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On the heels of his Bike Hack about carrying a pair of prism reading glasses while bikepacking, Travis Engel now suggests bringing your books from the tent to the trail. His short treatise on the merits of audiobooks on all-day rides might inspire you to revisit a classic, or seek out the source material behind your favorite movie to find out if the book is actually any better.
One helpful tip for getting a good night’s sleep while bike touring is to mimic your home sleeping experience as closely as possible. Cotton pillowcases or fleece sleeping bag liners can ease your mind by tricking your body. But you should apply that logic to your entire pre-sleep ritual. Have some dessert, brush your teeth, and once you’re all tucked in, do some light reading. Travis Engel is here with a bike hack that may make that last part a little easier to do in the wild.
When you review bike products, sometimes they arrive with some swag. T-shirt, stickers, sure. But sometimes there’s a cool memento, like an Abbey Tool laser-etched by whatever brand has partnered up with them for the launch. Or an artifact from the product’s manufacturing and development, like a piece of the innovative raw material that made it possible. But what came with my GX Transmission kit is by far the most moving party favor I’ve ever received.
If you’ve ever been on a bike tour, you know that sometimes the most challenging part isn’t necessarily the actual riding. Emma Jones finds answers for overcoming obstacles of bikepacking in Robert M. Pirsig’s classic, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, while taking on a two month trans-Europe tour. Beware of the Gumption Traps!
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
If you’re looking for something different this year for your holiday purchases and gifts, consider the second volume from Rough Stuff Fellowship, Further Adventures in Rough Stuff. The second volume of photos and stories from the archive of the oldest off-road cycling club in the world. The original members of the RSF, founded in 1955, were the godfathers and godmothers of off-road cycling as we know it today – mountain bikes, gravel, and cylotourists all follow in their tire tracks…
Available in a limited-edition hardcover and a regular softcover version at Isolapress.
Specs:
-270 x 210 mm
-Hardcover with flush-cut boards or softcover options
-208pp
-Matches Volume 1
Bikerafting is when you incorporate a bike onto a packraft like an Alpacka Raft. While navigating rivers and other bodies of water shouldn’t be taken with a grain of salt and if you don’t have whitewater experience, you should seek out proper training before embarking on a packraft or bikerafting trip. Once you’ve done that, buy this book for inspiration. The Bikeraft Guide is a 325 page book, packed with stories, instructional how-tos, illustrations, and more. It was compiled by Lizzy and Doom of Four Corners Guides and is a great companion for those bikeraft curious. Let’s take a quick look below…
Black Champions in Cycling is a book that explores and analyzes in detail the rich and often overlooked history of Black cyclists. A world expert in the history and life of Black cycling champions, former elite racer and academic, Dr Marlon Moncrieffe, combines his own elite racing experience with that of several other contributors. The first book of its kind, this collection of stories, personal reflections and interviews with historical icons of sport and current agents of change, addresses the essential questions of access, diversity, inclusion and of representation. Exploring how figures such as Major Taylor and Maurice Burton discovered cycling, the book sheds light on the mentors who encouraged them to pursue their ambitions as well as the explicit and implicit forms of discrimination they faced. From the first non-white rider to compete in the Tour de France in 1914 to the Black cyclists who push the boundaries today, discover how the determination to succeed despite discrimination defined the careers of these great athletes.
Includes interviews with:
Major Taylor, Kittie Knox, David Weller, Maurice Burton, Russell Williams, Nelson Vails, Justin and Cory Williams, Gregory Bauge, Rashaan Bahati, Kevin Reza, Tre Whyte, Shanaze Reade, David Clarke, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, Nicholas Dlamini, between others.
In stock now at Rapha.
Last year in May 2019 Dan and I left Santa Monica, CA on a cold rainy day to start pedaling to New York. Dan had this goal of riding across the country a few years ago after we had done some shorter bike touring trips together. I didn’t want to do this ride at all when he initially brought it up.
For those looking for different holiday gifts, while supporting small, independent publishers and authors look no further. The latest from BMX legend Taj Mihelich is a book of doodles and stories:
“This book is 164 pages of my cartoons and doodles. There is a bunch of bicycle comics (including a number from Sunday Comics with Taj series on Pinkbike), lots of low- brow humor, dad jokes, questionable puns, and some things that are probably only funny to me. There’s a few things I’m actually serious about, but hopefully you can’t tell, and even a few essays. I call it a collection of not-too-artsy-fartsy work I’ve done over the last few years (though, there are a few fart jokes).”
