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Local Access Only in Melbourne

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Local Access Only in Melbourne

“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

May Your Weekend Be Rad

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May Your Weekend Be Rad

This isn’t cycling related at all but last month, a bunch of close friends of ours here in Austin had a rad weekend at a getaway “cabin” called the Plant at Kyle. A year ago, Lauren won a free weekend there in a raffle, so we saved the coupon until a prime springtime date. This Lake/Flato-designed facility housed 10 of us while we soaked in the sun and kicked back. It was the perfect ratio of nothing to something.

I haven’t said this in a long time, but see the rest of the photos I shot at my Flickr!

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

Leica M7
Zeiss 28mm f2.8 T*
Kodak Portra 400

I Will Ride to Cure Diabetes But I Need Your Help

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I Will Ride to Cure Diabetes But I Need Your Help


Mom on a recent ride, left. Brother Michael in dorkmode on the right.

When I was 18, my middle brother Michael was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. It wasn’t because of his diet, or his lifestyle, it was a genetic occurrence that was completely out of his hands. Since then, he’s found a way to compete in college lacrosse, graduate with honors and get married. Oh and he’s a tri-dork. Don’t hate him for that though.

Michael’s T1D limits his lifestyle, even though he did nothing wrong, well besides ride triathlons (ok, ok, I’m done). Every year, since Mike was diagnosed, my mom has donated her time and money to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and this year, I plan to help out as well.

About two years ago, I bought my mom a Surly Crosscheck. She wanted to start riding when she saw how much cycling had improved my health and like a good son, I helped out any way I could. The same goes for my brother. I bought him a Bridgestone RB-1 when he expressed an interest in cycling. He rode it every chance he got and ended up selling it to buy a new bike.

Now myself, along with two of the most important people in my life have made a pledge to raise $2,000 for the 100 mile JDRF ride in Burlington, Vermont in July. I’m sure it’ll be easy enough for my brother and I, but it’s a benchmark for my mom, who’s been training for months. I haven’t ridden in Burlington since highschool and I can’t wait to explore the cycling culture there during the trip.

Originally, I had the amount promised to me by an unnamed company but that has fallen through. So here I am, asking you for help. It doesn’t have to be much, but if you or your company or whoever is willing to donate to JDRF, please do so at the link below.

Donate to John Watson here (where it says Donate to John) and I can’t thank you enough for all your support. I’ll be making a hefty donation as well, later on this month. Seriously, I don’t like asking anything from the readers of this site, but I would appreciate any support!

Firefly and New Balance

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Firefly and New Balance

It’s great to see two Boston brands representing American production and fabrication: New Balance and Firefly Bicycles. Although, it’s a little weird to go through that whole speech and end with “1 out of every 4 pairs of shoes we sell in the USA is made or assembled here”.

I Know I Know

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I Know I Know

It’s been a long couple of days on the road for the ATOC this year. Mostly filled with the riding to blogging ratio tipped towards saddle time. The trip has been very productive, while veering a little to the left of the norm. I didn’t find myself in a neutral support car, or scouring the crowds at the start of the race. Instead, we soaked up the riding that the various host cities had to offer.

Tomorrow morning (read: in 7 hours), I’ll be at the start of the 2013 ATOC in SF and then at the Rapha Cycle Club for my photo show all day. Swing by both to catch up!

Austin Randomness

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Austin Randomness

As I travel more each month, the time I spend at home in Austin is really precious. I’ve been really enjoying the Mamiya, shooting portraits and some of the randomness that I come across. I was going to find some more meaningful way to display these photos, with some theme of “weekends” but I’m too tired from this weekend’s activities…

I hope your weekend was rad and I hope you enjoy!

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

SxSW the Lost Roll

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SxSW the Lost Roll

I’m even surprised I had the time to walk around SxSW for an afternoon but I did anyway. Something about the shitshow that descends upon this sleepy little town is very alluring for a person who likes shooting photos. The freaks mix in with the locals and the homeless cope with it the best way they know how. I lost one roll of exposed film somehow, so you’ll have to make due with these…

Tools of the trade:
Mamiya 7ii / f4 80mm
Kodak Portra 400

Share the Road!

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Share the Road!

Ouch. No sympathy for the rookie move on the moto’s behalf. I just hope the cyclists are ok. Does anyone have a link to what happened and why video was being shot in the first place? It took place on Mulholland Highway in Malibu.

Mission Workshop _ PiNP Bike Tour: Day 04

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Mission Workshop _ PiNP Bike Tour: Day 04

Late last night, James Adamson, the videographer on the trip realized that he needed a solid day of shooting for Mission Workshop. So rather than wake up early and dashing to the next city, we revisited an area we came across yesterday for a video and photo session. Shooting video in China is a lot easier than you’d expect, except when you run into local politics. James really wanted to shoot up on the hill range that we rode late yesterday afternoon, but they never allowed bikes up before. We just so happened to miss the security guards yesterday. Today, not so much.

Security, the park officials, the local police and town official weren’t having it. After some bribing and a few phone calls, we made it into the park, bikes and all. But not before shooting some around town. When we finally finished up, it was time to head to Jiaxing, a Tier 3 city in China. Instead of 200+ riders, we were greeted with about 10 and to be honest, that was about all we could manage tonight, for it’s been a long trip thus far…

Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery and keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop), Factory 5 (@Factory5) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day for updates.

