The Radavist

The Driftless
Photos and words by Kevin Sparrow

When people hear of the Midwest, they typically think of farmland and prairie. Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and Iowa have a rich history of glaciation that smoothed out a lot of the land we typically think of and gouged out lakes and terrain. Southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa and western Wisconsin and Northern Illinois, known as The Driftless Region, is a unique area virtually untouched by glacial sculpting. As a result, this landscape greatly contrasts what one would typically think of the Midwest. Its narrow valleys, high bluffs, forested hillsides and beautifully sculpted topography is a real treat for cyclists in the region.

All the Action from the Women’s Elite Trek CXC Cup
Photos and words by Kevin Sparrow

To me, the Trek CXC Cup is the official start of the midwest cyclocross season. The best of the best show up and battle it out on the Trek Factory grounds. This year was huge. World Champion, Wout Van Aert and a bunch of Belgians, showed up and, as expected, destroyed the rest of Men’s field. It was impressive, and it goes to show that they are (still) on a totally different level than the US. Although this seemed more like a training ride for Wout, a shout out to Stephen Hyde, the top US finisher, seems deserving.

I’m sure, by now you have read about (or watched) the results and highlights from this past weekend on all the typical media outlets. Yeah, having a world champion race in front of you was pretty rad, but when it comes to good ol’ fashioned racin’ the Women’s Elite race was where all the action was happening.

Most of the Women’s Elite raced both days, unlike the Men’s field who were saving their precious legs for C1 points. That alone says a lot about the Women’s field and about Women’s CX racing in general. It’s positive, healthy competition that seems to be based around the love for racing. The way it should be. I heard many words of encouragement and solidarity at the start, during the race, and at the finish line.

I could go on and give a play by play but that seems sort of boring. Instead, just enjoy some photos of some real rippers from this past weekend. Read the captions for a better feel for the course.

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Eleven Years of Party at the 2016 All City Championships
Photos by Kevin Sparrow and words by Jeff Frane

11 years. 11 years we’ve been doing this.

Every Summer, for one glorious bike party weekend we own these streets, we own this fucking town. The All City Championships were the first major non messenger-organized alleycat in the city of MPLS. It proved that anyone with a little hardwork and determination could make a major impact on their community, do something good, give something back. It inspired others to start their own races, it helped inspire me to found a bicycle company, it brought old friends together and has facilitated making many new ones around the globe.

The Musky 660 and Touring the Northwoods of Wisconsin
Photos and words by Kevin Sparrow

Last summer I bought the Twin Six Ti Rando and after sharing my stoke with the bike I received an email from Jesse of T6 that said, “I’m recruiting you for the Musky 660 next year.” At the time, I had little idea what that meant but it sounded like the perfect prolog to a long tour of Wisconsin, my home state. The Musky 660 is not as official as it sounds. It’s just a ride with a starting point (T6HQ in Minneapolis) and a destination (Copper Harbor Michigan) with no specific route to stick too. It was true to it’s name, the ride is 660 kilometers (423 miles) long.

Something Different with Twin Six’s Titanium Rando
Photos and words by Kevin Sparrow

My quest for finding the perfect all-around bike began last summer just before cross season. Cyclocross bikes have always been my choice for an every-day bike. But the problem was I didn’t want to buy another cross bike that was designed for 60-minute dirt crits when most of my miles are spent commuting on pavement. I was in pursuit of something different.

Last year at Interbike, Twin Six surprised the industry with a whole line of “T6 Standard” steel bikes including a 29er, a rando, and a cross bike. On paper, the Standard Rando was exactly what I was looking for in both geometry and aesthetics. By the time winter came around, T6 went all-in and started offering a titanium fat bike and by spring, titanium versions of the 29er and cross bikes. It was also around this time that I started seeing hints of a Ti Rando popping up on T6 employee social feeds, and I was getting antsy for a new bike. I decided to reach out to Brent, T6 co-owner, and he explained that what I was seeing were Ti Rando prototypes. They had the same geometry as the steel rando except for a 44mm HT and a four water bottle mount option. Brent offered me a pre-release one-off and I excitedly accepted. Decision made, deposit down, and 6 weeks later I was and owner of a Twin Six Ti Rando.

Two months in and over 1500 miles commuted on it, and now I am ready share my initial stoke with this bike.

This Tannenwald Luchs 29 was hanging at the Tune Factory and I just had to shoot it. From what I gather, Tannenwald is a local favorite. Honestly, I didn’t know much about the brand besides the frames being built in Germany. I reached out to to them and got a little bit of information about the company.

Tannenwald is Rüdiger (Rudi) Kupper and Stefan Lichtner. The frames are all handcrafted by Stefan in Palatinate, Germany. “Back to the roots” refers to their “commitment to the finest steel construction and craftsmanship”. The LUCHS 29 was inspired by a 42km long MTB trail near the builder’s house. This LUCHS is built with Tune components and has the Schwarzwald-themed paint scheme.

