PROLLY IS NOT PROBABLY

Posts Tagged ‘gravel’

MelburnOut: Shifter Dan’s 40th Birthday Bush Bash – Day 01

The day began with a cold start up a big climb. Reefton Spur road is a beauty!

“Aged many years in the wood”. How many years? Well, like everything in Straya, there’s a story for that. Daniel John Hale has seen his share of saddle time in the years he’s spent on Earth. An ex-pro mountain biker, owner of the Best Bike Shop in the World and one of the first solo riders to take on this particular area of Australian Bush, Dan’s no stranger to the wood.

Ten years ago, he did a similar ride to what we just completed this past weekend but instead of two days, it took him four. Rather than ride a mountain bike or a geared bike, he took his singlespeed Monster Cross. No GPS, no satellite phone and no idea where he was going, save for a map he bought on the side of the road. Later, he, Dave, Scooter and Andy began to tackle these rides annually. That’s 10 years in the wood of Upper Yarra, familiarizing themselves with the ‘bush, the many off-shooting tracks and trails.

Last year, a very similar ride changed me as a cyclist. It took the 215 pound me and slapped it around before spitting (i.e. shitting) it back out. I learned a lot in two long days, but left Melbourne wanting more. When I mentioned returning this year, Andy proposed me landing in for Dan’s 40th. As Andy put it, “we’ll do another ride”…

I’m now around 185 pounds and have been putting in serious saddle time, so the anxiety wasn’t as bad. Until he showed me the route. Day 01, 100 miles, 16,000′ of climbing. BUGGA!

A total of nine riders started, seven finished. Andy’s brother made it up the first climb before returning home and Scooter, one of the original badass couriers in Australia (and aforementioned Upper Yarra riders) only had time for Woods Point and back. That left Dan, Andy, Joe, Dave, Reuben, Mal and myself for the haul… Enclosed is the ride report for the first leg of this 26.6 MP/C* ride.

Check out a bunch of narrated photos in the Gallery!

If There Was an HC for Stokedness

Well, we’re all back from Shifter Dan’s 40th Birthday Bush Bash. After two days, 180 miles and over 31′,000 of climbing, we’re all a little sore. That said, if there was an HC for stokedness, we’d all be there. More to come, but for now, here’s Dan finding his inner spirit animal while climbing into the birthplace of the Necronomicog.

Recent Roll: Wintering in Austin for a Week

I let Josh ride my IF for the day, as Chris strikes a pose.

Last week, before the SxSW shit storm settled in on Austin, I had some friends in town from New York. Wilis and Josh from King Kog wanted to get out on some trails, see the sites and eat some BBQ, so I arranged just that. For what felt like every single day, Wilis and I were out hitting my normal trail loops I’ve worked out, while still finding time to stop for some rope swing action.

We ended the week with some Austin BBQ and as the guys packed their bikes up in my living room, I could tell they were a little bummed to be leaving… Can you blame ‘em?

Since this Recent Roll is almost 36 exposures, I narrated the photos.

Yashica t4
Pro 400H

Initial Reaction: Shinola Runwell Porteur – Made in the USA

Detroit has a long tradition of US manufacturing and it’s this very tradition that Shinola is looking to continue with their brand. The company began with watches, a common, everyday object that hasn’t been mass produced in the United States for decades. But Shinola knew that in order to bring that industry back to Detroit, they’d have to enlist in the help of true craftsmen. Ronda AG, a Lausen, Switzerland-based movement manufacturer is working with Shinola on their Argonite 1069 watch movement assemblage and that’s only the beginning.

Similarly, when Shinola began to design their bicycles, they looked to Wisconsin and the Waterford facilities for fabrication. Inspired by French porteurs and light tourers, the Shinola Runwell is an ideal city bike and you don’t need any fancy Swiss movement to get these bikes rolling. An 11-speed Alfine hub effortlessly shifts this mid-trail bike through your city or countryside. Load up the front rack with groceries, post office runs, beer, or what have you and just go! If you need to stop on a dime, the mechanical disk brakes will do the trick.

The Runwell has details. Waterford’s simple and classy lugwork, along with a bright Cherokee red paint job (it’s really bright!) really compliments the mostly chrome components. Even the gusset on the non-drive fork leg resolves any stress riser issue you might have with disk tabs on a mid-trail ride. Shinola went the extra mile with their branded saddle and grips and the 32c Continental Contact tires will roll without getting flats from thorns or glass.