Mission Workshop _ PiNP Bike Tour: Day 02

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Mission Workshop _ PiNP Bike Tour: Day 02

Suzhou is a gorgeous city, once you look past the air quality. Today we woke up to a “sunny” sky and an AQI of only around 250. Riding around really takes it out of you, but a quick trip to the old town made us forget about our lungs. The architecture and infrastructure is very old. Many of the buildings have been here since the town’s founding, almost 2000 years ago. It’s like the Venice of China with canals snaking their way past temples.

Once we finished walking around the old town, we came back to the hotel to prepare for the group ride. About 200 kids showed up and we took a hot lap around the city. That’s when I began to feel like I huffed the exhaust from a school bus. Tired, coughing and with red eyes, we all returned to pack our bags and get ready for our ride tomorrow morning.

Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery and keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop), Factory 5 (@Factory5) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day for updates.

Mission Workshop _ PiNP Shanghai: Day 03

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Mission Workshop _ PiNP Shanghai: Day 03

There’s nothing like a recovery day. Not physically, but mentally. We have all been running at 100% since arriving in Shanghai and the guys from Factory 5 needed to catch up on things around the office. While they worked, I headed out around town with Lyle and James from Mission Workshop and took some photos with the Mamiya. When we got back, it was time to rock and roll.

Tuesday nights are the weekly group rides in Shanghai. They meet up at Factory 5 and roll through town at a moderate pace. Once the group leaves the center city, out towards the more industrial areas, the ride turns into a sprint as everyone puts out 100% for a few miles. It was a lot of fun chasing people down and shooting photos. Even in the complete darkness, I managed to get some rad shots! It was a great way to spend the last night before we leave for our 7 day tour around Shanghai…

Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery and keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day for updates.

Mission Workshop _ PiNP Shanghai: Day 02

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Mission Workshop _ PiNP Shanghai: Day 02

This morning, after a night of coughing up pollution and desperately trying to catch up on sleep, I took to the streets of Shanghai on my bike. Seeing the city by foot yesterday was a completely different experience when compared to riding through the congested streets. Tyler and Drew from Factory 5 were Lyle from Mission Workshop and my guides for the day. We had an early morning agenda and since the sun was out, we were surely in for a warm ride. Shanghai is a beast that is best slain by two circles, two triangles and instincts…

Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery and keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day for updates.

Mission Workshop _ PiNP Shanghai: Day 01

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Mission Workshop _ PiNP Shanghai: Day 01

Today began our insane trip to Shanghai. To be honest, I had no idea what to expect. Even after arriving Saturday night, we were all a little unsure of what awaited us in the morning. After woking up bright and early, we all met up with Tyler from Factory 5, who had the day all planned out. The Mission Workshop Shanghai trip had begun…

Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery and keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day for updates.

A Day in 20 Photos: 03.19.2013

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A Day in 20 Photos: 03.19.2013

Ok, I know I’m going against the category of A Day in 10 Photos but I couldn’t narrow it down to less than 20. Plus, the galleries look nice with two rows of photos.

Today was awesome. All we had on our agenda was to visit a camera store to pick up some batteries and storage cards. For a majority of the day, we ended up walking around the various discricts in town, stopping when something caught our eye and dipping into some of the insane storefronts that line the streets of Taipei. Immediately, I was drawn to the camera stores, where I attempted to haggle an owner out of a lens until I began to asses the financial implications of said purchase. Maybe another day.

While a majority of the stores are filled with useless garbage, there’s a nice collage-like effect they have on the city. Flashing lights, bootleg merchandise, food carts, people in shopping frenzies and crowded sidewalks are just some of the sights you’ll see on foot in Taipei.

Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery and keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day for updates.

A Day in 10 Photos: 03.18.2013

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A Day in 10 Photos: 03.18.2013

Since the primary goal for me on this trip is to pull together some photos from my film cameras, I dumbed down my 5D setup with ease in mind. The day before I left, I picked up the Canon f2.8 40mm pancake lens and took off the battery grip. It’s amazing how much of a difference in bulkiness and weight it makes. I’m more likely to stuff it into a musette or a bag and focus on the film shots.

For the past 24 hours, I’ve been in airplanes and airports, making my way to Taiwan. The guys from Mission Workshop arrived tonight and we took a stroll around our neighborhood in search of a bite to eat. After a day of traveling, the last thing I feel like doing is narrating any kind of story, so enjoy nine more photos in the gallery. Don’t worry, there’s more to come from Taipei this week!

Denver Randomness

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Denver Randomness

Every time I travel, I always end up with scrap photos. Maybe they fit into an article, maybe they don’t. Usually they’re airport shots, which I like because it shows the weather of the departing and arrival city, or maybe they’re random portraits. Just hanging around a shop for a week often brings about unique moments. This batch from NAHBS is a little bit of all that.

I’ll narrate these as well, because the people in Denver are RAD!

Mamiya 7ii
80mm
Portra 400 / Velvia 100