The Radavist

The latest from Yonder Journal is quite possibly (actually, it just is) the largest project the team has ever undertaken. Here’s the synopsis:

“In 2015, Yonder Journal will investigate, ascertain, and document the peripheries and possibilities of exploration by bicycle. We call this project Dead Reckoning*. At it’s core we will apply the technologies and methodologies of adventure biking, bike-packing, and ultra-lightweight touring, to multi-day expeditions with a focus on going Over Mountain, the concept of Over Mountain being the the most essential and transformative form of human exploration.

The first of our Dead Reckoning expeditions took us to New Zealand’s South Island where we would attempt to cross the island from east to west, traveling across roads, trails, and unmarked land that has seldom if ever seen bike traffic. The crux of our route would be a Broderick Pass, a seldom traveled route hidden deep in the Southern Alps. It was quite an adventure.”

Check out some samples below and the full, massive photo story at Yonder Journal.

Illustration by Nathaniel Russell

This print from Yonder Journal celebrates and congratulates Wilderness. Here’s an excerpt:

“Congratulations Wilderness. Congratulations Wilderness for being just what you are, not that you need our gratitude. You would be better off without us anyway, the conscious, self-righteous/self-loathing, needy us. You would even be better off without the fawning, in awe, perpetually blissed-out us, the enlightened us, the elevated us. You would just be better off without us, without our tents, our non-motorized vehicles, our horses, our campfire rings, and our buried feces, you would still be you, an even better, cleaner, you, you would be Wilderness just as you were meant to be, absent the blight of consciousness, the acne of sentience.”

You should read the whole piece at Yonder Journal and pick up a print at the YJ Web Shop!

Man, the latest from Yonder Journal is amazing. Earlier this year, the gang – sorry, I wasn’t able to make this one – headed to the Southern US to embark on an infamous journey: along the trail of tears.

While civilization has sept and crept in since settlement era, a majority of this landscape is still very much alive as it was in the early 1800’s. It was a dark time in our Nation’s history, yet it served as a fantastic stage for a Brovet.

See more at Yonder Journal as the gang traverses the mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee. Also check out more behind the scenes selects below!

Look, I know you signed up for a “bike blog” when you clicked on this link today, but the truth is, everyone needs a break from the constant rotation of crank arms, even me.

Yesterday, Lauren and I descended a web of slippery, muddy, roots to a waterfall in Kauai and then the sun broke out. Back track a bit…

After sleeping in a tent on the beach during the pouring rain and spotty rain all day, I knew it’d be a wash today at the falls, so when the sun broke out, I grabbed whatever I had laying around and ran out the door.

Afterwards, I realized the sunblock-scented shirt I picked off the bathroom floor was the Yonder Journal Corndoggin’ shirt and I couldn’t think of a better tee to be wearing.

Anyway, thanks for the patience, I’m a week from being home, with my bikes and my other camera equipment. Now, get out and enjoy the summer!

What is Corndogging? Well, aside from looking at the hashtag on Instagram to reveal some weird photos, it’s the act of wasting (valuable) resources such as daylight, money, etc., in the pursuit of ​ incongruous or​ curious and/or seemingly pointless endeavors.

Synonyms: Fucking Around, Killing Time, Dicking Around, Chilling, Fucking Off, Dilly Dallying, Fartin Around.
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​This t-shirt ​​​features Bojangle, the Patron Saint of Corn Dogging and is in stock now at Yonder Journal. The dudes also have stock of other randomness, so head over and check it out.

This is Yonder Journal’s most ambitious undertaking to date. For the entire month of July – or as close to that time period as possible – Yonder will be exploring various areas of the western United States. The primary purpose of this project is to explore, document, and publish a permanent, voluminous, wide-sweeping, and studied record of the State of Recreation in the summer of 2014.

See more at Yonder Journal, including how you can contribute to their Field Studies and win prizes from Yakima, Yonder and Poler.

EVERYONE loves stickers and really nice posters, especially hand-numbered, limited edition posters by dudes named Chris McNally. These 17×22″ posters were printed by Chris, signed in an edition of 50 and are now in stock at Yonder Journal. While you’re over there, don’t miss out on these stickers!

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!

