Rapha Feed (Continental)

Cymru

Wed, 01 May 2013 16:21:08 +0100

We didn’t mean for it to be this epic. The UK Continental's first ride of 2013, to Wales (in Welsh, Cymru), had in fact been postponed from January, when a deep freeze made many roads in the Brecon Beacons, and in many other parts of the country, c...

Footprints

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 18:08:39 +0100

~Filmed & Directed by Kristian Ansand & Martin Gilluck Music by A Dancing Beggar Produced by ERTZUI FILM ertzui.deww.ertzui.de ~ See the Builders and Partners archive »builders The Rapha Continental was established in 2007...

Amaro Bikes

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 12:35:09 +0000

~Bilbao, Spain~ Skip to the bike »kipbike Not far from the titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum, Aimar Fraga Angoitia has built steel frames with his own hands since 2009. Aimar not only executes every step of the design and building process himsel...

CremaCycles

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 12:29:10 +0000

~Füssen/Allgäu, Germany~ Skip to the bike »kipbike CremaCycles is the fusion of two passions: coffee and bikes. Ken Bloomer probably knows as much about tasty beans as he does about bicycles. The active racer, ex-pro and coffee expert choose...

Edelbikes

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:42:58 +0000

~Quaix/Chartreuse Mountains, France~ Skip to the bike »kipbike In the Chartreuse Mountains, close to Grenoble, monks produce a tasty liqueur with colouring inspired some highly visible Rapha pieces. Francois Cau lives in the very same area and...

EtoE

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:21:51 +0000

~Hohenstein-Ernstthal/Sachsenring, Germany~ It’s not known if Martin Jahnecke has ever covered a complete train from one end to the other end with Graffiti. But his company EtoE - ‘End to End’ - shares certainly a common passion with the str...

St Joris Cycles

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:18:11 +0000

~Eindhoven, the Netherlands~ Skip to the bike »kipbike Alex de Kraker lives in Eindhoven in a small, typically Dutch house with red brick walls and a large curtainless window facing a busy avenue called St Joris Laan. St Joris is Dutch for Sai...

VANDEYK Contemporary Cycles

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:57:46 +0000

~Stuttgart, Germany~ Skip to the bike »kipbike VANDEYK Contemporary Cycles is an exciting new addition to the framebuilders’ world in the way they approach bicycle building. Instead of a one-man show, the founder Arendt van Deyk curates expe...

Vogel Fahrradrahmenbau

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:54:41 +0000

~Bamberg, Germany~ Skip to the bike »kipbike Bamberg in Upper Franconia is known for its breweries and the dark-coloured ‘smoked beer’ they produce. Handmade bicycle aficionados probably associate Bamberg with Ulrich Vogel. The former arch...

Zullo Tiziano

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:53:47 +0000

~Castelnuovo del Garda/Verona, Italy~ Skip to the bike »kipbike On the shores of Lake Garda, close to Verona, Tiziano Zullo has been building road bikes since forty years. Zullo frames have been ridden in the Tour der France, the Giro, World C...

The Satchel Ride

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 21:38:03 +0000

~Words: Daniel Strauss Photos: Jeremy Shaw & Wade Wallace~ So much about our beautiful sport is about respect. Respect for the road, for the mountains, for our fellow riders. As important as any of these, however, is a respect for history. Ju...

The Climbs of Le Tour de Langkawi

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:49:25 +0000

~Words by Alan Grant Images by Christopher Chen~ Hills and mountains were put on this earth to be climbed. So when an adventure beckons that involves the classic climbs of an iconic bike race, it’s pretty hard to resist the call. Throw in some ...

Icknield Way

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 11:14:58 +0000

~WORDS: Max Leonard PHOTOS: Wig Worland FILM: Mark Jenkinson~ bq. “… I could not find a beginning or an end of the Icknield Way. It is thus a symbol of mortal things with their beginnings and ends always in immortal darkness.” – Edward ...

