#touring

tag

The Radavist 2014 Calendar: September

Radar

The Radavist 2014 Calendar: September

This is the nineth layout of the Radavist 2014 Calendar, entitled “Ascension”. The camera and location are noted on the bottom left of the document.

The Pacific Coast is a cycling Utopia. Minus the RVs and tourists who are unable to operate their rental cars. Still, in one of the heaviest traveled scenic highways in the US, solitude can be found, even amongst looming giants like the Redwoods.

For a high-res JPG, suitable for print and desktop wallpaper*, right click and save link as – The Radavist 2014 Calendar – September. Please, this photo is for personal use only!

(*set background to white and center for optimal coverage)

Radar

The Great Divide Like You’ve Never Seen It

If you ever need motivation to just get out on your bike and do something really meaningful, just watch this video. ACA documented one man’s journey along the Great Divide and it’s got me aching to get back out into the wilderness.

On the subject of the Great Divide, Nat Cobb, a 63-year old advocate of growing the wild wolf population is raising money for Wild Earth Guardians to ride the Great Divide. See more at WildEarth Gaurdians.

Rolling Hills and Snakes: AWOL on the Oregon Outback – Day 03

Reportage

Rolling Hills and Snakes: AWOL on the Oregon Outback – Day 03

When Erik and I committed to riding the Oregon Outback, we didn’t want to absolutely kill ourselves, but we wanted it to be tough. On paper, 360 miles is totally doable in three days without crushing your spirit. Hell, I think we could have done it in two and we still would have been ok but that’s not the point.

I had a responsibility. One that I take seriously and that’s documenting this trip. Granted, most of the time, I didn’t want to stop to shoot a photo, or hop off my bike, I just wanted to keep going…

Team AWOL and My Oregon Outback Pack List

Radar

Team AWOL and My Oregon Outback Pack List

So I haven’t made a big deal about this for a few reasons. First, I don’t want to jinx myself or my teammate on this ride and second, it’s part of a project that won’t see the light of day for a few months.

That said, I’m doing / racing / riding / surviving the Oregon Outback, a 360 miles MTB trek from Southern Oregon to Northern Oregon. Our plan is to do it in three days. Unsupported. That’s 120 miles a day on dirt.

I do rides like this often enough, maybe not to this degree, but essentially bikepacking or touring. So I thought I’d let you in on my packing list, via knolling. Check out a break-down below.

Radar

Slow is Fast Movie

Up until last week, I hadn’t heard anything about this movie, Slow is Fast. If you’re thinking of touring the California coast, this is a must-watch!

“In September 2012, Dan Malloy, Kanoa Zimmerman and Kellen Keene rode bikes down the California coast hoping to see their home state in a new slower-paced light — surfing, camping, staying with friends and lending a hand wherever they could to earn their keep. The result of the trip is a beautifully crafted book and DVD.”

Pick up the DVD and book at Patagonia.

Cycling Tips: Thereabouts

Radar

Cycling Tips: Thereabouts

Is it wrong to think that there aren’t many pros who would do something like this? Or at least, we wouldn’t read about it. This story is so good:

“It’s easy to get wrapped up in the details when it comes to cycling. Distances, wattages, victories and other measures often lead us to forget the simply joy of riding a bike. Brothers Gus and Lachlan Morton (yes, the one who races with WorldTour team Garmin-Sharp), got back to basics in an attempt to recover the lost magic of the sport. This is their story about the 2500km journey from Port Macquarie to Uluru in just twelve days.”

Check out a full gallery and more at Cycling Tips!

Radar

Hunting for Monsters Full-Length

I’ve been stoked on this project since first posting about it! Now you can rent or buy the 11-minute documentary Hunting for Monsters at Vimeo!

“Lake Iliamna, Alaska’s largest lake, is home to many native communities, the worlds largest sockeye salmon run, potential site of the controversial Pebble Mine and the elusive Lake Monster – Illie. On a hot mid-July, Bjørn and Brent were deposited to the far shore of Cook Inlet in a landing craft cargo ship and began their human powered journey through Iliamna country to Bristol Bay, hoping to catch a glimpse of the illusive creature and slice of Alaska where monsters can still roam free.”

Yonder Journal: MSOJ MTB Trip and Trundling

Radar

Yonder Journal: MSOJ MTB Trip and Trundling

If you’ve seen the newest issue of Bike Mag, then maybe you noticed the large-format poster featuring the above artwork by Chris McNally – which you can coincidentally pick up at Yonder Journal in a nice, flat poster for your wall. But what exactly is it? Who are these strange men and what are those bigfoots (bigfeet?) doing with those rocks?

