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I’ve been waiting to post this graphic, designed by Poler’s CX team, who races on flat bar ‘cross bikes each season. It’s an obvious troll, but damn, that’s a great graphic but with all the flat bar ‘cross and all-road bikes, decked out with Eagle, it does make you wonder.
Guys and gals, these new Poler CX kits are fire – I don’t have the fire emoji on my keyboard or I’d use it. Over the years, Poler has made some great cycling kits. They did camo kits before it was a thing, then came their experimental years and now, it seems the brand has come full-circle on one of their best kits yet. You can order one now at Castelli, or just enjoy the video below!
While fatbikes might be at home in wintery environments and locales where it snows more than the sun shines each year, over time these strange bicycles began to migrate to sandy regions. From the Mojave to the Oregon coastal dunes, fatbikes have spent a fair amount of their short-lived existence on Earth shredding sand. With their high volume, low pressure tires, suddenly you can pedal for great distances through thick sand. Something not really possible on a bicycle prior. Visit any beach town, especially one with a high influx of tourists and you’ll find some janky fatbike sitting next to a beach cruiser and soft top surfboards in the rental fleet.
That’s not what’s going on here, I can assure you.
Poler‘s kits are always the best! For the forthcoming fall months, they’ve worked out a pre-order with Castelli on a pair of bibs, a jersey and arm warmers using their Land-designed pinecone pattern. The pre-order is live now, so head over to Castelli to see more information. For what it’s worth, I’ve found these kits to fit true-to-size…
… thanks to our friends at Huckberry. Also, check out the Poler Store at Huckberry today.
Our friends at Poler just stoked their bicycle water bottle for 2015, as a follow up to their highly successful Purist bottles last year. Scoop up one or a pair at Poler today.
Poler’s newest newsprint magazine, the Campvibes Communiqué, is now online and features an interview with Erik and myself on the Oregon Outback. Benji from Poler knows us personally, so this interview goes a bit deeper than your standard interview. The Outback was one of the toughest rides I’ve ever ridden and documented, so it made for some juicy content.
Pick up the Campvibes Comminuqué for $5 at Poler.
On a related note: who is planning on doing it this year? I’m thinking it’s time for round two!
Poler’s wacky and fun Rainbro kit by Castelli is now in stock. For those who like to rip on the wild side…
The Poler “Rainbro” kit is now up for pre-order in Castelli’s web store. Look, this kit is loud and while you’ll surely get plenty of odd commentary, I still like it, especially for a cross race. Head over to Castelli to pre-order now, for a November 17th(ish) delivery.
A few months ago, Erik from AWOL and I planned on doing a ride, not just any ride however, we wanted to do the Oregon Outback. 370 miles from Southern, to Northern Oregon, all at altitude desert? Hell yes! Little did we know, that ride would kick our asses. Well, my ass anyway.
Before Interbike, we had a party at the Poler store in Portland, where we launched these zines and patches. If you’re in Portland, you can still buy one at the Poler store, but for those of you who aren’t there, you can now pick one up here. The zine features a pattern drawn by LAND, a selection of photos from the Oregon Outback, words from Erik and illustrations by Chris Conlin.
For $15 shipped in the USA, $20 shipped world wide, each zine comes with a patch and all proceeds will be donated to an organization of my choice…
Check out more previews below but SORRY SOLD OUT!
Check out the Poler Adventure post on the Oregon Outback
Well, the AWOL x Poler touring bikes are hitting the shelves of your local Specialized dealers today. Ordering is simple: contact your local dealer and order direct. The bikes will arrive within a week. Select international countries will also be able to order the bikes, call your local dealer to confirm. Poler is selling the panniers in their webshop as well.
See more specs and photos below.
Hey Portland, I’d be honored to have you come out to this opening party with AWOL and Poler. I’ll bring the bourbon!
Read the full press-release below.
You’ve seen this bike before, you just thought it was a one-off paint job. Back when Erik rode the Transcontinental Race, he used a Poler Camera Cooler for a bar bag, prompting Benji from Poler to reach out to Erik – Benji pays attention to what’s going on in the cycling world… For instance, these panniers have been in the works for a while.
