TOPO ON THE CANEY FORK RIVER WITH MATT SHAW AND THE COX BROTHERS. from Matt Shaw on Vimeo.
I’m just viewing this for the first time this morning and it took me to instant day dream land. I don’t fly fish, never have, but everything about this mini film is what I want to be doing right now. This. Is. Great!!
Go check out other great work from Matt Shaw. That fella is talented.
RIDE x CREATE
I’ve been in need of a new saddle bag for a while. I rolled with the Chrome Industries small tool roll for a couple years and it served me very well, but it was time for an upgrade.
The Cadence Saddle Bag is very deceiving. It’s small and appears as if it will not house your kit, but it will!
Kit includes 45c tube, Crank Bros M17, Co2, Co2 adapter, and tire lever.
Go to Cadence and check out more info and color options with this saddle bag. Two thumbs up!
The Cognoscenti Experience from Cognoscenti on Vimeo.
Palms sweaty. Grin on my face. I want to do this and I hope you do too! If so… enter the contest… I have!! FINGERS CROSSED!!
Contest Details:
Explore the wonder and beauty of Boulder with Cognoscenti August 9-11 on a three day, fully supported tour with former National Champion Craig Lewis. In addition to an all expenses paid tour, the winner will receive a $500 travel voucher, dinners at the best restaurants in town and top level accomodations at the St. Julien Hotel & Spa in the heart of the city. Visit Cognoscenti for full details.
“Wait a minute!!! This is on your handlebars!!”
Yes… yes it is. As you’ll read from my post below, I participated in the #SwiftCampout and couldn’t have done so without the Zeitgeist Touring “Saddle” Bag.
Let me be honest, this is the first long ride x camp trip I’ve taken on primarily gravel roads. I needed to utilize every ounce of usable area that I could for my camping gear and food. Originally I had the Zeitgeist set up on Bagman QR Expedition support via my saddle but had no room for my tent and other goods. So… I got creative and decided to give the Zeitgeist a go on my handle bars. I knew I needed extra support and Swift Industries had enough insight to throw a couple clip-able rings right where the hoods of my Gevenalle shifters are. I found some nylon webbing and BAM… a solid sturdy four point handlebar bag was born.
Although I’m relatively new to the touring game, I know that weight in the front is the way to go. I did ride with the Zeitgeist on the back and found that fully loaded the bag overtook my balance when I stood to peddle. This is more so because I didn’t have anything balancing my bicycle up front; AND when touring I’m sure slow and steady wins the preverbal race. Regardless, I moved the saddle bag to the handlebars and immediately fell deeper in love with the Zeitgeist.
The Zeitgeist rode amazingly. The nylon webbing didn’t get in the way of my grip at all; it actually provided me with a wider grip that was quite comfortable. With all that said, I did use the Bagman QR Expedition support to hold my tent, sleeping mat, Kammok, and coffee mug. It served its purpose very well!
The only downside (if you can call it that) is that the side pockets on the Zeitgeist are hard to access (hard, not impossible), but I used those for items I’m not going to need until I’m either at my destination or need to fix a flat.
Swift Industries… always one step ahead of the game!
RIDE x CREATE
DOODE! I’m still physiologically digesting this weekend. It. Was. Amazing!! Although I would have loved other folks to participate; getting out by myself in nature on a camp overnight like this is something I will do more often. It’s freeing on all levels.
I wouldn’t have picked this weekend for a bike overnight if it wasn’t for Swift Industries, their worldwide coordination, and support with gear/info sharing. I’ve only rode out in William B. Bankhead National Forest twice before this “event”. I have a new found love of the area and the gravel road riding/camping environments it offers. Look forward to more rides this fall out in similar areas.
One thing that was mind blowingly sad is the amount of trash at prime locations in the Forest. How people can choose to trash such beautiful places makes no damn sense to me. On my list of things to do is contact the US Forest Service and coordinating a site clean-up. It is needed.
The final destination was Kinlock Falls. I’d never been there but figured what better place to go after a solid ride?! The water was cold and refreshing. Perfect after a fun hot ride. Now… when I say hot it really wasn’t bad at all. I started at 5 in the afternoon. Most of the route is covered in shade and I knew that whatever amount of heat I was about to endure would immediately be diminished by the cooling waters of Kinlock Falls. I was absolutely correct! Got to Kinlock, found a beautifully perfect rock overlook, set up the tent and jumped in!