Nevada with Greg LeMond

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 11:51:18 +0000

~WORDS: Jeremy Dunn PHOTOS: Jake Stangelww.jakestangel.com VIDEO: Droptree Productionsww.droptree.com ~ We are waiting outside Greg LeMond’s home in Nevada. This is where he grew up, where he trained as a youngster, where he first ra...

Sapa, Vietnam

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 11:32:06 +0100

~Words by Adam Horler photos © Andrew J Loiterton film by Jon Mooreww.thedeck.tv ~ To the outside world, Vietnam is associated with many things; years of war, endless rice fields, exceptional cuisine. What it is most certainly not ass...

Tohoku

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 12:26:26 +0100

~Photos: Kazuhiro Watanabe Film: Daisuke Kitayama Words: Daisuke Yano~ In the spring of 2011, Rapha Japan set up a charity ride and asked for your help. We all rode for Tohoku. Everybody in Japan would like to take this opportunity to thank t...

Santa Rosa, California with Andy Hampsten

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:56:58 +0100

~Photos: Brian Vernorrianvernor.com/home.html Film: Droptree Productionsww.droptree.com Words: Joe Staples~ How you ride is who you are. As we climbed, two-up on a 13mile climb somewhere outside of Santa Rosa, Scott Nicol, founder of Ibis Cyc...

The Snowys

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 22:16:55 +0100

The Snowy Mountains, in the south-east corner of Australia, are as remote as they are stunningly rugged. The ‘Snowys’, as they are affectionately known, occupy a special place in Aussie folklore, largely for the depiction of one of their native-b...

Bohemia

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 16:09:20 +0100

Filmed & Directed by: Kristian Ansand & Martin Gilluck Produced by: e r t z u i ° filmargocollective.com/ertzuifilm ~Stills by Stefan Rohner and Femke Hoogland~ Mention Bohemia and many will no doubt think of metropolitan areas sy...

Alberta, Canada with Alex Stieda

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 15:13:02 +0100

~Film: Droptree Productionsww.droptree.com/ ~ ~Photos: Daniel Sharpww.danielsharpphoto.com/ ~ Alex Stieda should have been a tour guide. Sure, he was the first North American bicycle racer to don the yellow jersey at the To...

Java

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 13:04:29 +0100

~WORDS: Adam Horler~ Java is an intense place. From the minute you step off the plane onto the tarmac in Yogyakarta you are assaulted by the chaos of the people, voices and heat. Java is a land formed by geological activity but dressed by human...

Assynt

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:53:34 +0100

bq. Well, the only way I see this happening is in an extended ride north. When I say that I mean a long, terrible, trying trip… ~- The Idea of North, by Glenn Gould, 1967~ The first Rapha Continental UK ride had its fair mix of weather – rain...

Neil Manning

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:55:39 +0100

~Condor Cycles~ww.condorcycles.com/ – ~London~ Established in 1948 by Montgomery Young, Condor Cycles is now a global brand. Building in excess of 2,000 bikes a year, about 250 of those are hand built to bespoke specifications. Neil Manning, Con...

Dave Yates

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:06:58 +0100

~Dave Yates Cycles~ww.daveyatescycles.co.uk/ ~– Lincoln~ Dave Yates has been building custom frames for more than 30 years. Self taught, he does it his way. Applying his engineering and metal work skills, he built his first frame and raced on it...

Robin Mather

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:03:08 +0100

~Robin Mather~practicalguide.wordpress.com/ ~– Bristol~ Read an interview with Robin on the Rapha Blog »robin-mather-interview Robin is a rising star among British custom builders. Famously combining vintage, English-built machine...

Tom Donhou

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:35:22 +0100

~Tom Donhou Bicycles~ww.donhoubicycles.com/ ~– Norwich~ The most important thing in building a bike is to be able to communicate its potential. You’re going to have amazing times when you ride this bike and that's the main underlying reason I ...

Sam Humpheson

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:31:01 +0100

~Sam Humpheson~ww.lookmumnohands.com/ ~– London~ It was learning from older and more experienced guys that I did my first bits of wheel building. It takes someone to show you the basics of how to build a wheel, how to lace a wheel, how to put...

