Story & Photos: Josh Rizzo My favorite memories of growing up with Dad involved biking too far, staying out too late, and splitting a Snickers bar upon finally reaching our destination. I never had a concept of mileage and just kept spinning the cranks on my coaster brake bike until we got back home. Dad, A “Closed” Sign, and a Sucky Ride That Turned Out Great A particular favorite story I remember is when Dad almost crushed our hopes but instead seemed to miraculously save the day. My sister and I were quite little when my Dad took us on a 20-mile out and back to a little convenience store in an unincorporated town. The only thing that gave us hope to make it to the turnaround point was my Dad’s promise that he’d buy us a snack at the convenience store. It was long after dark and we still had a few miles to go but Dad kept our spirits high with the anticipation of picking out anything we wanted in the store. We rolled up to the store and the outside light was off, windows were dark, and the “CLOSED” sign was on the door. My hope was crushed. But luckily my Dad’s wasn’t. He knocked on the door of a home that was right next to the store and asked if the man who opened the door also owned the store. Sure enough he did. He reopened the store, unlocked the cash register, and sold us each 1 snack, probably totaling three and a half bucks before wishing us luck on the ride home. I have no idea how I had enough energy to bike 10 miles back home that night but I think it had something to do with a little boy’s delight at a simple treat just when he thought luck was lost. Thanks, Dad. That was a real cool Dad move. Dad, Pizza, and a Face Full of Wheel Splatter Now that I’m a dad, I treasure every ride with my kids. I want to keep it fun and not push my hobbies onto them too hard, but I also want them to share my adventures as we stretch our limits together. Each summer, we bike to a local pizza farm together. It’s a 22 mile trip that’s normally beautiful as we roll up and down hills, twist through the woods, and say hi to the cows and horses on the many Wisconsin farms we pass. Last summer’s father-son ride to the pizza farm however, included 8 miles of pouring rain. When you’re 4 years old on a Trail-a-Bike, being pulled by a fender-less gravel bike and getting sprayed in the face with wheel splatter for 40 minutes isn’t all that fun. Now that that trip is removed by a full year, the Type 2 fun is something we talk about on almost every ride together. Let’s Take Our Chances Together Our year is already full of micro-adventures and recently we camped at a pizza farm, but hopefully most rides will be without the wheel splatter in the face. Although, heck, would we still talk about these stories if there wasn’t a sometimes-good-sometimes-sucky plot twist half-way through? Doubt it. I guess we’ll just have to see how this one goes and hopefully my kids will still like biking when it’s said and done.

Neil Beltchenko from Bikepacking.com recently checked out the Wisconsin Waterfalls Loop with 2 friends. It was an early season ride and their group made a video of the adventure. From the Bikepacking.com YouTube video: Highly underrated as an adventure destination, the Northwoods region is home miles upon miles of dirt roads and tracks that knit together lakes, rivers, thick forests, and small towns. It holds a special place in Neil's heart, and last month, Neil and two friends set off to ride the Wisconsin Waterfalls Loop, a 380-mile route in northern Wisconsin. In our latest video, Neil shares trip highlights and a day-by-day itinerary of their ride...

Join Cedaero and Cedar Coffee Company on July 2, 2022 for a very special event featuring Music by Ben Weaver, Stories by Alexandra Houchin, and a Ramblin' Bike Ride. This event is free to the public. Donations for the artists will be accepted. Meet at Spokengear/Cedar Coffee Company at 11:30. At noon sharp they will do an 8 mile ramblin' (party pace) bike ride to the Lake County Demonstation Forest. There is a new bikepacking campsite there on the Knife River Loop in an ancient stand of White Pines. They will settle in there for music and stories. Follow the facebook event HERE .

Kasner's Kick Duchenne (KKD) Gravel was held on Saturday, June 11 in Farmington Minnesota. Adam Klotz, race director, put on this event to raise awareness and support his neighbors and friends, the Kasner family, who have 2 boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The event had over 100 registered riders and raised more than $8,500. Sarah and Dan Kasner said, "The Kasner Family wants to thank all of the participants and supporters of the first annual KKD Gravel. We truly are in awe of the outpouring of love and support that we witnessed on Saturday of this amazing community." To learn more about the event visit kkdgravel.com .

