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“The thing the ecologically illiterate don’t realise about an ecosystem is that it’s a system. A system! A system maintains a certain fluid stability that can be destroyed by a misstep in just one niche. A system has order, flowing from point to point. If something dams that flow, order collapses. The untrained might miss that collapse until it was too late. That’s why the highest function of ecology is the understanding of consequences.”
This quote has really resonated with me on this trip.
For over a hundred years, Death Valley has had its minerals extracted by machine and mule. Not just for gold and silver, either. Prospectors scoured the mountains for antimony, copper, lead, zinc, and tungsten, packing out their load by mule. We are modern day Prospectors, however, we are not seeking riches, yet experiences, of which will be beaten into our soul by miles of washboarded and rocky roads. Our mules are our bicycles and we’ll take only photos, leaving no trace, taking nothing from this land. It’s given enough over the decades and its scars are still visible on the surface.
There’s no death in this valley, but life, at a micro scale, so nuanced that without the pace of the bicycle, might be passed over, unnoticed. These next ten days, I’ll be embarking on a series of rides in Death Valley National Park, with a varying cast of characters, with one thing on the agenda: sharing this natural beauty with you and documenting these routes for the next prospectors to mine memories.
Last night, the trip began with caching water and wood for our first expedition… Stay tuned.
In Los Angeles, millions of people vacate the city in a yearly migration, creating compelling imagery, representing the trouble with car culture. While we prefer to move about the city by bicycle, we too can’t help but flee its confines by automobile. Yet, in doing so, our attempts are always to get as far away from modern civilization as possible, or at least that’s what I tell myself everytime we load the Land Cruiser up and head out of town.
Sure, I’d rather embark on a bicycle tour during a holiday but when our friend Aimee invited us to the Oak Flat Fire Lookout in the Sequoia National Forest for a Turkey Day celebratory dinner, we couldn’t resist. So, there we were the day before Thanksgiving, escaping LA for the solitude found in its neighboring National Parks and National Forests. Luckily, we were long gone by the time the freeways turned into light shows…
This is the only way to spend Black Friday! We’ll see you back on Monday. Get in some miles and elevation this weekend!
Over the past few weeks, we’ve posted SO MANY BIKES, but let’s remember, it’s not about equipment, it’s about the experience of riding new places…
A favorite ride is always amplified by winter light and cycling tourists. Tonight, Kyle and I took Kelly out on a Dirt Mulholland sunset ride, which turned into a Topanga Creek Outpost banana bread run, turned mad-dash through Melrose gridlock at rush hour. The thrills are never short on this ‘cross-town jaunt. If you’ve never done this route, be sure to check it out on Strava and click-through to check out more photos…
Photos by Sean Talkington
The grand opening for the new Cub House is this Saturday, and Cari has been putting the finishing touches on the space with a new mural. While sign painting isn’t her full-time gig by any means, she went to school for it and enjoys breaking out her brushes for special projects. See the mural, as well as the new Cub House this Saturday! The details for the opening are below.
This post is coming in late, because we didn’t finish our ride until late today. We saw some spooky shit on our ride. If you look closely, you can see Kyle in there and maybe the dude pushing his bike up, carrying the compound bow and arrows too. It was really wild, but we didn’t stick around to find out what he was up to.
Hopefully, everyone is having a good All Hallow’s Eve!
Last night, as part of the Rapha Rides series, a group of cyclists rode from the Rapha Santa Monica store to Golden Saddle Cyclery for a super chill “photography” ride up to the Helipad in Griffith Park to watch the sun set over this golden city. Half were in plain clothes and half were kitted out, but all enjoyed some beverages. Towards the end, Kyle requested for help in picking up the area’s trash, prompting everyone to pitch in. Because you can’t take photos when the area has trash all over it… Check out a few more below!
… should we re-up these bottles?
Over the past few weeks, I’ve received numerous emails from readers, politely asking the Radavist to weigh in on a pressing debate. The discussion in question began with Bike Snob’s piece for Outside Magazine on the importance or at least the value of the fully rigid mountain bike. This piece was then replied to by Vernon at Pink Bike, who called riding rigid ridiculous and likened it to being kicked in the balls numerous times. Side note: if you get hit in balls riding a bike, you’re doing it wrong. Now, both op-ed pieces should be taken with a grain of salt, since they are, after all, just that: opinion pieces. Nothing is stated as fact in either article, although Vernon’s piece does seem to fit in with Pink Bike’s readership, who are quick to chime in that even hardtails are ridiculous.
Are they, really? Well, here’s the thing, I’m going to address this “debate” with a few points, beginning with…
After South Africa, I realized two things. The first being my knee injury will have me off the bike for a few weeks and the second; it’s finally the perfect time for the desert. Rather than stewing at home, unable to ride and constantly being surrounded by the thing that I can’t do right now – riding bikes – I decided that a trip to the Mojave was in order. A nonprofit artist organization, the High Desert Test Sites, was doing their annual symposium in the Joshua Tree area. Cari has worked with them in the past, so I thought it’d be an awesome excuse to get out to the Mojave for a short trip.
The problem is, Joshua Tree this time of year is a zoo, so finding a camping spot on the weekend is a challenge. My rough plan was to drive out to the Cady Mountains, camp, wake up to look for Big Horn sheep and explore the slot canyons, then drive to Joshua Tree for the festivities. We’d then bail out back to the Mojave and explore some more areas I’ve got saved for just such an occasion.
Metro Bike Mountains of Madness
Words by Carter Chappell
If you have been to LA recently maybe you have noticed the new Metro Bikes that launched last late year. They are essentially three-speed commuters by Trek that are built around a bombproof steel frame and held together by an army of tamper-proof bits. You cannot in any way take the tires off if you get a flat or do much outside of raising and lowering the seat to change the bikes fit in any way. It’s pretty much that last thing you would want to do any sort of long or hilly ride on.
Thanks to everyone who made this trip so memorable. There’s much more to come next week! You boys have fun out there on your cycling tour!
It’s been a wild few days thus far in South Africa and as you might imagine, there is little to no wifi in these parts, hence the lack of updates. Don’t fret, however, we’ve got galleries on the way for the next few days and you can get a preview of what’s to come at our Instagram!
… to chase the sun across the Karoo Desert. Expect updates as events warrant.
Photo by Gabe Tiller
… we’ve got some awesome Reportage to share next week!
Is on display at the LACMA this month in the Found in Translation: Design in California and Mexico, 1915–1985 exhibition. Make sure you check it out. I wonder what the new Los Angeles branding will look like in 2028?
