The Radavist

It was brought to my attention almost two years ago that my framing of Ariel’s encounter in our TEMBR reportage as a cultural exchange glossed over the history of systemic restriction of women’s access to reproductive health in Ecuador and Central/Southern American countries.  This  framing allowed the possibility for it to be construed that the family is responsible for their ignorance (cultural), rather than being victims of a cruel system meant to strip them of their rights (systemic).  Glossing over these conditions only perpetuates the erasure of the experiences of women, especially indigenous, in Ecuador.

Kittie Knox might not be a name you’re familiar with and that’s ok! Let’s learn about her today. She was a bike racer at the end of the 19th century, the first black person to be inducted into the League of American Wheelman, and pushed the paradigm at the time by wearing clothing only associated with males, like pants! Kittie fought for the rights of black Americans as cyclists, pushing for the ability for more to be allowed into the League of American Wheelman.

Head to Medium to read this great story.

When you’re done there, head to Bicycling.com for more stories by and about black cyclists.

The online petition and public concern has prompted Yeti to listen, think, and most importantly act. Cycling brands, please use this as an example for how you can make cycling more inclusive! Read the full announcement below.

Since our Summer Drop last week, we’ve been busy getting your order out to you. It’s been overwhelming in a good way! There are a few notes to make while we continue to pack and ship your orders. First, we’re not Amazon. We’re trying to offer the best shipping prices – direct from USPS – at no upcharge. We cover the shipping cost, materials and that’s it. There are also just two of us working to fulfill the orders, which includes maintaining the site every day. So if it takes us a few days to respond to your order emails, that’s why. Thanks for being patient. Read on below for a few notes…

I think we can all say that we might as well cancel all bike racing in 2020. People need to STAY HOME, wear masks when they leave their house, and ride in small groups until this pandemic subsides. Remember, bike racing during a pandemic is not socially conscious. Check out the press-release on why Grinduro California is postponed until September 18, 2021. Bike racing can wait…

Our friends at Crust Bikes, Rons Bikes, and Ultradynamico have officially sponsored Leo Rodgers to their Factory PRO Recreation TEAM for 2021. Check out the full press-release below!

The current administration has no regard for sacred lands, indigenous peoples, or public lands. After reducing Bears Ears, Grand Staircase Escalante, and other national treasures, the construction of the border wall has threatened the Arizona Trail:

“Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced their plans today to construct two miles of border barriers through the Huachuca Mountains within Coronado National Memorial and across the Arizona National Scenic Trail. Beginning Monday, July 13 the southernmost two miles of the Trail will be closed in the interest of public safety during construction activities.

This project will significantly impact the southern terminus of the Arizona National Scenic Trail, transform the landscape, and forever alter the Arizona Trail experience. The border barrier project includes 30-foot-tall steel barriers filled with concrete, the installation of a linear ground detection system, and the installation of lighting, which will be supported by grid power and embedded cameras. In addition to a 100-foot-wide road along the border wall which will be frequently driven by Border Patrol agents, CBP will also build an access road down Yaqui Ridge. This new road will be within 50 feet of the Arizona Trail.”

Read more about this travesty at AZtrail.org and remember to VOTE!

We should all take the time to read this article by Ayesha McGowan on Outside Online if you haven’t…

“It’s been just over a month since George Floyd was murdered in the street by the police. After eight days of marches and protests all over the world, the four officers involved in Floyd’s death were arrested and charged. That glimmer of hope for justice is too little, too late. The Black community has endured centuries of witnessing Black death at the hands of the law enforcement officials who are supposed to protect us.”

The latest story from Salsa is not to be missed:

“For years now, I have had an idea percolating in the deep recesses of my adventure mind. Living in the picturesque mountain town of Durango, Colorado, I am lucky to have access to one of the world’s most stunning mountain ranges, the San Juans. Encompassing more than 17,000 square miles, the range is a playground for all mountain enthusiasts. I have hiked, climbed, skied, kayaked, and biked much of the range. For most, an exploration of the range begins in the towns of Durango, Pagosa Springs, Telluride, Ouray, or Silverton. The scenic byways of 550 and 160 provide quick and easy access to high alpine lakes, trout streams, rocky summits, and deep gorges. Additionally, because of the bisection of the range from the Durango-Silverton railway and the presence of the famed Colorado Trail, a north-to-south (or vice versa) traverse of the area is common. Few ever think of crossing the range from the other cardinal points of east and west.”

Check out the full story at Salsa!

