Category Archives: Mountain Biking

Brian Vernor’s Trans-Andes Challenge

Posted on October 29, 2011 by josh| Leave a comment

Photographer and Filmmaker (and previous Bicycle Story interviewee) Brian Vernor just released the mini-documentary he made about the Trans-Andes Challenge, a 250-mile stage race across Chile’s Patagonia region. The film was part of the 2011 Bicycle Film Festival, but now that the festival has completed its run of showings across the US, Vernor is releasing his doc in-full online.

Vernor is known for incorporating a surf-film aesthetic into his work and that holds true for this as well in the way he shows the landscapes, the people and places on the region, and the life and culture of the racers between stages.

Trans Andes Challenge, The Film from Team Jamis on Vimeo.

 

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Posted in Art, Cycling Media, Everything Else, Mountain Biking

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I’d Rather Be Klunking

Posted on August 1, 2011 by josh| 6 Comments

I came across this historical gem on youtube. Evening Magazine, a 1970s television news magazine on a San Francisco CBS station, produced a segment about the new craze sweeping Marin County, Klunking. The clip has some excellent footage of a race down the Repack course as well as interviews with Charlie Kelly, Gary Fisher, and others. It’s obviously not as comprehensive as Klunkerz, the 2006 documentary on the subject, but it’s nonetheless an amazing peak into the early history of mountain biking.

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Posted in Cycling Media, Everything Else, History, Mountain Biking

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Brian Vernor’s Trans Andes Adventure

Posted on June 1, 2011 by josh| Leave a comment

Note from Josh: Sorry for the radio silence around here. I started a new job last week, so that’s taken precedence over The Bicycle Story for the time being. Things should be back to their semi-regular normalcy here soon.

I’m a big fan of Brian Vernor’s work. He’s produced some of cyclocross’ mainstay documentaries. He’s also a great photographer that not only makes wonderful images of cycling, but the people, fans, atmosphere, and culture that surround the sport as well. To be frank, it’s hard not to be a little jealous of the life Vernor has crafted for himself (at least the public image of that life he shares on his blog and through his work). He travels all over the world to shoot photos, make films, and ride bikes. It’s pretty rad.

Like much of his work, the latest film follows that “travel, shoot, bikes” formula. Vernor joined the Jamis mountain bike team down in Chile for the Trans Andes Challenge, a 580-km mountain bike stage race across the Andes. Check out the trailer below:

http://vimeo.com/24301987

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Posted in Cycling Media, Everything Else, Mountain Biking, Racing

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Arleigh Jenkins: The Bike Shop Girl Talks Women, Cycling, and the Future of the LBS

Posted on March 16, 2011 by josh| 1 Comment


Arleigh racing cyclocross in North Carolina.

Arleigh Jenkins, known to some as the Bike Shop Girl, worked in the bike industry for over a decade. From shop rat to manager to wrench on the pro mountain bike circuit, she’s had a hand in nearly every aspect of the cycling world. She’s since moved on from the bike industry, but Arleigh’s used her knowledge to help cyclists empower themselves, first through CommuteByBike.com and more recently BikeShopGirl.com. I spoke to Arleigh about the barriers women (and everyone) sometimes face in cycling, the need for independent bike shops to evolve, and her struggle to get back into the saddle after being hit by a car.

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Posted in Advocacy, Bike Industry, Interviews, Mechanics, Mountain Biking

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Brian “Sally” Fornes: Drinking, Single Speed Racing, and Repping One of America’s Largest Bike Companies

Posted on January 12, 2011 by josh| Leave a comment


Sally (left) in uniform.

Sally Fornes is exactly the kind of guy you want to have at a cyclocross race. He’s there with the beer hand-ups for the crack-of-dawn Cat 4 races, he’ll heckle you mercilessly through a megaphone while you’re racing, then he’ll invite you back to his team tent to hang out for a post-race recovery drink. He’s also been known to hold his own at the front of the single speed race, was the lead organizer of the latest Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships, and, in his spare time, is Raleigh USA’s main marketing guy.

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Posted in Bike Industry, Cyclocross, Interviews, Mountain Biking

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