After a quick visit to Portland, Erik and Benji schemed on something for the AWOL project for Poler. The great thing about these AWOL bikes is their versatility. 1-trakk rippers, around-town, bar bike, touring bike, dirt touring bike, dirt-drop brap machine. They do it all, including the 370 mile trek across Oregon for the Oregon Outback.
We knew we wanted to do a big ride to *shoot the bike, but weren’t sure where, when or how we’d do it.
When the Oregon Outback was announced, Erik reached out to me and I said yes, not knowing what I was getting myself into. It was a hell of a ride and afterwards, we stayed with Benji and began discussing the bike’s launch.
Next week, these bikes hit dealers. On the 6th of September to be exact. MSRP, availability and other information is on the way, or you can just call your local Specialized shop. Prior to the launch, on September 5th, I’ll be having a gallery show at Poler’s new storefront in Portland with an opening reception. Aka, a party. More info on that to come…
For now, check out some details in the Gallery!
*Believe it or not, this is the same bike that Erik rode during the Oregon Outback. I had to painstakingly photoshop out all of the Poler insignia. Front lamp and saddle bag not included! Comes with panniers and front pannier rack.
I forgot to point out in that last Poler entry the launch of their new Campvibes Communique and this rad painting from an artist whose name escapes me. The quarterly document is 10″ x 12.5″ and is filled with stories, recipes and maybe even some cycling content in the future.
Now, back to this knolling illustration, who’s got a link to the artist’s site?
After the Oregon Outback, Benji at Poler showed me the sample tents, covered in his new “Rainbro” pattern, I lost my shit. Poler’s making some big moves in the next few weeks, some of which involves The Radavist, so stay tuned. Til then, head over to Poler and see all the new products – One Man Tent, Two Man Tent and Napsacks – covered in “Rainbro”…
Seriously, this is amazing guys!
The second day of any big ride is usually the toughest. Your body just assumes it’s going to be on the defensive for an unknown amount of time and begins to push back. Usually, that is. For Erik and I, we awoke in the Silver Lake Community Park f-u-c-k-i-n-g freezing. The weather said it would drop to 45 degrees as the low, so he and I brought hammocks and 40 degree bags in the interest of space and weight.
At 4am, my phone said it was 28 degrees. A cold front had moved in.
I was shivering uncontrollably, had I known it was going to be that cold, I would have brought a sleeping pad and a tarp, both of which I’ve used to alleviate the loss of body heat that happens in hammocks at such low temperatures. But alas, you reap what you sew. We would be cold on this trip.
All our field guide said about mile 120-240 was that we’d be crossing altitude desert and would be without water for up to 80 miles. I brought an Arundel Looney Bin to hold a 48oz Nalgene, which, after making breakfast, I filled up. Along with my two large Purist bottles. We had to get moving. Fast… It was 6:30am.
Continue reading in the Gallery captions.
You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t…
The last Yonder Journal Brovet in Austin was a clusterfuck of epic proportions. I planned the ride, which, in context was one of the best 300 mile loops in Texas Hill Country. That context though, is slightly mottled, since, you know, I live in Texas and these guys are from California and Oregon – which has some of the best riding in the country. Maybe they’re soft-skinned liberals and I’m ok with Texas being stuck in the 17th century, or maybe riding for 40 hours in the pissing – just above freezing – rain just leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
Context aside, I planned a 300 mile route, the weather was nice – 80 degrees and humid – hey, it’s Texas – and everyone arrived in Austin.
Cursed. We’re all cursed. Or maybe I’m cursed? For whatever reason, mother nature took a shit on us, then smeared it on the route. 300 miles got cut in half, we had to bail so people could catch their flights. Ty got drunk – after he and Kelli got engaged. Moi got drunk. Kyle threw up in my yard. Hahn got drunk and raided dirty laundry.
The story goes deeper than this over at Yonder Journal! Head over to read about the Curse and (Dis)Enchanted Rock. See a few more selections below and follow Yonder on Instagram as they’re in the middle of another Brovet down South!
I’ve used a lot of camera bags and honestly, they each have their own place. For instance, right now I’m using one of F-Stop’s Loki packs. It’s great for a strictly-photo trip, but as I’m packing for the Amgen Tour of California today, I broke out my Poler Excursion camera insert once again.
Why? Because it’s modular! This thing is so clever and even though it’s sold as a set with the Excursion backpack, I’ve used just the insert for over a year.
Check out more below.
