The Radavist

Erik Noren. There can be only one. This man makes me laugh more than anyone else at NAHBS. Every year, the man behind Peacock Groove outdoes himself and wows the crowd with his tribute bikes. Some are Voltron-themed, others pay homage to the Evil Dead, while others are just so damn rad! Peacock Groove is unlike any other frame company I know of…

While I expected to see Erik in the throes of production for NAHBS, I didn’t expect to see his long-time side project “The Plus System” underway. While I won’t go into too much detail on what the Plus System is, I will say it’s a line of in-house designed and manufactured headsets, available with a Peacock Groove frame. There’s more to come on that – at NAHBS, for now, let’s look at some photos from Erik’s well kempt work space.

Warning: this post contains the bane of everyone’s existence this winter – snow. I apologize and promise to bring warm vibes from here on out. Seriously.

I absolutely love riding my Pugsley around Austin. Both on and off-road, it’s been a blast and the number one question I get is: “what’s that bike for?”. My answer “snow”… This causes a look of puzzlement on their faces. There’s no snow in Texas! Naturally, but it’s still fun to motor around town and hit some trails.

Riding a fatbike in the snow is something I’ve yet to do, so when Jeff told me to stay a few days longer after Frostbike, I brought my Pugs and threw on some platform pedals. Our first stop (and as it turns out, only stop) was the River Bottoms. Kyle and I had been there before with Jeff, in the summer months and I was eager to see how much it had changed after the all snow and freezing temps.

We kitted up in waterproof fabrics and wool, set our PSI to around 8 and 10, brought some snacks and of course, Baroo, Jeff’s Basenji / Red Heeler mix trail dog… What happened next was a mix of riding and an “Adventure by Hike”.

Some of the best experiences I’ve had on “bike trips” haven’t been related to cycling at all. Case in point: in the early talks of the Frostbike agenda, Jeff from All-City recommended that we drive 4 hours north of Minneapolis to the southern shore of Lake Superior.

In this frozen land, there were caves, which during the summer months, held many great alcoves and vistas out over the lake, but in the winter, when it’s cold enough, they became in chrysalis. This isn’t an annual occurrence either. This year was the first year in a decade that the water has been cold enough to freeze.

Everything is frozen, even the water that typically seeps through the sandstone cliffs, causing cascades of icicles, many of which are big enough to deliver a fatal blow if they were to fall. Behind these curtains, lie numerous caves, most of which are covered in a solid 3″ of ice on all surfaces. It’s really something else.

Tuesday morning, Jeff, Kyle and I ventured out into the madness and at some point I expected to see 7′ tall albino penguins or at least a shoggoth. But alas, the Old Ones are long gone.

See more in the Gallery!

Man. This night. Handsome Cycles, One on One and Chrome got the hairbrained idea to do a shop bike shred sled race after Frostbike last Saturday. There were many wrecks, kegs were killed, rare whiskeys were consumed, people passed out, people were kicked out and yes, fun was had.

Minneapolis goes hard… then goes back to the hotel room and drinks more until 4am. See more in the Gallery!

As part of their unveiling for the 2014 cross bike lineup. All City threw a Snow Ball on Friday night during Frostbike. Jello Shots, dancing, free beer and formal wear filled the room at the Eagle Club as people could fondle three new cross bike models.

I ended up waiting for two hours as the shuttle bus returned to the hotel on frozen roads, so I missed out on a lot of fun but when we finally got to the party just before midnight, it was still bustlin’. Check out some photos in the Gallery!

It’s the end of Summer. That means my busiest time of year is finally over. After finally combing through all my random film scans, I’ve pulled together a big photoset filled with shots from all over the globe. From Zurich to Columbus, there are some gems in this one. See for yourself in the Gallery!

Tools of the trade:
Yashica T4 / Leica M7 28mm / Neopan 400