The next morning I got up, made coffee, took a deep breath, and started the day. To get down to the rock over look I had to hikeabike down a pretty steep rooted section. It was sketchy going down and took a He-Man effort to get back up. Nevertheless, I grunted up the trail and away I went!
The morning was WAY hotter than the evening. By 7 it was not all that pleasant. Really it wasn’t bad until I stopped for a breather and checked the map. Instant downpour of sweat. This wouldn’t be that bad but all I kept thinking was the limited water supply I brought with me.
In my lack of route knowledge I ended up taking a wrong turn on the way back out of the Forest. It ended up being a good detour; took me to some solid paved country roads where I found Hand’s Grocery. This place is legit! I originally stopped because I spotted some shade. Hand’s looked abandoned. I stop, look at the map, and hear voices inside the grocery. I look in the window and see some fresh goods to purchase. Walk up to the door, turn the handle, and am greeted by an old man sitting behind a dilapidated counter with a very small older television showing the news. It feels hotter in the “grocery” than it does out in the shade. Stale air with flies freely flying around the older gentleman was the scene. I politely ask if he had water on tap. “There’s water from the sink over yonder”. I walk to the back to find an old woman washing dishes. She moves aside to let me fill my bidon. As I’m walking back to the front of the store I spot a small glass bottle of cold Coca-Cola. Bring it to the counter, “That’ll be a dollar”, hand the man a $5 and he pulls out a wod of cash from his pocket, licking his finger and counting out $4. Normally this wouldn’t be a strange thing, but the entire vibe was so amazing that I noticed everything that was going on. One of the coolest experiences of the trip. I love diving into other cultures and experiencing something very different from my day to day life.
BIG thank you to Swift Industries for hosting a worldwide bike and camp event! Without their invite, gear, and cycling comRADery, this weekend wouldn’t have happened. Cheers to that and cheers to rad folks everywhere!
RIDE x CREATE
These are killer! I’ll be riding these Gevenalle brake pads during the #SwiftCampout bike-overnight this weekend for the first time. Can’t wait to show off some new American made bling on my shredder!
Enjoyed a handful of hours riding gravel roads and exploring nature searching routes for next weekends #SwiftCampout Bike-Overnight. Get pumped for that!
How to Brew Coffee in an AeroPress from Stumptown Coffee Roasters on Vimeo.
Lessons learned. Thanks Stumptown!!
I had the itch for a new lens but unwilling to dedicate appropriate funds to what I wanted… so, I went to searching. I already had an adapter for my C/Y mount to Fuji X body so I started looking at older lenses to be used manually. I’ve got the 50mm and 70mm game on lock, what I needed is something around the 35mm or closer as well as further out like the 135mm I found.
Yashica has all types of older lenses that you can find really cheap. This 135mm f/2.8 I picked up was only $40 in perfect shape! Now, it’s not as smooth as my nicer lenses but it offers me the ability to experience this shooting length (really about 200mm on the mirrorless) for low cost until the time I do want to invest in a nicer set up.
Right now I’m picking lenses with the mindset I’ll use them digitally, BUT with each additional Yashica lens I buy I always have the option to use it on my Yashica FX-3 Super and nab some killer film shots.
Anyways, these are a few images from yesterday riding and searching for the light session. They were captured using a Fujifilm X-E2 with Yashica 135mm f/2.8 manual lens and edited in VSCO.
RIDE x CREATE
DOODE!!! These are amazing!!
“Celebrate America’s birthday in style with the limited edition Spirit of PAUL Quick Release Skewer. And keep it safe out there during the festivities: our internal cam design holds tight, can’t be misaligned, and is always protected.
Skewers are available in your choice of lengths: 100mm; 130/135mm; 170mm; 190mm.
Each skewer is made to order just for you, just pick the length you want. Dress up that scoot and show your pride at or in the 4th of July parade this year!” – Paul Comp
Technical Information
Material: Stainless Steel & 7075 Aluminum
Weight:
100mm: 50 grams
135mm: 63 grams
170mm: 68 grams
190mm: 72 grams
Anodized Color: Red, Silver, And Blue
Cam: Internal
GO to Paul Component and check these suckers out!! In. LOVE!!
OH… almost forgot! GET AMPED