The Radavist

Our far-flung international correspondent Petor Georgallou returned to Girona, Spain last October for GiRodeo 2023, The Service Course‘s flagship end-of-season event. It was an action-packed weekend with great riding, wild parties, music, coffee, friends, and loads of beautiful custom and bespoke bicycles on display. In his first report from the event below, Petor details his time as a guiri in the Catalonian region, improvising after only half of his bike showed up, subsequently uber-underbiking for 155 km, attending a wild Correfoc for the second year in a row, and much, much more. And be sure to stay tuned tomorrow for Petor’s overview of eight stunning custom builds from the event!

Aside from pristine days of riding, the GiRodeo was also a semi-nomadic bike show. The Service Course has long-term collaborative relationships with a number of builders, working together to pair builders and customers appropriately. I say “semi-nomadic” because the majority of builders rode their bikes, but also because the bikes that were not being ridden magically popped up in restaurants and breweries or wherever else events were held as part of the show. This is a rundown of my favorite bikes, many of which were part of the GiRodeo, and others were part of The Service Course’s furniture.

Four hours into the drive from London to Girona, I began to question my life choices in having decided to drive rather than fly. Eight hours down the road—winding through the mountains with the cruise control set to 140kph with lunatic focus on the pool of tungsten light illuminating a patch of road ahead—I began to see its value. I needed this focus. High beam, dip beam, high beam, dip beam. The solo drive that started off listening to audiobook recommendations from Josh Weinberg had descended into a white knuckle ride against the clock to beat the dawn and shut myself in a dark hotel room to squeeze in a few hours of sleep before my first GiRodeo. It would be, in fact, everyone’s first GiRodeo. The inaugural edition of ENVE and The Service Course’s collaborative framebuilder roundup gravel extravaganza G-Rodeo, but in Girona. The GiRodeo.

This coming Wednesday, June 15th, The Service Course is throwing a film premiere of its latest project, which follows its mechanic Diederik Deelen as he takes on The Traka 360, Girona’s premier gravel race. The screening takes place at Hors Categorie Girona and is free and open to the public. On display at the event will be this custom-painted OPEN bike, fitted with ENVE components and a hydro-dipped paint job, marvelously created by Sergio Vergel Escribano. We got an exclusive first look at this bike and are pleased to share it with you below!

The Norwegian city of Oslo recently played host to the Service Course Oslo‘s Bikes of Oslo Showcase, featuring a plethora of custom bikes during a weekend of riding and soaking in the summer sun. We’re honored to host the report here, at the Radavist, featuring the bicycle photography of Magnus Nordstrand and the riding/lifestyle shots from Herman Ottesen. Check out the bikes along with an interview with the Service Course’s Jonas Strømberg below…

Today at the Radavist we’re featuring a very unique bike, from Bellé Cycles and the Service Course, for the Atlas Mountain Race. With the recent debate about patina and faux finish on custom bicycle frames, I think you all will enjoy this one!

“A one-of-a-kind beast, hungry for scratches and scars.” – Enrico “Kico” Bellé

Photos and words by Sami Sauri

“Det Store Eventyret” is not like most events where more or less you know what you are getting into. The participants had no clue in advance of where they will be cycling to, on what kind of surface as well as where they will be spending the night! All they were promised in advance was awesome riding, food by the one and only Velochef Henrik Orre and a bed under a roof to spend the night. The organizers aim to surprise and excite the participants and judging by the mood before the start, it is apparent that everyone is eager to find out what the fuss is about!