Check out more below.

Bunyan Velo: Issue 01

Bunyan Velo Issue 01, an online publication dedicated to bike camping, touring, expeditions and general badassery is now online for free. I don’t have time to read it at the moment but the photos alone are worth the flip through.

Check it out above and you’ll want to go full-screen with this one.

Brian Vernor for Argonaut Cycles

Argonaut-78310029

Stoked to finally see some of these photos. Brian’s work is always inspirational. Here’s some information from Argonaut:

“We invited Brian Vernor up to Portland a few months ago to turn his lens on Argonaut. The book captures the essence of the brand and as usual Brian did a fantastic job. We produced a very limited run of books which we will have on hand at NAHBS. We will be releasing the digital version on March 5th so everyone can enjoy the wonderful work that Brian and David from Wilderness put together for us.”

See more teasers below and once the digital book is live, I’ll link to it.

An Ode to the Grifo

Grifo33-5

I have a love / hate relationship with this tire. Last year, I had a bad batch. The tread pulled off almost immediately but luckily, they were easy enough to return. I swore them off, claiming they were just popular because of their gum-colored side wall. It took me going to LA and seeing how people rode their Grifos on everything: asphalt, dirt, rock, and even mud (yes, there’s mud in SoCal).

Bruce Gordon Cycles: O.G.G. 25th Anniversary Frameset

10-7

I just got in the Bruce Gordon Cycles Rock ‘n Road tires yesterday and literally moments after I opened the box, an email came in from Bruce Gordon alerting me to the new Original Gravel Grinder Rock ‘n Road 25th Anniversary framesets:

“We are going to celebrate 25 years of the Rock ‘n Road with a limited run of numbered, signed 25th Anniversary Rock ‘n Road bicycles. We will produce only 10 of these.

The 25th Anniversary Rock ‘n Road frames will be made right here in the shop, using the same geometry we’ve been using for the past 25 years. The only changes we’ve made are to rear spacing (which is now a modern 135mm) and the headtube, which is now 1⅛” threadless. Forks will be built with the snazzy Pacenti bi-plane lugged fork crown.

The 25th Anniversary frames will come standard with our Signature Rust powdercoat. Other powder coat colors are available for an upcharge. The frames will be expertly TIGged. Fillet brazing is also available for an upcharge. Please note, the Rock ‘n Road is different from the RnR Tour. Its shorter chainstays are ideal for nimble handling and especially good for Gravel Grinding.”

Check out ordering information at Bruce Gordon Cycles!

Recent Roll: I’ve Never Taken This Trail

“Yeah, I’ve got a route planned, but we might dip off and take this one trail”. No matter how organized you try to make a friendly, chill ride, sometimes the best thing you can do is take that trail. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes you end up walking a hobo path over a twelve foot drop onto limestone but more often than not, you can make due.

Most of the trails here in Austin are very cross-bike friendly. Some are not, but we avoid those for the most part. People say, “get a MTB”, but they’re also the ones driving their cars to do a piece of 5 mile singletrack. You don’t want to ride a MTB out 15 miles on the road, then up a 18% sealed climb before you bomb down a scenic descent. But a cross bike…

When Kyle was in town, I pulled together a little ride with some friends. We spent about 40% of the time on sealed road and 50% on gravel, singletrack or dirt. That missing 10% was on this one “oh shit” hiking trail we poached on a piece of government land. We made it out alive, save for Chris flipping over his bars and one flat tire. John even rode a stock Nature Boy up some very steep faces. It was impressive.

Beers were had and stories were made. Bottom line is, we had a fucking blast and all lived to tell the tale / Instagram it but no Strava for this route. I wanna keep some of it a secret. We ended up doing +/- 40 miles and about 3,500′.

Fyxomatosis: Office

FYXOPaper
Photo by Andy White

While the Fixed Mag cover is a beautiful sealed road, this road epitomizes unsealed beauty. Andy posted this around the beginning of the New Year and I was holding off to post it so I didn’t jinx my trip back to Melbourne. I’ll be staring down this frontage road once again and I can’t wait. This truly is one of the most beautiful places on Earth and having ridden it already, maybe it’ll be easier? Who knows. Andy and Dan are already threatening to “break me again“…

Download this as a wallpaper for your desktop here.