The Rodeo Journal – Page 16 – Rodeo Adventure Labs, LLC

Natalie’s TD3 Bouquet

Natalie’s floral bouquet TD3 is a work of art that could only be pulled off with the help of her friends.

The Tahoe Twirl is a deceptive beast- short in mileage but long with rocky technicality, it packs alpine summits and long, sweeping fire road descents into a literal breathtaking package and puts a big fat lake and a Cabela’s right in the middle of it all. The Tahoe Twirl is a beast. It’s no spring fling and no two-step shimmy. This one you plan for, pack for and train for. This one, you need to make an effort to come and see.

So naturally I threw all caution to the wind and showed up without looking at the route and with whatever was left in my truck. I’m off navigation duty this week, so I’ll bring an extra camera battery and settle in for some mindless pedalling. Ben and I chocked this up as a rest week and the finish line for getting my project car on the road and to Lake Tahoe in time. We spent two weeks burning quarts of midnight (and motor) oil to finally show up late, miss the rally location, and start hours behind the others we’re meeting up with. Hard on the gas out of the gate- What’s a vacation.

Adventure Bikepacking

Perspective

Last time we spoke I gave you look into the experiences that drive my life on two wheels. Goals and pushing physical boundaries is a big part. Laying out the training plans, watching fitness numbers climb, and the results that follow; all completions in their own right. But when the training wheels came off 3 decades ago what compelled me to the bike?

Tonight, I Am Full

By Logan Jones-Wilkins

Written June 1^st, 2020, edited and published June 6th.

The following piece is a written reflection of the Rodeo Adventure Labs sponsored athlete and contributor Logan Jones-Wilkins. These sentiments and perspectives are that of the author and should not be viewed as the opinion of Rodeo Adventure Labs, although we support our athlete’s choice to use his position to voice his opinions.

Tonight, I am full.

Full of life from the purity of nature; full of friendship from time spent with an old friend; and full of fitness from the miles spent careening around the mountains of Arkansas. Yet, now as I sit in my living room at 1 AM Monday, June 1^st struggling to find an elusive sleep, I am also filled with sadness. Sadness for my black and brown compatriots who still live in fear of those who are charged with protecting them; sadness for the men and women who have lost their lives too soon and their families who have not been given the justice they deserve; and sadness for all the loss racism has caused in this country that I have always called home.

Putting on the Brakes

In my last post I went straight to trying to get you to come back to my place. I didn’t even buy you a drink, much less take you out to dinner. So let’s squeeze the levers, slow it down. Grab a coffee with me and let’s learn a little about each other.

Owner’s Bikes, Owners Stories: Zach Adams

Editor’s note: Zach sent us this post in an email and I enjoyed his story so much that I asked him if we could share it. He kindly agreed. What I like about this the most is that it is about someone discovering cycling from the outside. It isn’t about someone trying to add the new It-Bike to their collection, it’s about starting from zero and discovering it all fresh for himself. If you’ve got a Rodeo owner story that you would like to share please shoot us a note. We love hearing from our owners.

Our Guide to: 1x vs 2x

I’m going to remain adamant about my belief that it is the bicycle’s core concept and not it’s small technicalities that make it great. But me, writing this just after celebrating dropping my single speed set-up in lieu of gears, also can concede that a bike with less limitations invites more fun. Any tool, and a bicycle especially, works best when you think less and less about it until the tool becomes an extension of yourself.

Rotor 1×13 long term review

I’m gonna be honest, I keep bikes.

I’m not a bike breaker. I don’t bunny hop curbs with the flair of a younger, wavy-haired data scientist. I’m not one to cross chain with the stubborn resilience of a corn-fed Doctor, hiding his midwestern roots behind the precision of german engineered toys. I pick my bikes for their simplicity OR for a future proof(ish) design that will allow me to smile for miles. Here’s my stable of bikes to prove it:

Silverton Project – Teaser

In the early 1900s miners and donkeys roamed the high peaks of the San Juan Mountains of Colorado in search of gold and fortune. In 2019 we took our Traildonkeys (and a Flaanimal) up those same hills in search of a fortune of a different kind: That consisting of great views and friendship.

Learning to Create

My post season break after cross not only started before Thanksgiving (States was on November 23rd) but lasted a bit longer than it had in recent memory, about 2 months. That meant I had no direction, commitment, whatever in December and most of January. Having a new position at work helped that, and I went back to the homeland (Iowa) at the end of December – riding there at that time, well I wasn’t interested. I started the season off on February 3rd, I had checkpoints along the way, a far off goal, and then another cyclocross season to ramp up for.