‘dirt riding’ and travel. A road geometry with a slighly-slacker head tube angle is best suited for descending steep, rutted and sketchy fire roads, but the clearances for a larger tire make any rocky surface just kinda disappear, even on singletrack.

I’d love to make a bike with a road BB drop, a slightly slacker heat tube and enough room for a 40c tire but for now, this bike is ripping! Out of all of my bikes, it’s seen the most action and it shows, especially after a long ride like the two day Bush Blast (day 1 and day 2).

After that ride, I have had these photos on my desktop and figured I’d share them.

I’ll admit, this bike should have been shot with a Kleen Kanteen, not a Purist, but Kyle doesn’t like rules, at all, so it’s fine.

This MB-1 came into Golden Saddle Cyclery around the time Kyle sold his Saluki, regrettably. We’ve all been there before, you’re in a bind and you’ve gotta part ways with one bike to make ends meet, but luckily for Kyle, he kept in alignment with Grant Petersen‘s ideologies.

Bridgestone’s MB-1 hit at a unique time in mountain biking. Dirt drops were in and rigid was the (only) way. For Kyle, this bike became his around-town singlespeed, opting for White Industries components and Nitto’s Bullmoose bars. Topped off with Rubena Cityhopper tires.

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 All City Championship Weekend: Bandit Cross
Words and photos by Chris Lee

The third and last segment of the All City Championships got off to a wet start. With isolated thunderstorms all morning, racers began to trickle in to the start at One On One.

After a quick briefing of the rules and some last minute instructions, racers ran to their bikes for the le mans start and started knocking out checkpoints from their manifest.
In the end it was David Smith and Chelsea Strate that took the win for men’s and women’s category, respectively.

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Follow Chris on Instagram and at his Flickr account.