It has taken time for Alexandera Houchin to weave layers of her identity together. First and foremost, Alexandera is an Ojibwe woman. She’s also an artist, a farmer, a mechanic, a cyclist and a person who cares deeply about her community on the Fond Du Lac reservation near Cloquet, Minnesota. “Stronger Together” takes an intimate look into Alexandera’s life while examining concepts of identity, forgiveness and what it means to merge seemingly different aspects of your soul in order to continue moving forward, one pedal stroke at a time. Photos: Burke Saunders To learn more, visit Freehug Magazine

This is the last chance to get the Founder's colorway of our Gravel Bear shirt. Available till Wednesday June 15, this is the best way to support locally focused content on the races, stories, routes, and people you ride with. Shop now .

Have you ever felt like energy gels are over-engineered and wanted a better option? Then check out Embark Maple; they're in Viroqua, Wisconsin and have a simple passion for good food and outdoor adventure. Eric and Bree from Embark Maple ( Instagram ) started an off-grid maple syrup farm in 2011. As lifelong endurance athletes, they turned their maple syrup venture into a wholesome, simple, and delicious energy gel. In this interview, we chat about their maple syrup energy and what in the heck inspired them to become maple farmers. Interview with Eric from Embark Maple: What is Embark Maple and what makes it better for endurance activities? Embark takes two of our biggest passions and morphs them together; good food & outdoor adventure. The concept of Embark came from bikepacking & multisport adventures in the late naughties (2008ish) where I wanted everything brought with to have multiple uses, and this is what makes Embark unique from other gels or maple syrups. One 3oz Embark Maple Energy pack is similar in size to three tear-off single-use off gels; however, Embark has a resealable cap so you can use exactly how much you need and save the rest later. In addition, once enjoyed you can put the cap back on and eliminate the sticky mess associated with tear-offs. Tell me about Embark's varieties, ingredients, & product development. Each of our Embark Maple Energy varieties was developed with a team of ultra-athletes & adventurous chefs, bringing a culinary focus to sports nutrition. We start with our sustainably harvested Wisconsin Certified Organic maple syrup and add a pinch of sea salt. This results in a bright maple flavor that has a complete electrolyte profile from just two simple ingredients. Organic maple syrup also has a glycemic index that is half of maltodextrin, a common ingredient in commercial energy gels. The rate at which your body metabolizes Embark is less “peaky” than many gels and without the same spike & crash associated with more simple sugars. Coffee Maple: 30 trials to get the flavor just right The versatility of Embark was important in our flavor development, and we like to highlight those uses as Energize, Hydrate, & Rejuvenate. Embark Coffee Maple is my go-to for a quick, long-lasting energy shot. We cold brew Certified Organic coffee from Wonderstate Roasters (also in Viroqua, Wisconsin), and went through almost 30 trials to get the perfect flavor profile without oxidation (the truck-stop flavor) or being too bitter. Smooth roasty notes of graham and fudge shine through, which is a delightful experience when combined with the 72mg of caffeine. We standardize our caffeine level with green tea caffeine since it also has a relatively slower release rate. Elderberry: The great mixer Embark Elderberry Maple has many benefits beyond its deliciously dark & deep blue fruit flavor, and is fabulous when mixed with water in a water bottle for an Embark Hydration. We typically recommend starting with a mix ratio of 1 part Embark to 32 parts water; or about ½ oz Embark in a 16oz water bottle. I get 5-6 water bottles from one pack. Everyone's nutritional demands and taste preferences are different, so it’s something to have fun experimenting with. Salted Maple: Cooking & culinary exploration Embark Salted Maple is our standard go-to for camp cooking & mock/cocktail culinary explorations, as well as non-caffeinated energy. Check out our social media for some of our favorite trail snack recipes! What in the heck inspired you and Bree to become maple farmers? Bree and I met in 2010 and we both had a shared yearning to responsibly work with the land. Around this time I was also seeking more purpose in my life, learning