Getting High, Now On Motorcycles 🏍️

By Sean McCoy | March 12, 2024

🌸 Should spring be known as “reservation season”? I ask after reading that the city of Golden, Colorado, is considering a reservation system for tubing the small CO town’s centerpiece, Clear Creek. As outdoor lovers, we’ve grown accustomed to reservations — for National Parks, for campgrounds, even for choice waterfowl hunting spots. But reservations for floating a creek in an innertube? Well, it seems this may be the reality.

And now your reminder: Many fall hunting tag deadlines are soon. Make plans now!

📌 Before you go, here are three things to:

• Read: Nokian Tyres are designed to negotiate America’s toughest topography.

• Watch: Yes, a one-legged skier can really rip.

• Share: The annual Give’rway is back with eight prize packages and $9K worth of gear. Enter now, and then tell your friends.

Adventure Motos Get Really High

In more than 10 years with GearJunkie, I’ve never seen a story about high-altitude motorcycling. Then, two astounding records were set in the (obscure?) world of driving motorcycles really, really high over 2 days this week.

First, Spanish motorcycle pro Pol Tarrés set a new “wheeled vehicle” altitude world record on March 6, riding to 22,165 feet on the world’s highest active volcano, Ojos del Salado, in the Chilean Andes range.

The next day, he returned to the mountain to set another record, this time specific to Adventure Motorcycles, which are heavier and harder to pilot over extreme terrain. This time, he hit 21,909 feet on the 450-pound machine.

After such a stunning achievement, you’d expect Pol and his expedition team to descend the mountain and revel in a well-deserved celebration party. But extreme enduro and rally racer Pol Tarrés is wired differently.

Instead of celebrating after the wheeled vehicle's world altitude record, the nephew of seven-time FIM World Trial Champion Jordi Tarrés rode up the volcano again the next day. He did so not only to attempt to break his 24-hour-old world record but also to do it on a Yamaha Ténéré 700 World Raid, a beast of a twin-cylinder adventure (ADV) motorcycle.

Key Points:

• Pol Tarrés first rode a lightweight (233-pound), single-cylinder Yamaha YZ450FX dirt bike up the slopes of Ojos Del Salado. He topped out at 22,165 feet.

• The next day he rode a  Yamaha Ténéré 700 World Raid, a beast of a twin-cylinder adventure (ADV) motorcycle weighing 450 pounds, to 21,909 feet.

• Previously, in March 2020, he rode the same twin-cylinder ADV motorcycle to a world record altitude of 20,202 feet on the slopes of the Andes’ Cerro Mercedario.

Check out the full story here.

137 Broken Jackets = One Tent

The concept of “circular economy” has become a common buzzword in the outdoor industry. That’s because it goes far beyond recycling to use products as long as possible.

This week, Arc’teryx publicized its latest effort, dubbed “Continuum.” In it, a group of skiers recycled 137 unrepairable jackets. With them, “they made one technicolored pyramid-style tent that would have made Joseph and his Dreamcoat jealous,” wrote editor Will Brendza.

Key Points:

• The Arc’teryx film “Continuum” showcases wild skiing, plus the construction of a tent from discarded apparel.

• Many outdoor brands are pursuing circular economics as they strive to reduce their environmental impacts.

• The film is part ski movie, part poetic narrative, and part sustainability story. It features athletes Michelle Parker, Elena Hight, Spencer O’Brien, Lucy Sackbauer, Robin Van Gyn, and Tatum Monod.

Read the full story and watch the film here.

A Sidecar For Your E-Bike!

Well, this just looks fun. In its new collection of e-bikes, ModBikes offers a tempting throwback: a 42-pound sidecar that attaches to the Austin, Texas-based company’s upgraded cruiser.

“Between the vintage aesthetic, 50-mile battery range, and a sidecar big enough for a (small) grandmother, this bike-and-sidecar combo combines modern tech with analog nostalgia,” writes Andrew McLemore.

Key Points:

• The ModBikes Sidecar carries up to 150 pounds.

• It’s an addition to the brand’s Easy 3 e-bike.

• With a 750W hub motor and a single, fully charged battery (a Samsung 48V 15A), the bike can reach 28 mph and provides up to 50 miles of assisted pedaling.

Click here for the rest of the story.

Around The Web

🏔️ The climbing season for Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, is about to begin. Here’s everything we know so far.

🏃🏻‍♂️ Are you one of the throngs of runners about to start training for events this spring and summer? This essential advice will get you off the couch and back into running.

🚴🏼‍♂️ There’s a new gravel riding tire king on the throne.

Liking our new format? Tell us what you think by replying to this email.