The Radavist

I haven’t been home to see my family in a much longer time than I’d like to admit. Life got really messy over the past year and I found myself scrambling to re-establish the status quo ante. Over the past week, I’ve been with my family in coastal North Carolina and as you probably noticed, I didn’t open my laptop once. Instead, I went on rides everyday with my mom and my brother. Both of which have gotten serious about riding over the past few years.

They saw how cycling has changed my life in terms of health and wanted to get on board. My mother had always struggled with weight loss and my brother has juvenile diabetes. They wanted a way to regulate their health, fitness and happiness. Starting to ride bikes can be intimidating, but they’re both doing great and constantly work towards personal goals on the bike.

Having been home for the past week let me reconnect with my family and build even stronger bonds with them as we pedaled anywhere from 20-30 miles around this coastal town. For the readers of this site, that mileage might not be anything to brag about but for me, it’s been really moving to see my mom and brother embrace cycling.

I’m heading back to Los Angeles first thing in the morning and have enjoyed the time away from “work.” Going into the holiday season, I just wanted to thank you all for bringing such positivity to this platform and I hope you all get to spend time with your families.

One year ago, I flipped the switch on PiNP, forming the Radavist and in that time, the team over here has exceeded my expectations. While there are numerous people who make this site tick, I really wanted to thank you, the readers for visiting, commenting and yes, even critiquing how things are rolling over here. Without you, none of this would be possible.

While it’s cheesy to project where a blog can or will go, I’m confident that we’ll continue to deliver stories, rides, photos and products to you in a capacity that will leave you stoked to ride.

Here’s to many more years of rad atavism.

Photo by Spencer J Harding

As both a “journalist” and a consumer, I get really excited when I see something new coming from a brand, especially one with a history like Blackburn. In recent months, I’ve gotten to know the brand a bit better, both through their Meet the Rangers program and from a product perspective. I’ve seen a few of their forthcoming products, many of which I think you’ll be stoked on but before those roll out, I thought you’d appreciate a little Q&A with the brand.

To give the readers of the Radavist some insight into Blackburn’s modus operandi, I reached out to brand manager, Robin Sansom for an interview.

Read on below!

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll notice that in lieu of Tuesday Teardown, I’ve started a #PiNPLP hashtag. I wish I could stay on top of reviewing music, but it’s been increasingly difficult over the years. What I have been on top of however, is expanding my catalog into some pretty strange and obscure acts.

Here’s a disclaimer first: PLEASE go out to your local record shop and have them order these albums for you if you’re interested in including them in your own catalog. They could really use your business.

This year’s Top 10 Albums of 2013 is hardly all metal but there are some very dark bands in there. I’m pretty stoked on this list, so check it out, in no particular order below!

Mom on a recent ride, left. Brother Michael in dorkmode on the right.

When I was 18, my middle brother Michael was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. It wasn’t because of his diet, or his lifestyle, it was a genetic occurrence that was completely out of his hands. Since then, he’s found a way to compete in college lacrosse, graduate with honors and get married. Oh and he’s a tri-dork. Don’t hate him for that though.

Michael’s T1D limits his lifestyle, even though he did nothing wrong, well besides ride triathlons (ok, ok, I’m done). Every year, since Mike was diagnosed, my mom has donated her time and money to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and this year, I plan to help out as well.

About two years ago, I bought my mom a Surly Crosscheck. She wanted to start riding when she saw how much cycling had improved my health and like a good son, I helped out any way I could. The same goes for my brother. I bought him a Bridgestone RB-1 when he expressed an interest in cycling. He rode it every chance he got and ended up selling it to buy a new bike.

Now myself, along with two of the most important people in my life have made a pledge to raise $2,000 for the 100 mile JDRF ride in Burlington, Vermont in July. I’m sure it’ll be easy enough for my brother and I, but it’s a benchmark for my mom, who’s been training for months. I haven’t ridden in Burlington since highschool and I can’t wait to explore the cycling culture there during the trip.

Originally, I had the amount promised to me by an unnamed company but that has fallen through. So here I am, asking you for help. It doesn’t have to be much, but if you or your company or whoever is willing to donate to JDRF, please do so at the link below.

Donate to John Watson here (where it says Donate to John) and I can’t thank you enough for all your support. I’ll be making a hefty donation as well, later on this month. Seriously, I don’t like asking anything from the readers of this site, but I would appreciate any support!

