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Rapha Continental director Joel Harmsworth is a relative newcomer to road riding. Which makes his intuitive feel for the speed and flowing lines of the sport all the more impressive. “I guess it’s a bit like dancing,” Harmsworth explains. “You don’t need to be a great dancer to appreciate the moments of incredible beauty.”
Next week sees the release of The Snowys, the second film from The Rapha Continental Australia. The Snowy Mountains, the ‘Snowys’ of the film’s title, are home to Mount Kosciuszko, at 7,310ft the highest peak in Australia. Their place in Australian folklore was secured in 1890, with their appearance in The Man from Snowy River. Arguably Australia’s most well-known poem and penned by its best-loved poet, Andrew ‘Banjo’ Patterson, it is a lyrical tale of frontier heroism and the triumph of the underdog.
The Rapha Continental Asia debut ride took them on an unprecedented journey by road bike. Java is the first in a series of rides dubbed the ‘Ring of Fire’, tackling the arc of volcanic hotspots that run through the eastern side of Asia. The island of Java has 38 mountains which were all at some time active volcanoes…
Film coming very soon.
Words: Max Leonard
"Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath: north-east seven to severe gale nine; backing north; six or seven later…"
– The Shipping Forecast
The first Rapha Continental UK ride explored Assynt, a remote area of northwest Scotland. The riders encountered gale force winds, roaming deer and – at the end of four miles of broken track – a beach of white sand that would not have been out of place in the Caribbean.
Photos: Wig Worland
Based in Bristol, Robin Mather is one of six UK frame builders collaborating with Rapha for the UK Continental project. Robin's attention to detail, handcrafted lugs and distinctive touches have made his bikes increasingly coveted, on this sceptered isle and beyond.
When did you start designing and building frames?
The first bike I built was a school project in 1992.
WORDS: Ira Ryan | PHOTOS: Jake Stangel
Ira Ryan lists out everything you could possibly need for five days of riding in British Columbia. See the film, words and more photography of the rides here »
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It all starts with one giant bag:
Extra large duffle (you could fit 2-3 bodies in this thing if you cut them up right) BaileyWorks Rapha Continental bag, black (of course). Within this you stuff with the following contents:
Starting next Tuesday August 2nd, we will be releasing the latest in our summer series with the Rapha Continental. The springtime was left to our exploration of the Tour of California route with Tim Johnson, which was all well and good. This time around we had another guest and a whole new set of adventures in in the Rockies. For the whole month of August —each Tuesday and Friday — we will be releasing a collection of films again with DropTree Productions - photography by Jake Stangel and write-ups that chronicle riding the course laid out by the organizers of the 2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge. Formerly known as the Quizno's Challenge (thank you cycling gods for the name change) the race traverses a few of the Rocky Mountains well known climbs and hits some of the best cycling destinations in the country.
