Friday Debrief: Honey Mustard Ritchey Ultra, HMPL x Arc’teryx, New Oregon Outback FKT, and More…

The weekly Debrief highlights small but important bits of news, products, and things that caught our attention on the website, in the conversation, and elsewhere around the community. These include upcoming events and interesting items our readers shared in the comments. Check out this week’s findings below.

Bits & Bobs

New products that are worth highlighting but didn’t make the Dispatch…

Ritchey Ultra in Honey Mustard

Made in Taiwan / $999 at RitcheyLogic.com

The Ritchey Ultra is a downcountry hardtail mountain built up around a Chromoly steel frame, clearance for 29 or 27.5 x 2.6″ tires, 120mm travel fork, and boost hub spacing. Following the limited release of their anniversary edition frame, the newest stock Ultra color is a semi-matte Honey Mustard.

Blue Lug x Nitto “What Handlebars are those?” T-Shirt

$25 at Bluelug.com

Addressing the age old question, “What bars of those?” Blue Lug’s new Handlebar T-Shirt depicts all of the handlebars that Nitto in Japan has made for them, so you’ll always have the answer.

Wizard Works Munin Mini Messenger

Made in London / £78 at Wizard.Works

The new Wizard Works Munin Mini Messenger is a 3.5L messenger bag with a detachable stabilization strap, a large external zipped pocket, and internal organization. It looks perfect for running errands around town and comes in five stock colors and several other custom fabrics in your choice of right or left-handed. As always, the Munin Mini Messenger is handmade in London, UK.

Cascada x DirtyDropBars Lightweight Trail Shirt

Made in Italy / $84 at Cascada.cc

Cascada and DirtDropBars have teamed up on a funky new Lightweight Trail Longsleeve designed in the spirit of a back piece tattoo by Dutch artist Trobbies. The shirt is made from a breathable and quick-drying 100% recycled fabric, BlueSign approved, and perfect for hot summer days.

Lee Craigie’s Other Ways to Win

$44 at AdventureBooks.com

In Lee Craigie’s new book Other Ways to Win, she tells her story of discovering the freedom of cycling while at school, her journey to becoming a national mountain bike champion, her life after racing on cycling adventures around the world, and her work encouraging other women through with the Adventure Syndicate.

Win a Custom painted Esker Hayduke and More!

$25 at OregonTimberTrail.org

The Oregon Timber Trail is fundraising for their next phase of trail project by raffling off a custom painted Esker Hayduke, complete with a custom-printed frame bag from Rogue Panda Designs, a GX-level build kit, and on top of that, the winner gets a weekend trip (Sept. 22-24) with Esker cycles on the Oregon Timber Trail with support provided by Cog Wild. Tickets start at $25 each and can be purchased here.

Bikepacking & Off-Road Cycle Touring Guide

$20 at HighLux Photo

In the Bikepacking & Off-Road Cycle Touring Guide bikepackers Mark Watson and Hana Black draw on their wealth of outdoor experience to provide their view of traveling by bike: how to travel long and light on adventurous routes while having fun along the way. The guide is available as an e-book for $20 and is available purchase now.

Around the Community

News from around the bikepacking world…

SOUTH The Tour Te Waipounamu Story-Directors Cut

The Tour Te Waipounamu is a bikepacking race that travels 1,300 kilometers from the northernmost point of New Zealand’s South Island to Slope Point in the south. The organizers put together a film documenting the inaugural event, which is now available as a special director’s cut edition to watch online. Watch the full 88-minute film above.

HMPL x Arc’teryx Kitsilano Collab

HMPL and Arc’teryx Kitsilano have collaborated on a limited edition line of bike bags made from salvaged materials sourced from unrepairable Arc’teryx jackets. To kick the project off, you’re invited to join Arc’teryx Kitsilano at the Khatsahlano Street Party on July 8th. One hundred bags will be exclusively available at the Khatsahlano Street Festival, priced at $115 each. All proceeds will be going to the Indigenous Life Sports Academy (ILSA).

RAR Australia Chapter

Radical Adventure Riders’ mission is to center gender inclusivity and racial equity in cycling and the outdoors. They just announced a new Australia-wide chapter that will continue working toward the goals that RAR started when they launched back in 2017. Learn more about RAR Australia here.

Abdullah Mustafa sets new Oregon Outback FKT

Instead of touring the route before racing it like he had planned, last month, Abdullah Mustafa decided to go straight for the Oregon Outback course record, a 360-mile gravel traverse of the state. He ended up smashing the route in just 25 hours and 9 minutes, beating Jan Heine’s 2021 record time by about one hour. You can read more about Abdullah’s ride here. Congrats!

Becoming a Bikepacker

Becoming a Bikepacker is a new mini-documentary created by videographer Maciek Tomiczek and creative developer Cyril Chermin showcasing the usual struggles and joys of three strangers going out on their first bikepacking trip. The video is a good reminder that we were all beginners at some point.

Events Starting Soon

What to watch this weekend and bikepacking events starting soon…

North to South Colorado Bikepacking Race

The North to South Colorado Bikepacking Race is a 500+ mile race that starts in Fort Collins, CO, and ends in Trinidad, CO. The route follows a mix of gravel roads and trail, and riders should expect challenging climbs, long days, and stunning, well-earned views of the Rocky Mountains. The grand depart takes off this morning with over 50 riders signed up on Trackleaders. Follow their progress along live here.

Oregon Timber Trail 300

The Oregon Timber Trail 300 Race is an unofficial challenge that takes place on the 688-mile-long Oregon Timber Trail, a majority singletrack route along the spine of Oregon from the California border to the Washington border. The grand depart takes off from Cave Lake Campground in the Modoc National Forest tomorrow morning. You can follow their progress live here.

Weekly Social

Some things we found around the ‘gram and elsewhere. This week, a handful of updates from the 2023 Pan Celtic Race, which took off earlier this week…

Further Reading

Make sure to dig into these related articles for more info...

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