that I’m a better version of myself when I’m working outside. I was experiencing intensifying seasonal depression that was carrying through all the seasons, and I needed more positive mental & physical outlets. We started dreaming up plans to start farming, but there was always the looming reality that it had to support itself financially. That winter we tapped a maple tree in Bree’s backyard and made a big mess trying to boil sap into maple syrup! The following spring we found a small parcel of woods was for sale that was dense with sugar maples, so we applied for a Beginning Farmer Loan, hoping someday it could become our full-time jobs and lead to a more fulfilling & meaningful life. We set up the woods to collect sap in 2011, and successfully boiled our first batch of maple syrup in 2012! With your energy products, why do you focus so much on endurance cycling For as long as I can remember I’ve been happiest when I’m on a bike. I was “introduced” to endurance mountain biking & bikepacking during a tough transition in my life when I first became aware of needing positive mental & physical outlets. It’s my goal to give back some of the good energy I received from the cycling community when I really needed it, which is partly why we’ve been so active at aid stations, checkpoints, trail days, advocacy events, and general volunteering behind the scenes to help make cycling and the outdoors more accessible for everyone. I was fortunate to find endurance cycling when I did, however not everyone sees cycling as a sport for them and we want to a positive part of changing that. I feel that particularly in past couple of years more people are seeking out challenging cycling events because it helps them process the world. By choosing to take on the challenge of a difficult race or ride you are really training yourself to find the strength to work through other life challenges that maybe you didn’t choose. But really, we just love riding bicycles and want more friends to ride with!! What are your favorite places and events to bike? My favorite place to ride is right in our backyard, the greater Driftless region. We have a 6 month old, so big trips are fewer and farther between, but that doesn’t mean adventure isn’t still readily available. I’m setting up an old bike to be our trailer-toting kid-packing rig. I can’t wait for spring so these adventures can begin! I love S24Os (Sub 24 hour Overnights) and exploring what is “nearby” but often overlooked. My favorite is to load up camping gear & a packraft on my bike and explore our Driftless trout streams, particularly our home watershed (Timber Coulee) that we spend a lot of time and effort caring for. There are endless meandering creeks to paddle down and then steep coulees to ride back up. We have a good mix of paved & gravel backroads, as well as some wonderful MTB trail networks fairly close to our farm. As far as *favorite* events, anytime there are good people having fun riding bikes together, I’m in a happy place. I enjoy events that put more emphasis on building a supportive community than on the podium.

Dan Cruikshank started Cedaero as a sister company to Spokengear Cyclery and Cedar Coffee Company in Two Harbors, Minnesota. Now turning 5 years old, we chat with Cedaero to learn how it all came together and what challenges they've overcome. Learn more on the Cedaero website or follow them on Instagram . Interview with Dan Cruikshank: You're 5 years into Cedaero. What inspired you to build a bike bag company? Forgive my rambling, but that’s a long story. I’ve come to know that I’m blessed with a mind that works like an entrepreneur. I love to tinker with things. I can’t stop thinking about what products and services I would want for myself, and how can I offer them to everyone. Back in 1985 I was on a canoe trip deep into Quetico Provincial Park north of the Boundary Waters with my friend Jeff Knight. The idea for Granite Gear was born from the spark of an idea around the campfire that night. Over the next 28 years it was always like an adventure to figure out the next business hurdle to overcome. We expanded from canoe packs to ultralight backpacking, as well as packs for the US Special forces. Jeff and I built Granite Gear into a brand we were both proud of, and wound up selling the company in 2014. I looked back with fondness on the early years of brand building with Granite Gear. I wanted to build another brand from the ground up, taking all I’d learned and applying it to a new company. I’ve always been