The Radavist

I finally shot proper photos of Lauren’s new Icarus yesterday. Spring is officially cracking in Austin and I can’t wait for Summer…

Being the girlfriend of a “bike blogger” has as many ups as it has downs. The obvious down being that I’m on the road a lot but one of the ups is, well, this… Lauren loved her Tokyo Fixed Dream Machine porteur but wanted something more suited for front-loading and longer rides in the hilly landscape that is Austin. Maybe, just maybe, some camping, too.

I chatted with her a lot about what she wanted and we came up with this “sportif porteur”. Mid trail for front-loading, fender / rack mounts, long-range gearing and an upright riding position. She didn’t want big touring tires, so its designed to fit a 28c with fenders or a 32c without. The build is quite reasonable, with higher-end components where they count.

Once we resolve which basket or rack we’re gong to use on the front, I’ll shoot more photos, highlighting Ian at Icarus‘ handywork. For now, this is all you get…

Photos by Doug Dalrymple

I’m still bummed that I missed the 2013 Red Hook Crit. Mostly because I didn’t get to see a lot of my friends, including Kelli, who decided to race it this year. Affinity posted up these photos of her, taken during the Red Hook Crit weekend. Check out more at Affinity and keep checking in on The Job for more portraits!

Coven Magazine‘s fourth issue is now online for free viewing. Check it out above.

Brazil-based track bike squad Velodeath has some fancy new artwork, penned by Adams Carvalho and I dig it!

“The 13th of April was one of the most anticipated days in the world’s mini velodrome racing calendar. The MET Fixed Adrenalin Tournament is a unique track event for fixed gear bikes. A wild ride that takes place on one of the smallest velodromes in the world. Fearless cyclists face a demanding test of mental and physical strength and technical skill. The MET FAT is a fantastic tournament. As with many knockout tournaments, the stakes are high and the excitement is intense. The magic really started after the qualifying runs round of the tournament, which is when only the 16 fastest riders enter the final rounds. Juliet Elliott and Thomas Dalbigot proved to be the most skilled riders on the track that night and won the prestigious trophy.”

Check out more at Met.

Check out the first in a new global Adidas women’s campaign “All in for #mygirls”. Hannah is a real athlete, not an actor and she spends her time training for track racing.

Today is International Women’s Day and Rapha is throwing their #WOMENS100 on July 7th.  Here are the details:

The Rapha Women’s 100 – JULY 7th, 2013 
We invite you to ride at least 100k with us this July 7th, 2013. This is the same day that the Etape du Tour is happening in France. Each year this event kicks off with some crazy participation number 0f 25,000 people riding the same route as the Tour de France. Unfortunately, the number of women who do this event is quite paltry. So, in an effort to get that number up, we have declared “l’attaque” (that’s French for “attack!”) on this day. Let us see how many women we can get riding on the day!

QUESTION?: Never ridden 100k before? Not a problem.
Over the next 16 weeks – roughly the time before July 7th – we will be providing tips, tricks and general guidelines to get you up and over your first 100k. We have lined up a good amount of bi-weekly (I can tell you this already that it is going to spill over to more than bi-weekly) content focused on getting you there. All brought to you by the fantastic women that we ride and interact with on a daily basis both here in Portland as well as some great celebrities in our little world of cycling (people like Gem Atkinson from Bianchista – who is the great rider and smiley woman in our Spring Summer catalog. You may notice that she likes to wear pearls. Which is awesome.)

There will be more about this in the coming weeks than you could ever imagine. As well, the San Francisco based Women’s Prestige on April 13th (which is full with 24 teams of women) will be a sounding board for what the Rapha Women’s 100 as we hope to inspire all of these ladies to join us in July.

How many women can we get to ride 100k on that day? 100? 1,000? 10,000? 100,000? 

How to Follow Along? 
How do you know if you’re doing it right? Well, you can’t do it wrong, that is for sure. The #WOMENS100 hashtag is going to be a great place to look to find some of the inspirational women who are helping us get there. Instagram and Twitter, go for it. Strava will also have a page completed by tomorrow to help show how many women have signed up on the day. Also, we have set up an Events tab on the Rapha Facebook Page to help you follow along.

Also, don’t miss out on the very impressive Rapha Women’s collection and the Festa Della Donna sale this season!

Photo by Kyle Kelley

I hate rubbing in good weather for everyone who’s under snow and grey skies but spring’s right around the corner and that means spring cleaning. Loving these two photos of Kelli working on her road bike at GSC. See the other here. Nice nails girl!

Photo by Andy White

Vintage Cinelli, a classy lady and a great eye with a camera means only one thing: a FYXO photoshoot. Andy’s most recent set has all the sass and class you need on a Sunday night. See more at FYXO.

The Ladies Army polo tournament returns for its fifth year to East Vancouver. Be there May 10-12th.

Cykeln Magazine‘s fourth issue is now available for FREE on their site. Definitely check it out.

I’ve been wanting to shoot photos of Melissa and her Cinelli Bolt since this summer but never got the chance to. Earlier this week, my Mamiya 7ii came in the mail and I had to do a test roll, which is when I finally bumped into Melissa with a camera in hand. The photos came out great and although I can see a few things I’ll have to be mindful of (keeping those vertical lines straight, proper exposure with the meter, etc), I’m very pleased with the Mamiya 7ii. Even scanning medium format on my dinky Epson v600 produces great results (see above).

Pardon me while I talk under these photos of Melissa…

So why buy ANOTHER camera?

This is true on many levels, especially for a city like New York. I’ve known this girl for some time now and she embodies physical fitness and just straight up hustle. For those of you who don’t know who Kym Perfetto is, you might want to check out her site.

You should know who Affinity is!

If you happen to have a girl wearing a skirt and a beanie living in your tool shed, then you obviously don’t have to worry about the inevitable galvanic corrosion that can plague your trusty steed.

But if you don’t, then you need to check that your stem is greased quite frequently or you’ll end up like these two. Let me just say that the only reason I posted the top video was to offer a striking contrast between the latest from Fyxomatosis. I don’t know about you, but Andy’s shorts are getting me all hot and bothered. Good thing Gonz has that facemask on…

This video rules. Hands down. It’s also great seeing a positive voice like Darryl Nau have a few words in this piece. Props to Simple Session for having a section for girls.

Stoked to see the web release of this, coming off the Bicycle Film Festival.

The guys at the Heavy Pedal have just posted up their new products, which include a women’s line. Check out their full offerings here.