If you’ve never bikepacked before and really want to get into it, or you have attempted before and failed miserably, then you NEED to read this post over at Yonder Journal. It’s a break-down on how to pack what, where and lists essentials for long rides / tours / camping trips.

Head over to Yonder Journal for the full article!

If you’ve seen the newest issue of Bike Mag, then maybe you noticed the large-format poster featuring the above artwork by Chris McNally – which you can coincidentally pick up at Yonder Journal in a nice, flat poster for your wall. But what exactly is it? Who are these strange men and what are those bigfoots (bigfeet?) doing with those rocks?

Last summer, Yonder Journal got the hair-brained idea to follow mule tracks from the Mythical State of Jefferson to the coast on packed-out mountain bikes and using the new Acre Hauser packs.

When excerpts from a ride report begin with:

“It was decided early on that Daniel would be the first one we would eat. He is a fleshy nutrient-packed individual with a penchant for sweets and he was, by being the organizer and de facto Captain of this expedition, the reason why we were all here. So it only made sense that if the fate of our group lead to cannibalism, he would be the first to go. We had come to Northern California to attempt bikepacking.

More specifically we had come to ride to the sea. All of us had backpacked before and all of us were cyclists, but how the integration of the two would work was based on assumption. Most of us could only think about it, like we were trying to imagine orange when our experience had been strictly limited to yellow and red. Fortunately Daniel had selected a group of people who, for this adventure at least, were able to rein in a modicum of our typical hubris, to the point that important questions were deferred to the couple of group members who had prior bikepacking experience.” -Kyle von Hoetzendorff

Then you know it’s gonna be good. See the whole (it’s a big one) MSOJ MTB shit-show (MSOJMTBSS) at Yonder Journal and check out some sample photos below!

Photo by Daniel Wakefield Pasley

Sometimes, rides go south and I’m not talking about Georgia. Yonder Journal has been to the Mythical State of Jefferson twice now. The second time, didn’t go so well… Check out a few words by Kyle von Hoetzendorff:

“WE ARE TIRED, HUNGRY, AND BEATEN. Around us mountains rise like picket signs to mock our day’s progress. This trip, which trip specifically doesn’t matter, is familiar; you, me, we have all been here before, a day full of motivational derision packed with mind-chiding expletives like “just around the corner”, “this is the last hill,” and “I am sure it’s just right up ahead.” The road we’re on, our road, has petered out, it’s a dead end stub built by the type of people who knew exactly where they came from and who had no choice but to return there. We on the other hand need to carry on, turning back is an admission of failure, an admission that all those involved had seriously considered and yet none of us were smart enough to act upon…”

Continue reading at Yonder Journal! I really enjoyed this piece Kyle.

Ok, before you ask me what’s going on with this shirt, allow me to introduce you:

“Pictured are Itchy and Scratchy, two bears included in the 1941 torchlight parade in celebration of the State of Jefferson’s vote to secede from California and Oregon and form a new state, of which a primary motive was to secure better federal funding for road construction.”

Aka, it makes for a very weird graphic t-shirt by Joshua Porter and I love it! Pre-order the MSOJP shirt at Yonder Journal.

Looking at the photos on Yonder Journal today reminded me of how fun it is to go on rides like that. I still can’t get over how incredible the roads were, like above for instance. I’ve got a ton of film photos I’ll post at some point, but this one is doing it for me right now.

The following is my brief ride report from the Yonder Journal Brovet 03 – The Mythical State of Jefferson – click the link for more from Yonder Journal

After the second Brovet, my riding ego was damaged. I had bonked so pitifully that I almost thought for a second the dudes wouldn’t invite me on another ride. Then I realized, they actually enjoyed giving me shit and wouldn’t let me miss it for the world.

As I was preparing for this ride, I took my time calculating weather, load weight and most importantly, water. In the past, drinking from rivers landed me with a messed up stomach, I knew hydration would be an issue and it’d be hot, so I brought a Sawyer filter for filling my bottles with river water.

I also packed multiple sandwiches, dried fruits, salt tabs, nuts, gels and anything else I could think of (donuts). My bike was dialed and I felt great, I was prepared as much as I could be.

Let’s just put it this way: when someone asked for a necessity on the ride – baby wipes – I had it.