into biking. Ever since I was a kid, the bicycle gave me freedom and joy like nothing else in my life. I’ve toured around Lake Superior, and I’ve commuted by bike for many years. So it was natural that I wanted to make packs for cycling. I had a few ideas. At that time all the bike pack makers were doing pretty much the same thing and I figured I could make something a little different than what was out there. Then the entrepreneur in me took over and I thought it would be great to have a bike shop as well in our small town of Two Harbors. Also a great coffee shop. After a couple of years of planning and building we opened Spokengear Cyclery, and Cedar Coffee Company on Memorial Day in 2016. The plan was that Cedaero would be phase 2. Over the next few months I moved all the sewing and cutting machines from my home garage/ sewing studio to the back room behind the bike shop where I’d been tinkering and scheming and I hired Karl Mesedahl - a master at tinkering himself - to help me build the Cedaero Brand. I had a few orders already, and had developed the concepts for several packs including custom bolt-on frame packs, and we delved into steady production 5 years ago. The synergy of having the 3 Brands under one roof is awesome. We have been building a community around bikes, coffee and adventure here. Looking back so far, what are you most proud of that Cedaero has accomplished? The products are the obvious thing we are proud of. With each new product we strive to create a durable, unique, colorful and functional piece that will accompany you on so many adventures! We want these packs to function flawlessly so you can focus on the ride. Beyond the products themselves, I’m most proud of the team I’ve assembled around here. Having great people is the name of the game, and it all starts with that. The people I work with just "get it” when it comes to having fun and building a brand at the same time. It sure is a lot easier to go to work with folks you care about and trust. The conversations in the shop range from serious production problem solving to “What should we have for lunch on S'mores Friday?". Sometimes the conversations go totally random like “OMG we should call that cat on the towel Slender James” which is a completely different story ;). If you want to join in the shenanigans download your photo to the Cedaero Adventure Team link on our website. https://cedaero.com/pages/cedaero-adventure-team-1 What were some of the bumps you ran into along the way? Well, it’s not really an adventure until something unexpected happens, right? COVID 19, Bike Boom, delays in the supply chain, to name a few. That’s where the team gets down to business and figures it out so we can get on with doing what we do best. When you live with an adventurous spirit the bumps don’t slow you down too much. Two Harbors seems like a wonderful place to HQ a bike bag company; what's the land and the community like up by you? Well there are the bugs, lot of biting flies and ticks. And the cold. Really cold. Seriously, don’t even think about moving here! All that stuff keeps the riff-raff out. The rest of us who can get past the bugs and the cold enjoy the connection with the boreal forest, the big lake, the Superior highlands backcountry and community of hearty locals. Our building sits on 6 acres in a cedar grove. We can ride a few minutes out of town and be on remote gravel and B roads for days. One of the current projects we are working on is building a bikepacking campsite just 8 miles form the shop on county land. It’s going to be on a river in a grove of ancient White Pines. It will be the first bikepacking campsite in the region. We plan on making a network of these sites around Lake County. We'll keep you informed as it progresses. You've done some fun projects from Pogies to 906 collaboration bags. What has been your favorite project? I suppose the “Ode de Trout" packs we made for the Salsa Blackborrow introduction still truly stands out. Last year we bought an ambulance, converted it into a Cedaero Adventuremobile and drove it to a few events with sewing machines in the back to sew custom packs for folks as they watched. That project was a lot of fun! But it seems like every time we make a custom frame pack for someone, and it goes from an uploaded photograph of a bike to a finished pack in the colors the customer picked, there is some magic that we make. It’s fun to create a new favorite pack every day! My favorite today was the unveiling of the “Rainbow Road” edition packs.

