The Radavist

These past few weeks have been a time for action, introspection, listening, and resisting. Radavist reader Sasha Schellenberg sent in this submission to us for a Readers Write, reflecting on their own perspective of what’s going on in the world right now with the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests. Without further adieu, here are Sasha’s words…

I do a lot of listening while I ride my bike. I listen for traffic and the odd redneck that will try to drive their diesel truck within a hairsbreadth of my handlebars (an unfortunate reality of cycling in parts of rural Alberta), I listen to my bike, always alert for unusual sounds (a result of seeing firsthand how small mechanical discrepancies can turn colossal if they go unnoticed for a time), and I listen for birds and wildlife (the upside of cycling in rural Alberta that makes it worth putting up with smelly trucks). Riding alone, cycling becomes a sensory experience, and it’s on those long gravel climbs, that half of me hates and the other half loves, that sounds seem to resonate clear as a bell.

Dynamo Jenny, a podcast from Adventure Cycling, is a binge-able, 6-episode audio dive into women’s experiences traveling the world by bike.

The advent of the bicycle coincided with, and influenced, the rise of the women’s rights movement in the late nineteenth century. But, by some accounts, it could be argued that cycling was more gender-inclusive then than it is today. Dynamo Jenny, Adventure Cycling’s first-ever podcast, explores the dynamics of women, bikes, and taking on public space in America through personal stories from the people who ride.

Podcast host, Jessica Zephyrs, introduces listeners to industry gurus like Nicole Formosa, professional creatives like Hilary Oliver, and a handful of inspiring and hilarious women from all walks of life.

Of the podcast, Jessica says, “With adventure being hard to come by at this particular time, connection and stories are the ways we have to get out of our own headspaces right now. So I’m particularly excited to have the privilege of helping to convey some really lovely, and at times outrageous, personal accounts of bicycle travel.

“The podcast has everything from grizzly bear encounters, an overnighter at a monastery, and on-tour breakups to feminist bicycle history, bicycle clubs for people of color, and a woman who’s trying to find out if she’s the first Black woman to ride the TransAmerica Trail self-supported. These women’s stories hit on some of the most poignant aspects of traveling on a bike: vulnerability, self-doubt, and joy.”

How accessible, here and now, is the freedom and independence that the bicycle first promised? Well, let’s find out.

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Find Dynamo Jenny on all major listening apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Stitcher. All episodes are available for download right now, all at once.

Learn more about the podcast, contributors, and art on Adventure Cycling’s website, adventurecycling.org/podcast.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what we, here at the Radavist, could do in light of the current events unfolding across the United States. Black Americans need our ears right now and our eyes should be coinciding with our minds to understand what it means to be athletes, or even just hobbyists in the cycling industry. One such voice that has resonated a lot over the past few years is Ayesha McGowan @ayesuppose. Her writings are important and we’ve also listed her podcast, which you can support on Patreon.

Read her writings at A Quick Brown Fox.

Thank you for taking this time to reflect on the current events and how we all can be better human beings.

One of our favorite personalities in the cycling industry has a space on one of our favorite brand’s blogs! Sarah Sturm has a great little read up about the pandemic and what riding means to her. Be sure to check this one out and if you missed it, our Highway 50 Nevada MTB trip features some excellent shots of Sarah ripping that Nevada dust as well!

“We have in front of us a chunk of time. We have a global pause. There are no races, there are no events, there are no parties or gatherings or high fives. We have busy minds and bored bodies and there isn’t an exact day that we can mark on our planners when “this will all be over”. Nope. The only thing that is certain is uncertainty. And we’re getting sick of seeing that phrase plastered all over the media. Yes, we know, things are uncertain right now and saying it over and over doesn’t seem to help.”

Continue reading this piece at Tenspeed Hero!

Inspired by abstract watercolor paintings, the T.K.O. collection is the latest from Pas Normal Studios with designs for men and women, all overseen by PNS’ Creative Director, Karl Oskar Olsen. Watercolor paint is a perfect metaphor for cycling.

It flows freely across the canvas.
Its actions produce immediate results.
It demands confidence and does not respond to indecisiveness.

See more at Pas Normal Studios.

Thereabouts – Gus and Lachlan Morton – recently interviewed Sarah Swallow, one of the founding members of the WTF Bikexplorers and organizer of the Ruta del Jefe in Arizona, about life and the pursuit of all things rad. Check it out here and head to Thereabouts for their excellent write up about Sarah!

These new shorts represent so many firsts for Machines for Freedom. The Essential Cycling Shorts are the first new piece in the Machines’ line to feature their new inclusive size range, extending from X-Small to XXX-Large! They’re also the first cycling short truly designed for the long-distance rider with the same chamois as Machines’ Endurance Bib, graded for 6+ hours in the saddle, bacteriostatic to inhibit infections, and wide enough for most women’s sit bones.

