Author Archives: josh

The Builder – Max Kullaway

Posted on June 6, 2014 by josh| 1 Comment

The Builder – Max Kullaway from Loaded Pictures on Vimeo.

Max Kullaway’s history in frame building run deep. He got his start in New England welding for Merlin then Seven. He later moved to Seattle where he started his own company 333 Fabrications and builds for Hampsten and Davidson. For more, check out the interview Max did with The Bicycle Story back in 2012. In this neat short film from Loaded Pictures, Max talks about his frame building philosophies, his love for bikes and making things by hand, and more.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Bike Industry, Everything Else, Frame Builders

Tagged , , , , ,

Casey Greene: Mapping the Future of Bike Touring

Posted on June 3, 2014 by josh| 2 Comments

CaseyGreene
Casey Greene planning for an adventure. Photo courtesy Casey Greene.

There is a trend afoot in bike touring to get off-road and onto dirt. It is, in many ways, the logical conclusion of several years of exploding popularity of bikepacking races like the Tour Divide, gravel events like Almanzo 100, and the continued growth of on-road bike touring. And, after all, what’s not to love about riding quite forest and country roads, in beautiful settings, away from the noise and danger of cars and trucks?

Casey Greene is doing his part to help encourage this growth of dirt riding. He is Adventure Cycling Association’s cartographer and the man behind their newly created Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route, a 750-mile dirt road and singletrack ride that links over 50 natural hot springs. I spoke to Casey about what it means to be a cartographer in the digital age, creating the Idaho Hot Springs route, his own backcountry adventures, and much more.

Continue reading →

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Bike Touring, Interviews, Mountain Biking

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Nicholas Carman: Pedaling the World as a Gypsy by Trade

Posted on May 27, 2014 by josh| 3 Comments

nicholas carmen lael wilcox arizona trail
Lael Wilcox and Nicholas Carman on the Arizona Trail in 2013. Photo by Nicholas Carman.

The chorus to the JJ Cale song “Homeless Man” goes, “I’m not a homeless man/I’m a gypsy by trade/And I’m traveling this land/I’m not a homeless man.” It is the source from which Nicholas Carman’s blog Gypsy by Trade draws its name–an appropriate umbrella for the journals and photographs of a man who spends about half of each year exploring the world by bike.

Nicholas and his partner Lael Wilcox have toured on and off road through Europe, Canada, across the United States, on routes like the Great Divide and Kokopelli, and plenty more. They’ve structured their lives around travel, spending winters working and summers on the road. Nicholas answered my questions by email from Anchorage, Alaska where he’s currently working seven days a week at a bike shop, saving up for the next adventure. In this interview, he discusses his foray into extended bike touring, his favorite trips around the world, how he and Lael make their travel work, his evolution of thought about bike touring gear, and much more.

Continue reading →

→ 3 Comments

Posted in Bike Touring, Interviews

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Katie Hall: the Hectic Life of an American Neo-Pro

Posted on May 20, 2014 by josh| Leave a comment

UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team December 2013 training camp.
Katie (center) with the United Healthcare team. Photo by Jonathan Devich via uhcprocycling.com.

Katie Hall is the sort of person who makes you question your time management skills. As a first-year professional for the United Healthcare cycling team, she’s racing a full American road season and dipping her toes into the waters in Europe at the Women’s Tour of Britain and the Giro Rosa. She’s also a full-time graduate student working on a PhD in molecular toxicology at UC Berkley. I spoke to Katie in a brief moment of spare time after she returned from Britain about her experience in Europe, late entry into the cycling world, balancing life as a neo-pro and grad student, the on-going evolution of women’s professional cycling, and much more.

Continue reading →

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Interviews, Racing

Tagged , , , , ,

Firefly’s Kevin Wolfson: Carving a Place in Boston Bike Builder History

Posted on May 14, 2014 by josh| 5 Comments

14127620571_94952fe7b0_z
Firefly founders (L-R) Kevin Wolfson, Jamie Medeiros, and Tyler Evans. Photo from Firefly Bicycles flickr.

When Firefly Bicycles came onto the scene in 2011, the cycling world quickly took notice of their colorful anodizes graphics and clean titanium welds. The three founders, Jamie Medeiros, Tyler Evans, and Kevin Wolfson launched Firefly after jumping ship from Independent Fabrications when the company announced plans to move its operations to New Hampshire. In the years since launching, Firefly has established itself among the upper tiers of custom frame builders. I spoke to Kevin about the company and their frame building philosophies, their backgrounds with I.F. and beyond, American frame building’s deep roots in New England, and more.

Continue reading →

→ 5 Comments

Posted in Bike Industry, Frame Builders, Interviews

Tagged , , , , , , ,