The Radavist

For this week’s Readers’ Rides, our friend RJ Rabe shares his vintage Sequoia townie build in a high res gallery…

I don’t know much about this particular Sequoia before it came into my life. Beyond that, it lived in the rafters of my friend Austin Horse’s New York apartment before I brought it back to California some years ago. You can see the sticker from the shop that originally sold it on the seat tube, with the protective film somewhat intact.

Whatever you do in this life, do it with fucking passion and power.

Make sure the world knows it – Edward B. Gieda III

I’ve been so inspired by the voices, initiatives and attitudes from our bicycle community in the last year in general and especially in the last couple of weeks of unrest and calibration of who we are and what we’re doing to each other. The calling out of toxic elements and the demand for change has a snowballing effect that is nothing but refreshing. I believe in the bicycle as a tool for change and grassroots movements like the Cycling Industry Pledge by WTF Bikexplorers is just one powerful example of how to drive change and hold us all accountable for our actions, or the lack thereof. For some, the bicycle will always just be a toy or a piece of sporting equipment but for many others, it’s a tool that enables change, growth and freedom.

As it happens during the holidays, you sometimes end up playing tour guide to family members. My parents came to Los Angeles this weekend, with one thing on their mind: a road trip to the Sequoia National Forest. Turns out, Nat Geo has a special running on this magical place and my parents caught the bug. The only problem is, lodging since neither of my parents liked the idea of camping in the wilds of the Sequoia backcountry. After some phone calls, I found one place to be open: the Durrwood Creekside Lodge.

While there, we got to do a lot of chatting with Eddie and Dave, the two caretakers of the lodge. Once Dave found out I’m into bikes, he had to show his two choppers he made in the lodge’s old blacksmith shop – which coincidentally is a recognized landmark. This whole experience caught me off-guard since I had barely had my coffee yet, but my mind was blown by Dave’s thought process and end-product.

I love seeing projects like this, and yes, I took it for a spin!

The Cannell Trail… Don’t Call it a Shuttle Run!
Words and photos by Kyle Kelley

Years ago Ryan Wilson told me of this mythical mountain bike ride in the Sequoia National Forest that dropped from the sky to the desert floor. He said it was thirty-something miles long and had around 8,000 feet of ripping descent. To be honest, I didn’t really believe him, so I retained little to no information that night.

Fast forward a few years, Mike Kalenda had just come onboard at Golden Saddle Cyclery, and one morning he was telling me about this crazy ride out of Kernville where you get shuttled up to 9,200 feet and you spend all day riding your bike down the mountain to a brewery! It all sounded familiar, but nothing was sticking, and then I heard about a Plunge and that got me thinking. Hell…I’m not even sure if Ryan even said the word plunge that night, long ago, but something about that word reminded me. I immediately started researching all I could on the internet about this trail, and came to the conclusion that this must’ve been what Ryan was talking about! Maybe the word plunge just sounded cool and I gravitated towards it, but either way, the word plunge got me there and after riding the last part of this trail called “The Plunge”, I’ll definitely be going back.

In its time, the Sequoia has had three authors. Three designers whose own vision of this bicycle’s intent would be realized as a large-scale production model. The Sequoia opened the doors for those with a love for touring. It was an off-the-shelf, do-it-yourself, vessel to the outdoors and freedom. You can wax poetic all day about the joys of touring and how in the 1980’s, it was all the rage in America. Touring forever changed the face of cycling.