Rourke Cycles

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:21:42 +0100

~Brian Rourke~ww.brianrourke.co.uk/ ~– Stoke-on-Trent~ I've ridden three Tours of Britain and have been national champion on a 57cm frame, which is ridiculous for someone who is 5ft 6in. But when you are set up properly on a frame that fits, it...

Ricky Feather

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:09:53 +0100

~Ricky Feather~eathercycles.blogspot.co.uk/ ~– Leeds~ ~Photo Credit: Ricky Adam. Thanks to Dig BMX Magazine~ I'd never brazed before, or silver-soldered. I had to completely teach myself. Dave Yates was doing a demonstration on frame buildi...

Van Diemen's Land

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:35:20 +0100

Our journey began with riding on a road only a few hundred kilometres away but a world apart. At one end of Beach Road, Melbourne’s most popular ride that thousands of people cycle every day, sits the Spirit of Tasmania. During a 10-hour sail acros...

Seymour

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:00:30 +0100

We met our ride hosts, West Lion Cycling, bright and early at Café Crema in West Vancouver. The coffee didn’t disappoint and after a few handshakes and brief hellos we rolled out alongside our new cycling mates. The skies were blue and the rising ...

Grouse

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:00:20 +0100

The wide open bomb down Seymour required little braking. Our new friend, Jay, slid out on a fast corner sprinkled with gravel but popped back up before most of us knew what had happened. It wasn’t until we stopped at the bottom of the hill that we ...

Cypress

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:00:10 +0100

Marty, Brian and Cynthia were the only ones who would be joining us on the Cypress climb and they blazed the most direct route possible to its base. The mood as we started the ascent was subdued. Bodies were worn and the heat added to what had alread...

The Triple Crown, Vancouver BC

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 16:30:04 +0100

~WORDS: Cindy Lewellen PHOTOS: Jake Stangelakestangel.com FILM: Droptree Productionsww.droptree.com ~ Everyone thought we were crazy. “You’re attempting the Triple Crown? The day before the Fondo?” “Sure” we replied, a bit...

USA Pro Cycling Challenge

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:26:46 +0100

~WORDS: Jeremy Dunn PHOTOS: Jake Stangelakestangel.com/ VIDEO: Droptreeww.droptree.com/ ~ ~PROLOGUE~ ~This is the first in a series of six features to be released in the build up to the big race beginning 22 August, 2011.~ Here w...

Rapha Continental The Movie

Thu, 26 May 2011 15:02:53 +0100

The Rapha Continental began in 2007, driven by the idea to discover, or perhaps rediscover, the lost art of cycling. Too many riders that we knew had started to lose sight of why we love to ride, slipping into a racer’s mentality and putting our fo...

Rapha Continental The Movie

Thu, 26 May 2011 15:02:53 +0100

Amgen Tour of California 2011

Thu, 05 May 2011 11:42:18 +0100

~WORDS: Jeremy Dunn PHOTOS: Dan Sharp~ NB: Each of the four stages ridden by the Continental team features a film, photo slideshow, story, and PDF map download plus links to MapMyRide.com stats. The 2011 Amgen Tour of California runs from May 15...

Stage 7: Death on Baldy

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 01:01:01 +0100

Skip down to the slideshow ∨tocss See this route on Mapmyride.com »ww.mapmyride.com/routes/view/30496482 Whenever you are in the moment, the hardest thing in the world is to take yourself out of it. Distraction is your friend. Distraction is ...

Stage 5: Searching for Dinosaurs

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 01:01:01 +0100

Skip down to the slideshow ∨tocss See this route on Mapmyride.com »ww.mapmyride.com/routes/view/30495364 It is nearly dark when the van rolls to a stop at the last possible passing point. Winter storms in the Monterey area have caused landsli...

