Advocate Cycles

Montana Bicycle Celebration

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It seems fitting that the Adventure Cycling Association’s (ACA) Montana Bicycle Celebration kicked off with a presentation about a new route compiled by a bike travel enthusiast couple; surrounded by a full-house, Advocate Cycles ambassadors Lael Wilcox and Nicholas Carman shared photos and hopes for the inaugural Baja Divide ride to begin in January 2017.

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The Siples (left) and the Burdens (right) cruising on their 10 speed bikes.

If you didn’t already know, the ACA was founded by two cycling passionate couples—Greg and June Siple and Dan and Lys Burden. Whilst participating in a ride from Anchorage to Tierra del Fuego, they schemed that the best way to recognize America’s bicentennial might just be from the seat of a bicycle.

As someone relatively new to the bike industry, I was surprised to see things go full circle; with the somewhat recent inception of bikepacking and the increased participation in long distance races, one would think that this phenomenon is new. It’s not. Attending this celebration cleared up any misconceptions I had that bicycle travel (and those who love it) is something my generation can claim.

Sure enough, at Friday night’s reception, surrounded by reunited ‘76ers, guests had the opportunity to enjoy the video that was made during the Bikecentennial. Cue tinny music, ragtag participants, and cobbled together bikes. And with that, it occurred to me…THESE ARE MY PEOPLE. Passionate, quirky, never say die folks—and they did it—over 4000 participants rode some part of the Trans-America route that summer.

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The human spokes in the wheel that became the Adventure Cycling Association.

Among a variety of speakers that night, it was Greg Siple’s speech that resonated best with me; he relied on a series of ‘what-if’s to make his point about how precarious the whole endeavor was, as if one failed opportunity would have put the kibosh on the entire event. In a similar vein, I could say, “What if you weren’t reading this right now? What if you didn’t understand Advocate Cycles and support our mission? What if you didn’t sign on to be a dealer?” Greg spoke of the incredulity others presented when he shared his vision of Bikecentennial; there will always be naysayers who tell you how you can’t be successful or why your plan won’t come to fruition.

It’s natural to draw parallels between the work ACA does and what Advocate Cycles aims to do. Surrounded by this crew of folks made me think of all of you—dedicated shop owners and employees who believe so strongly about cycling, its impact on society, and the possibility that by simply riding your bike you make the world a better place.

It’s with that shared vision we created and launched two custom versions of our upcoming new models focusing on bicycle travel—Seldom Seen and Sand County—that will be auctioned this fall as a fundraiser for the ACA. (Look for details about the auction on our webpage in September.)

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Custom models of Seldom Seen and Sand County in front of the ACA office in Missoula, Montana.

We’re excited to offer the stock versions of these new bikes for delivery in November. As with all our models, customers vote for which non-profit organization they hope will benefit from the purchase of their frame/bike. Through this voting process, we learned that folks vote overwhelmingly to support the Adventure Cycling Association!

Throughout the Montana Bicycle Festival, we witnessed the community building and grassroots organizing the ACA is known for—meals, bike demos, trail opening ceremonies, activities for children, and storytelling, shared with participants who pedaled many miles to partake. We are honored to be a partner of this organization and confident that the support they’ve earned from you and your customers is never taken for granted.

 

And while it is comforting to see that an idea as bold as the Adventure Cycling Association was able to last, thanks to passionate founders and an ever-growing group of like-minded enthusiasts that gathered around them, it is even more comforting to see that cycling advocacy and the community of cycling as a whole is as strong as ever, and shows no signs of slowing down.

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Jim Sayer (left), Executive Director of the ACA, with Advocate Cycles founders Tim and Odia Krueger.

