078: Endless Summer — Rapha Continental

Slate and I went camping the other night. Once we realized that space was a commodity at Chez Bravo, where we decided to bed down for the night, it was up to the roof for us. Luckily it didn't rain and was quite a beautiful night.

The ironic part about the situation was that the whole trip so far we've been talking about camping. Saying we should camp in West Virginia, Georgia, or even North Carolina. Then, where do we go and actually set out our sleeping bags?

Brooklyn.


However, before we actually got to hit the sack, so to speak, we hung out over at the newly opened Ace Hotel in Manhattan. Really nice place that made me feel quite at home on the road. I couldn't tell if that was because the drinks were exceptionally strong and cold, or because of the almost excessive amount of stuffed animals on the walls.

Slate decided to do a little test of current technology while we were there:
Embrocation Twitter.
Rapha Twitter.

What he did was post this:
"We are going to get a beer at the new NYC Ace hotel at 7:30. First person to say hello gets a Rapha cap. -Slate"


And guess who showed up rocking his Embrocation Mudflaps?

Now I know that the photo is slightly turned to the left, but that's Mike Spriggs. The man behind Gage and Desoto. You can find some more about him on Pedal Strike, who recently did a little profile on Mike and the NYC Velo Shop.

Which, coincidentally enough is one of our newest Embrocation Cycling Journal Dealers. So, if you're in the area, you should go check them out.

077: Endless Summer — Rapha Continental

I put up the video of the banjo playing taxidermist a few posts ago. Well, after Dave Christensen had his little accidenté on the bicycle he and Adam threw together a cut waaay better than Steve's little flip video piece.

Mathias, WV from RAPHA on Vimeo.

We had a great day heading out of Mathias and the Lost River Barn. Jay was a more than exceptional guide. Apparently, and I got this information second hand, he's also a Bicycle Courier in Washington D.C. That must be why when he puts a little pressure on the pedals. The bike goes.

This man rode us up and down through the hills of West Virginia

I know I keep talking about the Road Journal part of the Rapha Continental, but keep checking it out. New Stuff is going up on an ALMOST daily basis.


Still one week to go for myself. I couldn't resist the temptation to take my Richard Sachs road bike and head into my homeland. Admittedly, though, I haven't ridden much of the roads in the Wisconsin/Minnesota area. Mountain biking, sure I've got the WORS races covered, but the gently sweeping roadways of Wisconsin. Haven't done it.


Aaron, Piers, and Tony P. as well as the Director Sportif of HUP United, a one Mr. Dave Roth are joining DWP and I for this leg of the adventure.

Now, when I say "adventure" I mean it. I was speaking to a friend on the phone the other night. She had spoken to our compatriot Peter Rubijono recently and he had regaled her with some of his tales of the road. Her reply to that was something to the effect of "it sounds like now, more than last year, you guys are out there really having adventures." I couldn't agree with you more.

Adventure is the name of the game here.

Whether it be breaking in to the hotel pool to swim at 3am, trying to dump DWP and Dave off the back of the van at 50 mph, or even sampling some of the finer foods of the South (I can't remember what we decided that pile of deepfried matter actually was). In any case, we have been having ourselves some adventures.

In fact, since the last post we have:

a) ridden in both Virginia, and Washington D.C. once on a four lane highway.
b) embrocated so furiously as to cause extreme tan-lines
c) literally jumped a huge black snake on my bicycle
d) Put on a Gentleman's Race
and finally...
e) drove to New York City to start the next leg of the trip. I'm tired. Very, very tired.

But even though the pushups have come to a halt, the daily intake of ham hasn't.
Bing!

076: Endless Summer — Rapha Continental

Check out the trailer for Brian Vernor's new film. Looks pretty friggin awesome. He was just on the Rapha Continental as well. In fact, if you look closely at the Muse, Oklahoma ride, you might see him peacefully napping under a copy of Varmit Hunter. Which is interesting not only because a magazine called Varmint Hunter exists, but also because Brian can be seen napping again in the trailer for his film Where Are You Go.



Moving on, we have had more than a few people ask about the new bikes on the team. In fact, one gentleman rode up to us (I think this was when we were back in North Carolina) and said that he had seen the new Seven Cycles frame and the Hunter frame on the website.

The studio photos are HERE.
The interview with Rick Hunter is HERE.


So, when I was helping polish Ben and Steve's bikes the other day I took a few snaps of them. Ben claims to love his new Hunter more than his other "plastic" bikes now anyway. But that doesn't mean he loves riding on dirt with it. Its an acquired taste I'm sure.

Also, the new write up for the ride that we did in Frankford, West Virgina is up. Check out the sweet Embrocation T-shirt hiding in the photos. That and a very shattered looking...well, me.

075: Endless Summer — Rapha Continental

Tragedy Strikes!

We had a rest day in between the Rapha Continental (keep checking the Road Journal, there's some good stuff about to drop) ride in West Virginia and the one that was about to kick off in State College Pennsylvania. Usually these days, transition days, result in a whole lot of lounging. They give us a chance to catch up on things...maybe write a blog post or two, buy a new cell phone (Dan), have an on the road business meeting (Fran), or even buy a bunch of fruit (Ben that time.)

