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This is normally something we’d include in our Radar Roundup but it’s too good of a deal to wait until tomorrow. Kona is currently offering an N+1 sale. Buy any Process bike and get one free. This is a wild deal and indicative of what the cycling industry is dealing with right now but there’s no reason you shouldn’t be taking advantage of these offerings. Especially from a brand like Kona.
Roll on over to Kona to take advantage of these wild times.
Act One: We Can’t Stop Here, This is Nats Country!
In which our anti-hero-TeamLifeLOL-genderwhatever sets the stage with cold takes on Chicago-lite.
What a December it was for The Cyclocross in Chicago. I’ve seen a few different versions of this: rain and sleet off Lake Michigan for Montrose; 60 degrees (and a hot tub at both!), bitter cold and wind at Afterglow; and for USAC CX Nationals in Wheaton, IL, there was a complete fall-to-winter seasonal transition.
We’re very pleased to sponsor Swift Industries’ Stoked Spoke series and tonight is episode 02, featuring an evening of FTW Nb folks sharing their stories. Femme, Trans, Women, and Non-binary Nite (FTW Nb for short) is a dedicated space for our FTW Nb friends to tell their tales of adventure like single speeding in West Virginia, misadventures in Utah, and much more. Tune in here, tonight, February 24th, 2021 5:30PST/8:30EST for the live stream!
See Episode 01 here to give you a good primer for the series. :-)
Ride Together is a new social networking site established to make WTF, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, or otherwise underrepresented cyclists feel welcomed, safe, and secure riding across the world. Their network of hosts span the globe and you can sign up to be a part of this project. Head to Ride Together to learn more and give them a follow on Instagram for updates.
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.
The latest episode from the We Got To Hang Out podcast features Izzy Sederbaum:
“This wonderful human took over the pod with insights on inclusivity in language and our beloved cycling community. Izzy started road cycling as a youngin’ on the east coast and now calls the PNW home. He’s a former bike mechanic who dabbles in the gravel and cyclocross scene while working toward a PhD in Public Policy focusing on how policy punishes and criminalizes queerness/trans-ness, especially for youth and young adults. Izzy also opens up and speaks publicly for the first time about an impactful and extremely sad event that took place back in the spring of 2018. We hope you enjoy this important hang out as much as we do! #shoutout
*EDIT – WTF acronym originated from the San Francisco Bike Kitchen organization, not Grease Rag as discussed in this episode. ”
Listen to it here and see more episodes at WGTHO!
He thought there would be a limit and that would stop him. He depended on that.
“An Atlas of the Difficult World – VIII” – Adrienne Rich
Before I left:
A month before I left, a bus hit me on the sidewalk as I avoided² the dangers of an indifferent suburb riding to the job I did as pittance-paid worker on a bike industry profit trawler. The night before I left, I couldn’t get the tire off, sobbed, exhausted. Six days before I left, I stopped having fun at a race and decided to bail, tired, beer softened, slowed wrong, ate gravel, wrist sprained. Before I left I destroyed my shell in the wash. Before I left I shook nothing down. I wasn’t ready but it didn’t matter. I had to go. How would I keep on otherwise?
Some of us are hoping for limits. There are reasons for that.
The grass grows steadily, towering over us until we can no longer see the San Pedro Trail. My partner and I hadn’t seen anyone else that day and it was peacefully quiet. We can only hear the bees buzzing, ignoring our presence among the thicket of yellow flowers growing wildly across the trail. It was still early in the afternoon and we already had an eventful morning – dodging thorny bushes cutting both our arms and legs, navigating muddy streams covered with overgrown grass, surprising a few jackrabbits from their homes, and getting startled by two rattlesnakes lying across the gravel path.
For the tenth anniversary of the Philadelphia Bike Expo, PBE introduced a diversity and inclusivity scholarship to support women, trans, POC frame builders who have been underrepresented at bike shows and the industry at large. SRAM is stepping up to sponsor the PBE Inclusivity Scholarship inaugural class consists of Moth Attack, Pedalino Bikes, Schon Studio, and Untitled Cycles.
This past July I was lucky to attend a downhill day with the rad humans who put on the Midwest Dirt Legion. I had heard tales of their group from my partner and friends, so I was very stoked to finally meet them and see what they were up to. Time after time I hear from non cis male people that they feel there is a lack of places they feel comfortable riding and learning in the mountain bike world, which makes the work that Steph and Ash are doing that much more important. I caught up with them for a spin around the local bandit jumps and got a testimonial from their biggest fan, Chelli. If you are looking for amazing people to ride with in the midwest, check out the Midwest Dirt Legion! -Spencer
Midwest Dirt Legion is here to build a better mountain bike community for marginalized genders. Based in Minneapolis, the group was founded in February 2018 by Steph Aich (she/her) and Ash Murray (they/them) . Our focus is on bringing passionate people and organizations in the Twin Cities together to increase ridership for transgender, gender non-binary, and cis women riders.
Bozeman, Montana is a magical place to mountain bike in the summertime. Last year’s trip was epic, so this year we wanted to re-visit this quaint little mountain town. While we were there last month, I was able to shoot Adam Sklar’s latest project, the Sweet Spot 29er MTB. While Adam usually takes on custom bikes, the Sweet Spot will be the brand’s first production model. The Sweet Spot is made in Bozeman, Montana, just like all Sklar Bikes. The aim here is to lower wait times, while not sacrificing quality. It also enables Adam to sell a model that is in-line with his philosophy on mountain bikes.
Trail dogs are the best! This morning our friend Mason Griffin went neck and neck with Tulip, the trail running puppers, as we careened down the Leverich trail.
I have no words for this. I’m completely floored!
I am so confused by this but I think it’s the best thing ever. Something to do with Luzhniki Olympic Complex? I don’t know, someone fill me in!
This looks like something they’d hang in a shooting range in Texas.