Brews for Bikes - World Bicycle Relief

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Words and photos by Eric Hockman

As another 365 days pass and the age counter rolls another digit, it seems that each year tends to gain more momentum than the previous, causing time to blur by much like the trees that line my favorite sections of single track. It was right around four years ago that the dream to host an event for World Bicycle Relief (WBR) started swirling around in my mind. Back then it was just a distant but hopeful idea, so it’s hard to believe we just finished hosting year two of this very positive and extremely entertaining event. If you missed Brews for Bikes (B4B) last year at Mountain Toad Brewing in Golden, Colorado, you can read about the project on Pinkbike here. If you missed Brews for Bikes this year, well, where were you?

The overall vision and goal of WBR is to put bicycles in the hands of residents in African villages and cities to improve their quality of life in many ways. A bicycle to someone in Africa means that they can gain a better education, transport goods for small businesses and families more efficiently, and improve their chances of living a happier and healthier life.

For the second year running, my good friend Muhammad attended the event to enjoy all of the positive energy that comes along with it. Roughly seven years ago, he was granted amnesty to leave his refugee camp in Darfur, Sudan and bring his family to America to live a better and undoubtedly safer life. A few years later the two of us crossed paths as fellow mechanics at a shop in Seattle, WA, where I soon realized I needed to revisit my plan to send bikes to help people like him. As an immigrant and now resident of the United States he serves as a constant reminder that it is greatly important to continue helping others whenever possible. While speaking to those attending the event, he so eloquently noted that “Giving a person a bicycle in Africa is much like giving someone in America a very high-end car.” Much more can be accomplished when a person is mobilized via a form of reliable transportation.

This year we teamed up with many of the same contributors that were involved with the previous years project, but the most notable change in direction was the style of bike as well as the manufacturer. For B4B v2.0 the frame and fork were provided by Advocate Cycles; a company dedicated to sharing 100% of their profits with advocacy groups throughout the cycling community, so it seemed only fitting to join forces with them. The Lorax frame that we used to build this years custom Advocate/Buffalo collaboration arrived with a beautiful shade of pearlescent green paint and without it’s typical factory graphics. This blank canvas gave us the opportunity to lay down another set of customized graphics to mirror the Buffalo bikes that are sent to the field in Africa. Gaining help from friends throughout the cycling industry and local community is what makes this project thrive, and truly shows how big of a family the cycling community can be.

In it’s first iteration, Brews for Bikes was able to generate enough charitable contributions to send roughly 27 bikes to people in various parts of Africa. In it’s second year, the event did not produce quite as many bikes to send to Africa; however, the positive energy, education about WBR’s scope, and the nearly 20 bikes that will be sent to those in need was certainly a win to all that were involved.

Many thanks for everyone involved with the project:
- Advocate Cycles for the donation of a beautiful Lorax frame and fork,
- Victory Circle Graphix for the sharp custom graphics,
- Shimano for a sleek 105, 11 speed drivetrain and PRO components,
- Cane Creek for the bike jewelry-esque 110 headset,
- DT Swiss for the contribution of a smooth rolling Spline wheel set,
- Feedback Sports for the donation of a custom Pro-Elite repair stand and bicycle storage prizes,
- Pedal Fit PT for the donation of a custom bike fitting session,
- Jesse Crock for the donation of one of his incredible Colorado inspired paintings,
- Primal for sending out a box full of apparel,
- Hogshead Brewing and taproom for the venue space and donating proceeds from beer served at the event,
- SloHi Bike and Coffee for the excellent hospitality, coffee, and small parts for the bike build,
- World Bicycle Relief for the donation of stainless pint glasses and prizing,
- The Lookout Mountain Boys for putting on an always entertaining show,
- And most importantly for my good friend Muhammad from Sudan (by way of Seattle) for attending the event for the second year in a row.

As previously mentioned, this was the second year of Brews for Bikes, but keep your eyes open for another round of enjoying delicious brews, listening to good music, positive vibes, and most importantly, changing lives one bike at a time. Just make sure you don’t miss round three!

To learn more about World Bicycle Relief, please visit their website or to make a contribution to Brews for Bikes, please visit the event donation page.

