PROLLY IS NOT PROBABLY

Posts Tagged ‘rides’

Mission Workshop _ PiNP Bike Tour: Day 02

You just have to find a line, hold it and go.

Suzhou is a gorgeous city, once you look past the air quality. Today we woke up to a “sunny” sky and an AQI of only around 250. Riding around really takes it out of you, but a quick trip to the old town made us forget about our lungs. The architecture and infrastructure is very old. Many of the buildings have been here since the town’s founding, almost 2000 years ago. It’s like the Venice of China with canals snaking their way past temples.

Once we finished walking around the old town, we came back to the hotel to prepare for the group ride. About 200 kids showed up and we took a hot lap around the city. That’s when I began to feel like I huffed the exhaust from a school bus. Tired, coughing and with red eyes, we all returned to pack our bags and get ready for our ride tomorrow morning.

Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery and keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop), Factory 5 (@Factory5) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day for updates.

Mission Workshop _ PiNP Bike Tour: Day 01

There was nothing pleasant about today, aside for the company. The things I saw on the road will forever change the way I view the world and globalization. Without going too much into the politics of it all, I’ll just say that I’m glad to have gotten the first leg of our ride out of the way. On paper, the route looks easy. 100k door to door, and about 90 meters of climbing.

These numbers are almost laughable, compared to other rides we’ve all completed, but those weren’t in an AQI of 350+ and through a toxic wasteland. To give you some perspective, Los Angeles has the highest AQI in the United States and today, it’s at 70. I’ve never experienced anything like this before.

The morning began early, as we checked out of our hotel and headed to Factory 5 to ready our bikes. At 10:30am, we put on masks (literally) and rode alongside a highway out of town. You’d think the air would be worse in the center city, but it was the opposite. Soon, it was like we were riding into a fog, rolling into San Francisco but there were no mountains, no iconic bridges or architecture, just smoke stacks and automotive factories.

Your face began to burn, eyes water and all you wanted to do was take off your mask to get some “fresh air”. Upon doing so, the smell of burnt plastic almost made you gag. It was literally hell and I can’t fathom the reality that people live in it everyday. The striking dichotomies were everywhere: a brand new VW dealership, next to a vacant lot with a pond, that was completely red with bacteria, or the canals and waterways turned black from factory waste next to a parking lot filled with brand new Buicks.

60 miles felt like 120. My lungs burn and my face is windburnt. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so hungover from a ride. There’s no gallery, since I shot all film today, but will leave you with the photo above to just say that I’m glad to be indoors for once. For more frequent updates, keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day.

Mission Workshop _ PiNP in Taipei

Taipei was not at all what I expected but in a good way. From walking the market streets, to climbing and descending the surrounding mountain ranges, we had a rad time in Taiwan. Check out this video Adventure Refugee made for Mission Workshop during our stay. Vimeo is blocked here in China so I haven’t seen the final edit but the rough cut looked pretty damn good.

Mission Workshop _ PiNP Shanghai: Day 03

There’s nothing like a recovery day. Not physically, but mentally. We have all been running at 100% since arriving in Shanghai and the guys from Factory 5 needed to catch up on things around the office. While they worked, I headed out around town with Lyle and James from Mission Workshop and took some photos with the Mamiya. When we got back, it was time to rock and roll.

Tuesday nights are the weekly group rides in Shanghai. They meet up at Factory 5 and roll through town at a moderate pace. Once the group leaves the center city, out towards the more industrial areas, the ride turns into a sprint as everyone puts out 100% for a few miles. It was a lot of fun chasing people down and shooting photos. Even in the complete darkness, I managed to get some rad shots! It was a great way to spend the last night before we leave for our 7 day tour around Shanghai…

Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery and keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day for updates.

A Day in 20 Photos: 03.22.2013

Each switchback gave us a unique vista to the oncoming road.

Killing two birds with one stone, we got in a little bit of riding today as, we knocked out some filming for the forthcoming Mission Workshop Acre line. We already had video and photos from urban riding and I had a hankering for some elevation. The hardest part about traveling is falling out of your riding routine. It had been a few days since I had even ridden my bike and I wanted to keep my legs loose and my fitness up, so we found a short and sweet climb to ride.

I threw my Mamiya 7ii in my musette and shot some, then at the halfway point, I switched to the 5D and the 40mm pancake, which these photos were taken with. Climbing in the horrible air quality and intense humidity was no easy feat. My lungs feel sore and my sinuses are in pain but it felt great to get the blood moving…

Check out some narrated photos in the Gallery and keep an eye on Mission Workshop’s (@MissionWorkshop) and my Instagram (@JohnProlly) during the day for updates.

Taipei Night Climbs

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Once you’ve settled into a new town, it’s always nice to go for a quick spin to loosen the legs up. Sometimes a short ride along the river, turns into exploring roads that shoot off into the mountain’s foothills. Taipei has some incredible riding in these neighboring mountains, just 8 miles from the central banking district.

My hope is that we get to spend an afternoon scaling some switchbacks but even tonight’s little jaunt was exactly what we needed. Well, minus the Chinese Tree Viper that I almost ran over. Yikes!

Ty Likes to Disappear in the Woods

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Photo by Kyle Kelley

I hope to go “disappear” in the woods myself in an hour. GREAT photo Kyle! Miss you dudes.

Mission Workshop and PiNP Tour China’s Yangtze River Delta

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See larger here

When this project was first proposed to me, all I thought was “this is too good to be true” and after what seems to be a maddening process of pulling everything together, we’re good to go! Here’s the official blurb from Mission Workshop:

“Follow John Watson of Prollyisnotprobably.com and the Mission Workshop crew as they ride through China’s Yangtze river delta on a photo exploration of bike culture with the help of the guys at Factory Five. Visit the Mission Workshop Blog as they travel through the world’s largest urban population in Shanghai and also explore the ancient architecture of the Chinese countryside.”

To start off the trip, I’ll be in Taiwan in time for the Taipei International Cycle Show before we fly out to Shanghai. This is one part of the world I’ve always wanted to see and I cannot wait to share my photos with you all.

Expect daily updates both here and on the Mission Workshop blog, as well as on Instagram @JohnProlly @MissionWorkshop.

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.

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Pro 400H

Kim Heikkinen: Winter Riding

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Photo by Kim Heikkinen

I’m sure most of you are over winter, waiting for the snow to melt, the trails to dry and the temperatures to break the winter layers. At least some people are having fun in the snow. Check out more of Kim’s photos here.