This is the third layout of the 2013 PiNP Calendar, entitled “The Lost Highway”. The camera, film used and location are located on the bottom left of the document.

On the first of each month, I’ll be posting a PDF file here on the site, allowing you to print this letter-sized document as you wish. Print as many copies as you’d like. Hand them out to friends or your local shop. It’s intended to be a free offering from the site, as a thank you to all the readers out there.

Spring is just around the corner and that means it’s time for rides that will kick your ass. The place where I go in the US for ass-kicking is Los Angeles. This stretch of the 2 is closed and for good reason. Falling rocks cover the road but man, is it other-worldly.

Enjoy!

(UPDATED LINK – Sorry, I accidentally uploaded the JPG to the Dropbox!)

Right Click and Save Link As – 2013 PiNP Calendar: March

At this point, I shouldn’t have to legitimize Instagram, especially to the readers of this site. Aside from the visual stimulus, it’s a great resource for the local routes and spots our fellow riders find themselves facing on the daily. When I scroll through my feed, there are a few people who I look forward to checking out. Some are cyclists, others are artists, or just really damn good at the lovely square composition. Whatever their walk of life may be, these people make me envious of their surroundings.

Not that I like “rules”, I will say that all of these users stick strictly to their iPhones. Something even I don’t bother adhering to!

Check out my top picks below.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen that I’m back in LA. I’ll be here for two weeks, kicking around, going on rides and shooting photos. If you’ve got something you think would be a good fit for the site, hit me up! Email, comment, etc. You know me, I love meeting readers and seeing their rides…

Technically Top 10 posts are supposed to come before the New Year but I had so much content to sift through that it took a little while to compose this list. As with the previous Top 10 lists, these are compiled strictly through Facebook “likes” and Tweets, excluding the posts already covered (Beautiful Bicycles and Fixed Freestyle Videos). From jokes to heart-breaking news, 2011 provided some interesting events this year and I never would have guessed what made it to this Top 10 list!

Check out my Top 10 Posts of 2011 below!

This morning, I pulled myself out of bed mid-day and headed out on a road ride with Jonathan. I haven’t been on the road bike in at least two weeks and man, it felt like it. The Texas Hill Country headwinds are no joke this time of year but we made the best of it and that’s what riding is all about. Get out on your bike(s) this year and have fun. I’ll keep doing what I’m doing on this end and let’s roll into 2012 with some momentum.

I want to thank everyone for making this year the best ever for the site. From the advertisers, to the readers, shops, builders, brands and riders, I couldn’t have done it without you. I strongly encourage everyone to keep a positive tone and contribute discourse in the comments. I’ve enjoyed getting to know some of you and I’d like to extend that network even more.

Coming up, I’ve got a new site coming, new features and I’ll be spending all of February Down Under in Sydney and Melbourne, so expect more radness!

Ride / Relax.

Photo by Andy White

Andy is a true cyclist. Someone who harbors the notion of “bicycle culture” with ease. His yearly Great(est) Victorial Bike Ride supplies his readers with glimpses into what it takes to be a one-man cyclo-tourist. He rides without support and through some of the most beautiful terrain southern Australia has to offer. His last day took him on a 9 hour long trek as he covered 124 miles and climbed 16,873 feet. Check out his inspiring photo set and all the details here at FYXO!

Grass roots blogging at its finest. Andy, I gotta come with you the next time you do this.

On Thursday, I met up with Joe, an architecture student studying here in Melbourne. I’ve featured Joe’s Nagasawa in a Reader’s Ride entry a few weeks back and when I randomly bumped into him at the beginning of last week, I knew I had to shoot photos of his Watsonia track bike. For one, Watson is my last name and it’s the colorway of the OG viking logo!

Check out more photos of Joe’s Watsonia track below!

Sometimes when I’m on the road, I slack on my weekly posts. Merckx Mondays, Reader’s Rides and Tuesday Teardowns all suffer equally. Luckily, I’ve got readers who constantly send me their bikes and others who do recon work for me on the side. How else could Tracko afford to open a bike shop?

First up is Tracko’s photo of the Eddy Merckx plate that’s made its way into each of the Rapha Cycle Clubs. Tracko shot this in the SF shop, which has spectacular lighting compared to the NYC shop. Here’s a photo I took last year of the same plate.

Check out more Merckx Mondays below!