Ambassador Profile - Dejay Birtch

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Best known for his accomplishments on a singlespeed, Dejay Birtch is a mountain biker and ambassador to the mountain biking community involved with the sport both on and off the bike whose illustrious career spans 20 years. He currently lives and rides in Tucson, Arizona, although his roots are found in Port Jervis, New York—a place where he says that he cultivated his creative capacity for finding new and interesting approaches to the world.

When he transplanted himself to Tucson, Arizona, he took along his outdoor experience, added a bike, and began sharing his adventurous mindset with everyone else. Among many other things, he is an urban escapist, tour guide, shop rat and world dirt sampler. Sometimes referred to as a cyclist that races, Dejay tries to deal with that pressure by being the first to the top of many hills.

He’s been an endurance national and world champion and has crisscrossed the continental United States both west to east and north to south on his bike. He has designed trail systems and created cycling events. Recently he has created and promoted fat bike events in Arizona and New York and organized the 2014 singlespeed World Championships in Anchorage, Alaska. He helped start SSUSA (Singlespeed USA) and has been a part of Singlespeed Arizona for over a decade.

For his most recent project, Dejay has followed his roots back home to New York to take on a trail building project in his hometown. Like many east coast towns, Port Jervis was brought up on industry, which has all gone away at this point, leaving the area as somewhat of an economic ghost town. But the town does have an amazing natural resource that has been virtually untouched and completely off limits for 100+ years.

This particular resource is a large, city-owned, 2,000+ acre piece of land in town that is part of the watershed and houses three reservoirs, along with many rolling ridgelines and ideal terrain for a trail system. For a while now, Dejay has seen the potential in this piece of land for outdoor recreation.

With other nearby outdoor attractions like the Delaware River that runs through town, the nearby Appalachian trail, the Poconos and Catskill Mountains within a short drive—and the possibility to ride the commuter train all the way from NYC—the area stands to be the next best playground in the region for cycling, hiking, and other sports year-round.

And so he went to work convincing the town that this would be an ideal place to build some trails and start to draw people back to the town. Finally last August, he got the go-ahead to start building and went to work putting together the beginnings of a trail system.

To say that he helped to make a miracle happen could be truth. Currently, they are in the infant stages of building singletrack with at least 30 miles laid out and about 15 miles of doubletrack already existing. On March 19, Dejay held a fatbike event on the trails as a grand opening, which turned out to be a hit, and now has plans for a MTB event to be held on October 29th.

Dejay tells us that, “all of this is to spread the love of the outdoors of course, but it holds a special place to me, to help my small home town come back from the economical ashes of what was a booming industrial town.”

If there’s a bike involved, Dejay will always be there. Just stay tight on his wheel and follow him into his next adventure.

Dealer Spotlight - SloHi Bike Co.

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Located in Denver, Colorado, SloHi Bike Co. has been in business for about three years now. This Mile-High City shop is the kind that believes every bike is as individual as its owner—why not get something that fits you perfectly.

Adam Williams, one of the owners of SloHi, has worked in the cycling industry for about 20 years—working as sales rep and sales director at a few different bike brands. After doing that for a while, he decided his heart was in the shop itself—and back to the shop he went.

Adam tells us, “It is an interesting time to go back into the independent bicycle retailer business. The retail channels are very open and competitive right now.”

He cites the local cycling community as the main reason for re-entering the retail space. “Everyone at his shop simply loves helping all types of cyclists,” he says. “Hell, we even have a kick bike in the shop right now.”

Adam also sees the benefit of having the neighborhood grow around the shop. “We’ve had the privilege to meet people through the coffee shop, see them start families and help them replace their cars with cargo bikes. Being a part of that is so rewarding.”

SloHi itself is a very small shop. Adam Quinney (Q) and the rest of the part time staff are very involved. Q is an active road racer and commuter—the kind of avid commuter that does not own a car and also looks great in a race kit. He prefers the exfoliating benefits of pavement over dirt. Adam Williams (Adam), who loves mountain biking in addition to his commute, has always been very involved in advocacy, having served on COMBA for five years in the past. In regards to advocacy, Adam tells us “I view it as a necessity to continue our sport and our way of life.”

