The Radavist

GSC’s first Sunday Social Event: Saddle Workshop for Women
Words by Jen Abercrombie and photos by Crystal Haggard

I was having a cup of coffee with Kyle Kelley when he suggested I host a series of women’s events at Golden Saddle Cyclery. He wanted women to take over the shop for a night, no men allowed. I could do whatever I wanted, but it should be as much of a party as it was about products. With that in mind, I christened it “Sunday Social”, to be held on Sunday nights after the shop is closed. GSC is more than just my local bike shop. It feels like a clubhouse for me. Since it first opened I’ve spent a lot of hours there tipping back beers, talking bikes, and dishing dirt. I wanted other women to feel as welcome there as I did.

Ten years, ten hills, ten attempts at proving yourself to your peers that you’re a fast mofo. Or just an excuse to wake up at 6:30am on a Sunday to ride bikes up the steepest hills in Los Angeles with a bunch of like-minded individuals. I’ve heard of this event before. Year after year, it’s organized by Matt Ruscigno, an ex-BMXr from the NorthEast, which is where the S&M bikes reference comes from: “Feel My Legs I’m a Racer…”

The human condition of putting oneself through excruciating pain for personal betterment is something that Matt taps into with Feel My Legs. You don’t have to win the day’s ten climbs to feel a sense of accomplishment. In fact, for many of the racers, just making it up Fargo Street (the steepest residential street in California) was enough.

My morning began with coffee and a scone. Ok, two scones. Then I hopped on my touring bike, loaded up my camera equipment and went to the start of the event. I could only tag along for the first five climbs but I pretty good grasp on the event…

Wolfpack Hustle: Austin Finale Crit
Words and photos by Chris Lee

A group of 30 or so men straddled their bikes as they looked around for their teammates in coordinating outfits. All of the sudden a voice rang out over the large amplifiers near the opening of the smoothly paved racing track.

“Men’s track please come to the staging area!”

This was the beginning of the last race that would close out the Unified Title Series, hosted by Wolfpack Hustle, and the season for fixed gear criterium racing around the world.

Austin, Texas hosted the finale race at The Driveway, a paved race track normally used for cars and kart racing, this past weekend. While it’s usually used for motor sports, The Driveway does see it’s fair share of bicycles as Holland Racing, an Austin based business that organizes and facilitates bicycle races, hosts a weekly crit series every Thursday during road season. So with the Unified Title prize on the line, this crit drew racers from all over the US and it’s territories, from New York and California to Puerto Rico.

Last weekend, I made the short flight up to Portland, Oregon to attend the Bike and Beer festival at HopWorks Urban Brewery. While there, I was greeted with that I found to be a really pleasant and easy to digest show. There was just about anything a bike nerd could hope for: around 20-30 vendors, food, cheap beer, entertainment and lovely weather. Part of the draw for me to attend this show was to see builders who might not go to NAHBS and might not be right inside the Portland Metro area. We’ve already seen many of the bikes on display, so lets check out the show itself in a quick gallery…

Don’t worry, there’s more to come!

Coming Together at the Trans Cascadia
Photos by Dylan VanWeelden, words by Kyle Von Hoetzendorff

“I love it when a plan comes together.” – Hannibal – Every single episode of the A-Team.

Picture this, you arrive at a parking lot just off the main road of very small town that is set alongside a river amidst vast stretches of timber covered mountains. Waiting for you is a series of off road ready shuttle vans. You load in your bike and gear then you’re whisked away to a remote, wifi-less, electronic less, civilization-less beautiful mountain lake. This is your idyllic base camp, and during the day you will be racing blind on little known trails where deep loam sits just ready for the shredding. Over four days and 21 stages you will gradually race your way back towards the better known trails of Oakridge, Oregon.

Building Culture at the Vancouver Frame Builders Show

Words by Mathew Braun
Photos by Stefan Feldmann

Vancouver has a significant place within the world of North American hand built bicycles. There is much debate surrounding the origins of the mountain bike, but few will argue that the frames built in Vancouver during the late ’80s and early ’90s didn’t direct the state of downhill mountain biking significantly.

Once again the city’s frame builders are demonstrating their ability to craft intentional and beautiful bicycles. My desire to organize this show was in part driven by curiosity: I wanted to know who else was building frames in the area. I firmly believe that the growth of culture starts with a strong community, and for that community to take root you gotta make shit happen.

On Thursday, September 10th, a group of nine frame builders local to the Vancouver area gathered at Musette Caffé for the first annual Vancouver Frame Builders Show. A collection of lugged, fillet brazed, and tig welded frames donned the floor as master, young, and new builders demonstrated their craft.

The second day is usually the busiest at Interbike. After walking the aisles endlessly the previous day, I felt like everything of interest had been seen but alas, there were many more gems to be found. Some of which included:

Industy Nine‘s Match Stick Thru-Axles
Sparse and Bicycle Crumbs lights
Bruce Gordon‘s “All-Road” disc bike
Silca‘s mini pump and saddle bag by Yanco.
Paul Component Engineering‘s new MTB stems