#sf on The Radavist | A group of individuals who share a love of cycling and the outdoors.

Reportage By: John Watson

Natalia’s Igleheart SS MTB

San Francisco is out of control and not in a good way. Bike theft is at an all time high as the city continues to cope with a massive drug problem. Basically, your bike’s not safe unless it’s under your ass, being pedaled. Natalia had her race bag, shoes and this Igleheart singlespeed MTB “secured” within her car as it was parked in Noe Valley. Within minutes, her windows were smashed out and her bike was gone.

The next morning, Rai from Mission Workshop was riding past the BART station on 16th when he spotted it being pedaled by some random dude. He put out a call and had some friends go steal it back from some unsuspecting schmo who had bought it from the crackhead that stole it.

Now it’s safe and sound in Natalia’s possession, who races it for Chica Sexy in the Bay Area mountain bike circuits. It’s not everyday you see some Boston-area steel in SF, so I had to get some photos of it…

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Recent Roll: Levi Gold

This is Levi Gold, Benny Gold‘s French bulldog. He’s kind of a big deal to the internet and he knows how to lay on the puppy points when there’s a track bike around… While I finish cataloging all my film from my trip to SF, you can stare into his big sappy eyes as he basks in the sunny spot at the Benny Gold warehouse.

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Cadence: Pez Episode 3

Here’s the latest episode from Cadence and Pez.

“Cadence is proud to announce the exclusive release of special collaborative project with PEZ.

PEZ is a prominent street artist and deeply rooted figure in San Francisco cycling and messenger culture. Honored by the opportunity to work with PEZ we wanted to share his story with those who may have yet to hear about him. For the next three weeks we will release an episode on PEZ which we hope sheds some light on his influence and involvement in cycling and graffiti cultures.

Pez x Cadence T includes original PEZ pin and or sticker. Available now at Cadence.

Pez’s Tumblr: straysnake.tumblr.com/“

Reportage By: John Watson

#SeekTheDevil

I’ve come to really love this climb. It’s short, sweet and pending traffic, isn’t that far from San Francisco. Mt. Diablo can be heaven or hell, depending on the weather. Get on it early enough, as the sun is rising and you’ll be descending just in time for the heat to set in. Get on it later than ten or eleven in the morning and you’re in for a scorcher. After climbing up to the KOM during the ATOC this year (that story is still coming), I told myself I’d make it up every time I visit SF.

The Monday after The Ends photo show, I rallied Lyle and Evan from Mission Workshop and Marc Marino to hit the climb early. It was the first time I had taken the North Gate road and I think we saw three cars total that day, along with only a handful of riders. At the top, “the Devil’s elbow” awaits, a steep ramp up to the ranger station. Once there, we had a Coke, a chat and talked about how we’d head back down. After a roundabout way back to our vehicles, we had totalled around 37 miles and 3,900′ of climbing. Next time I’m taking the trails down!

I have to say, this part of California is very photogenic and these photos came out great. See for yourself in the Gallery.

Tools of the trade:
Yashica T4 / Neopan 400

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I Shot Some Photos for Benny Gold’s Guerrero Collection Look Book

Benny Gold and I have gotten to know each other over the years through various outlets, one of which being the track bike scene in SF. Back in the mid-2000’s Benny was designing logos for numerous bike shops and brands, including Mash and City Grounds. Since then, he’s been focusing almost exclusively on his brand. Each season, look books are essential in a brand’s marketing and while I was in SF, he wanted me to shoot some photos. I don’t really do lookbooks, so it was something different from my day to day shooting style.

These are some photos from the Guerrero Collection Look Book, see more at Benny Gold and check out the Guerrero Collection line here.

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The 2013 PiNP Calendar: July

This is the seventh layout of the 2013 PiNP Calendar, entitled “#SeekTheDevil”. The camera, lens used and location are noted on the bottom left of the document.

Fabled to be the point of creative by local Native American tribes, Mt. Diablo offers the San Francisco Bay Area-riders some much needed elevation to get their blood boiling, literally. This 3,864 feet (1,178 m) mountain is visible from SF, as well as most of northern California and while it’s nothing when compared to the southern California mountain tops, Diablo can deliver some scorching temperatures in the spring and summer months. Try it out on for size next time you’re in SF. #SeekTheDevil.

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

Reportage By: John Watson

Rai’s 2004 Bianchi Concept Track

Rai loves Bianchi track bikes. After buying various models like his old RCD2 Pista and his 2006 Concept, all he really wanted was a black 2004 Concept. When Kyle from Tracko / GSC posted this frame for sale on his Instagram, Rai jumped on it, built it up with his parts and began riding it immediately. For dudes like Rai, the black Concept represents the track bike’s heyday in SF. It’s iconic and while this bike certainly has street cred, it is going to start seeing some time at Hellyer in the near future. Of course, he’ll have to replace his booted tire first… Check out more shots of Rai and his 2004 Bianchi Concept in the Gallery!

