The Radavist

… for the next few days, but don’t worry, there’s tons of content rolling in. I’ll be back on Thursday but in the meanwhile, follow @TheRadavist on Instagram!

Great job, guys!

“From solemn overlooks to raucous gourmet meals over bonfires, the two days of Ride Alive meander like the routes they follow. Groups clamor up hiking trails and paddleboard en masse. Rie Sawada is moved by nature as surely as she moves through it.
Many people talk about whether they prefer beach vacations or trips to the mountains. Some like both. They each offer their own sense of scale, their own forces of nature to cooperate and collaborate with. The tides are moved by the moon’s gravity, as we climb and descend mountains, we’re moved by the earth’s. To choose land or sea is to miss the point. Only by considering the whole can we truly appreciate the parts.On Ride Alive, participants work individually towards a common goal. Communal campouts at the end of a day of individual exploration, a convivial toast to adventurous solitude. ”

See more at Terasu.

Some dirt, some coffee and summer solstice. The #SwiftCampout ride in Austin tomorrow is gonna be a blast. Check out some other rides happening across the globe at Swift Industries.

Lauren and I have done plenty of camping and she’s done her share of cycling around town, but we’ve never gone on a bicycle camping trip together. Yesterday morning, I was surprised to hear her ask if I wanted to get in some tent time before I headed out on the road again on Friday.

So last night, I packed up some bags, a tent, my trusty Lodge cast iron skillet and food for two meals. We headed out to the closest state park in the area: McKinney Falls. The route there is pretty easy, even loaded down with a bunch of gourmet food, wine, a hatchet and a skillet. I took it slow and coached Lauren through the climbs, we stopped for photos and tried our best to ignore the impatient rush-hour traffic zipping past. The weather looked nice, with bright blue sunny skies. It didn’t rain this go-round, but it was still quite enjoyable…

I didn’t think this mandated a whole gallery, so check out a scrolling story below.

People have asked me this more than just about anything else when it comes to bicycle camping: tent or hammock? Before we dive right in, I want to clarify that those aren’t the only options. You can also use a bivy or just a sleeping bag on a tarp. I’ve done it all and over the years, I’ve dialed in what I would consider a great system for selecting which will work for you.

Benedict, aka Ultra Romance knows how to keep warm during the cold winter months in the Northeast and there’s a new blog on Tumblr showcasing the majestic landscapes and shredscapes of this region.

Nutmeg Country is worth the click-through, just be prepared for tons of epic bërm blåsting and dudes, don’t let your lady see these photos or she’ll be boarding a plane…

Up until last week, I hadn’t heard anything about this movie, Slow is Fast. If you’re thinking of touring the California coast, this is a must-watch!

“In September 2012, Dan Malloy, Kanoa Zimmerman and Kellen Keene rode bikes down the California coast hoping to see their home state in a new slower-paced light — surfing, camping, staying with friends and lending a hand wherever they could to earn their keep. The result of the trip is a beautifully crafted book and DVD.”

Pick up the DVD and book at Patagonia.

Ace from the Sleepers took some of Ty’s footage from his Mojave Road trip and made a quick video. While GoPro footage is typically boring, this is actually a really great watch.

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!

If you’ve been following the Great Escape, you’ve watched E and S take on the Alps with their touring bikes, loaded down with camping equipment. I love following their rides and still check in on their Tumblr every day and it wasn’t until seeing this photo that I realized there hasn’t been a plug for a while.

Check out that bike… Most importantly, check out that seatpost. Whatever E is riding, it looks pretty boss.

I love receiving emails that start with “you should do a video like this”. A reader sent this video over and it makes me want another touring bike very badly. Bicycling camping outside of your city is one of the best ways to spend your weekend.