As promised we have a run down and behind the scenes look at some of the content in Spoke Magazine issue 43, which should be hitting post boxes this week.
Bolivia
In The Shadow of Illampu: Darcy Turenne, Mike Hopkins and Nicolas Tiechrob Get High On Bolivian Trails
Earlier this year Darcy Turenne, Mike Hopkins and Nicolas Tiechrob went in search of adventure and exploration in South America. Being among the first riders to ride some of the tracks and trails of a far flung country comes at a price and the group found they had to gamble along the way. However, the story and incredible imagery they came back with is inspiration to all of us that adventure and exploration is not just for highly professional and paid riders; the only thing that stops us doing the same is the drive and will to step outside our comfort zone sometimes.
Photography: Nicolas Tiechrob.
Words: Darcy Turenne, Mike Hopkins, Nicolas Tiechrob.
“This spring I joined Mike Hopkins and photographer Nicolas Teichrob on a riding trip to Bolivia. There were definitely some “holy shit what did we get ourselves into?” moments during our trip–one particular instance involved the three of us sitting silently, braced against our seats as half of our jeep traced along a razor sharp cliff-edge on-route home from a long day of riding at 16,000 feet–but the immense beauty and vastness of the Bolivian Andes (and all her glorious trails!) were well worth the occasional assault on our nerves.“
Darcy Turenne, wonder woman of female mountain biking, film maker and intrepid explorer of far flung singletrack.
Utility Cycling
The Drive to Ride: Utility Cycling Was Once A Thing of The Past, Now It Might Be The Way Of The Future.
Laura Williamson has been inspired by the tales of people ditching their cars and taking to their bicycles as their predominate means of transport and hopes to inspire others to do the same thing. Her story charts and documents some amazing characters making moves on man’s greatest invention, the bicycle.
Photography: Caleb Smith, Tim Pierce, Lee Howell.
Words: Laura Williamson.
“On a recent visit to my hometown of Vancouver, Canada, the first thing I did upon arrival was to step out of the car and almost get plastered by a bicycle. This happened for two reasons. One, now used to driving on the left, I looked the wrong way. Two, I’m just not used to bikes on Vancouver’s roads. When I was a kid they were rare. Now they’re everywhere, and in every incarnation, from elegant urban cruisers to crazy cargo bikes big enough to haul a couple of amps, a case of beer, and half the band to boot. Heck, I thought, if somewhere as hilly, and cold, and rainy, as The Couv can go all Amsterdam, why not here? Hopefully this story gives a few more of us a few more reasons to chuck in the motor vehicle and take to the city streets on two wheels.“
Laura Williamson is a Canadian freelance writer and editor currently based in New Zealand. She lives in the far south with her young son and a collection of vinyl records dating from the 1980s that she can’t bring herself to throw out.
Hope Technology
Domestic Innovation – Finding Hope In The Unlikeliest Places
Earlier this year Grant Robinson and myself went in search of the fragments of the manufacturing legacy of Great Britain. We travelled throughout northern England capturing stories and imagery from dilapidated industrial centres but within all the fossils and bones of machinery and manufacturing we found some shining examples of old world craftsmanship being blended with futuristic ideas to keep part of that legacy alive. Hope Technology was among one of those such places we visited and this is the story of how keeping it local but thinking globally is the no-nonsense means to fending off the tidal wave of half finished crap that sometimes spills out of the Far East.
Photography: Grant Robinson
Words: Seb Kemp
“I will never look at my front wheel the same again. Until now it was just a sort of tube that held my spokes. How naive I was. The ‘tube’ is possibly the most important part of my bicycle, and in this case, produced using the most high tech production methods available. Mountain bikes and the cleanliness of Formula One appear to be worlds apart, but not only will Hope make you a new set of hubs, their production standards are so high that Formula One teams are knocking on their door as well. Welcome to Hope. Bringing Formula One to your bike.“
Grant Robinson, the sideburn bearing uber photographer who travelled into the depths of northern England to document the immaculate conception of Hope’s precision offspring.
Teva Mountain Games
You Say Jump: It’s Not Just The Dogs Getting Air At The Teva Mountain Games
Earlier this year Caleb Smith (Spoke‘s publisher, 29er evangelist, and top notch photographer in his own right) took a plane out of the wet and windy winter of Wellington and headed for the summery mountain climes of Colorado. As well as getting caught up in games of hacky sack, frisbee, uphill canoeing, and slacklining he scurried around the mountain bike zone to bring us a taste of the thrills and spills of the Teva Mountain Games.
Photography: Caleb Smith
Words: Caleb Smith
Magazines should be heading out to subscribers tomorrow or Friday but there is still time to subscribe over here.
You can buy single digital issues of Spoke over here on the Zinio site or whole subscriptions here.