Shane Hitz has long wanted to create a fatbike specific bikepacking route in Northern Wisconsin. Here he shares his planning and scouting process for that route, "La Serpiente de La Arena" (Spanish for the sand snake). Story by Shane Hitz The idea of this route was a long time in the making. A couple years ago I discovered he sand roads around Butler Rock and I was recently thinking about those roads with the intention of creating a fatbike specific bikepacking route. The thought of creating a bikepacking route through areas too difficult for tires narrower than 2.8” was really intriguing to me. I’ve been to the Butler Rock area many times since that initial time there. In fact it’s the area that I used for the 2021 Tour de Nicolet route. But the roads I used on the TdN, although sandy, are some of the easier in that area to ride through. I wanted to dive deeper into the area, making this more of a challenge and find all that the area had to offer. On April 16 of this year I made my first scouting trip with the goal of discovering as many roads as possible that are rarely used. I used the fat bike for that ride and laid down tracks on over 85 miles in the area. Some of it was still ice covered. I came away with a good understanding of what I wanted the bikepacking route to look like. When I got home I mapped my bikepacking course based on what I had found in April as well as past knowledge of the area. One of my other objectives was to map the route through the Nicolet Roche but to use only the two track instead of the singletrack trail but still stay really super close to the singletrack, at times crossing paths with it. I would follow the general direction of the singletrack from south to north. The reason for this was to create a route that could be ridden even when the singletrack was closed for the season or to give the rider the choice of riding the two track or singletrack or a mix of both. Or a person could decide to make the Roche their camp location and ride singletrack for the day, making this a three day adventure. For my trip I decided that my best point to start at would be in Lakewood. There are numerous places to start, which I labeled on the map. Where I chose has a super nice paved ATV parking lot with bathrooms and it’s right in town. A bike rack is placed near the bathrooms, which makes me feel that the town welcomes and promotes cyclists. It would be a safe place to leave my vehicle overnight. The bathrooms would provide a great place to change out of my bikepacking clothes after the ride. There are also a few restaurants in town for after the ride. Three weeks later on a Monday morning I set out on my overnight trip. I had a few camp spots in mind so I was pretty chill on my pace and let the day come as it may. A mile or so of atv trail connected me to some super curvy and hilly blacktop. A person starting this route might be initially thinking that this will be super easy and quick. A roadie came at me, zipping along. Probably a great road for local cyclists with its curves and hills skirting along the edge of Paya Lake, the lakeside cottages empty for the week. A couple short bits of gravel until mile 10 and then I hit endless gravel. At mile 14 I got off of the main gravel road and onto four miles of atv trail that brings me into Crooked Lake. Being a Monday nothing was open in Crooked Lake so I just passed through and back onto some atv trail. The groomer was out smoothing out the sand making it extra difficult even with the fat bike tires. About four miles of this super loose sand and then the surface started consisting of more of a gravel base making things a lot easier to roll on. I found a super cool two track that atv’s were not allowed on which connected to another road and as a bonus I avoid going down County Road W. Great find! Some more miles of super loose sand and sections of gravel in between to break things up before coming to Butler Rock and it’s super high view point if you decide to hike up. I don’t always take the hike up but today I did and I sat and ate lunch at the top. The day was windy with gusts in the 40’s predicted. It was at least that gusty, maybe higher. Continuing on was more of the same loose sand before coming to a firm gravel road for a few miles. I spot a snowmobile trail that has a sign posted for no atv’s. I take it hoping to find a nice path through and be off the beaten path a little. A distance in and the trail forked. I take the more overgrown direction and soon the truck tracks that kept the grass at bay made a loop to turn around but I kept going, regardless. It starts to get more overgrown as I hike my bike around fallen trees and soon I am carrying my bike over downed trees before coming to a total trail blockage of downed trees, impossible to get my bike through. I turn back to the last split and ride that out to the main road. Making it out to the main road I still consider this a win cause I did use about three miles of snowmobile trail and avoided that much of the main gravel road. I also came across a sign posted that I was alongside Waupee Lake Swamp State Natural Area. This happened to be a nice find with its views of the small lake off to my left and one that I would not have found if I stayed on the main gravel road. Continuing on the gravel I made my way to the most southern portion of the route. After one small river ford I came to an area that was recently burned from a forest fire only to discover a half mile later that I was riding into that fire. The winds were so strong that it pushed it across one gravel road. My route went around the back side of it and as I rode in the direction it was pushing towards a police car came in with its emergency lights