Please note, this is not a children’s book! Head to Taj’s shop to pre-order.
Of Crank & Chain: Cyclocross is a 240 page photographic and written expression of domestic cyclocross in 2019. Both black and white and color images captured locally in the Pacific Northwest as well as at UCI events around the nation, the book is not organized by the events themselves, but rather by parts of a race day from the events spanning the season, blended together and presented as one continuous event. None of the images contain captions of the who and the where, because, in a way, a season is a singular event and also features images of amateurs and professionals and doesn’t draw a distinction between them. In the U.S., we are all just ‘cross racers suffering on the same track. In that respect, American cyclocross paints amateurs and pros with essentially the same brush. More than anything the book is about what it is to race cyclocross and what goes into it, as opposed to a year in review.
Writer Molly Hurford is pleased to announce the second book in her Shred Girls series titled “Ali’s Rocky Ride”, illustrated by Violet Lemay. Here’s a synopsis of this second book in the series:
“In the follow-up to LINDSAY’S JOYRIDE, the Shred Girls reunite at Ali’s home for a mountain-biking training trip that builds up to an elite competition! Even though Ali grew up on the mountain biking with her professional-biker older brothers, she’s anxious. Her brothers always make her feel like she’s not talented enough. Could they be right? She’ll just have to find out.”
If you, or a friend, or a daughter is looking for some riding inspiration, check out this series! You can now pre-order Ali’s Rocky Ride at the Outdoor Edit.
Our buddy and California Golde videographer Sandy Carson has released a photo book funding campaign on Indie Go Go. The book is entitled “I’ve Always Been a Cowboy In My Heart” and it dives into the humor and absurdities of the great American road trip landscape. Check it out on Indie Go Go if you dig this video!
Racing. It’s not just a hobby, for many it’s a way of life. It dictates one’s sleep schedule, diet, and just about every other facet of life, at the same time directly influencing them in both positive and negative ways. Author Laura Winberry has found catharsis from the stresses of racing in the form of poetry.
Over the years, Laura took her experiences and turned them into beautiful stanzas, verses and rhythms, which in a lot of ways expose the rigors of racing, while subverting the physical activity into something poetic, beautiful and powerful. Because racing is life, Laura’s own struggles and victories have seeped into these wells of lyrical prose, resulting in an entertaining, yet intimate look at what it means to give it your all on the bike.
You can pre-order this magnificent collection of poems right now at Indolent Books and if you’re curious to read more of Laura’s writings, don’t miss her Reportage from this year’s ‘Cross Nats in Reno!
To commemorate its 150th anniversary, Brooks England has composed a well-designed book, featuring art and photography from many talented individuals:
“Published by Thames & Hudson, this book is a collection of fascinating views on the bicycle and its cultural influence, featuring contributions from Guy Andrews, Ron Arad, Bella Bathurst, Matt Brammeier, Will Butler-Adams, Antony Cairns, Taz Darling, Geoff Dyer, Timothy Everest, Joe W. Hall, Caren Hartley, Frank Herholdt, Guy Kesteven, Joe MacLaren, George Marshall, David Millar, Simon Mottram, Martin Parr, Laura Quick, Amy Sherlock, Sir Paul Smith, Tom Southam, Mark Sutton, Bernard Thompson, Jack Thurston, Richard Wentworth, and Ben Wilson.”
See more at Brooks England!
For the past two years, Yonder Journal has traveled the globe to investigate and report on bikepacking / ultra-lightweight bicycle touring. They called this project Dead Reckoning. The team at Yonder Journal felt that a project of this magnitude demanded a life outside of the internet, something you could hold in your hands, something with weight, a physical source of inspiration and contemplation, a book of pictures so exquisitely crafted that even a quick glance, a mere flip of the pages, would incite a riot of adventurous inspiration.
Introducing the Dead Reckoning Year(s) Book. A compendium of two years worth of dirt napping, bike pushing, and adventure voguing.
Stats? This is thing is 9″x12″, perfect bound, and 160 pages. It features nearly 200 color photographs and is printed in the USA.
The Year(s) Book is on pre-order sale through December 8th. Head over to their store for the full details.
The team at Bicycle Quarterly are now carrying Hideki Sasaki’s latest addition to his “Derailleurs of the World” series. This edition features SunTour, one of the world’s most innovative component makers. Pick up a copy at their web shop.