Sea Otter
Sea Otter was a bit odd for me this year. Omnium not having a booth meant I could float around as much as I wanted, but honestly I spent the most time hanging out with the @hudskibikes crew who created the most chill zone ride by the chemically too-blue pond with plenty of tree shade, chairs to relax, cold drinks, and best vibes I’ve ever experienced at this kind of corporatey bike show. Second day of the show mom called to let me know my Oma had just passed after having surgery. It was unexpected news but not really much of a surprise as she was well into her 80’s and had lived the type of long life we should all be envious of. Having a quick cry after getting off the phone and immediately jumping back into YOO HEY TRUEMARMALADE WHAT’S UP MY DUDE was a bit of a struggle but being surrounded by all my bike friends helped keep the heavy grieving at bay. Spending nights down at the bottom of the hill camping with @oldmanmountainracks and @toutterrain and everyone who rode in for the show felt like home away from home. As usual I stayed late on Sunday to roll around scooping up all the leftover snacks and goodies that everyone left behind, rolling out from Monterey full of fuel for my upcoming ride back east.
Central Valley
I’ve heard gets a lot of hate / disparaging feedback but y’all some of my favorite people live here. Every April I come back through before Sea Otter and always always make sure to visit my homies in Bakersfield and Fresno. Such good vibes, group rides of all sorts, cargo gang rolling deep, backyard garden parties, and plenty of chill farm land to explore between the two cities.
Leaving Phoenix
Rolled out of Phoenix at the end of March and hopped on I-10 for a bit. Rest area camping is usually chill. Truck stop dumpsters almost always hit. Familiar roads through Palm Springs. Stayed with one of my favorite WS hosts in Redlands. Amazing spot in Tehachapi as well, then back down to the Central Valley to see some of my FAVORITE PEOPLE.
PHX Photo Ride
Get a bunch of bikes and cameras and ride em around with your friends and take pics! It’s the shit! Thanks for organizing and leading a funnn photo ride @unheard.harmony I had a great time rambling around Phoenix seeing some new angles of the city.
PHX Critical Mass
Some of my absolute favorite photo work I’ve ever done was when I strapped a flash to the front of my @omnium and took it out on the critical mass rides in Phoenix (see the pinned post on my profile with a 3’ beauty dish) so y’all know I had to do the same again when I came back through town!
FOOS GONE FIXED
There's just something about ripping around a city at night with all your bike friends. Of all the group rides when I lived in Phoenix four years ago, my favorite was the @foosgonefixed every Wednesday night. I absolutely love taking (almost) all the bags off my cargo and matching pace with a 20mph brakeless peloton, as well as c-store stops and park chilling, then riding home on nearly empty streets. Thanks for being such a solid crew not judging me the first time I showed up on my absurd rig and keeping the ride going over the last few years so I could hop right back in when I came back through.
Dump Cat
Gotta love how often my timing of rolling into a city lines up with a group ride / bike event / alleycat race. I think the day or two after I got to Phoenix there was an alleycat which was such a wonderful spot to see all my bike friends again and get back into shooting races. Even mid-february it was already 90F+ so we were all hunting for shade and thirsty for aaanything cold. It was an absolute blast hanging out with y'all for a day and it put me in such a goddamn good mood I had to FaceTime my parents and tell em.
PHOENIX
Coming back to Phoenix after nearly four years of being away was one of the best returns to a city that I've ever had. Rolling up to the my old group rides, reconnecting with old crews that have grown and evolved, stripping all the weight off my cargo and SENDING IT, and snapping pics of all the shenanigans. As terrible as this city is...goddamn I missed y'all.
New Bag Day
Choosing a non-traditional bicycle to spend my life on means having to solve a lot of carryshit problems in non-traditional ways. I’d been using an old soft shell cooler as my main front bag for over three years until the welded seams finally failed, leading me to hit up @dyedinthewoolofficial to add a bit of their legendary work to my @omnium. I sent over some measurements, simple diagrams, and a few vague ideas and MY GOODNESS the wizards over there made a bag that truly fits the style of my rig. We used Ultra X for the outer and orange ultra gridstop for the inner, pockets and MOLLE on the sides, removable inner baffles, bungee cords for quick chip bag storage, and added snaps for my favorite @ride_finds BIKE sign up front! Working with DITW to make this custom bag was a great process and they pulled it off better than I ever could have expected. Thanks y’all for everything! I’m glad to have you on board for the next hundred thousand km.
