Bicycling Issue 5 2021

DANIELLE SCHÖN FRAME BUILDERS, P.46 I’m a big numbers person. I need to know exactly how many kilometers left and meters to climb. I think it comes from boxing, when you need to make sure you have enough gas in the tank for the last round. Then I break it down into mental math: Okay, I’ve already ridden this far, so there’s only X amount left until the summit, which is only half of what I’ve already ridden—easy! ALSO: Wear what you want and ride where and what you want. There’s always going to be someone who has something to say about it, and if you’re enjoying yourself, then it really, truly doesn’t matter.…

DAN CHABANOV TEST EDITOR FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE “BAD IDEAS CYCLING CLUB” PRODUCTS I’M USING RIGHT NOW 1 / Ringtail Breeze Breaker 2.0 $145 A made-in-the-USA wind jacket that packs down small enough that I never leave home without it. 2 / Wahoo Elemnt Bolt $280 I loved the original Bolt, and this latest redesign from Wahoo hasn’t let me down either. 3 / Xiaomi Mijia Digital Tire Inflator $50 I love controlling my tire pressure down to every single psi, and this take-anywhere gadget does just that. BUNCH RIDES I love how each person can contribute to the speed of the whole, or can rally around a rider on a bad day to help them along. HOW CYCLING CHANGED ME Cycling helped me grow up. It put me together with mentors and people I would have otherwise never met,…

TARA SEPLAVY SENIOR TEST EDITOR LOOKING PRO WHILE GOING SLOW PRODUCTS I’M USING RIGHT NOW 1 / Watr Bodl From $13 Quirky and cheeky bike bottles are good for a laugh. 2 / Velocio Lux Bib Shorts $279 These are my favorite for long days in the saddle. They fit super well, the chamois is plush, and you don’t have to remove your jersey for a nature break! 3 / Scott Foil Pro $9,000 It’s been making me ride like a grand tour stage winner during every lunch ride. GREATEST RIDE OF MY LIFE The first time I rode Whistler Bike Park with my son. It was so special to see him shredding and having fun on trails that hold lots of personal memories for me. DREAM RIDE PARTNER Chelsea Wolfe. She’s working hard to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics…

DEREK BRAUN, 2 5 PARKVILLE, MISSOURI JUST PEDAL AND BREATHE CYCLING ACROSS THE POND While studying in Brighton, England, I’d skip the bus or train to join the few hundred other bike commuters. I loved it—but it could be exhausting. One day, pedaling home in high winds and rain, I sheltered beneath a bus stop to text a friend about the miserable commute. He responded: “Yeah, but someday you’ll miss this.” I suppose he was right. To this day, that five-mile commute in the blustery Brighton wind and rain was one of the hardest, but one of the most memorable, rides of my life. GREATEST CYCLING ACHIEVEMENT Nothing compares to the excitement I felt after rolling into Emporia, Kansas, under glowing orange skies as I conquered beating the sun on my first attempt at the DK200…

I knew that by dedicating our cover to Justin Williams and calling him “the most important bike racer in the world,” I might be ridiculed as a racing ignoramus—I mean, just to start, how in the hell could I ignore the way van der Poel and van Vleuten and Pogačar and others are forging a new golden era in which to be considered one of the best you must excel at all kinds of races? But I said what I said about Williams. Because it’s true. As Carvell Wallace says in his story on Williams (p.24), the racer “has taken it upon himself to represent for every Black cyclist,” but also for “every marginalized rider, every person who has been told, ‘You don’t belong here.’” Inextricable from this ambition is his…

CHRISTINE FENNESSY P.40 → Fennessy, whose work has been featured in Outside and The New York Times, spoke with six female bike builders on their role in pushing for representation in cycling. “Before talking with these builders, I never appreciated the patience, skill, and physicality it takes to construct a frame,” she says. “Their dedication is making the sport more accessible to more people.” CARVELL WALLACE P.24 → Wallace, who covers culture, sports, and race for such outlets as ESPN and The New York Times Magazine, spent time with Justin Williams, cofounder of the Los Angeles–based L39ION team and changemaker within American bike racing. “It was cool seeing Black people in my life and online pumped about cycling, especially after Tulsa Tough,” he says. “It was like having your friends show up at your house,…