We packed up relatively early to make the drive from wherever-we-were West Virginia to wherever-we're-headed Pennsylvania. This drive was great, the sun was shining and everyone was happy. We even met up with our hosts for the next day Whit and James. We drank some beers and talked about the "ramble" that was happening the next day.

Then it was time for our leisurely afternoon ride through campus. My grandfather went to Penn State and once I actually entertained the notion of doing the same. So, traversing the campus and stretching our legs at the same time seemed like a good idea. And it was, until upon arriving back at the hotel I received the call...




Our main man Dave Christenson, while out doing the exact same thing, riding and stretching his legs had been hit by a car. Not good at all. Steve and I rushed to the scene to find Ben standing over Dave's mangled road bike. The next few hours were pretty tense as we shuttled cars around and waited to see the prognosis.



3 Stitches. A few cuts, scrapes and definitely some bruises going on here, but that is it, three stitches. Amazing!


Needless to say but Dave has been an integral part of the Rapha Continental since he came along to shoot video of the Tour of California ride we did in January. Not only has he captured a side of the Conti that was totally unseen before, but this is just one all around great dude.

Side Note: He's the only guy who's ever called me "Bro" that I didn't want to punch in the throat. This is the kind of easy going guy that we're dealing with here.

He got some sweet new socks out of the deal though. I tried to acquire a set for myself too, as Dave and I decided that they might actually make for some nice booties for those cold days. With the extra grip on the bottom I think they could be quite a hit...


This was after Dave had been released and he and Ben could finally go over what had happened. I'm not even going to go into the actual details of the event, but lets just say that the official police reports were handed out and someone got a hefty violation of the law and it wasn't Dave.

I would say "Speedy Recovery" here, or something of that nature. But I saw Dave this morning and he was up before any of us and he spent the day hobbling around shooting video. What a fucking trooper!

Dave, you're the best.

074: Endless Summer — Rapha Continental

Welcome to West Virginia

I'm skipping over a ride here I know, but some of the stuff that we saw today (Sunday) was crazy. I'm talking Taxidermy Crazy. If there is such a thing. My pal Kyle over at Tracko said that he wanted to see some taxidermy. So, I said to myself, "Self, you need to find that dude some taxidermy."

But before I go into that. Let it be know that this was one of the best rides I've done in a long time. Dan Action even went so far as to say..." this could be one of the greatest rides..." he trailed off after that, but I think it was because we were so spent.

Now, not only did I find you some taxidermy, Tracko, but I found you a banjo teaching (possibly mooshine gittin) taxidermist too. And he was psyched to show us around his shop. Ok, maybe psyched is a bit of a stretch, but he did play a few tunes for us and let us poke through his shop.

Ensue Insanity, Ensue.




The Deer below are in transit. They are waiting for the skin to dry and apparently the swatches of foam are holding their faceskin tight. Yikes. Like a face-job, for dead deer. Imagine that.




Tools of the Trade:
1 Bucknife
1 Immaculately clean operating table
2000 T stick pins
A little bit of Magic Smooth
and it looks like you're go to go...




I wonder if you could use the Magic-Smooth on your legs. A little "Belgian Hardener" anyone?

073: Endless Summer — Rapha Continental

So it is the morning of Day Three, or Four? I can't really remember because they all start to blend together. Even that quickly. Plus I realized today that I labeled the folders in my computer wrong so now I think its day four and really it is something like 6 or 7.

Not a big deal.

Anyway, it is day something-or-other and I find myself at the helm of the beautiful Rapha van. Bull-horns and all. This offers me a few very unique perspectives that I hadn't considered while being involved with these rides. Mainly, what it is like to be "Behind the Scenes of a Rapha Continental Ride." And secondarily, Carey, you're a saint.

The Perspectives that I dealt with that day have been broken down into three categories with the types of photos associated with them after:

1) The Challenges that are associated with being the driver. You know, things like, actually navigating the roads, dealing with rider support and making sure that everything goes off according to plan.

-Doorshots: Or, simply, shots taken through the doors and windows of the vans, lots of rear view mirrors and video from the helm.

Who from Healthnet/Ouch lives near Asheville, NC?

2) I got to see the behind the scenes that takes place with a photographer. In this case the creator of the event one Daniel Wakefield-Pasley...

-DWPshots: These would be shots of the Daniel shooting other things. I'm sure that photographers love this style. Hey, check out the photographer checking things out.In any case, they look like this.


3) Not sure if you're aware of this, but I like to shoot photos and video as well, so it was definitely a new perspective for me in this regard. From the driver seat.

-Ephemera: There it is again, my favorite word of the year (thanks Carey and Myles) this is defined as something "enjoyed for a short period of time" which is kind of how I feel about some of these photos. They include product shots, food, vistas, lots of dogs, and sometimes strange people from gas stations in the middle of no where.

This is incomplete...but we have to ride...yeah West Virginia here we come...

072: Endless Summer — Rapha Continental

Today was our "rest day" so to speak. We got up, had a little leisurely breakfast with out wonderful hosts Scott and Jillian and then hit the road towards Asheville, NC. Population - awesome.