going and soon after the forest service fire department came with sirens on. I went around the front side of it safely as the main fire was still a ways from my route. It was a good reminder of the consequences even a small campfire could have. I reached the blacktop that brought me towards Mountain and Bagely Rapids National Forest campground. With the wind at my back I made quick time on the five miles of asphalt. Rolling into the campground I had my pick of sites with only four other sites taken. With the forecast for possible severe storms I picked one with the safest looking trees. I also was lucky to have a site on the river. A quick meal of Mountain House was what my belly needed after a hard day in the saddle. After dinner I got rid of my trash from the day and from dinner and then refilled all of my water before going to bed for the night. I had the roar of the river as background noise however it was a restless night with the possibility of storms weighing in the back of my mind. I woke up early the following morning with only a sprinkle throughout the night. Any lost sleep was for nothing. I got everything packed up, ate a meal bar and an apple for breakfast and made my way onward. My first five or so miles were made up of atv trail on the old railroad grade, the surface being super loose but not bad at all on a fat bike. Two nice bridges overlooking the river was the highlight of the five mile stretch. Also, in the middle of that five mile stretch was the town of Mountain consisting of a restaurant and two bars and a gas station. On a Tuesday morning the only thing open was the gas station. Turns out they had a great selection of ready to eat hot breakfast sandwiches. Thinking about the unseasonable heat and humidity I would be facing that day, I also grabbed a bottle of Body Armour. After the grade I crossed highway 32 and onto a logging road with active logging going on. Passing two log truck semi’s bouncing along down the rough logging road I thought about the enormity of the amount of timber that was hauled out of the area from the 2019 blow down, a super powerful straight lined wind storm that took out trees in a line from Jack Lake to Mountain. For anybody not familiar with the area, as the crow flies it is roughly 30 miles in distance. I was heading into the blowdown area and would be in the hardest hit part of it later in the ride. After crossing highway 64 I came across another snowmobile trail that I decided to check out. This one worked out to actually take a short cut to where I needed to go and it was a more exciting way to get there not only because it was off of the main gravel road but also had some nice down hills and ended with a run through a tall stand of red pines. Once back on the gravel it was not long until I made a left onto another atv trail. This one was another that had soft beach sand. Lots of turns and punchy climbs meant hike a bike in a few spots. Midway through this short two mile section I came across a giant bullnose snake laying on the trail. I picked it up with a long stick, its head flattening and getting wide as I did, to get it off of the trial where it would be safer. I was glad I took this road and came through at the time I did cause I got to see such a cool and unique snake. After the atv section was another nice, easy pedal down a couple miles of blacktop and a right turn onto Old Grave Road, a beat up logging road which turns into two track leading to Nicolet Roche. Being here many, many times I knew exactly what to expect, which was a mix of sand roads and washed out roads littered with baby head rocks to super smooth forest two track. After crossing the bridge on Van Alstine road I headed north on two track that I have never been on. Very unexpectedly I had a white wolf trot across the road about 20 yards in front of me. It was the highlight of the entire trip! Of course things happened so fast I could not get a picture but it is something I will remember forever, much like the moose that jumped out of the ditch right in front of Candace on one of our waterfall bikepacking trips in the Upson area. Just a very cool memory to hold onto. Heading north across highway 64 I climbed the super steep Humble Hill, known from the old Humble 44 Nicolet Roche race. When you climb (push a loaded bike) up this hill with all the baby head rocks scattered all over it, you think that you are at the top but then it flattens for a second and steep again until finally you crest it. The downhill after is so fun though. It is void of the baby heads and is super smooth as compared to the climb, yet you still expect some bad spots judging from the road surface of the climb. My descent was great though. A few more climbs highlight this section of rough forest road, each summit featuring a great view of the endless miles of straight line wind carnage, the open landscape now exposing all the hills and valleys. Another section of snowmobile trail and then onto primarily blacktopped surfaces to finish out the ride. The exception is the unique ride through Cathedral Pines State Natural Area. The gravel road narrows here to one lane through a tunnel of dense trees and moss lined ridges which make up the edge of the road. It is such a fitting way to end the ride and roll back into civilization.

Le Grand Du Nord took place last weekend where Josh Kowaleski from Pointed North Photography was set up in the rain shooting riders' portraits around mile 100. Each photo tells its own story and captures a slice of joy and resilience. Josh will be shooting portraits again at The Fox and Heck of the North later this year. Find more photos at Pointed North and follow along on Instagram to see what he's up to next.