Stage 4: Flying Lessons

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 01:01:01 +0100

Skip down to the slideshow ∨tocss See this route on Mapmyride.com »ww.mapmyride.com/routes/view/30489122 Livermore It started with just a few and it was hard to tell where they were coming from or what gender we were dealing with. As the sky...

Stage 2: The Longest Day

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 01:01:01 +0100

Skip down to the slideshow ∨tocss See this route on Mapmyride.com »ww.mapmyride.com/routes/view/30506228 Lake Tahoe The only thing to do at the edge of Lake Tahoe is marvel. Marvel at the scene before us. The lake appears like some sort of p...

Miyama

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

~WORDS: Vincent Flanagan PHOTOS: Shu Takenouchi, Kei Tsuji~ Kyoto, home to numerous Buddhist temples and Shinto Shrines, quiet narrow streets and busy boulevards. An intriguing place to wander and wonder about the stories that could be told. ...

Koya San

Sun, 09 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

~WORDS: Vincent Flanagan PHOTOS: Shu Takenouchi, Kei Tsuji~ In the early 9th century a leading Buddhist monk in Kyoto, the Imperial Capital at the time, learned of small mountain top plateau surrounded by 8 small peaks and said to resemble th...

2010 Cycle Oregon

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 12:47:29 +0000

VIDEO: Benji Wagnerww.benjiwagner.com/ ww.rapha.cc/day-1-opening-day ww.rapha.cc/day-2-looking-for-water ww.rapha.cc/day-3-rapha-gone-rogue ww.rapha.cc/day-4-wine-country ww.rapha.cc/day-5-the-trade ww.rapha.cc/day-6-gravel-a-clavicle-and-bull-rid...

Levi's King Ridge GranFondo

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 18:27:46 +0100

WORDS: Jeremy Dunnww.rapha.cc/jeremy-dunn PHOTOS: Jon Humphriesww.jonhumphries.com/ "I don't like this…" said Ben Lieberson as we ended our ride into Santa Rosa. There were big helium arches over the roadway and people were lining the street. T...

Oregon Echelon Fondo

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 14:36:50 +0100

~VIDEO: Benji Wagner~ Slight climb into Dufur. Hahn and I sit along side Chris Horner. We chat. A regular guy. Reminds me of John Tomac. Or at least who I think Johnny T is. His favorite races. Liege & Lombardia…...

D2R2 2010

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 15:10:08 +0100

WORDS: Jeremy Dunnww.rapha.cc/jeremy-dunn PHOTOS: Brian Vernorrianvernor.com/home.html VIDEO: Benji Wagnerww.benjiwagner.com/ Linked together with a few short connectors of pavement the mostly gravel Deerfield Dirt Ride Randonneé, or D2R2 as it...

Ride the Rockies

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 01:25:54 +0100

ride-the-rockies-day-1 ride-the-rockies-day-2 ride-the-rockies-day-3 ride-the-rockies-day-4 ww.rapha.cc/ride-the-rockies-day-5 ride-the-rockies-day-6 ride-the-rockies-day-7 ww.rapha.cc/ride-the-rockies-cues-and-map...

B2B

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:06:16 +0100

PHOTOS: Chris Millimanww.chrismilliman.com/ WORDS: Sam Richardsonww.rapha.cc/samuel-richardson VIDEO: Paper Fortressaperfortressfilms.com/work/ It is fair to say that for all the time spent riding throughout this country the Rapha Continental ha...

Vail to Vail

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:14:42 +0100

WORDS: Carey S-Hww.rapha.cc/carey-sh PHOTOS: Dan Sharpww.danielsharpphoto.com/ VIDEO: Benji Wagnerww.benjiwagner.com/ MUSIC: Typhoonenderlovingempire.com/store/? If you've ever been a somewhat serious skier in the United States, then you've pro...

Tour of the Unknown Coast

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 13:27:05 +0100

We do not choose which rides we label 'best ever'. They choose us. Of course, from looking back on the ones that wind up with that moniker it is possible to discern a few elements that help the ride earn this title. A perfect sunshine laden day can d...

