The Radavist

Klaus from Cycling Inquisition shared this with me and I couldn’t be more enamored with this project:

“Col du Tourmalet, Stelvio Pass, Mont Ventoux, Côte de la Redoute, and the Koppenberg. Iconic climbs differing in length, grade and location, but all of which conjure up numerous emotions and moments in cycling history. As iconic as these climbs are, however, they barely resonate with Colombian cyclists and fans. That’s because Colombia, with its sizable history in the sport, has it’s own climbs. Ones with tremendous amounts of history, lore and statistics to match.

Among the numerous climbs that dot the Andean landscape, three stand well above all others. Páramo de Letras, Alto de Minas, and the Alto de la Línea. One is the longest climb in the world, another defeated Fausto Coppi, while one has actually claimed lives, while giving birth to a generation of escarabajos.

This set of prints celebrates these icons of Colombian cycling.

Printed on uncoated, bright white stock, this set of 11″x16″ (27.94cm x 40.64cm) prints ships rolled. Each print shows the profile of the climb, and gives key information about each one. Length, climbing height, and maximum grade.

Dare I say, “suitable for framing”?

Each set also comes with a small booklet detailing the importance of these climbs, a sticker of a cyclist who has made his name on these climbs, and (don’t laugh) a piece of coffee-flavored hard candy made by the oldest candy manufacturer in Colombia.”

As someone who always finds himself with missing cycling socks, I don’t mind picking up novalty “team” socks once and a while, especially from great coffee roasters like Intelligentsia. You do like coffee, right? Thanks for the scoop Kyle!

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.

A reader sent this over with “coffee cup hand-up” as the subject. Too good! Kona did a great job with this one.

Espresso is a cyclist’s manna. I once heard someone say “so what does coffee have to do with cycling anyway?”. The E61 is one of the most famous espresso machines. Made by Faema, the team that sponsored Merckx in his early days, when he rode a De Rosa. So what does this have to do with a Mongoose grip on an E61 handle? Absolutely nothing. But it’s rad. Radness made by the Gonz in Melburn.

Follow @Gonzlab on Instagram for more intriguing creations and lots of bad grammar.

Thanks to FYXO for the photo!

With a cast of the wand, a frame appears in a plume of smoke, right? Brian Vernor took some photos of Cameron Falconer while he was in San Fran recently. Check out more photos here.

I can dig everything about this photo. The Gonz, Andy from FYXO, coffee and Campagnolo. Head over to FYXO to see more of this unique coffee tamper. Talk about a Campy fan’s dream tool!

Kevin Porter is a character. A can-can, coffee cup-carrying, BMX ripper. Defgrip dives right into Kevin’s morning brew with a great Q&A about his new endeavors with Bow Truss Coffee Roasters. It’s a great interview! Check it out here.

Before it was hip to wear work boots to the local coffee shop or bar, Danner was making boots in Portland for loggers and contractors. Since 1932, their Made in the USA boot line is ever-expanding. The new Stumptown line mixes a bit of style in with their rugged aesthetic. I got to tour the Danner facilities the other day and it was absolutely insane to see footwear go from a hide to the final product.

I’m way behind on processing photos and developing film, so expect an update shortly.

Collin Cox and Christian Ustarroz are two of the resident Fixed Freestyle riders who call Golden Saddle Cyclery their LBS. Shot in a few hours, this video is what FGFS is all about to me: neighborhood jibbin’.

Songs:
Freddie McGregor – “Bobby Bobylon”
Acid Witch – “If Hell Exists”

Canon 5Dmkii
Canon 24-70L
Coffee shakes…

Remember these? Well, Krista just printed up a run and they’re available now. Pick one up at Lonely Boy Fabrications‘ web shop here. While I could simply bow out of Merckx Mondays with that gem, I’ve got more in store for you below.

Photo by Evan Brown

Evan’s back in Portland, where he bumped into Matchew on the street, outside Stumptown coffee. I like candid portraits and couldn’t pass this one up. Fast ‘n Loose!

I really love the vibe that the Rapha Cycle Club in SF emits. Everyone from couriers, to club riders and even the PROs hang out, drink coffee and discuss the thing we all love: cycling. Check out this video City Grounds made on a recent outing to SF.

See more photos and a write-up at City Grounds.

For once, I’m actually sitting on some great Merckx Mondays content, so I’m going to let it float me for a few posts. This week, we’ll start off with Cooper Ray‘s lovely photos of Jay’s Colorado Merckx road. These photos were taken for Cultivar, a new enterprise arising in Brooklyn. More on that later, for now, let’s check out these lovely photos, taken on a Brooklyn rooftop, just before a sunset. Shots like this make me miss NYC.

In a rush to get out the door to meet up for a ride this morning, I left my T4. So in lieue of 35mm, I took a lot more Instagram photos than I normally would. When I showed up at the coffee shop, I thought we’d maybe be doing like 20 miles. Shortly after, I realized we’d be in it for a haul today and with 50% of the course being dirt and gravel, it was gonna be fun.

We took off, climbed some, descended some, got a few flats and managed to avoid any wrecks. After a stop at the Reel Inn in Topanga, we headed home. Nothing like riding 20 miles through shit LA traffic and roads after hitting the dirt all morning. We totalled 60 miles and around 4,000′ and everyone had a blast, er, fun.

Check out more below.

Photos by Dylan VanWeelden

Kyle and Dylan have pretty sweet gigs at Chris King. All they do all day is drink coffee, visit shops and then drink beer when their caffeine buzz subsides. Ok, maybe that’s not 100% accurate but this shop visit post to the SyCip Bicycles came out great. Check out more here.