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Waking Up With TCB

Nice one from TCB Courier in support of their new kit pre-order!

“When we’re not busy on the streets, you can find the riders of TCB keeping it real and always looking it fresh in SF. Support us in raising money for a new cargo bike by picking up a TCB kit, so we can bring more food to you faster! The kit, produced by Endo Customs, is available now in our web store at tcbcourier.bigcartel.com. Pre-order ends June 30th!”

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More Bike Raising: The Needle Gate Project

The Needle Gate Project just exudes good vibes. A group of riders are pedaling from Seattle to SF (the Needle to the Golden Gate) for She Dances, an organization that provides holistic restoration for young girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited…

Check out their video above and click-through for more info.

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Mash SF: Dylan Buffington

Hell yes. I love the new rider profiles that Mash is putting out. Don’t freak out (again), no cones were harmed in this video clip.

Previously:
Mash SF: Kyle Murphy
Mash SF: Matt Shapiro

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Catch Ya Later SF!

It’s been real fun. There will be much more coverage on the way, but I’d like to say thanks to some of the people who made this trip such a unique experience:

–Mission Workshop (you guys rule!)
–Bike Mag
–Bontrager
-Geoff at Box Dog Bikes
–MASH
-Victor from Archive Bags
-Chas and Lindsey from TCB Courier
–Benny Gold
-John from Rapha
-Kyle and Adria from Golden Saddle Cyclery
–Brian Vernor
–Ibis Cycles
-Garrett from Strawfoot
-Steve from Godspeed
–Tailor Stitch
–Extra Bigger / DNO
–Four Barrel
–Trouble Coffee

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Mash SF: Kyle Murphy

No cone-kickage, outlaw behavior in the latest from MASH. Nice video guys!

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Rider Portrait: Lindsey and Bucket

Yesterday after I got done shooting one of Chas’ bikes, we were about to roll home when Lindsey stopped at the top of a hill and I snapped this photo. I really miss having a dog! More on these two later…

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Cadence: Pez Episode 2

Here’s the second installment of Dustin from Cadence’s series with Pez.

“Cadence is proud to announce the exclusive release of special collaborative project with PEZ.
PEZ is a prominent street artist and deeply rooted figure in San Francisco cycling and messenger culture.
Honored by the opportunity to work with PEZ we wanted to share his story with those who may have yet to hear about him.
For the next three weeks we will release an episode on PEZ which we hope sheds some light on his influence and involvement in cycling and graffiti cultures.”

Pick up a PEZ x Cadence shirt here!

Reportage By: John Watson

Chas’ Mash Cinelli Prototype Track

Two years ago, Chas and Walton from MASH sat down with the designers at Cinelli in Italy to work on the next track frame. After years of riding track bikes both on the street and in races, the two of these athletes knew exactly what they wanted. The end product was something unlike any track bike Cinelli has made before: a mixture of new technology with performance and practicality in mind.

Last year at Interbike, Cinelli handed over two of the prototypes, which were spraypainted with Montana outside Mash’s flagship store in SF (in fact, you can still see blue and green overspray all over the sidewalk). Chas’ green track bike has traveled the world and seen its share of the fast n loose riding lifestyle. It’s been in multiple Red Hook Crits and bombed the streets of SF and NYC alike.

The most noticeable difference in this frame, versus the older MASH frames include a tapered fork and head tube for added stiffness and proprietary hydroformed Columbus tubing. A level top tube and traditional track geometry add a confident stance to this bike’s profile. In short: the Mash team is very happy with their work and with new paint samples on the way, I had to shoot photos of this bike while it was still built up….

Many thanks to Chas and Lindsey for recommending the sunset bike shoot location and Bucket for showing his appreciation.

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Mash SF: Matt Shapiro

Matt’s just providing jobs for construction workers here. This is too good! Nice one Mash.

Reportage By: John Watson

Cali is Not California™

While I was in California last month, I worked on a few pieces for the Rapha blog, loosely-related to the Amgen Tour of California, with emphasis on loosely. You’re not going to see any pain face pros, just Regular Riders who we met along our trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco. There’s more on the way, but here’s the first edition of Cali is Not California™!

I’m not the best raconteur but Jeremy Dunn is and he did an exceptional job at profiling some of the people we surveyed, so do yourself a favor and check it out at the Rapha Blog!

Tools of the trade:
Mamiya 7ii / 80mm
Kodak Portra 400

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Full Frame Collective: Cubby’s Birthday Hill Bomb

Bombing hills on any bike is fun. Even a BMX!

“For the fourth year in a row, we have successfully completed a Bolinas day trip for Cubby’s birthday. Every year he’s added more friends to the adventure, but the itinerary has stayed the same. Drive out from the city as early possible, get to the top of Mt. Tam, jump on the bikes to ride 6 miles down a twisty one lane back road (this time we bombed two hills, one into Alpine Dam the second into Bolinas). From there we ride the skate park in Bolinas for a few hours and then head to bass lake.”

Full Frame Collective