As for community events, SloHi is very involved in the Bailey 100 mountain bike race. It is a huge fundraiser for the Colorado Mountain Bike Association (COMBA) and Take a Kid Mountain Biking. Last year they helped to run the aid stations and plan to double down their efforts going forward. COMBA is the local IMBA chapter that makes huge efforts to build trails and keep trails open in the area so it is a great fit the event to support that organization each year.

SloHi is continually working to stay active within the local community. They donate a bike to the Tennyson Center for Abused Youth every quarter and they also support the Colorado State University Cycling Team with a raffle every year—Adam is an alumnus there, he sees it as a great way to give back without having to buy a new wing for the Psychology department.

As well, Denver in itself is making huge strides in bicycle infrastructure. The mayor recently allocated $100 million to make Colorado a better cycling state—it seems that everything is up for grabs at the moment. COMBA has been steadily working to make Buffalo Creek a world class trail system and is already an IMBA Epic. They are also working to build more bike parks after the successful Golden Bike Park in Golden, Colorado.

Locally, SloHi has been working with the planning department on making their own street a bike lane. The plan is for 29th Avenue to get a “green” cycling lane that will run all the way into the heart of the city next month. For SloHi, the staff, and the cycling community of Denver—things are definitely looking good.

Advocate Insight - Casey Lajoie

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One of the most exciting things happening in cycling right now might not be what you would expect. With the introduction of a mountain biking league for student cyclists, the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) aims to create a nationwide cycling league that not only gets thousands of young riders outside and onto the trails but also gives them the tools to be educated stewards of the sport and the environment.

Founded in 2009, NICA develops interscholastic mountain biking programs for student-athletes across the United States. NICA provides leadership, services and governance for local leagues to produce quality mountain bike events, and supports every student-athlete in the development of strong body, strong mind and strong character through their efforts on the bike.

Aside from that mission, NICA also has a vision to promote the sport of mountain biking and the benefits of mountain biking as a healthy, low impact, outdoor recreation lifestyle as well as to advocate for the environmental conservation of natural areas and parklands, mountain bike trail access, and the development of sustainable trail systems.

With the goal of expanding coast to coast by 2020, NICA relies heavily on local and regional advocates to start new leagues and teams and continue to expand on the ideas and goals of the organization. As new leagues and teams continue to be added every year, it is with the support of these advocates that the goals of the organization are able to progress.

One such advocate is Casey Lajoie, a cyclist from Iron River, Wisconsin that has recently been working hard to start one of the first NICA teams in northwestern Wisconsin.

Lajoie started out cycling like most other kids, using it as a form of transportation and freedom to get to a swimming hole or a baseball game—going everywhere he could on a bike. As he got older this sense of freedom from riding turned into a love of dirt bikes and he progressed into motocross racing, where he competed for 15 years.

It wasn’t until 2012 that he purchased his first mountain bike as a means of cross training for motocross events and he ended up enjoying it so much that he decided to enter his first race in 2013—after that he was hooked.

Since motocross injuries had been sidelining him for years, he decided he would give it up and concentrate solely on mountain biking—he now competes in numerous mountain biking events throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota and sees the potential that the sport has to offer both mentally and physically—young and old.

At one point, Lajoie came across some information about the Wisconsin High School Cycling League on social media and it clicked—he decided that he wanted to start a NICA league team of his own. Like most of us, he wished there had been an opportunity like that when he was growing up. He figured that this was something that didn’t exist yet in his area and it would be a great way to involve and expand the young cycling community.