So, what do we do on a rest day?

Oh, nothing much, just kit up and ride for something like 40 miles. Not a big deal, trust me. Climbing you ask? Well, yes, most of it consisted of climbing on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but that would be totally natural for hardmen like us, right? Right.


Kevin took us out from the shop where he works — Liberty Bicycle, which was, not only a great shop because of its glorious stock, but also based on the fact that they are conveniently situated right next to the aforementioned Blue Ridge Parkway. So, we had to ride it right? I mean, who are we to back down from a challenge (or a friendly request?)


The best part about the ride was the tunnels connecting the various ridges along the way. Seemingly harmless at first, they become pitch black and kind of scary about half way in. The video above is Steve "Franny" Francisco descending into one such tunnel. You may notice that as he heads into the black abyss the camera falters for a moment. This is merely myself regaining composure in the blackness that is. Hang with it though because he does make it out the other side.


The ride was an out an back that, on the way down proved to be a pretty quick little jaunt. Climbing for some ten odd miles makes for a quick descent.

Tomorrow we hit the road for the actual ride, which will be something like 100 miles again. We shall see how that goes.

Oh yeah, I forgot about the Glock.

I was sitting in the van waiting for the guys to get some coffee. I was sort of floating in and out of consciousness. Daydreaming and generally being kind of lazy. I noticed that a guy in a truck had pulled up next to me and struggled to get out. I barely noticed he was there. But, while I was looking over, and a little down, at his truck I noticed a few things in his wide front seat.

- some trash, kind of a lot of it actually.
-food wrappers and cartons
-something that looked like a pager
-a glock

Yes, you read that right. On the seat next to this unassuming old man sat a gun. A big one at that. I tried to take this picture to prove it to you, but it didn't really turn out.

I smiled to myself and said out loud.

"Welcome to North Carolina."

071: Endless Summer — Rapha Continental

First off the Rapha Continental Road Journal just got a new fresh look. Check it out. There should be some content from the current iteration of our travels up there in the next day or so.
And that's PVB styling it up on the front of the new Rapha website. Slick.

New saddles make me happy. They look fresh, especially if the nice stripe of pink down the middle matches your bike. Also, if the saddle in question is doing its job properly (and believe you me, this Arione is) a new saddle can bring out that "new bike scent" in your bicycle. You'll look at it a little differently. Maybe you will even catch yourself winking at it as the saddle catches your eye while you purchase some electrolyte drink from your local convenience store? Who knows?

Unless of course you're one of these cyclists with a tender undercarriage who runs out to buy 30 saddles, all exactly the same as the one that they have found to work. Which is fine I say. Go with what you like.

Me, I like to mix it up now and again. This time outfitted on a pink Arione. Well, I have to report this: After its first real ride - see below - I'm still winking at it. In fact, on the Amazingness Scale, which I just invented, I'd give it a 7 out of 9. But, then again, I just invented it so I can do that.

It is becoming painfully obvious that riding all day and then stuffing yourself with Mexican food and beer may make one delirious. Lets just go with it and see how it turns out.


Also, because of the aforementioned reasons I may or may not be getting all of these details exactly right.

The Ride: Deliverance Run. It was originally named something else, but our host Scott (who chose an awesome and amazing route) renamed it because parts of that amazing film by Director John Boorman were shot in this area. I'm not even sure if I got the renaming right.

The State: Georgia. Where have you been all my life? I said in my bio interview that I was hoping to do some riding in the South. Well thank you Powers That Be, for making that happen. The South is amazing. The people are wonderful. The scenery is mind blowing.

Distance and Climbing: I think the ride topped out at 113 miles and 12,000 feet of climbing. Take this as the word of me that there is no flat stretch of land in Georgia. At least not this part.

The Pushups: Dan and I are going to do 100 pushups a day during the duration of the trip. Steve also said that he wanted to get in on this. Then he watched us (throughout the day mind you I could not do that shit all at once) and decided against it. He did touch me on the arm during a particularly gnarly descent and shout "I love my new Seven."



The Roadkill: My legs for one. The others: 1) Huge Black Snake 1) unknown mangled pile of gristle 1) cat and I think what looked to be 1) Blackbird.

The Food: This one is for you Mr. Tracko. I have decided that my daily diet while in the south (and maybe for the rest of my life) should include at least one Ham related item. Today that item was Ham. Yesterday it was bacon. Three times. "I am a healthy individual" is what I keep telling myself over and over. Also: I'm a big fan of the plate that this was served on.


The Glasses: Molly gave me these before I left. Think SpaceMan and think it real hard. Sometimes lasers shoot out of my eyes when I wear them. And people give you strange looks and go "are those new?" but kind of turn up one side of their lip at the same time. Its cool though. I don't mind.


Ok, tomorrow - Ashville (where I will go Check out the BBQ in that town! Thanks Mat)
Tonight however. Sleep.

But tomorrow I'll have a whole new slew of strange and wonderful things for you to look at/dwell upon. Little "Treets," a story of how my rear wheel exploded going up Brasstown Bald, and more snippets from the road.

As a good friend of mine says.

"Hi Five."