The Radavist

The Blackburn Rangers, a group of cyclists, selected from hundreds of applicants, all of which range in experience, yet they represent what it means to push yourself physically and mentally on a bike. In essence, they embody what Blackburn is striving for as a company.

So far, there have been two years of inductees into the Rangers. Last year’s troops tackled either the Pacific Coast or the Great Divide and last week at the Whiskey Off Road, two Rangers from last year’s selection met the four new inductees…

Way back when I lived in Brooklyn and was helping out Mishka with their D.A.R.T. line, this guy Jeremy emails me, asking about supporting he and his lady’s (now wife) forthcoming bicycle tour – any relationship that survives a cross-country bicycle tour is bound for marriage…

We sent them some gear and they took off on their journey across the US. Years later, I’m sitting in a bar here in Austin and up walks Jeremy, introduces himself and now I see him scooting around town on his Surly Pacer.

Jeremy started a blog with his wife called America Y’all and they spend their weekends exploring the parks surrounding the Austin area. Last week, I caught up with him at the Wright Bros Brew & Brew and shot some photos of him and his mutt, Piper. Check out some Ride Along questions below!

This bike is an all-purpose, 1-track gobblin’, trail rippin, rigid, bike campin’ shred sled. Built by SF’s Falconer Cycles and designed to carry multiple bags, on front and rear racks, for days on end. Basically, it’s artist Chris McNally‘s new love.

In short, it’s a rigid 29’r, more specifically, it’s a touring bike, designed to take on the real Lost Coast route – more to come with Behind the Redwood Curtain – and still be stable enough to take on trails while loaded.

Loaded with Blackburn Outpost racks, Barrier Universal Panniers and other random Blackburn accessories, this bike did it all. From carrying camping gear to the top of Granite Mountain outside Prescott, to a half-full keg down to the Whiskey Off Road bacon handup spot, Chris had the best tool for the job.

See more of this beaut in the Galley!

So… it’s been a wild few days… Blackburn brought me out to the Whiskey Off Road to see some new products, meet the Rangers and document the weekend as I saw fit. All of which will make for some awesome posts – once I sort through the photos.

For now, here’s Robin’s – the Blackburn brand manager – DIY digi camo paint Santa Cruz Highball dirt drop all-road bike. SLX triple cranks, Cambium saddle, barcons, TRP levers, interceptor brakes and massive clearances (it’s a MTB frame after all). This bike is another great example of fully-customizing a production model frame.

I shot some photos of it, at the top of the range, before we got hit with a nasty snow storm that covered our camp site in a few inches of fresh powder…

Leaving your nest ain’t easy, especially when your home town has been good to you. Hanson Little used to be a pro BMX rider – on paper – he still rips and takes trips from time to time, but his days of going big are limited by past injuries and the desire to keep on the bike, not healing off it.

Recently, Hanson bought a van and sold all of his belongings, save for a few bicycles. He plans on spending a great deal of time on the road over the next few months, but before he left town, I met up with him and shot some photos of his new mobile digs.

This weekend, I sent over some interview questions, which he promptly replied to… check them out below in a special Ride Along!

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

If you love something, thrash it. That’s exactly what Kenny has done with this bike. When he picked up this frame off local Craigslist, he was looking for a classic steel workhorse. It just so happened that he snagged a De Rosa… for a song. If you’re going to spend all day on a bike, it might as well be a great ride, right?

Using mostly spare parts and some swap-found components, he built it up with SRAM force, Profile hubs to H+Son Archetypes, trigger shifters on riser bars and kept the vintage 3T stem. A Wald Basket helps out in light and easy carries while Kenny still wears a backpack throughout the day for the bigger hauls.

This bike has character. The chain lock and u-lock bite marks on the Columbus decal alone do it for me!

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.

The Rouge Roubaix exceeded mine and Ben from Argonaut‘s expectations. I don’t think anyone involved with that trip knew how that race would unfold. Backtrack to a few months prior, team Argonaut had the idea to pull Brian Vernor in to do a video and bring me down to shoot the race and document the new Disc Racers.

We spent the two days prior to the race testing out the bikes and looking for key vantage points to photograph the event. While Vernor got his video footage, I took some photos of the bikes and (part of the) team River City / Rapha. These photos are to be used on the Argonaut website…

Check them out in the Gallery and see the bike in person at the Aether NYC event this Friday!