Izu no Kuni

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:36:49 +0100

~WORDS: Daisuke Yano PHOTOS: Brian Vernor, Shu Takenouchi, Kei Tsuji~ After a slow gradual climb by a quiet river adorned with all the autumn colours you could imagine, we come out onto the Izu Skyline road. A place for fine European cars a...

Beloved

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Skip to the bike »ontbike Over the last two years James Selman and Matt Stein have been honing, crafting, and shaping their studio called weights&pulleys. After a decade of defining brands and customer relationships for big and small clients,...

Bilenky

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Skip to the bike »ontbike Bilenky Cycle Works sits in North Philadelphia, wedged between a desolate set of railroad tracks and an imposing junkyard. The rugged façade of the shop, however, belies the artistry contained within; cyclists who know,...

Circle A Cycles

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Skip to the bike »ontbike At the moment, Circle-A is two guys, Chris Bull and Brian Chapman. Their workspace is in an updated garage-like box attached to the back of what looks like a small multi-story apartment building. Chris and Brian work in ...

Clif Bar

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0100

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Coat Paint Shop

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Sangre de Christo

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:31:44 +0000

Angel Fire, one step further in than Taos, is a small town near Wheeler Peak in the Sangre De Christo Mountains, New Mexico’s highest. As far away as it is, Angel Fire is home to a fairly well known century ride called the Enchanted Circle. We didn...

Buffalo Pass

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:25:25 +0000

Chinle, Arizona is 100 miles south-west from Four Corners Monument where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona meet. 198 miles from Moab, 311 miles from Grand Junction, 229 miles from Albuquerque and 195 miles from Flagstaff, it sits at the mouth of...

Blue Mound

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:06:24 +0000

Blue Mound State Park is on the tallest hill in southern Wisconsin. And at 1,716 feet above sea level, Blue Mound is the seventh highest peak in the state. Had Chicago won the bid for the 2016 Olympics this area would have hosted Olympic road racing....

Black Hills

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:12:27 +0000

Perry Jewett is a firefighter and has been for nearly 20 years. He is also the Race Director of an annual Labor Day mountain bike race called the Dakota 50. He lives with his wife and daughter in downtown Spearfish, South Dakota. He rides everything;...

Lincoln Continental

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:29:50 +0000

Nebraska is a mathematician’s delight; it’s one big square divisible by hundreds and thousands of smaller squares. Farms, fields, ranches, all on a grid of right angles and square plots. It’s deceptively not flat, like an ocean, where scale and...

M22

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:31:24 +0000

Fudgie. It’s a loving term bestowed upon any tourist that makes their way along the northern tier of Lake Michigan where fudge can be bought at any stop. With the help of amazing hosts and friends, we found ourselves at the best bar in the town of ...

Diabolical Double

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:07:14 +0000

In the Appalachian Mountains along the Upper Potomac, the roads boil and roll like a winter storm on the high seas. The surfaces of Garrett County in Western Maryland rise in peaks and crests. These pavement waves are several hundred feet high and co...

Centre Ramble

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:04:02 +0000

Often because of the shape and nature of the landscape, topography will dictate the pace of a ride. Rouge Roubaix, for example, demands you to race, while the aptly named 86-mile Centre Ramble, suggests an easier-paced and, well… rambling kind of a...

Lost River Barn

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:03:59 +0000

~WORDS: Daniel Wakefield Pasley~ The Host Originally from Jersey, Jay Moglia moved to D.C. to attend American University. After school he worked bartending, playing music, and the odd construction job. During the summer of 1991, faced with no con...

Cold Knob

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:58:20 +0000

~WORDS: Michael Loranty~ In West Virginia the physical and cultural landscapes are inextricably linked. Landscapes are defined by the physical and biological processes that shape them--the topography, climate, the geology, and the ecology. Cultur...

Cold Knob

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:58:20 +0000

Six Gap and Brasstown

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:45:05 +0000

From a psychological standpoint when an aspect of an individual’s demeanor improves solely because they are being studied, it’s called the Hawthorne Effect. We sometimes call it the Ira Ryan Effect. Ira Ryan, in this case, is a verb and it can, h...

