#35mm

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Jakarta!

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Jakarta!

I’m still kinda buzzing from my time in Indonesia and these photos from my T4 in Jakarta aren’t helping. Riding around a city like this, with 20 people can be a bit nerve-wrecking at times but that doesn’t mean it’s not fun. We all had a blast and as these photos show, were smiling ear to ear the whole time.

Click on the above photo to launch the gallery, or here to open in a new tab.

Reader’s Rides: Kareem Shehab’s Leader Pharoah FGFS

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Reader’s Rides: Kareem Shehab’s Leader Pharoah FGFS

Since I don’t really do any kind of bike-check posts, the only label I could think that would be appropriate for this is Reader’s Rides. Plus it mixes it up from the normal track bike we see in that tag. Kareem’s been in the FGFS scene for as long as just about anyone. His recent relocation from Atlanta to Seattle, landed him in the middle of a great group of people, including Jake Ricker. Check out more photos of Kareem’s Leader Pharoah below, all courtesy of Jake and his Contax!

Defgrip: Photogallery – Fairdale’s Seattle to SF Tour

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Defgrip: Photogallery – Fairdale’s Seattle to SF Tour

The northwest offers up some superb riding, best tackled via touring or credit card touring. The long, arduous days clear the mind and purge all weight that found itself on your shoulders. Sandy Carson, Taj Mihelich and Seth Holton have an excellent Photogallery up on Defgrip from their recent tour. You’ve gotta check it out! As a side note: Taj did this on his Weekender, a great 1×10 “light tourer”.

Cloud Burst!

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Cloud Burst!

From the day I flew into LA, all Kyle kept saying was “we’re gonna take you on the hardest ride of your life”. All I could think was “what? we’re going to Australia?”. Turns out, Cloud Burst, aka Cloud Bonk is a tough ride. Not the hardest ride ever, but a damn tough ride. So what qualifies as a tough ride? Well, for starters, you’re climbing for like 30 miles straight, from sea level to 7,000′. And there are no shops, no spigots, no nothing to get water. Just a crap shot of drinking from “the Earth”. Previous experiences with that cunt, Mother Nature has left me bed-ridden for days… So yeah, it’s not your every day, supported, group ride through the dainty countryside like a lot of centuries I’ve done are.

Cloud Burst does live up to its nickname and yes, it is a tough ride but how can you fixate on the negatives with such a rad crew? I had so much fun this day that the photos don’t even begin to capture it. Sure, it’s beautiful and yes, these roads are some of the finest California has to offer but to experience this ride with your true friends is something else.

That and the burgers are the top are the best! In the end, my Garmin was showing under 10k of climbing, so we hit Griffith to bring it to a nice and even 120 miles and about 10,300′ of climbing.

YEESH! I will say, this is the most fun I’ve ever had on a bicycle before and these photos are my absolute favorite 35mm ride photos. Ever.

Click on the above photo to launch the gallery, or here to open in a new tab.

Mt. Wilson

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Mt. Wilson

The Angeles National Forest is a magical place. If you decide to take any of its roads up for the full ascent, you’re in for a great day of climbing. One of my favorite rides is Mt. Wilson. From the Shell Station at the bottom, to the top, it’s about 18 miles up. It was the first time I’ve done any HC climbs but the group I was with made it feel like a walk in the park. It’s extremely breathtaking. Since we rode out to the ride, we totalled 60 miles and over 6,000′ of climbing.

Click on the above photo to launch the gallery, or here to open in a new tab.

Recent Roll: Doc Fast

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Recent Roll: Doc Fast

I gotta say, I am so proud of Tony Fast. He’s been one of my longest-running friends since I’ve been running this site and after graduating last year, Doctor Tony Fast is now residing in Cali. He came down to LA to hang out with all of us when we were in town and the dude is looking good. The funny thing about cycling and age is you tend to lose weight, while the rest of your friends just get fat…

As he’s lost weight, he’s gained a great eye for photography, which is why I love his Disposable series so much. He had his camera in LA and posted some shots up on his Flickr, which I’ve embedded below. Enjoy!

Hollywood Babylon

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Hollywood Babylon

I went on a lot of rad rides while in LA and this one in particular I had always wanted to do. It’s a ride through the hills, over some dirt running trails and up the backside of the Hollywood sign. Save a pinch on the dirt, it ended up being a blast. 30 miles and 2,600′ feet was the perfect amount of riding that morning.

Click on the above photo to launch the gallery, or here to open in a new tab.

The Geekhouse Boys in Austin

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The Geekhouse Boys in Austin

It’s surprising to me how many people have the misconception that “Texas is flat”. While most of the eastern part of the state is indeed, very flat, in Austin, we’re smack dab in the middle of Texas Hill Country. Granted, the highest elevation we have is around 1,500′, there are plenty of good rides with 1:1 ratios of miles to elevation. When Brad and Marty from Geekhouse came into town a few weeks back, they said something to the extent of, “Austin’s pretty flat, right?”.

So, like any good host, I took them on a little hill loop. The weather was just right and not wanting to kill Marty, we took it easy, meandering through ranges and stopping at swimming holes. We ended up doing 40 miles and over 3,000′ before the allure of tacos took over…

Click on the above photo to launch the gallery, or here to open in a new tab.

Recent Roll: Get Rad – California Edition

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Recent Roll: Get Rad – California Edition

I don’t think I’ll ever want to go on a “training ride”. I have way more fun goofing off and taking photos on my ride bike than I ever would “smoking people” up a mountain. Unless there’s green involved… Both of these photos were taken on rides in Cali, expect their respective Photosets shortly. I love the one of Ty doing a wheelie up Mt. Wilson. Although, Woody clearing the chain is pretty impressive too.