The yoga-inspired waistband is revolutionary: compressive enough to stay up without sagging, but soft enough to eliminate elastic bands that dig when in the riding position. The seamless leg bands keep the shorts in place without overly compressing. The Essential shorts use the highest quality European fabric is compressive, moisture-wicking, and silky soft to the touch.

Head to Machines for Freedom to read more and to see their lifestyle lookbook.

Salsa‘s latest video follows Sarah Hornby, a rider in mourning for her late husband. She would attempt all 10 routes he created while researching his Bikepacking in the Canadian Rockies guidebook, in a single year. Like life, her plans changed along the way…

Today, May 6th at 6pm PST, Martina Brimmer, co-founder and head honcho of Swift Industries is hosting a live talk with the WTF Gravel Team. If you’re free and would like to deep dive into what makes the team so unique, please tune in!

The latest from Patagonia is not to be missed!

“A film about inclusion, identity, and hand-drawn heroes. If you can’t find a hero, create your own; for mountain biker, skier and artist Brooklyn Bell, that hand-drawn hero was a comic character named Ruby J. Using Ruby as a role model, Brooklyn set out to “live like her, breathe like her, be unapologetically black like her,” finding her own identity in a mix of dirt, snow, art and inclusion.“

One thing the pandemic has brought about is creativity! People are using their technology to work through the shelter in place rules and one project we’re stoked to share is the W Talks, a project by Sami Sauri and Sarah Sturmy. Join both of these ladies on Instagram Live today at 1pm MDT / 9pm CEST for fun talks about within and for the community of women cyclists. Tune in at their IG accounts!

Our friends at Broken & Coastal announced the final issue of their wonderful print magazine. Here’s the info, straight from the source!

It’s easy to look at cycling and the outdoors as a place that brings people together, regardless of religion, skin color, sexuality, gender identity, or economic status—but this is not always the case. Even in 2020, there is still a huge fight for equality and representation in this industry, and there’s an equally huge need for allies in this fight.

Volume 05 of Broken & Coastal is dedicated to the badass women, trans, and non-binary folks that are leading the way in creating change in the cycling industry. Professional mountain biker, Veronique Sandler brings her dreams to life in the film Vision; photographer Tasha Lindemann reflects on Women’s Weekend at the legendary Catty/Posh trails; elite cyclist Ivy Audrain finds new meaning on the bicycle; and so much more.

Inspired to do our part in making the world a better place, we’re also swearing in a new role for the magazine as a tool to inspire creativity and give back to charity, starting with this issue. Proceeds from Volume 05 will be donated to The Trevor Project, a nonprofit that provides crisis-intervention and suicide-prevention services to LGBTQ and queer-questioning youth nationwide.

We’re working on becoming a nonprofit as part our purpose-driven shift, so this process will definitely evolve, but for now we’re keeping it super simple and super transparent.

Here’s how it works: We’re offering the magazine on a sliding scale starting at $20. It cost us approximately $10 per issue to produce and print Volume 05, so if you pay $20, $10 will go to charity, and so on. The more money you contribute, the more money we can donate.

We are starting at $20 due to the global pandemic, but we know that some have been especially impacted, and we want to help. If you’ve been affected by COVID-19 and you want a print, message us for a discount code and we’ll ship you a copy for half the price. As always, you can find digital versions of all five issues of Broken & Coastal on our website.

Join Ally Mabry, bikepacker extraordinaire, for an AMA on Adventure Cycling’s Instagram Stories.

All you’ve gotta do to join in on the fun is send a DM to Adventure Cycling with your questions to their Instagram, then join Ally Friday, April 10, 1 pm Mountain time.

About Ally:
Since 2014, Ally has slowly worked her way through the many disciplines cycling has to offer: commuter, social cruiser, weekend roadie, road racer, bikepacker, mountain biker, cyclocross racer, ultra-endurance gravel racer, community organizer, print media professional, and beyond.

Some of her favorite bike experiences have included riding the Baja Divide as part of the 2017 grand depart; riding the Oregon Outback twice on two different bikes; riding and then racing the first Arkansas High Country Race (and winning!); leading weekly “Intro to Bikecamping” overnights in Austin; co-founding Pedal Missoula, a “bike fun” advocacy org; racing Dirty Kanza 200; and joining her sister, a first-timer, on Adventure Cycling’s Puerto Rico tour in December.

“Bikes became many things for me: an athletic outlet, a form of meditation, a way to combat heartbreak, my primary mode of transportation, an opportunity to see the world, and entry into a multi-dimensional community.”

Take happy hour early, head on over to Instagram Friday afternoon, and ask Ally all your questions about routes, gear, community organizing, racing silly long distances, and more.