French Broad River

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:25:18 +0000

From the gas station town of Dillingham, North Carolina, the road to Craggy Gardens is called Stoney Fork. Strewn with gravel, rocks and forest debris, Stoney Fork is seven miles of off camber turns, washboards and dirt Less than ten feet from the...

Killing Me Softly

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:47:33 +0000

~WORDS: Daniel Wakefield Pasley PHOTOS: Daniel Wakefield Pasley~ Cycling is sport and transportation and transformation. And cycling is vantage. A position and condition that when combined, offer a Point of View. The position, seated on a bike, s...

Mississippi Delta

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:16:48 +0000

In the three years of Continental riding, this is the worst road ever. We’re lost and stopped at an intersection in the middle of nowhere. Stopped collectively, unsure of where this odyssey ends, quiet, empty and bemused looks reflect a ride lik...

Rouge Roubaix

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:36:17 +0100

We are not racing the “Rouge Roubaix”, a now somewhat famous event which takes place every year in March, we are simply riding it. Though like any other Continental or Gentlemen’s ride we are inclined to ride it hard. However, we quickly learn ...

Jasper Disaster

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:06:54 +0100

Since its popular debut in the 1972 movie Deliverance ‘Dueling Banjos’, originally called ‘Fuedin’ Banjos’, has become synonymous with hillbillies, backwoods, banjos and the musically-inclined simpleton. Deliverance was not filmed in Ar...

Talimena Loop

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:59:08 +0100

We are deep in the woods on a supposedly scenic two lane byway in the Ouachita Mountains (pronounced wosh-i-taw) just outside the town of Mena, Oklahoma where a month earlier a tornado turned half the town upside down, killing three. The reverent mis...

337

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:33:34 +0100

Many rides, especially the most memorable and heroic, are remembered, defined even, by deeds and events. Often the route, especially in a race, is reduced to a collection of roads, topography and various opportunities, and is at best a back drop. Of ...

Finale

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0100

On the day of our Prologue in Sacramento, someone reflected aloud, “I can’t wait to see the pros ride that.” Those words, or at least that sentiment, were a constant for our team. It took everything we had to survive our tour of California....

Stage 5

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0100

We wake up in a motor lodge in Visalia. It’s misty and there is some light rain. Today’s route leaves from the center of town, which is easily rideable, so we meet over breakfast in room 115. We roll into town and commence with the too-many l...

Stage 4

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0100

This 6:00am start is the darkest yet. We begin the day with breakfast for the team, which still includes Chad, our godsend SRAM mechanic, and The Oregonian newspaper’s Stephanie and Laura. Just outside the door, under an awning, Carey crouches over...

Tour of California Film VI

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0100

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Tour of California Film V

Mon, 25 May 2009 00:00:00 +0100

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Tour of California Film IV

Fri, 22 May 2009 00:00:00 +0100

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Tour of California Film III

Sat, 02 May 2009 00:00:00 +0100

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Tour of California Film II

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0100

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Stage 2

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Ahead of Stage Two, in front of Café Trieste in Sausalito, the Continental riders catch up with Michael Robertson, a local photographer, writer and, for today, our guest. As the team get dressed and ready for riding, Michael briefs them about riding...

Stage 3

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

After a trip to Kelly’s Bakery in Santa Cruz to start the day, we’re on our way to San Jose for the start of Stage 3: an even 100-miles long and with a total elevation gain of 4,500 feet. It’s in San Jose that we meet up with a reporter, Laura ...

Stage 1

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Today’s ride is effectively a double. Our ‘Prologue’ was followed by an hour’s drive – in full kit, not to mention a suspended state of readiness – to the town of Davis and the start of Stage One. With 100 miles ahead of us, we will ne...

Tour of California 2009

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0000

The Tour of California is as close as we get in this country to a Grand Tour like the Giro, the Tour de France or the Vuelta. What it lacks is the history, the legend and lore. It’s not because California is inadequate in any way, or the route is w...