As added motivation, he had bought his son his first mountain bike in 2013 at age seven—they began riding local singletrack and he was amazed with his son’s skills and determination. His son loved it from the very beginning and Lajoie also noticed how it began to affect so many other areas of his son’s life positively including behavior in school. A once shy little boy had become confident and outgoing and began to make many new friends through cycling. Lajoie thought that if biking was able to help his son so much why not find a way to impact more kids and share his love and passion for cycling—the natural progression was to find a way to start a high school team and get those kids involved.

Since then, Lajoie has been working hard to start a NICA team in the northwestern part of the state. Currently known as the Northwestern High School Composite, the team encompasses students from a number of schools in the area. While the team is currently considered a club sport and is not yet affiliated with any particular school they are hoping to be recognized as an official school sport in the future as many teams throughout the nation are doing—allowing for the schools to participate in the planning, organization and financing as well as allowing for students to be able to letter in the sport.

The first step Lajoie took when starting out was to contact the co-director (Kathy Mock) of the Wisconsin High School Cycling League—with her help Lajoie was able to get a lot of questions answered and helped to put the wheels in motion for the addition of another team in northern Wisconsin. Mock was an invaluable resource and has helped him every step of the way—he urges anyone interested in starting a team or a league to reach out to similar organizations as they are more then happy to help out.

Lajoie also attended a Leaders Summit, held in Waterloo, WI, which allowed him to work toward attaining a coaching certificate. At these summits, NICA provides comprehensive coach training and licensing in order to establish and maintain national standards and best practices for leadership—something that will be beneficial in growing the organization effectively across the country.

In regards to their northwestern Wisconsin location, it doesn’t hurt that his team is central to some of the best singletrack riding in the region—if not the nation. They are nearby a handful of renown trail systems such as the CAMBA trail system in the Chequamegon National Forest, the COGGS trails in Duluth, MN as well as their own local cross country trails in Brule, Wisconsin. Thanks to the hard work of the trail organizations and advocates in these areas, the NICA teams and leagues throughout the region are able to use world-class trails for practices and events.

Lajoie’s team has also benefited from area events that helped out in the beginning phases of the process. In spring 2015, Advocate Cycles, the Angry Catfish and Twin Six held a gravel cycling event called the Hungry Bear 100 that raised the initial $4,000 in funding to start the team. Throughout the country, it is events like these and the support of companies that has helped to get many of these leagues and teams off the ground. Cycling events can be perfect fundraisers for leagues and teams as they get the local community involved toward a common goal and are often able to pull together enough capital to completely fund the start of a team—a very meaningful step to those involved. This common goal within a local community and the cycling community at large is one of the reasons the sport of cycling, and organizations like NICA, are doing so well today.

In the 2015 season, Lajoie’s Northwestern Composite team was able to participate in events throughout the entire state. With the addition of more teams in the Wisconsin High School Cycling League there will even be the possibility of a north and south league with a championship event held at the end of each season—allowing for more growth in the league as well as allowing teams to travel less during the season.

So far in the state of Wisconsin there are 24 teams with the upcoming 2016 season being only the third season of competition, which is a fantastic start to the league. Bordering Minnesota has also had success with 51 teams so far in their 5 years of existence with some teams even being recognized as school sports, giving students the opportunity to letter in mountain biking.

For anyone that is interested in starting a team in their own area, there is a wealth of information available on the national level and most states that already have a league set up will have more regional resources available. The organization (NICA) is set up in a way that will help provide anyone interested in getting involved with technical assistance and support for league formation, team formation, races, camps and other events.

With the addition of his team in northwestern Wisconsin there is much to look forward to. Lajoie tells us, “I am extremely excited to see and help this sport grow in our schools as the sky is the limit. I have enjoyed every step of this journey meeting and working with so many wonderful people in the cycling community. We wouldn’t be where we are today without the help and support of some amazing people.”

With so many young riders now participating in mountain biking and with more joining every year, the future of cycling and cycling advocacy looks to be very positive. For anyone interested in getting involved by starting a league or a team, head to www.nationalmtb.org to find more information and resources on how to get started or how to get in touch with an existing organization in your area.