This year was a whirlwind. I think I traveled somewhere around 220 days, jumping the pond a few times and yes, spending lots of time in California. But what was the pinnacle of the year was the rebrand from PiNP to the Radavist. The pinnacle because it meant more contributors, more photos and ultimately, more, good content.
Without the contributors to this site, it wouldn’t have been such a successful year. Those guys really killed it.
Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s start from Day 01…
…and in Texas, that’s usually when we put an end to our cross season with the 2014 Texas State Cyclocross Championships. From there, Erik from AWOL hollered my way and asked if I wanted to go AWOL on the Diablo range with him and his crazy peacock nuke touring bike.
Not a bad way to begin the year huh? Modern touring bikes are great, but Benedict’s 970 has so much style. Meanwhile, over in Los Angeles, Ty decided to pack it up and head to Arizona for some packrafting and he wasn’t the only one to get wet in February. We did a big camping trip with some swimming and a dirt century on Super Bowl weekend. Aptly called, Super Bro Weekend.
Really? Swimming in February? Isn’t it freezing? Well, yeah, and it was time for Frost Bike. While in Minneapolis, why not do some fatbike rides in the Riverbottoms or visit the frozen sea caves of Apostle Island.
Meanwhile, back in Texas, MTB season had begun with the Mellow Johnny’s Classic. But I couldn’t get enough of Los Angeles, so we rode Backbone on Cross Bikes. A perfect segue into the infamous Rouge Roubaix, a road race with a good amount of dirt in Baton Rouge.
From there, I was swept off to the SRAM Trail House before nose-diving into NAHBS and as one of the first contributions to the Radavist, Chris Lee went to the Red Hook Crit while Ty decided to take on the Old Mojave Road.
Giro is one of my favorite brands and this year, they invited some journalists to experience the Santa Cruz Effect but all I wanted to do was swing by Rock Lobster…
If you can’t buy yourself a bike, buy your lady’s bike an upgrade. Lauren’s Casati got a modern makeover and embargoes got lifted on product reviews, like the new RS-1 form from Rock Shox.
There was so much MTB coverage this year and one of my favorite rides was the Blackburn’s Whiskey Off-Road. Coincidentally, it marked the end of MTB riding for me, leaving a week or so before I flew back to California for the ATOC, kicking off with a hell of a ride up Diablo before where we got to ride with Aaron Stinner and check out his
framebuilding shop.
Did someone say rides? Well, no one documents them better than Ryan Wilson. Ok, Morgan Taylor’s Weather Be Damned was pretty damn great and Andy Bokanev’s Seek and Diverge was pretty rad. I suppose my Oregon Outback photos were cool, if only because everyone enjoyed the Bikes and face of the Oregon Outback.
Speaking of documenting rides, I had been asking Kevin for some time to do a follow up review of the Fuji XPRO1, which he knocked out of the park.
… and I had just bought a Fuji X-T1, which I brought with me to England for the L’Eroica Brittania and a shop visit to Brooks. As it turns out, the Melburn Roobaix was a perfect way to end the group ride season!
When in ‘Straya, you must see Baum and coerce them on a MTB Ride. Of course, there are always those legendary two-day trips through the Great Dividing Range. This year’s was a Bush Blast!
Back Stateside, home for 10 hours and off to Los Angeles again for the Mavic 125ANS, while Chris Lee jumped over to the
All-City Championships and I spent my day off at theWolf Pack Civic Center Crit.
Meanwhile, Johan Björklund made his debut and Staffan Jofjell’s photos from Trackside ’85 were a smash. Around this time of year, things are getting busy. I had ridden road bikes for two months straight and was in pretty good form. But no matter how fit you are, when you start a ride up to Newcomb’s on a Tuesday to find they’re closed and you can’t get a burger, it sucks!
Why am I complaining? Eiry and her ladies turned the Women’s 100 into the Badass 200!
Finally! Back in Austin and back on the MTB. Sadly, I had to say bye to the Tallboy, just as Lauren and I headed off to the West Coast for a Holiday.
The year was winding down, but Ryan Wilson back at it and Dan Chabanov went to his yearly check-up with Richard Sachs, which means #CrossIsComing. But first, I wrote a bit about cycling and weight loss.
But first, Interbike has to come. Which we padded with a ride to the Sequoias and a post-interbike ride in Shredona, Arizona.
Kyle hurt himself in the Sequoias, so he finally got to submitting his Buffalo Trace Distillery photos. It was well worth the wait! Meanwhile, Gabe submitted a story that had me saying for the first time “I want to go to Idaho.”
… and coincidentally, I wish I would have gone to Colorado with Jeff. Around this time each year, I find myself wanting to stay in Austin. With Cross season around the corner, my friends in Beat the Clock throw their annual Urbocross tournament.
Luckily, staying in Austin, we had some great stories from contributors. Like Kevin’sBullitt Bike Review and Kevin Batchelor’s RGR coverage. While I skipped town on Halloween, Cani Sciolti Valtellina decided To Die on the Day of the Dead…
Then, out of nowhere Cross Season Began! And it was muddy… But, the holidaze were coming, so we skipped town on Black Friday because I knew it was almost time to get back on the road. From Austin, to SF to see Mash and the new Mission Workshop space, en route to Los Angeles for some Stoke.
Sean and Ryan welcomed me back to Los Angeles with a great story about sunset chasing. And I finally got to experience the LA River Camp Coffee before heading out on cross bikes for a night ride in the Verdugos.
The year had slowly crept to a close and one last shop visit found its way into my schedule. I had the pleasure of photographing Yanco before heading home to Austin for the last race of the season and a Chili eat-off.
Well, 2014, it was fun. Peace!
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Follow Ryan on Instagram, Sean on Instagram, Chris Lee on Instagram, Cani Sciolti Valtellina on Instagram, Kyle Kelley on Instagram, Kevin Sparrow on Instagram, Kevin Batchelor on Instagram, Ty Hathaway on Instagram, Bokanev on Instagram, Gabe on Instagram and Eiry on Instagram.