Last summer, Yonder Journal got the hair-brained idea to follow mule tracks from the Mythical State of Jefferson to the coast on packed-out mountain bikes and using the new Acre Hauser packs.

When excerpts from a ride report begin with:

“It was decided early on that Daniel would be the first one we would eat. He is a fleshy nutrient-packed individual with a penchant for sweets and he was, by being the organizer and de facto Captain of this expedition, the reason why we were all here. So it only made sense that if the fate of our group lead to cannibalism, he would be the first to go. We had come to Northern California to attempt bikepacking.

More specifically we had come to ride to the sea. All of us had backpacked before and all of us were cyclists, but how the integration of the two would work was based on assumption. Most of us could only think about it, like we were trying to imagine orange when our experience had been strictly limited to yellow and red. Fortunately Daniel had selected a group of people who, for this adventure at least, were able to rein in a modicum of our typical hubris, to the point that important questions were deferred to the couple of group members who had prior bikepacking experience.” -Kyle von Hoetzendorff

Then you know it’s gonna be good. See the whole (it’s a big one) MSOJ MTB shit-show (MSOJMTBSS) at Yonder Journal and check out some sample photos below!

Mojave Road Guide – Ty Hathaway

Reportage

Mojave Road Guide – Ty Hathaway

Ty is just one of those guys. One minute, he’s posting photos of his dog, or his fiancé on Instagram and the next, he’s in the middle of the Mojave Desert on his trusty Pugsley, doing what many would consider a really, really, really tough ride – except most people do this ride in a Jeep or an ATV. To say that he’s spontaneous isn’t entirely accurate however, because he always plans out what to bring, how to bring it and how he’ll use it. What happens once he’s there is a whole different story. One that only Ty can tell in his own words…

I’m Going AWOL This Weekend

Radar

I’m Going AWOL This Weekend

This morning, the AWOL team and myself left San Francisco for a three day ride through Henry W. Coe state park down to Morgan Hill. While we have a general idea of how we’ll get down there (i.e. excessive speculation), we’re leaving a lot of room for error. Because, let’s face it, no big ride can go down without something going wrong. At least that’s my track record as of late.

I’ll be riding one of the new hydraulic disc, belt drive AWOL Transcontinental limited edition bikes and shooting photos of the ride for a few features on PiNP.

Come Monday, we’ll be showing my photos from the ride at the premier of the Transcontinental AWOL video at Specialized HQ.

Follow Hellhommus and me on Instagram this weekend for updates!

Epilogue – Themes While Bicycle Touring Through China

Reportage

Epilogue – Themes While Bicycle Touring Through China

After looking back through all 800 photos I shot while on bicycle tour through China with Mission Workshop and Factory 5, I had a hard time breaking it down to a cohesive gallery show.

What I began to notice were themes in the photos, not apparent as I flipped through the files, but when I printed out a selection of photos, they began to tie in together. These themes represent not only my eye for cycling in urban environments, but also my background education and professional career as an architect.

China really changed my perspective on the world as a whole. I saw beautiful landscapes destroyed in the name of progress and capitalism. I witnessed a precious and old culture wiped out to assimilate with a preconceived notion of luxury. Everywhere I looked, I saw western civilization to blame.

Globalization, our desire to own and consume had changed China. Granted I had no benchmark for the status quo, I could only gather enough information through examining the landscapes.

The Chinese build for the sake of building. Supply and demand is a skewed balance, tilted in the former’s favor. This growth is unwarranted and most importantly, uncontrolled.

So where did this bike tour fall into place? It was, after all, Mission Workshop’s idea. While I was given no direction, no instructions, I did have really, complete freedom to do what I wanted.

We had an agenda: test out the new US-manufactured Acre clothing while riding a bicycle through some of the most polluted areas of China and document the trip for a gallery show. Was it successful? I’d say so…

Which brings me to this post: a selection of 50 photos, all shot with my Mamiya 7ii and Kodak Portra 400. These photos break down into illustrative observations, all of which are noted in the photo’s title. Some are obvious, others are not.

You’ll see the themes fairly easily and I’d like to hear what you have to say about them. Feel free to critique / comment, just be polite and constructive.

Many thanks to Mission Workshop / Acre, the Factory 5 crew and anyone that helped us on this journey.