The Radavist

Photo via Cunningham Bikes

“The past two years have been the weirdest and worst in decades in so many ways—planetary and political and personal-people disasters, haven’t they? They seem to suggest a gloomy future. It’s all — well, “surprising” sums up all the other adjectives, but neuters them a little, right?

Let’s do something wild and huge, a laser beam of super good for one guy, Charlie Cunningham. Jacquie Phelan comes free in the bargain. Charlie and Jacquie have been a married bike couple for 30+ years.

Charlie is a hero. His story is available to those who dig enough, we’ve told it and it’s on the web, but the fact that it’s not familiar to every bike riders over the age of 20 is testament to how people can become forgotten stepping stones. Charlie has a history of bicycle inventions, innovations, improvements, and independence in an industry that for the most part is ruled by trends, marketing, racerworship, copycatism, and an unwarranted inferiority complex that is being addressed by bulk (road bikes are fatter than mountain bikes used to be; mountain bikes are monstrous); and tech, with nothing more to learn than which buttons to push, few if any operator skills to learn, motors marketed as pedaling assists—always marketed as progress.”

Check out the full story at Rivendell… and any bit helps, so head to the Go Fund Me to share some Holiday love.

Every so often, a cycling product comes out that kinda blows my mind. Granted, I have no use for these boots, but for those in cold weather conditions looking for some balleur footwear, look no further than these 45NRTH Red Wing Leather Wölvhammers. Made from the same leather as your favorite work boots, insulated with Aerogel and enough details to shake a stick at. See more information at 45NRTH.

Photo by Bill Woodul

It’s not often you come across never before seen photos of Eddy Merckx, well, photos I’ve never seen anyway and that what we’re sharing with you today. Bill Woodul shot the 1976 Milano SanRemo and got some excellent photos of Merckx. Just check out those gloves! See more at this album.

Jim Merz is a man of many tales. In his time as a cyclist, a frame builder and frame designer, Jim’s been around more than just the block. Over at Bike Jerks, he shared a photo gallery from his 1964 tour from Portland to Denver, which I highly recommend checking out. Head over to Bike Jerks for the full scoop!

Photo by Sven Martin

At the Val di Sole UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, Nino put on a show and while getting steezy during an XC race isn’t anything new, Sven’s photo made me want to watch his entire run. Check out the full story at SRAM and follow Sven on Instagram for more MTB excellence.

Photos by Ashley Gruber

The tour might be over, but as always Strava has a collection of photos from this year’s event, many of which you might have seen and plenty you probably didn’t, so head over to check it out!

Mick from 100 Tacos‘ Eddy Merckx Pista has some lovely beausage. After the seat stay cap cracked, he had it repaired and rather than paint-matching the raw steel, he let it oxidize, giving this bike lots of character. While this isn’t a complete photoset, I think these photos capture this bike wonderfully. Killer ride, Mick!

While I was in Chico, Paul and Travis from Paul Component had a few questions for me about life, liberty and the pursuit of constant stoke. Check out the full interview below!

Man, I wish I could go to this!

“In 1976 Danish Filmmaker Jorgen Leth made the legendary sports and cycling film, A Sunday in Hell, about the Paris Roubaix cycling race. It defined a genre and helped put the Paris-Roubaix on the global sporting map. Watch some of the greatest cyclists ever compete in the most prestigious single-day event in professional bike racing. The golden era of cycling is in full form here. This is definitely the most important documentary ever made on the sport and argulably one of the best sports documentaries ever filmed. Simone Pace and Amedeo of Blonde Redhead have prepared an incredible adapted score that they will perform live accompanied by a string ensemble.

Live score by Amedeo Pace and Simone Pace (Blonde Redhead) with Jeanann Dara and chamber ensemble.”

Pick up tickets at the Bicycle Film Festival!

I love it when framebuilders still find the time to take on challenging rides like the TransAm:

“My interest was piqued when I heard that there was now a race on the TransAm route. I mulled it over for a while, eventually deciding it was the challenge I needed for the year I turned 40. I toured the Western Express version of the route back in 2003 – going back to ride it fast was for some reason appealing! I have a background in endurance mountain bike events, road racing and time trialing, as well as extended touring. So this kind of brings all that together.”

Check out more from Rob, including process to final photos at English Cycles.

Our buddy Tim just opened a new bike shop in Petaluma and Field took a look inside his space:

“Timothy Nicholls opened the roll up doors to his bike repair and sales shop in February 2017, contributing to the interesting new mix of businesses along Petaluma’s Second Street corridor. Cycle Chvrch Cycles has less of the feel of a typical bike shop, and feels more like an artist’s studio. Tim approaches his craft from a design perspective, refurbishing bikes with purposeful detail from carefully reconstructed mechanics to beautiful pinstriping work. He takes massive pride in his finished products and if you buy a bike from him, you can be sure he will be there to provide ongoing maintenance to your two-wheeled friend. Tim refurbishes bikes not just for sale but also donates to local organizations including COTS. You can find him most days from 11-7 in his shop, and also on social media @cyclechvrchcycles. Look for the hand painted signs (painted by Tim) on the nearby corners to show you the way.”

See more at Field!

Inspired by the Hack Bike Derby from the UK, the Käppäpyörät Radalla, is a klunker-only party in the woods of Finland. Filled with chop-shop bikes, various events and all around good times. Check out more photos from this event at the Konga Bicycles Flickr.

“There’s something so special about pushing through a rough patch in a long ride and entering a Zen-like meditative state where you stop thinking about how many miles you have left, who is in front of you or behind you, what stresses you have going on at the office or at home, and just ride your damn bike. You realize what an incredible amount of crap we live with when it all falls away.” – Travis Dubose

Check out more coverage from the Land Run 100 at Salsa and don’t forget to flip through our gallery if you haven’t.

Ride safe, y’all.

If you’ve got a Slim Chance and are looking to give it more of a throwback look and feel, then check out the latest from Fat Chance. These Yo Eddy Road Fork are being made by Chris Igleheart, the man who has arguably been making segmented forks longer than anyone. These forks are available a la cart or with a Slim Chance road frame, in a variety of colors. Head to Fat Chance to see more.

Photo by Jim Merithew

I love seeing non-cycling oriented or specific news sites covering an event like NAHBS. Jim from Outside Magazine has a great gallery up, including a behind the scenes look at me in the thick of documenting balleur bikes! Head on over to Outside to see more!

Even though this bike has been featured on the site before, I wanted to unveil the full monty after it had new wheels at NAHBS. The Team Dream x Stinner is here in Salt Lake City, floating between the Campy and Stinner booth, rolling on new Mavic Open Pro rims. These rims have a new profile, Exalith technology, eyelets and are tubeless compatible. Wheels can make or break a build, in terms of aesthetics, and I really feel like this bike looks complete now. Check it out in person today at NAHBS, and see more photos below.

Words by Morgan Taylor. Photos by Geoff Campbell.

A couple weeks back I shared a set of rider portraits from a trip we took out of Vancouver and across Howe Sound to the Sunshine Coast. It was a simple winter overnighter, mostly on rural roads, with a great group of friends. Geoff and Pat, who are preparing to ride the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route this summer, keep track of their rides at Steel and Rubber with route data, travel stories, and great photos.

Check out a selection of Geoff’s photos below and head to Steel and Rubber for the gallery and story!