Bikes or Death, the podcast about, you guessed it, bikes has interviewed our pal Bailey Newbrey, the owner of Sincere Cycles and the 2018 second-place finisher of the Tour Divide. Bailey talks about riding singlespeed and the TDR, so give it a listen at Bikes or Death.

This is an exciting announcement from our friends at Blackburn and Bikepacking Roots!

“The National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA), Blackburn Designs, and Bikepacking Roots are excited to announce a new partnership that establishes a bikepacking curriculum and traveling gear library for NICA student-athletes and coaches. Bikepacking Roots is providing the on-trail expertise and Blackburn is providing the funding and bikepacking kit for 20 riders as part of their Bronze Level sponsorship with NICA for 2020.”

Keep an eye here on the site for more coverage from this exciting announcement!

Some of our friends are petitioning Lifetime Sports to change the name of Dirty Kanza. This comes after DK founder Jim Cummins was let go from the race organization for making racist claims in support of the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks by police. The petition is as follows:

“#NameTheChange is a campaign to end the use of the slur “dirty Kanza” as the event name of DIRTY KANZA (DK) in Emporia, KS.

We, a united collective of Indigenous advocates, cyclists, people of Faith, educators, Elders, youth, local Kansas residents and builders of a Just world, ask that the name of the gravel event be changed to honor the dignity of the land and Indigenous people. The campaign calls upon the owners of the “DK”, organizers, and sponsors to do the right thing and bring an end to the use of the racial epithet.”

Read the full demands and sign the petition at Change.org.

We have a piece on the site this week that will dive deeper into this controversial subject, so stay tuned.

WTF Bikexplorers launched the 2020 SJ Brooks Scholarship Fundraiser  today. As part of their Black Lives Matter accountability actions, the WTF Bikexplorers 2020 scholarship seeks to expand funding to increase cycling opportunities specifically for BIPOC folks who identify as femme, trans, non-binary, and women.

“We recognize that the outside is not free. The freedom and access that many cyclists enjoy are not an experience equally shared by BIPOC, queer, and trans riders. This rings true, now just as ever with social inequality and systemic racism persisting against the backdrop of a pandemic. These injustices and inequalities have persisted so much longer than this current moment and we recognize that there is much work that can be done on our part to create more safe, accessible, and inclusive spaces and opportunities for these communities. The 2020 WTF Bikexplorers SJ Brooks Scholarship seeks to increase access to cycling opportunities specifically within Black, Indigenous, people of color, queer and transgender communities by reducing some of the financial and material barriers that are required to pursue a spirited bicycle endeavor. Spirited bicycle endeavors may include overnight or multi-day bike trips, community organizing, or attending a cycling event.

We need the cycling community’s help to make this happen. If you support our mission, please help us grow and support our community through this scholarship fundraiser. Your donation will go directly toward financial stipends for the scholarship recipients to use to help pursue a spirited bicycle endeavor on their terms.”

Please, if you can, donate to this fund to increase the diversity of cycling!

“The Great American Outdoors Act is a broadly bipartisan bill that strategically invests in our shared lands and waters and in equal-opportunity access to places where we can recreate, recharge and rejuvenate. The bill would ensure full, dedicated funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), permanently securing the financial integrity of one of our most important conservation and access programs. (Since its establishment in 1964, LWCF has funded everything from municipal ballparks to river access sites.) The bill also would address long overdue maintenance backlogs on public lands and waters, dedicating unobligated energy revenues over a five-year period to lands managed by the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Education. This is also a responsible bill that uses existing funding instead of taxpayer money.”

Read more about this groundbreaking bill at the Hill.

Photo by Stephanie Keith / Getty

I’m sure you’re on the edge of reading-fatigue as the world’s largest civil rights protest has engulfed all aspects of your life. It is important, however, to note that these two-wheeled mechanisms we ride are inherently political. The New Yorker has a great piece on how this politicized form of transportation has played a crucial role in the current protests:

“A week ago, on Wednesday night, the third night of a citywide curfew in New York, police officers were seen confiscating bicycles. Posts on social media described N.Y.P.D. officers violently seizing bikes from peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstrators, who were continuing to march in defiance of the 8 p.m.. lockdown. In one widely shared video clip, a jittery camera captured a cop wheeling an apparently commandeered bike; a woman can be heard screaming at police, asking why bikes are being taken, and how protesters are supposed to travel home. Another piece of viral footage, retweeted by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, among others, shows three policemen clubbing a cyclist with batons on a Manhattan street. It’s unclear whether the man was arrested, or what became of his bicycle.”

If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it. Head on over to the New Yorker.

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.

Trailer Embed Code

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.