Prologue

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0000

We are not professionals. We were reminded of this daily, sometimes hourly, thanks to the contrasts and disparities which were inescapable. Some were even painful, like the occasion when Jeremy’s IT-band (a recurring leg injury) forced him into the...

Acadia

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000

A chilling rain pattered down as we emerged from our motel rooms early Sunday morning with dead legs and dampened spirits. As if the 130-mile ride of the previous day hadn’t been enough, the untimely breakdown that had left a car full of exhausted ...

North Cascades Highway

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0100

North America doesn’t have a Col d’Izoard or a Mortirolo. Our mountain passes aren’t inhabited by ghosts of riders past, at least not French or Italian ones. No echo of “piano piano piano” can be heard between our rocky canyon walls. The t...

Baxter

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0100

There we were, sitting having breakfast in middle-of-nowhere Maine, quite unaware that someone had not only recognized us but was taking the trouble to let us know. It was only when we stepped out of the café on our way to the day’s ride that we s...

Yakima

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0100

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Fremont Peak

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Unshaven and smiling, and leaning back into a chair with his feet up, wearing only bib shorts and a dirty cycling cap, Ryan Thomson knocks back a shot of Laphroaig. Aaron, on the phone with his wife but watching Ryan, grins big. Greg, still on the fl...

Flamingo Grande

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Twelve uncomfortable hours into a thirteen hour drive and I finally admit to myself, out loud just in case either Greg or Carey are listening, that I will be in no condition to ride 100-miles the next morning. Especially considering tomorrow will be ...

Walden Pond

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Those of us that reside in the Boston area had done this ride hundreds of times, leisurely cruising out and around the roads surrounding the Lexington/Concord area. At times pushing each other up Strawberry Hill, or sprinting for the Lincoln town lin...

D2R2

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100

I'd been hearing about the fabled D2R2 for a couple of years before I actually had the chance to do the ride. The stuff of legend, stories were passed around like folklore at a couple of the local bike shops where I was working. Dirt roads for over ...

Six Gap

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Climbing is difficult. For many, those first encounters with hills come early in life. A reluctant BMX ride to a friend’s house or mini-mart perched atop the neighborhood’s highest ‘mountain’. During these...

Fitchburg

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

WORDS: JEREMY DUNN Charged to deliver an epic New England ride, something quintessential and something hard. There was only one person to call – Dick Ring. Laugh about it. No really, have yourself a good little chuckle. But then get over ...

Litchfield

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

“There is no spring in New England” the saying goes. One day you are experiencing the bleak cold of winter (some years lasting well into June.) The next you are in the full grip of summer. Most times not even a day separates the two, the weath...

Snoqualmie Falls

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

We lay about on the green, grassy mound between the shaded valet stand and a parking lot packed with fast sports cars and European SUVs. On the counter inside the valet stand are two Igloo coolers, one full of ice water, the other ice-cold lemonade. ...

Stevens Pass

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100

There are times when no matter how hard you wrangle, coax, coerce and try to ply the day into behaving and delivering, it doesn’t. It’s a phenomenon of celestial proportions and it cannot be overturned or bargained with. And when things go so hor...

Dufur

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100

It’s 94 degrees and unusually humid. My helmet has been off for most the day and my jersey, splayed and slapping my back, couldn’t be more unzipped. I lost count of water bottles somewhere in the mid-teens and I’ve had at least three Cokes. I'v...

New Paltz

Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100

It’s 4:45 in the morning and I’m four stories above a well-stocked bodega in Park Slope, a neighborhood in Brooklyn. From my horizontal vantage on a couch in Richard Bravo’s living room, I see that every surface from floor to ceiling is covered...

Day 1: Opening Day

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 10:04:59 +0000

WORDS: Kansas Waughww.rapha.cc/kansas-waugh PHOTOS: Brian Vernorrianvernor.com/home.html It was WAY colder the previous night than any of us had expected. It of course was cool in the evening and when the sun went down it was cold enough to alwa...