I love how much this bike represents the region, all the way down to the Tune Componentry. She looks like quite the ripper if you ask me.

Fairwheel Bikes in the US stocks all of Tune’s componentry. If you see something you like, they probably have it in stock. If they don’t, they can order it for ya!

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With a number of high-end component manufacturers and brands to choose from, I find it helpful to narrow the decision by knowing where and how the products are made. I’ve ridden the Schwarzwald Giro the last three years and each year I’ve wanted to visit the Tune factory, but never could until just a few weeks ago.

The story of Tune started in 1988, when Uli Fahl lived in Munich. He wanted to lighten his mountain bike and began prototyping parts in his kitchen. In 1989, the company was established and Tune’s first product, a lightweight quick-release skewer, was born. Fast forward to today and Tune has a portfolio of different lightweight components for road and mountain bikes. And now, nestled on the edge of the Black forest, it’s near some of the best testing grounds in the world.

Pulling the Trigger on the Bullitt Cargo Bike
Words and photos by Kevin Sparrow

Bakfiets, bucket bike, cargo bike, or long john; no matter what you call it, this is a true workhorse of a bike. The Bullitt from Copenhagen, seem to be the cargo bike of choice for working messengers around the globe. My first opportunity to ride one was when I was working for Breakaway Couriers right here in Milwaukee. I have always wanted one for myself but had no idea just how much until my last trip to Amsterdam. There, I borrowed a friend’s bakfiets from the brand Work Cycles and took my wife Dani and daughter Lily for a riding tour of the city. After that one afternoon, I was convinced that I needed one. As soon as I got back from that trip I started researching what was available and affordable within the U.S.

The 2014 Schwarzwald Giro – Kevin Sparrow
Photos and Words by Kevin Sparrow

Most of us got a good night sleep in our camper. The nights in Freiburg are chilly and it doesn’t start to warm up until the sun peeks over the tree line later in the morning. Everyone met at Biosk at 9:30, for a planned roll out at 10. It would have been nice to get a decent breakfast but Josh and I downed a bowl of cereal and I took a nutrition bar for a reserve. Others stuffed their jerseys full of snacks. We all knew we had a long day ahead of us…

The Road to the Schwarzwald Giro: Freiburg
Photos and Words by Kevin Sparrow

Freiburg is a quaint little town nestled on the edge of the Black Forest near the French/Swiss border. The city is rich in historic buildings and churches. The streets are covered in cobbles, train tracks and tiny canals on the sides of the streets. Bike lanes are everywhere, cyclists and tourists fill the streets for most of the day. The food is cheap the beers are tall…

The Road to the Schwarzwald Giro: Amsterdam
Photos and Words by Kevin Sparrow

The Schwarzwald Giro is a yearly ride in the Black forest of Germany. Phillipp of Europeantouches.cc invited me last year while I was living in Paris. It was such a great time I couldn’t miss the 2014 edition. I hopped on a flight to Amsterdam with the plan to drive to Frieburg with Sammy and Frank of Pristine Bike Shop.

Amsterdam is the bicycle mecca of the world. With 300 bike shops and 1.5 million inhabitants its no wonder why it’s the city of bikes. There is this beautiful buzz of freewheels in the air and the people are some of the friendliest I have ever encountered. They say the average resident of Amsterdam has 3 three bikes. One that kind of works, one locked up somewhere they forgot, and one in the bottom of the canal. I only had one day to explore this time and with my wife and daughter in tow we made the most of it.

My buddy Jon (@twotoneams) generously set us up with a bed and a bakfiets to explore the city for the day. So I loaded up my girls and headed out to get a taste of what this great city has to offer…

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Two Years on a Bike With the Fuji X-Pro1
Words and Photos by Kevin Sparrow

A follow up to: Kevin Sparrow Discusses the Fuji X-Pro1 and Cycling

It has been over two years since I switched over from Canon DSLR to the Fuji X-Pro1 and I haven’t looked back. I’ve traveled all over the world with this camera. I rode from Paris to Lausanne with her slung around my back. I’ve shot photos for commercial clients and for publications. This little camera has more than met my expectations as a professional use camera.

Since PiNP is a one-man show 99.99% of the time, I like to make the guest appearances extra special. I’ve known Kevin Sparrow for some time now. I wouldn’t say we go way back, but in internet time, we’ve been around, doing relatively the same kind of work for a few years. Kevin’s someone I look up to, not only as a photographer, but as a person and a passionate artist. When he and I spoke a few months back about photography, he mentioned he was thinking of ditching his Canon 7D for the Fuji X-Pro1.

I didn’t know what to think but after reading his words and seeing these photos, I can’t blame him! Read on below for one of the most in-depth reviews I’ve ever had on this blog.

Rather than insert his wonderful photos into the body, I’m putting them in a Guest Gallery, so read up below and click here to open up the Photoset in a new tab.