Archives: Bicycle

So this little meet and greet was unexpected, but I guess that’s what happens when you hang with dudes like Massan Fluker and Matt Reyes for an afternoon.

LOW Bicycles has all the style in the game locked down. That fun fact mixed with high quality handmade craftsmanship equals pure excellence. Plus… Andrew is a really killer doode. Massan had a meeting set up with Andrew that Matt and I tagged along for post Tenderloin hill dominating smash attack; he introduced us to Andrew and away we went snapping shots.

Andrew has a super dope shop filled with dream pedaling machines all over the place. I only had about 10 minutes to do my best at capturing the vibe and it’s left me dreaming about building a LOW Track STD. Maybe dreams will come true sooner than later.

Go check out all the rad that LOW Bicycles is. I promise you won’t be disappointed that you did.

The Ride x Create vibe is strong with these two. I was introduced to Massan and Matt a few years back via Chrome Industries. Instantly fell in love with their style and serious skill shooting, skating, and riding; so when I got the chance to high-five AND shoot them in action on the streets of San Francisco, it made for one seriously killer afternoon.

I was blown away by how confident Matt and Massan are bombing through traffic. It’s on a whole’nother level. Timing lights, getting low, staying close, and screaming down steep traffic filled streets like it’s a walk in the park. Pumped on that!

Here are a few shots documenting them, their skill and their steezy steez. I hope you enjoy.

ALSO… head to Massan Fluker and Matt Reyes’ Instagram to keep up on the vibe.     

Absolutely the. best!! I mean… seriously. So… I could go into why this set up is the most baller set up in all the land but just know that I have never been more amped about a bag like I am with the Hinterland Jr. Ranger Panniers. With their addition to the Joshua Bryant custom FaTRoB I truly have my version of a dream bike built up.

The Hinterland Jr. Ranger Panniers are made with some pretty killer fabric called X-Pac™ “It is a 4 layer laminate that is extremely tough, very waterproof material that is the favorite material for high performance backpacks and gear bags”. Perfect for getting out there without worrying about your gear getting jacked in the elements. Now, I’ve only taken the Jr. Ranger’s out for a simple local exploration session and they rode solid and quiet; creating no issues whatsoever with handling even packed with Kammok, camp coffee gear, food, and 12 cans of excellence. I’m really looking forward to getting out of town fully packed up and seeing how they handle. I’m assuming I will only be more elated.

Here’s a few shots from my simple ride. I’m looking forward to using/documenting trips with these beautiful black panniers. With that said… keep your eyes peeled, I’ll be adding and reviewing the Hinterland Ozette Randonneur Bag soon. At that point the Death Star will be fully operational!!! In the meantime, go to Swift Industries and check out their other Hinterland Collection goodies. I promise you will not be disappointed that you did.

RIDE x CREATE

JP and his Fairdale from Bikestock on Vimeo.

Tell me this doesn’t make you want to go chill shred and I’ll call you a liar.

He really does. If you haven’t checked out The Wolf’s Mouth Cycling you really should.

RIDE x CREATE

When training rides go wrong… it’s probably because you didn’t stick to the plan. I’ve been riding for a long time but never trained for any specific riding style. Now that I’m craving long road riding days it seems fitting to start training to race competitively in the upcoming season.

My body has adapted to riding road for many mile… but not training on the level of the folks I’m training with. “So Matt… why are you training with them?” Great question! I wanted to get on the “accelerated reader” training list if you will. As previously mentioned in a few posts down, I caught Timo at the beginning of his training plan and got on board; figuring I would hold on for as long as I could, learn as much as I could, go deep into the pain cave as much as I could. And the story begins:

I found out several months ago that I need to eat every 30 minutes (whether I felt like it or not) if I’m going to go on an extended ride. Nothing big… just a small something every 30 minutes from the very beginning. This has proven time and time again to leave me feeling strong at the tail end of the ride and can finish with a smile on my face (well… whether I die during the ride or not I tend to end with a smile on my face). Now… this is for a “my pace” 70’ish mile day.  This last Saturdays training session at Timo training pace speeds I did not stick to my simple eating plan at all. I focused on staying efficient, mindful of each pedle stroke, and saving energy everywhere I could while hugging Timo’s wheel; mimicking his movement to learn as much as I could during the training. Because of this, I went 2 hours without any food. WRONG!!! At hour 3.5 I cracked hard… like really hard. So hard that I stopped in the middle of the road with full leg cramps on both legs. I was stranded In the middle of the road (which was luckily void of car traffic) and could not move my legs enough to get over/off my bike. So I stood and waited for a life ending full fledge cramp attack to knock me to the ground but it never came. After a few chugs of water and a couple minutes passed (keep in mind I’m still in the middle of the road just standing there straddling my bicycle), I was able to move again. I slowly creep off the UFO and baby step to the sidewalk where I drink about a half a bottle of water and stare off into the blue sky.

After several minutes Timo Stark and Chris Cundiff come retrieve me. Feeling bad for cracking on their training ride I tell them to go on and that I’ll be fine, just need a few minutes for the demons to release the death grip they have on my legs. Timo and Chris leave, I recover enough to move again, then start very slowly/painfully inching my way up a short but steep climb I had ahead of me. Damning my legs the whole time I make it to the top and start heading in for the last 10 miles of the ride. A couple miles into that I feel COMPLETELY fine… like… very oddly fine. No hint of cramps, full power, I stand up to sprint even and I’m full speed ahead. I start shaking my head and then realize… STICK TO THE PLAN! I’m new at this game and need to stay as strict as possible; not neglecting nutrition during the ride. I’ve gotten away with this on “my pace” rides plenty of times. This is not the season for that.

I hope you enjoyed reading my experience. Maybe you have similar stories; maybe you don’t; all I know is that I died that early November 14th morning and was brought back to life. It was a lesson learned for sure. Cheers to that!           

OH MAN!!! Yesterday was a pretty significant day! First sanctioned cyclocross race brought to North Alabama right down the street from mi casa. Local University (University of Alabama in Huntsville) and Blevins Bicycle Co. hosted one hell of a great race that I hope is the start of MANY local races to come.

The course was really fast with a great layout of technical turns and stairs that require you to mount at the top of a tight steep corner that begs for you to screw up. And that I did! First lap! I was feeling strong even after the previous days 70 mile training session with Das German. All was going as planned until that damn corner where I slipped right off my saddle and preceded to ski down the embankment allowing about 10 racers to pass. And that was the end for me. I still fought to get back in it but the gap was too wide. With that said I had a great time and am really amped CX is making its way into my neck of the woods.

I am seriously amped on this collection!! Swift Industries screams “GET OUT! GO EXPLORE!!” I hope you do just that this Fall/Winter… I will be!

hin・ter・land / ˈhin(t)ərˌland/ noun:

1. THE OFTEN UNCHARTED AREAS BEYOND A COASTAL DISTRICT OR A RIVER’S BANKS

2. AN AREA LYING BEYOND WHAT’ VISIBLE OR KNOWN

Go to Swift Industries and check out more on their Hinterland Edition Ozette Rando Bag and Jr. Ranger Panniers as well as some small goods that you’ll very much enjoy.

DOPE! Darth Vader would be proud!

“The first ever fully seam sealed waterproof SPD compatible Sneaker. After countless hours of research and development, the H20 was born. The best choice for rain soaked commutes or trail rides. The H20 guarantees that you arrive at your destination with dry and happy feet. Wrapped with DWR treated supple sheepskin leather which is soft to the touch and conforms well to the user. Featuring a stiffer nylon shank and gum rubber traction outsole, the H20 provides excellent power transfer and grip without sacrificing style.”

Go to DZR and check out more info on the H2O. Perfect winter sneaker!

This is “Das German” I’ve been referencing on Instagram the last couple weeks. His name is Timo Stark and yes… he is a dual citizen of America and Germany. His riding ethics are stainless and for a short period at the very beginning of his winter training season I can hang during rides.

This is a Kodak Tri-X 400 film photo document using an Olympus Stylus Epic.