The Radavist

Head over to Bike Jerks for the full scoop!

July 11th brings the Red Hook Crit to the streets of London. This one’s gonna be good! To make sure you’re on top of all the happenings, head over to the RHC London website and follow them on Facebook.

Don’t have any 4th plans, but would like to avoid drunken crowds of people searching for fireworks? Maybe you’d prefer to be on a bike ride instead? Live in Portland? Well, if you haven’t heard of the PDX Invitational, this one’s for you.

Read on below for event information..

This Thursday, Cadence’s shop is having an open house to launch their new Keta kits. They’ll also have select works from Dustin Klein on display as well as a For the Love of Mud screening. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, make sure you swing by!

For over 15 years the Bicycle Film Festival has brought together cyclists and videographers to share unique stories that span the globe. This weekend, the BFF returns to NYC with promises of fun times, parties and great features. Don’t miss the Blackburn Comes with Baggage Premiere!

Tickets are available at the BFF Event Brite page and see the full schedule at the Bicycle Film Festival!

Last week, Mellow Johnny’s had the great pleasure of hosting a frame builder’s happy hour that showcased the work of five local bicycle artisans. With so many talented frame builders in the immediate Austin area, it only makes sense to get them out of their work sheds and together for a party. Icarus, Chumba, Kirklee, Paramour, and Saila all descended upon the shop for a night where they could showcase their work and talk to established fans as well as potential clients.

The energy was rambunctious. Halfway through the night, I found myself surrounded by over 100 people who were enjoying beer, friends, and the company of some beautiful bicycles. The amount of “oh’s” and “ah’s” were uncountable. From someone marveling over the beautiful weld work of Lauren from Saila to an in-depth conversation about carbon frame repair with KirkLee, there was something for all tastes. The amount of support and admiration that was had for these humble local builders was a testament to the tight-knit and passionate community that is evident in Austin’s cycling community.

For myself, the highlight of the night was hanging out with the fellas of Chumba Cycles. After talking with them about their home base right down the road from Pace Bend State Park and witnessing their love of beer, it was clear these guys loved to shred and loved to have a good time. The coolest bike they brought was a fully loaded 29+ rig called the Ursa 29+. Able to fit a 3.0 inch tire, the Ursa is clearly a bike that has the potential to handle just about any terrain you could throw at it. Three bottle cages and the ability to run a Singlespeed, 1x, or 2x set up leads to extreme versatility and the option for fully loaded camping or an afternoon shred session at your favorite local trails. The Ursa they brought was outfitted with their Zulu series bags for handlebar, stem, seat, and frame. Vince from Chumba shared with me his story about taking the bike to Ecuador for a 7-day bikepacking trip from Cotapaxi to Chimborazo and all I could think about for the rest of the night was the plan for my next bikepacking trip!

All in all, the event was a huge success. Good times were had, there was much “nerding out” on bikes, and many Topo Chicos and beers were consumed. If you have a local frame builder in your town and you’re looking for your next bike, it’s so important to see what they have to offer. Check out a few more photos below and see the full gallery at Mellow Johnny’s.

… guys, I’m not feeling so hot. I think I might need a day to rest. What ever will I do?

Cough, nice flier, cough.

Austin, TX
Thursday, June 25th
10am rollout from Mellow Johnny’s
Roadie or Dirty ride options.

Hey Austin! We know the weather has been a bummer as of late and that means the trails have been unofficially off-limits. Well, it looks like this week will be a bit drier and hopefully Thursday we’ll have somewhat sunny skies.

The Radavist and Mellow Johnny’s have your #GetSickDay plans covered with two ride options: a Mellow’s roadie ride or the Radavist’s dirty ride.

The dirty will be arguably more, uh, interesting as we take you on a cutty, go nutty trail ride to some interesting, off-the-beaten-path routes. Expect lots of potential hiking, swimming, boozin’ and yes, shredding.

Cyclocross or mountain bikes are a necessity here.

Due to the nature of the trails, we’ll be navigating a lot of overgrown territory, so I’d err on the side of shorts and a t-shirt, rather than your favorite new kit. Unless you feel like ripping through lycra on a tree branch. It’ll be a chill pace, but we’ll be packing in some miles (around 50), so plan and dress accordingly. The bigger tire you can fit into your cross bike the better. Mountain bikes will be a bit overkill on this ride.

Bring two inner tubes, a pump and any tools you’d need. We ain’t fixing your flats for ya!

This looks like it’s going to be wild! Red Bull built a figure eight mini drome to hold a night of racing on in NYC. Two racers will battle head to head on a course unlike anything the mini drome events have seen before. You can see a timelapse of the assembly at the Red Bull Instagram and see more details or RSVP at the event page.

I know a lot of you live in LA but have you camped up on Mt Lowe? Now’s your chance…

“On June 20th Golden Saddle Cyclery and Errin from Frontage Roads will be hosting a Swift Campout!!!

The ride to historic Mt Lowe is no cakewalk(About 5,000 feet elevation gain), there will be two routes(one paved/one dirty) heading up to camp. This is BYOEverything!!! Pack food and water for the ride and night! It’s going to be a scorcher!!!

If you have any questions about this Saturday please call the shop and ask for David or Kyle.”

You should definitely do this!

Quick question… Who deserves a day off work (for riding bikes)?

Answer- We All Do!

Thursday June 25th will be the first ever #GETSICKDAY where we are inviting everyone to call off work, shut down your computers and head out to ride bikes. If you don’t think your Boss is going to understand the need to dip out of the real world and into GNARnia for a little riding, well, we are taking a page out of Ferris Beuller Day Off with this one. Just call it in, because, we’re going to be out “getting sick” after all. He doesn’t have to know that it’s sick skids or sick trails or even a sick road ride. Just call in sick. You know you want to. Once you’ve got that pesky little bit out of the way, then scan the flyer for your local ride.

Coming off the Eroica California and the Emilio De Marchi rides, I’m kind of bummed to be missing this year’s Eroica Britannia. Last year’s event was a ton of fun, so if you were on the fence about attending, head over to the 2014 Eroica Britannia Reportage… If you are planning on going, head over to Eroica Britannia to sign up!

This Saturday, May 30th Tom Ritchey will be at Mission Workshop in SF for one of their Ask a Founder events. Here are the details:

“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 the third installment of the Mission Workshop Founders series we are honored to have Tom Ritchey on our stage to learn about the massively influential brand that shares his name. Ritchey’s love with all things two wheels started early. He built his first frame when he was just 16 years old and started his first company in his early twenties. The shape of cycling would arguably look very different without his involvement. Join us this Saturday May 30th at 7PM PST to watch Tom spin his tales live on Bikemag.com. Be part of the event by asking Tom a question via Twitter using “#AskRitchey” as the hashtag.

Live audience space is limited, if you can make it, email RSVP@missionworkshop.com for a seat.”

This weekend I’m in Italy, where I’ll be attending the Emilio De Marchi, a 90 kilometer, vintage bicycle ride put on by De Marchi apparel. I’ll be there for a few days, so if you’re in Italy and are interested in this ride, head over to the Emilio De Marchi website for more information.

Hey Austin, Texas, you (we) have a lot of great framebuilders in town. Many of which can build you a completely custom bicycle for less that what you’d pay for a made-by-machines carbon high end frame. Understandably, it’s difficult to commit to a high-dollar item, but Mellow Johnny’s has put together a meet and great happy hour on June 12th in order to lower that barrier for entry.

Head over to Mellow Johnny’s for more information and you can trust that these builders are more than capable at delivering a product you’ll want to always ride.