Who the heck is Ruby? Ruby Coffee Roasters is based right here in Nelsonville, Wisconsin. Originally founded in the garage of Ruby's founder, Jared, their coffee can be found in cafes and homes nationwide and yes, now they operate out of a real building. According to Ruby, each of their coffees is carefully and specifically chosen to represent a glimpse of microclimate, micro-region, and a vignette into a moment in time. They like their coffees with a little flair and are proud to celebrate the broad range of beautiful, colorful flavor coffee can have. They focusing on celebrating the unique, exciting qualities of each offering. Since Ruby is local and they make steeped coffee and instant coffee, I thought they'd be perfect for bikepacking. My biking buddy, Donavon Schumacher, is a licensed and board certified coffee snob so I asked him to try Ruby's steeped and instant coffees on his recent bikepacking trip to the Sand County Caress and here are his thoughts: Ruby Steeped Coffee and Instant Coffee review by Donavon Schumacher: It's not espresso but it's pretty darn good! According to Google a coffee snob is someone who cares deeply about what kind of coffee they are drinking. Coffee snobs judge their beverage based on quality and taste, and they won't settle for fast, cheap coffee from any grocery store or a fast-food chain. I don't know if I'm a coffee snob but I will tell you straight up I like good coffee. Preferably espresso from an independent coffee shop and if it's not espresso my regular go to is a DARK blend with no "foo foo" mixed in (cream, milk, flavoring). Next to coffee my second passion is cycling so when my friend Josh offered up a few samples of Ruby camp coffee to try on a recent bikepacking trip in exchange for a review I happily obliged. I had every intention of sampling this coffee in the field over a brightly lit jet boil but my plans were foiled after a bike mechanical forced me to bail and return home a day early so you will have to settle with my plan B brew from home review. The first sample I tested was the Ruby - August Seasonal Blend (steeped bag version). Let me begin by saying the convenient packaging had me at hello. I couldn't wait to prepare and drink my first ever steeped bag cup of Joe . I steeped the coffee for several minutes and waited for it to be ready. After initially taking the coffee bag out way too early, I continued to let it steep. Even after the 5 minutes, I never felt like the flavor was fully extracted. Could be in part because I've always leaned toward more more robust dark coffees. I've never been a big fan of most light or medium brews so I wasn't expecting to experience the bold taste that I prefer but the coffee flavor just wasn't there so I can't give the steeped version the highest review. But luckily, there was another option to try which I would enjoy a lot more. Next up was the Ruby - Creamery Seasonal Blend (freeze-dried instant version). I have only sampled a few different blends of instant coffee during bikepacking trips and have been perfectly happy with the Starbucks VIA Pike Place version but this Ruby blend was a grand slam for me. The flavor was smooth and ready to drink almost immediately. I think I have a new favorite instant camp coffee to throw in my bag for the next bikepacking adventure.

Josh Kowaleski just finished rigging out his new portrait studio bike on a Salsa Blackborrow. Working with Cedaero, his bike can fit his cameras, lights, stands, and more. He'll be shooting portraits of cyclists fighting their hardest miles at Le Grand Du Nord, The Fox, and Heck of the North. Josh Kowaleski is an adventure photographer who owns Pointed North photography. See more of his work on his website or follow him on Instagram . You specifically designed this setup for photo-by-bike; how did this idea evolve? This idea of mine draw from a few different sources of inspiration. I’m not one to limit myself in what I think can be done, and I’m not afraid to just try something and see what happens. I don’t mind chasing down a ridiculous idea that comes up in a conversation around a campfire every now and again! That said, this project is a culmination and reflection of my circle of influence in my friend group. Conversations that happened in passing, asking “What if?”, and then just being curious enough to try to make it happen. If this project was represented in a Venn Diagram, it would live right in the sweet spot for me between photography, bikes, and silly ideas. I am actively drawing inspiration from my buddy, Ben Weaver, and his approach to performing music off his bike. Most notably his 2018 ride on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route with “Music for free”, where he carried his guitar and banjo down the divide and played shows along the way. I am also looking over at my friend, bike nerd, and mentor in photography, Minneapolis-based TC Worley. TC is a phenomenal photographer and videographer, and he has some seriously cool projects under his belt. One of his personal projects is “Portrait Van”, where he built out a portrait studio in the back