I love riding in California and today was my first time riding in Golden Gate Park. I crashed with Chas last night and this morning, we headed out to Trouble coffee for some of their excellent coffee and toast. There’s nothing like the #lightbro in early SF mornings.
So as you can tell, there hasn’t been much coverage from the ATOC. Instead of following the race each day, we’ve been riding in the cities that are hosting the race. Today, we woke up and hit Gibraltar. Or rather, Gibraltar hit us. It was amazing and there will be more details once my film gets developed. For now, this iPhone photo looks mad decent.
The Mountains of Madness…
Photos by Kyle Kelley
I’m in Los Angeles today, en route for Santa Barbara and the ATOC tomorrow but before leaving town, I had to do a cross ride with Kyle. Some ups, just as many downs and a few spills made for a great ride. While my film sits in its canister, awaiting being developed, check out these two photos from Kyle’s Instagram. I forget how beautiful Los Angeles is, especially this time of year in the mountains. Nature is so metal.
Praise the Necronomicog.
As far as I’m concerned, two of the greatest social media apps coming together is a good thing. Instagram has become a part of my life and like many cyclists out there, I like to document rides, roads and new routes, especially since I travel and ride in so many cities. Strava announced yesterday that Instagram is now integrated. Simply go to your settings and click “Connect with Instagram”.
This route in particular had some good shots in it. But it’s even better for dirt and trails!
Now, one thing that I’d like to see is more accurate geotagging, or showing you where on the map the photo was taken, which doesn’t work well for #latergram.
Oh, follow me on Instagram, too.
This ride broke me and I’m not ashamed to admit that. After 8 hours of riding in 25 degree weather, through headwinds, frozen rain and mud, I cracked. When I packed for the trip to NYC, Philly and this ride, Sandy wasn’t even on the map. So I left all my rain gear, winter gloves, jackets and wool at home in Austin. In a mad dash to acquire appropriate gear, I found myself without a lot of options.
Cheap gloves, leg warmers and a packable rain jacket quickly reminded me that I was underprepared for the weather we faced out of Pittsburgh and into the mountains. For the entire morning, my body convulsed as I shivered. My hands went numb for hours and I was soaking wet from head to toe. I still can’t feel my finger tips or palms and my jaw was sore this morning from chittering all day. But today was a different story… We’re sitting just outside of DC, awaiting our flights home.
More on this story to come. For now, check out the #GoYonder Instagram tag and I want to thank all the dudes who made this trip so memorable!
This year, my friend Harry from NYC emailed me, asking if I’d be interested in riding from Brooklyn to Philly for the Bike Expo, like we did two years ago. I needed no persuading. I booked my ticket and before I knew it, I found myself in Brooklyn for a few days.
Today we rode to Philly and the route is amazing this time of year. I haven’t seen Autumn in years and man, it was in full vibrancy. Here’s a few Instagram shots, with 35mm on the way.
Our route looks complicated, but is actually pretty simple. Try it out yourself.
At this point, I shouldn’t have to legitimize Instagram, especially to the readers of this site. Aside from the visual stimulus, it’s a great resource for the local routes and spots our fellow riders find themselves facing on the daily. When I scroll through my feed, there are a few people who I look forward to checking out. Some are cyclists, others are artists, or just really damn good at the lovely square composition. Whatever their walk of life may be, these people make me envious of their surroundings.
Not that I like “rules”, I will say that all of these users stick strictly to their iPhones. Something even I don’t bother adhering to!
Check out my top picks below.
If you follow @KyleBKelley and myself on Instagram, these photos should come as no surprise. Tuesday was my last full day in LA and I wanted to do a ride I’ve never done before. But we wanted to take one of the shop helpers, Christian with us, so where would we go?
We began doing Mt. Wilson: 18 miles of climbing and 4,500′ of elevation, which is a piece of cake. Then, we left Christian to nap for an hour at Redbox and headed up Mt. Disappointment, with its rumored top pitches of over 20%. A would be easy feat for my Bishop road with its Austin-hill gearing (34×28) but I was on Ty’s Hufnagel with a granny gear of 38×25. I.e. it hurt like hell.
Even Kyle, who’s a mountain goat of sorts admitted to almost getting off his bike. 3 miles, 1,200′ later and we were at the top and on this one, the views were breathtaking.
Our day totalled around 65 miles and over 7,200′ of climbing. While Kyle doesn’t like to get hung up on distance and elevation, I like to throw it in there not to brag but to show that riding is about having fun with your friends, even while you’re all in pain!
See more Instagram pics from our ride here and 35mm are on the way.
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