The Radavist

Like everyone else today, I can barely function. Each year, the 4th of July proves to be a great time. I’ve yet to blow off any digits, or shoot my eye out and so far, the only damage has been to my bank account. I spent the afternoon at our local digs, the Yellow Jacket Social Club and enjoyed the festivities. Dogs, dudes, babes, beer, bourbon and a lotta randomness ensued. Check it out below and if you have any cool photos from your afternoon, share them in the comments.

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A century in Texas can be boring as hell if you don’t plan accordingly. It’s easy to get stuck alongside a busy highway for miles on end if you’re not careful selecting your routes. When I wanted to put in a hundred or so miles a few weeks back, I had a general idea of where I wanted to go: Pedernales, Johnson City and past Hamilton Pool. Most of the roads were desolate, with minimal vehicular traffic and climbing over the hill ranges provided some excellent descents into the river valleys.

One of my favorite routes is the switchback over the river right outside of Hamilton Pool. It’s this really sharp right, over a worn-down bridge and then a steep, switchback up, landing you at the base of one of the few Cat 3 climbs in the Austin area. Four of us went out in high spirits and under the cloudy skies, we had a blast. Until the sun came out and scorched us all. This Recent Roll is dedicated to fun with friends. We totalled 110 miles and about 5,500′ with an 18mph average. Not bad.

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Sometimes, A Day in 10 Photos posts are more like “a spot in 10 photos”. Yesterday, after a frustrating morning behind the computer, I headed out to blow off some steam on the BMX with AJ. It was hot. Very hot. Two hours of riding and I thought I was cooked. Then, once it cooled down. Mikey and Cody hit me up to cruise the East Side. The thing I love about my neighborhood is any block can hold any number of jib spots. We spent about two hours kicking around on the same block. Both of these dudes are real talented riders and Cody’s not to shabby with the camera himself.

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Last night my buddy TJ came into town to play in his band King Dude. It had been a few years since I’ve seen him perform and in that time, the band has gone from its solo, neofolk roots to more Americana-influenced (and dark) folk band. Nothing like death ballads to liven up an audience! And yet seeing the crowd’s reception was impressive. As always, hanging with old friends is a great way to spend the weekend. Check out TJ’s clothing label Actual Pain and King Dude’s music here.

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After the 2011 NACCCs, Josh relocated to Austin from SF, where he worked at TCB Courier. Once settling in here in town, he took Andrew Low up on his offer for a track frame. Andrew went to town on this one with the finishing. This was the first frame that Andrew etched the owner’s name into the top tube. Other finishing notes include the TCB Courier logo etched in and Andrew’s signature on the non-drive chainstay.

Josh wanted this bike to ride fast and secure, so he went with some SRAM Omniums and a bullhorn on his cockpit. What better way to top off the build than with a Pentabike Muststash?

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I’ve been enjoying Tony Fast’s Disposable series he’s been doing on his Tumblr and so when he was planning on coming back to Austin to hang out this month, I made sure he shot a few cameras for me. Don’t expect any epic freestyle or craziness. This was a good, chill time and at the same time, a great glimpse into how we cope with the Texas heat all summer. Ride, swim, eat, drink, repeat.

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Yesterday was the quintessential Texas Saturday. We rolled out of the house mid-day after the temperature was in the upper 90’s and headed to 5 Hip. Tony Fast is in town to escape Santa Barbara and ride a bit. Puckett was blasting the new quarter with an inverted table and AJ was working on a flyout bar. Once the afternoon heat and haze crippled us, we headed to a secluded swimming hole.

On the descent down into the Greenbelt, Eric flew over the bars on his brakeless BMX and wrecked himself but it was nothing the cool water couldn’t heal.

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I’ve got a few friends here in Austin with impeccable taste in bikes. Chris is one of them. His Eddy Merckx Pista and matching Eddy Merckx road have been featured here before and today I’ve got a gorgeous Joe Bell-restored blue Nagasawa. When Chris got the frame, it had surface rust and the paint was all chipped up. He’d always wanted a Joe Bell-painted bike, so he contact Joe and set up a restoration. When Joe finished his work, Chris built it up and the end result is stunning. The blue just popped in the late afternoon sun and the freshly-paved asphalt alleyway was the perfect backdrop. This bike is a beauty. See for yourself below.

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