Miles just turned three and we’ve entered our cargo bike era. Pretty stoked on this 08 Surly Big Dummy, I’ve been an xtracycle fan since they launched up in Nevada City way back when I still lived up the hill. Trying not to make this one too bougie but I had nothing else to do with these old XTR brakes and they matched the 9-speed setup nicely (thanks Sean and Irie and Brandon for that surprisingly hard install). The early @porcelainrocket frame bag is the cherry on top for sure. Also happy to find yet another use for these old purple bar ends from one of my dad’s 90s mtbs, now on footrest duty. It’s pretty far from the quick-steering bikes I’m used to, but being able to haul Miles and all his stuff to the river is amazing. Thanks @not_teriyaki for shooting that first photo.
Touchdown in Barcelona - build bike, ride to eat food, then straight to business: follow German up Tibidabo hill climb to one of the most scenic stretches of gravel I’ve ever seen 😍 Not pictured - the spicy ride back down at dusk 😈 #txwc2025barcelona
Verticals from Barcelona - it’s always a struggle to balance photography with simply being present, and I’d rather soak it all in than worry about “getting the shot.” Barcelona is so photogenic that I barely scratched the surface with these shots, but that’s half the fun. Future Tracklocross Worlds host cities will be hard pressed to beat this one!
Barcelona TXWC 2025 - horizontal frames from an amazing trip. Third edition of Tracklocross World Champs and my favorite so far, mainly because the @prblms.cg crew turned the hospitalidad to 11 and showed us their beautiful city in ways you can only see by following locals around on bikes. The best way to see a new place, and what a place it is! The race was great, but the rides around the city sharing beers with the Tracklocross community is what it’s all about. Muchas Gracias, familia Catalunya! #txwc2025barcelona #tracklocrossworlds
TRACKLOCROSS WORLD CHAMPS 2025
A little saddle-cam action from inside the Open Finals at @txwc2025_barcelona , with a title on the line you know the first few laps are gonna be spicy! All gas no brakes! 🔥
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Video: @belowtreeline #tracklocrossworlds #TXWC #fixedgear #nobrakes #tracklocross #txwc2025 #worldchampionships #fixie
Tracklocross World Championships 2025 in Barcelona - what a race! @prblms.cg brought the heat with a challenging track at a rad venue and a ton of good vibes. It’s hard to balance racing and photos on the same day but I managed to get some shots during qualifiers, so many Squids on course I had to represent! Big thanks to everyone who made this event happen 🔥
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Photos: @belowtreeline #tracklocrossworlds #txwc #fixedgear #nobrakes #txwc2025 #tracklocross #soez
After Miles was born I spent the next couple winters scratching in a line behind our house, unsure if he’d ever want to ride it. Watching him quickly master the balance bike and then enjoy riding this dirt has been extra special, particularly during those few spring months when the grass is tall and green. Not quite five months ago, feels like yesterday but he’s already taller, outgrew this helmet, and now these few photos are my favorite time capsule. I hope as he grows I can keep growing this trail along with him, and in my head it was always “Miles’ Trail” but he calls it Dada’s trail 🥹
I guess it’s fitting that the only bikes I painted this year were toddler bikes. This second-hand Strider had old clamps with that cool bronze color that comes from sun-faded black annodizing, a good match for @spray.bike ’s Copper paint which goes nicely with a classic @squidbikes style Drip Camo paint job: color palette sorted. Fancy custom balance bikes are all the rage but kids use them for such a short period of time, I’d rather reuse something old and simple.
A year between posts and it’s only family stuff anymore - my transition to parental IG account is now complete. This was from Mother’s Day weekend before Miles got his first haircut, and one of the very few times I point the “big camera” at him and get a decent shot. This was always a space for my “good photography” and these days I feel like I make very little of that outside of my day job videos and my work for @squidbikes .
I was warned 20 years ago by a few different professional photogs to be careful making a passion into a job, and now I know exactly what they meant. When your artistic outlet becomes “work” your relationship with it can really change. And now that I want to make some nice family photos I’m faced with not only the most challenging subject of my life, but at a time when I’m often feeling burnt out and stale behind the lens.
On the flip side, it feels good to be present and not worry about “getting the shot” all the time. Seems like the right time to focus more on being a good dad and less on being a good shooter. And like any difficult subject, good shots are even more rewarding when they’re rare.
