For eight years running, around the Summer Solstice, Swift Industries has put out a rallying cry for cyclo-touring enthusiasts the world over to strap some bags to their bikes, head out for a couple of days of pedaling, and sleep on the ground. For this year’s Campout, we partnered with Swift to host the Radavist Swift Campout Photo Shootout, which called on campers to document their SCO experience through photography for a chance to win a load of prizes. The esteemed jury made up of representatives from The Radavist, and Swift Industries judged over 100 entries on their merits, including but not limited to technical considerations, composition, lighting, and impact, as well as the raw emotional power of the images (aka STOKE FACTOR!). We’re pleased to announce that Rifqi Akbar has been selected as this year’s winner and, below, he shares about the campout he and his friends embarked on near Bandung, Indonesia! Congrats, Rifqi!
Around 25-26 June, Swift Industries has been a part of celebrating the Summer Solstice with a collective bikepacking event called the Swift Campout. It’s been running for eight years, and I’d never joined that because I’m an individualist who enjoys cycling and camping by myself. Most of the time, I’m always cycling solo, sometimes with friends, but.. only a small part of it.
I never go into an event “as a participant cyclist,” rather I join that as a photographer. Always been like that. For me, cycling is made for fun and I don’t find that in a group ride or event.
But this time, I wanted to do it with my friends. Bike camping to celebrate the summer solstice. No tent, no hammock, no flysheet, just a groundsheet with sleeping bags next to the campfire. A night full of stars as your rooftop.
On 25 June, we started at 4 pm, going through the congestion because, of course, it’s the weekend and traffic went crazy! We climbed a lot that day, 891 meters of elevation gain before we arrived at the camp spot.
We’ve prepared our fun things to camp: some of us hung our hammock, spread out the flysheet, set up a tent, cooked some food, and built a campfire while I’m busy taking pictures of them all hahaha.
We shared a lot of laughs, we shared a lot of good foods, we shared a lot of stories, talking about life and everything in between. One of my friends was a chef from Dubai and he made such tasty food! Brilliant! We’re hanging out for hours until 3 AM, we got tired, and ready to sleep.
I lay on the ground with a groundsheet and a sleeping bag beside the campfire, watching the sky that was full of stars that night. I’m so grateful until I fell asleep…
The next morning we got caught by the heavy rain before returning home. It felt sooo cold I shivered all the way down! Yet it was amazing because the fog just came down between the trees together with the monkeys looking for leftover food. In the afternoon, when the rain died down, we finally headed back home with joy and happiness.
Can’t wait for the next camp!
Be sure to follow along with Rifgi’s adventures and excellent photography on Instagram!
