Music and bikes are life savers. Pair them together and even the worst of times can be the time of your life. Nothing has made this clearer for me than the last twelve months. Through it all, the pairing of riding and music has truly transformed my year into unquestionably the best year of my life. Without these rides, and the soundtracks that accompanied them, I would have a diametrically different assessment of what this year has done for me.
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On the same day that the capital was stormed while the House and Senate were certifying the 2020 election, Stephen and I were scheduled to link back up with Connor Ryan and hear about the Break The (BI)cycle ride. We were stunned. Wondering if we should we carry on with the podcast or reschedule? It is easy to freeze or doom scroll news and social media, but ultimately we want to put something positive into the world. So we sat down with Connor and and we are glad we did!
On the ninth episode of the podcast, Nik and Stephen catch up with Denver local legend Tom Miller. Tom used to be quite the football quarterback. Tom puts out a max of 32,000 watts in short bursts. Tom has a Hemi. Tom is larger than life. Tom is a regular at Denver group rides and he has been rocking Rodeo colors since 1.0.
If Tom isn’t at a group ride, he is often found doing 200+ mile days with RMCC. So naturally we discuss what are the motivations behind these epic days and how did he even get started with cycling. 2020 threw a lot at Tom, including a pulmonary embolism scare. Tom has penned some words (found below), in the podcast we discuss how important it is to build friendships. Friends can motivate you, but they can also give perspective when you are too close to something. In this case, knowing when to reach out for help.
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If life is, as Forrest Gump claims, like a box of chocolate, then 2020 is home to only the chocolate that nobody thinks they want. Yet, despite the funky, rancid, and downright rotten aspects of this year, this particular box of chocolates has some hidden gems. It may not have been the chocolate we had hoped for, but in some cases it has been chocolate I have truly cherished. Here are just a few of those chocolates:
Cover Photo Taken By Mark Yanagisawa
Bike racing? Never heard of her.
Cyclist far and wide have spent 2020 siting, wishing, watching, and waiting for racing. This new new landscape of cycling, one where intentions are crafted anew and every rider’s motivation have been tossed, churned and been spat out, has been a reckoning for many with competitive ambition. Some, who rode because of racing, found the year insufferable. Others, who in the past have raced to authorize the time to ride, have relished in the flexibility and creativity necessitated by the pandemic.
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Brandon Proff and a band of friends took their bikes down to Arizona for a mental reset on the gorgeous Sky Islands bikepacking route. The story that follows and photos were generously supplied by those that rode this beautiful route.
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The Wolf’s Lair is a 400-kilometer bikepacking route that winds through medieval castles, alpine scenery, and ancient italian villages in the Apennines Mountains. The Montanus duo originally traced the route in 2016 after they felt the need to explore the Abruzzo region to learn more about their culture and origins. Giorgio went back to The Wolf’s Lair to film the experience.
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On the eighth episode of the podcast, Nik and Stephen virtually catch up with Ashley Carelock and Dr. Seth Wood. They both recently competed in the 2020 Arkansas High Country Race and both set Fastest Known Time(s) (FKT). Your hosts dig into the experience the only way they know how, excitedly asking questions about what happened, like gear choices, or in Seth’s case a single gear!
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On the seventh episode of the podcast, Nik and Stephen dig into which Star Wars movie was best. Just kidding! Rather they regale the trials and tribulations faced when attempting the iconic Kokopelli bike packing route from Fruita, CO to Moab, UT. We cover the motivations behind the trip, gear highlights as well as some choice meals. Most of the recap revolves around how to prep or not prep for a multi day bike pack.
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Storytellers are architects.
Our craft is about projections, blueprints, and framework. While our products seem final in their own context, it is up to us to first enact the scene before scrupulously building and maintain our creations. No matter what we say to explain away our decisive power to dictate our own perspective, that poetic justice is ultimately undeniable. If taught to work around our bias and prejudice, the power to scrutinize, probe and vet is the only path to free and fair constructions of our products. Products which are one of the few things that allow people to connect with thoughts, emotions and revelations that may yet escape their personal perspectives.
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Conor is a professional pilot who has always been a fan of vintage airplanes. He finds inspiration in the the colors and graphics that are found on those planes and he wanted to work those themes into a custom TD3.1 frameset. The design collaboration went through a few rounds of revisions with Drew here at the Lab finding ways to lay graphics across our frame in a way that invoked those earlier airplanes without coming on too strong.
