The Radavist

When I travel, I always have a camera on me and lately, it’s been a toss up between the Mamiya and the Leica. The only time I really carry my digital camera with me is if I am going to shoot a bike, or a shop, but in general, all my travel photos have been film. Which creates an overflow of randomness from each city I visit. Most of which don’t merit a post just by themselves. See some narrated photos of faces and places in the Gallery! Hey, if I don’t post them, they’ll sit on my hoard drive…

If you enjoy riding up and down ranges in the ‘wood, or tearing down fire roads, then Santa Cruz is heaven. There’s even great road riding but this trip, we stuck to the trails. USCSC has a ton of trails on its campus, all of which cross, zig zag, ascend and descend around neighboring systems. When I initially headed down from SF with Brian Vernor, my cross bike was in the car, which would have been a fine vehicle for the day but I made a few phone calls and ended up demo’ing an Ibis Ripley instead. Let’s just say the day was probably a lot more enjoyable (hopefully I’ll be able to review that bike extensively in the future).

Garrett from Strawfoot, Vernor and I did a series of loops, ranging from relatively technical, loose and sandy descents to wide-open, no fucks given blast-fests down through Wilder. None of us had a Garmin on our bikes, so I have no idea how long we were out there, or how far we traveled, but my legs told me around 30 ish miles and in trails, that’s a long afternoon, especially when Santa Cruz was spiking into the 90’s and no, that’s not a reference to the vernacular style of the town.

Santa Cruz was heaven for those few hours and people often ask why I don’t shoot photos of the more technical, beautiful singletrack when I ride MTB. It’s because we’re going too fast and no one wants to stop! Except when someone wrecks…

My extended family grows every time I visit San Francisco. They’re always there to party, ride and pause for photos (usually I actually have to chase them for photos). The day I got into SF during my last stay, I met up with a group of fit fellas for a little road and a lotta dirt, right over the Golden Gate Bridge. Hawk Hill is the staple ride for many cyclists in SF. There are trails, singletrack and roads literally snaking all the way up to the top. Most of us were on cross bikes and a few were on road bikes. We all had fun, regardless! Check out more photos in the Gallery.

Tools of the trade:
Yashica T4
Fuji Pro400h

I’ve come to really love this climb. It’s short, sweet and pending traffic, isn’t that far from San Francisco. Mt. Diablo can be heaven or hell, depending on the weather. Get on it early enough, as the sun is rising and you’ll be descending just in time for the heat to set in. Get on it later than ten or eleven in the morning and you’re in for a scorcher. After climbing up to the KOM during the ATOC this year (that story is still coming), I told myself I’d make it up every time I visit SF.

The Monday after The Ends photo show, I rallied Lyle and Evan from Mission Workshop and Marc Marino to hit the climb early. It was the first time I had taken the North Gate road and I think we saw three cars total that day, along with only a handful of riders. At the top, “the Devil’s elbow” awaits, a steep ramp up to the ranger station. Once there, we had a Coke, a chat and talked about how we’d head back down. After a roundabout way back to our vehicles, we had totalled around 37 miles and 3,900′ of climbing. Next time I’m taking the trails down!

I have to say, this part of California is very photogenic and these photos came out great. See for yourself in the Gallery.

Tools of the trade:
Yashica T4 / Neopan 400

At a glance, Los Angeles might not feel very bike-friendly, but scratch the surface like a lottery ticket to find an intertwined network of very open, majestic roads, many within the city itself. If you don’t have time for Dirt Mulholland, or the Angeles National Forest, Griffith Park and the famous Observatory will do just fine, especially if you start your ride out at the Trails for a coffee and pastry.

This particular morning, a solid group of people gathered to ride with LA-based artist and creator of the fabled Mudfoot racing team, Geoff McFetridge. No one was half-wheeling, no personal records were set, we all just chatted as we climbed Griffith Park and took a quick loop through “La La Land”. The ride ended at Geoff’s studio where we were given insight into his daily operations…

See more in the Gallery but first…

During the Tour of California, Rapha North America and PiNP got together once again for a series of stories from the road. Under the guise Cali is Not California™, I took photos and Jeremy Dunn of Rapha North America told the tales, all relating to the thing we love: riding bikes with friends.

See more on this afternoon at Rapha’s blog, including Geoff’s illustration for the La Centieme Poster Collection at the Cycle Club SF.

Tools of the trade:
Yashica T4
Fuji Pro400H

Previously:
Recent Roll: Cali is Not California™

While I was in California last month, I worked on a few pieces for the Rapha blog, loosely-related to the Amgen Tour of California, with emphasis on loosely. You’re not going to see any pain face pros, just Regular Riders who we met along our trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco. There’s more on the way, but here’s the first edition of Cali is Not California™!

I’m not the best raconteur but Jeremy Dunn is and he did an exceptional job at profiling some of the people we surveyed, so do yourself a favor and check it out at the Rapha Blog!

Tools of the trade:
Mamiya 7ii / 80mm
Kodak Portra 400

A few weeks ago, on June 2nd, the Austin cycling community came together to help out a local racer and bike messenger named Luke, who had broken his wrist in a crash while racing. Beat the Clock Cycling Club threw one of the biggest alleycats I’ve been to here in Texas to raise money to cover his medical bills (yay America!). Local businesses like Flat Track Coffee, The Liberty and Cycleast showed their support and people from all over Texas showed up on a sunny Sunday afternoon to RACE…

Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery!

Tools of the trade:
Mamiya 7ii / 80mm
Kodak Portra 400

Austin, Texas is a superb place to live in the summer months. If you can stand the heat, which many can not. Let me tell you, no matter how hot it is where you live, it’s hotter in Texas, because, well, everything is bigger in Texas. Part of living here is having access to swimming holes and this place in particular has been on my list for some time. It’s close enough to our house and seemed like a perfect day trip for Lauren to take on.

As with anything new and unfamiliar, bicycle camping, touring and even day trips can be a daunting task for people. Lauren’s never really done anything like a bicycle camping trip, so we took it one step at a time. The right mix of mileage, hills and hauling had to come into play.

We left before it was too hot and were home before it was hotter. We made a picnic, got sunburnt and swam. She got to officially christen her Icarus and I got some great photos of it all. Anyone with a spouse or a partner who rides knows the feeling of seeing them happy on a bicycle…

Tools of the trade:
Mamiya 7ii / 80mm
Kodak Portra 400

“Local access only” is not to be confused with “locals only”. If there’s one thing to be said about Australians its that they love to show visitors how great their land is. Land is something that’s very ethereal these days. Tourism changes the way one interacts or engages with a place. For example, a surfer would have a very similar experience as a cyclist in Australia but a businessman or businesswoman might have a different perspective altogether.

As cyclists, we look for the most anti-social areas to socialize. No one wants to chat on a busy street. #NotBeachRd. We look at cities differently and while many people prefer the beaten path, some head out down roads with no KOM, no segments and no social scene. I’ve been very blessed to be given such a unique view of Victoria and over the years have met some great guides.

This roll of film was lost. Ok, not lost, just in the bottom of my film container in the fridge. It contains some moments from rides, a Black Breath show in Melbourne and some other randomness. Check out the narrated photos for the full story.

Tools of the trade:
Yashica T4
Fuji Pro400h