The Radavist

Over the past four years, SRAM MTB has invited a handful of media representatives out to Moab, Utah to unveil new products, talk tech and most importantly shred the abundance of trails just a few short miles from town. Getting an invite to an event like this is as exciting as it is unnerving. Dude, you have to like, ride new stuff with like 20 people. Most of which you just met that morning…

The trails in Moab are unlike anything I’ve ridden before. Some are infamously techy, then others envelop you in smooth, flowy 1-track ribbons. Today, we hit the HyMasa – Captain Ahab loop and I had an absolute blast. Once you get over the whole new bike / new trail / new terrain and just embrace your surroundings, the anxiety subsides and with each break you take, it’s easy to fall into the environment. Or, in my case you OTB, get up, laugh and everyone is stoked. Then you all get to hang out as the sun sets over the cliffs.

I’ve only been in Moab for 24 hours and I can see why it’s a favorite for many of my friends…

See more of the weird Utah vernacular and mind-blowing landscape in the Gallery!

Monster Track. The world’s most infamous, dangerous and in my opinion, most significant alleycat. In the 15 years it’s been thrown in New York City, it never ceases to surprise its contenders. There are only a few rules, the most important being two words: NO BRAKES.

Typically, there’s a weeding down process, at the hands of multiple manifests. Everyone starts with one, but only a select few make it to true completion by filling up to three. This year, mother nature smiled on the event, delivering somewhat favorable conditions (when compared to previous years being riddled with rain and snow). At the end of the event, the winners of Monster Track XV were Cooper Ray and Hannah Todd.

On the scene at the event and working the Williamsburg Bridge checkpoint was Chris Lee, who provided a few photos from the event. Check them out in the Gallery!

Back in 1999, a rider named Jon Anderson got the idea to start a group ride in his old stomping grounds around St. Francisville, Louisiana, West Feliciana Parish and Wilkinson County, Mississippi. Jon had been riding these roads since the early 80’s, as a form of escapism and reflection. Like most cyclists I know and ride with, Jon enjoyed a bit of pain at the hands of the dirt gods.

It wasn’t until the early 2000’s that the Rouge Roubaix shifted from being a group ride to a sanctioned event. Racers from all over the Southeast came out for promises of punchy, steep climbs, lots of gravel, scenic roads and yes, pain. It boasts 100 ish miles, with 30-40 miles of undulating gravel and dirt roads. This year, the Rouge is being run by Will Jones, the current organizer and I gotta say, he really delivered a hell of an event!

As part of an ongoing story detailing the design of a new disc road bike, Ben from Argonaut Cycles flew out two members from the Rapha / River City Bicycles Team to race with as well as Brian Vernor and myself to document the event, the culture surrounding it, the performance of the bicycles and let’s be honest, to experience one of the oldest and most intriguing gravel races in the United States.

See more narrated photos in the Gallery and don’t miss those last two photos!

Yesterday, I got the hair brained idea to race the 2014 Mellow Johnny’s Classic at Flat Creek Ranch outside of Austin. I’ve never raced MTBs before, but figured what the hell? My buddy Hanson Little and I drove out, paid the $40 and raced. I started at the back and made it up to 4th. Hanson got 3rd. We were stoked but the highlight of the day for me was watching the UCI Pro Women absolutely crush the course. Check out the recording from the day here and the results here.

Team LUNA Chix was in top form, absolutely shredding every lap, leading the pack by well over a few minutes. It was really great watching these women rip the course apart! While I didn’t make a big deal about shooting photos today (man, it was hot), I did manage to get a few worth sharing. Check them out in the Gallery!

A few months back, I expressed an interest in attending Frostbike to Jeff from All-City. Typically, it’s not really a huge media event, meant more for shop owners and brand reps. Wheels turned and viola, I found myself in freezing cold Minneapolis. While I had a few preconceptions about what I’d see, I was wildly impressed.

Frostbike is much smaller than I expected. It’s a QBP-specific tradeshow, only open to Q brands both in-house and distributed. In house brands include: Surly, Salsa, All-City, Whisky, Foundry, 45NRTH, Civia and others. Around 100 vendors total showed off products new and old.

Notable sights: iSSi, Q’s new in-house pedal brand – All-City‘s Macho Disk – Surly‘s new dropout designs – $250 fatbike tires by 45NRTH – the fatbike course outside QBP was a blast – the food was awesome – free beer! – Angry Catfish making coffee – Seeing friends, meeting and talking to readers!

Preface: it’s winter in the midwest and a lot of the new products were MTB and fatbike-related.

I don’t know what else to say. I had fun at Frostbike and hope to return next year. See some of the radness in the Gallery!

Man. This night. Handsome Cycles, One on One and Chrome got the hairbrained idea to do a shop bike shred sled race after Frostbike last Saturday. There were many wrecks, kegs were killed, rare whiskeys were consumed, people passed out, people were kicked out and yes, fun was had.

Minneapolis goes hard… then goes back to the hotel room and drinks more until 4am. See more in the Gallery!

As part of their unveiling for the 2014 cross bike lineup. All City threw a Snow Ball on Friday night during Frostbike. Jello Shots, dancing, free beer and formal wear filled the room at the Eagle Club as people could fondle three new cross bike models.

I ended up waiting for two hours as the shuttle bus returned to the hotel on frozen roads, so I missed out on a lot of fun but when we finally got to the party just before midnight, it was still bustlin’. Check out some photos in the Gallery!