The Radavist

Even a dirt devil needs a little asphalt assault… More on this tomorrow!

Mission Workshop hosted Mike Sinyard of Specialized Bicycles in an Ask a Founder event in October. Here’s a 15 minute highlight reel, featuring some of the key moments in the discussion…

October 10th brings about yet another Ask a Founder event at Mission Workshop. This time, it features Mike Sinyard of Specialized Bicycles.

“The Founders Event was created in effort to pull the curtain back and learn more about cycling brands that we respect. We as an industry tend to focus on the stunning finished parts but not as much on the struggle it takes to get there. For the event we simply turn the cameras on, step back and watch the story unfold. We cover the inspiration behind ideas, the projects that never got off the ground and everything in between.

For our fourth installment of this project we present to you the relatively unknown founder of one of the cycling world’s leading innovative forces. Mike Sinyard of Specialized will now take your questions. Join us Saturday October 10th at 7PM PST to watch Mike live on Bikemag.com. Be part of the event by asking Mike a question via Twitter using “#AskSinyard” as the hashtag. Live audience space is limited, if you can make it to Mission Workshop San Francisco, email RSVP@missionworkshop.com for a seat.”

Photos by Chris Riekert

The thing I admire about bicycle painters and designers in general is the ability to look at life’s struggles, or challenges as inspiration. In competition, it’s easy to get lost in the ferocity of rivalry. You can let it psyche you out, or take it as it comes. Here’s a back-story to this frame:

“Whats the point of racing without rivalry? In 2014, Dan Hughes of @sunfloweroutdoorandbikeshop and Yuri Hauswald (@yhauswald) were introduced as the “Mothra and Godzilla of cycling”. This weekend Dan and Yuri are going head-to-head at the Unofficial Gravel World Championship in Nebraska and to commemorate Dan’s winged persona, @swiznooski, dreamed up this metal-flake clad motif. Good Luck to the guys this weekend! And Yuri, you’re going down!”

See more photos of this insane project below…

The gang took to high Sierra in their latest excursion, which coincidentally still had snow at altitude. Snow and rain. Did I mention it’s still cold up in those parts? Day 01 seems like a cake walk compared to what they’ll experience later on in the trip, so head over to Yonder to read all about it, while their bikes are still in one piece…

The juxtaposition of classical music and long travel ripping isn’t common practice in the mountain bike world. Here, SRAM and the Coastal Crew pull it off really, really well.

While the first day of the Sunchuli Pass’ coverage focuses mostly on gear and bikepacking check lists, there are a lot of excellent passages like the following:

“We went to Bolivia because of the mines.

Everywhere else in the world roads go where roads go and trails go where trails go. There is very little confusion about which is which, and it’s clear where one ends and the other begins. Roads are wide, paved or graded, and maintained to some degree. Trails get rad. In Bolivia, because of the mines, the situation is more fluid.

If gold was discovered on the top of Mt Whitney, and California didn’t give a fuck about large scale mining and environmental stewardship because it was the poorest country in South America, somebody with three snow shovels lashed to the front of a minivan would figure out how to build a road to the top. Now imagine thousands of Whitneys, only 40% taller, steeper and more rugged. That’s the Cordillera Apolobamba.

That’s why we went to Bolivia. To ride a network of the world’s most ambitious, ludicrous roads. Roads that defy physics. Roads that weave throughout an ancient and venerable Alpine Wonderland that is currently transitioning into to Tolkien’s Mordor.”

Like this? I do. If you do, you can continue reading more from Yonder Journal’s recent excursion to Bolivia. There’s also a great list of what kind of gear to carry and how in this post. I can’t wait to find out if they finished the damn ride this time. Also, how fuckin’ metal is that poster?!

One of the nicest guys in mountain biking, Matt Hunter takes to Sun Valley’s high elevation singletrack with his buds. Whether you’re into covering a bunch of distance on a huge loop or setting up a base camp and doing day trips, Idaho’s Sawtooth National Forest is a bucket list riding destination.

Yonder Journal’s Dead Reckoning looks to be their biggest clusterfuck to date and I mean that in a good way. Tidal surges, emergency heli lifts, male modeling, it had it all. Do yourself a favor and check out Dead Reckoning Day 05 and Day 06 now at Yonder Journal.

“Inspired by the sport of professional rally car racing, Deux North took a special group of riders to the Rally de Catalunya in Spain for Hunt 5. In Salou, they met one of the world’s best drivers, Kris Meeke, and recorded his story of passion and adventure. Traveling along the route of the World Rally Championship, from Barcelona to Valencia, Deux North ran into some of the most beautiful places on earth as well as some interesting surprises and setbacks. It was Kris’ story that inspired Deux North’s hunters over their four day trip and to this day. This is Hunt 5, as told by World Rally Championship driver, Kris Meeke, and Deux North’s Hunters.”

See more at Deux North.

Once in a while, a company like Specialized makes a truly innovative product, well before anyone else. I was both in awe and extremely jealous when I saw this contraption. Only compatible with the Zertz road bike, the Command Cockpit keeps the data where it needs to be, in your face. Smoother is faster, remember? But weight is most important. Specialized has won the “gram game” with this ultralight component.

Check out more below.

The latest from Yonder Journal is quite possibly (actually, it just is) the largest project the team has ever undertaken. Here’s the synopsis:

“In 2015, Yonder Journal will investigate, ascertain, and document the peripheries and possibilities of exploration by bicycle. We call this project Dead Reckoning*. At it’s core we will apply the technologies and methodologies of adventure biking, bike-packing, and ultra-lightweight touring, to multi-day expeditions with a focus on going Over Mountain, the concept of Over Mountain being the the most essential and transformative form of human exploration.

The first of our Dead Reckoning expeditions took us to New Zealand’s South Island where we would attempt to cross the island from east to west, traveling across roads, trails, and unmarked land that has seldom if ever seen bike traffic. The crux of our route would be a Broderick Pass, a seldom traveled route hidden deep in the Southern Alps. It was quite an adventure.”

Check out some samples below and the full, massive photo story at Yonder Journal.

While audax events may be incredibly challenging, the beauty is their non-competitive nature. Riders simply must complete the set distance within the time limit. This endurance sport has grown from its roots in the 19th century to still being popular today, with many major cities having their own randonneur club.

Specialized has been expanding their product line to move away from the “all pro all the time” look and shifting its sights onto fundurance and expedition style riding. The Audax is one of those shifts: a shoe meant for long distance rides. With, what feels to be a wider footbed, comfy fit, reflective hits and easy on-easy off Boa lash, the Audax has some great details.

Since I’ve only put a few rides in while wearing these shoes, I won’t give them a full review, but a detail photo and a short write-up should suffice for now. Now, why does a shoe named after audax riding have a road cleat and not an SPD cleat? I have no idea. Still, they do look a lot less race-oriented than other shoes in their product line. Available soon in a variety of colors from Specialized.

Winter in coastal BC looks incredible. Curtis Robinson hits warp speed with arguably the best soundtrack to any ride: tires on dirt.