of a Dodge cargo van. He hauls that thing around and takes portraits along the way. For a proof of concept, Salsa’s chase the chaise is hard to ignore. That whole crew had a lot of fun hauling a couch out onto a racecourse and then spending the day taking photographs of riders on courses like Mid-South 100, Unbound, Le Grand Du Nord, and a few others. Lastly, I was simply inspired by the blank canvas, think big, be weird, choose your own adventure platform that is the Salsa Blackborow. When I worked at Cedaero/Spokengear we were approached by Salsa to make the packs for the “Ode to Trout” bike. We had a prototype tucked away, secretly, in the sew shop for the summer and I spent too much time playing around at the bike shop on that bike! With just one look at it, the blank canvas that it provides will have you cooking up your own silly ideas as you try to get to sleep at night. Why do you want to be shooting bike events right from your own bike? Isn't that limiting? I believe in bikes. Bike rides change people. Long rides, short rides, rides in the rain, solo rides, and rides with friends, all change people and I’ve NEVER had a bike ride that I’ve regretted. I firmly believe that any bike ride is transformative. As an active participant in long distance gravel races, I know how hard the back half of the day is and I believe that there is something to that 80-ish-mile mark that’s unique. It’s the spot where you’ve worked so hard to just get to. You’ve battled your highs and lows, and you may still be fighting some of those thoughts and thinking about quitting. You are just close enough to know that you’re going to finish and just far enough away that it still seems kind of daunting. That’s the spot where I want to spend a minute with the rider, offer up some words of encouragement, hear their story on the day and take a portrait that tells their unique story. A story that only exists in that fraction of a second, right there in the woods. I’ll offer them a high five, and then send them on the way to the finish. The person that crosses the finish line is a different person than they were at mile 80 when we hung out. The mile 80 person is different from the person who started the day. Riders need to know that person that lives within them and to see that part of themselves. The day has been long at that point, and I think you’re the toughest and at the same time the most vulnerable in that mile 80ish window. I want people to have that image to look back at and be reminded of their story from that ride. This bike looks ravishing. Tell me about your rig. What are you riding and how did you configure this pack setup? The bike is my 2018 Salsa Blackborow that I’ve converted over to a 29er for the summer season. It’s the bike that I’ve been riding the most lately and it's super fun! Most recently it’s been pulling its weight as a pint-sized adventure rig for my son and me. Cedaero provides the packs! I’ve had it equipped with a frame bag and a few packs since I originally got the bike in 2018 and late this winter, I sat down with Karl at Cedaero and he and I began to dream up the setup that would be ideal for carrying my camera gear. It was not a small feat to figure out. As it sits, I can carry two studio-style strobe lights, two stands for those lights to be mounted on, two light modifier setups, and then all the small odds and ends that come along with me. We had to keep the lights secure from bouncing around and protected from any weather. We had to protect my camera and have it be accessible while riding. We had to figure out how to carry collapsible stands and with that, how to keep the stands upright when deployed. It’s common to use sandbags to hold lights in place in the studio, but what do we do in the woods? Karl designed me some custom, re-usable, re-fillable “sandbags” that I can fill with whatever I find out on the course. I can use rocks, gravel, sand, or snow(?) and then empty them so I’m not riding around with the additional weight penalty. It’s well thought out and checks off all my boxes for this setup. What kind of photos and events do you have in mind for this project? In the first draft of this idea, I’d like to try and execute studio-style portraits, like in the image below, but of riders at that mile 80ish mark as we talked about above. This is where I’m starting but not the only way that I want to make photographs at these events. We will see what it evolves into. As far as events go? This season I’ll be taking the portrait bike around the arrowhead region as I chase down riders at Le Grand Du Nord, The Fox/The Wolf, and my personal favorite and the all-time classic, The Heck of the North. Jeremy Kershaw was open to this idea and has partnered with me this season with his events to see if this works out. We will see what lessons I learn this season and how the project evolves, but I’d love to continue to approach like-minded race directors around the Great Lakes region to see if the portrait bike could make an appearance and offer up a unique spin on documenting these events, regardless of the season or the distance.