Quickly becoming the unofficial start of Gravel Season, Stillwater’s MidSouth has built a reputation as being the most fun and approachable event on the calendar. Mettle had it’s biggest contingent yet in this year’s edition with 6 riders finishing on the day.

This spring, Mettle rider Matthew Paez headed to Idyllwild, CA to compete in this year’s Stage Coach 400. Putting a lot of vision quest miles down already, Matt had targeted this race to open up what will be a significant 2022 campaign of ultras.

This summer, Mettle Rider Sean Corey attempted the Fastest Known Time (FKT) for the Boundary Trail in Washington’s Gifford Pinchot National Forrest. And with our long-time partnership, all good efforts come with a contribution to Leave It On The Road’s cause for Cancer Research. Sean prepped for the quest and recorded his thoughts for us to experience from afar. Below are his words and photos from an epic day on the trail.

Recently, a few of our #TEAMIES took a trip east of the cascades into the central Oregon high desert. The Tygh Valley is very close to Maupin, just east and a little south of Mt. Hood. There is a stark transition from the coastal forrest to desert as soon as you crest the Cascades and it makes for some fantastic riding if you’re willing to drive an hour or two. Ben Guernsey took photos and gave us this Field Report.

If the dumpster fire that is 2020 has made anything clear (beyond, of course, multitudes of injustices and disgusting politics, it’s that amateur bike racing is (or at least should be) occupying a space on the list of everyone’s priorities somewhere in between Kickstarter campaigns and your now defunct bread baking hobby.

Follow the saga that was the 2020 Mid South with Mettle Cycling Owner/Operator, Randall Fransen. He breaks down his approach from gear to nutrition, the aftermath (damage) to his bike and psyche, and tackles the hullabaloo around the event’s overlap with the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic.

Mettle Cycling p/b Leave It On The Road was built for the 2019 CX season and immediately, we were off to a great front row start. 4 women would receive a larger sponsorship package while they would be helping to build awareness and commit to an individual fundraising goal. Best of all, we recruited another 4 beginner riders that would grow the sport in a sustainable way through huge guidance from the 4 experienced and sponsored riders.

Friday 6/21 - Come celebrate the longest day of the year with a bunch of silly hooligans, bring your lights and a smile, and prepare for a nice cafe social where the coffee is donated by Breadwinner and the snacks are on us… all before the morning rush hour.

ALL HAIL GULONVARG - The traits of Gulonvarg are an amalgamated fantasy; reflective of Mettle’s collective squad. Able to cooperate as a small horde and calculate the next move like a pack of wolves; quiet until prodded; capable of trampling creatures much larger than itself…Fangs for blood. Horns for perseverance. Strength in unity…

Black Mettle Riding Cream is a revolutionary chamois cream with Activated Charcoal. This key ingredient is proven to absorb 1000x its own mass in toxins, bacteria, dirt, and oil from the skin. It’s supremely antibacterial and anti-fungal; bringing only the best for your sensitive bits.

Yep...this is now "a thing." Jerks getting up (or staying up) to see the sun rise on the longest day of the year 25 miles away.

Conor Brady grew up in Ireland, where his father Bill would leave every August on a two week ride around the country. A ride he called "the big lap." Bill Brady lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in 2013, and Conor never got to share that ride with him. In the summer of 2017, Conor pieced together his father's route from his old maps, and he and the Leave It On The Road crew set out to recreate The Big Lap, riding 1,000 miles in 10 days to raise donations for the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer.

We put some detail into the details and had some rad folks agree to build something with that many details. Thank you to Todd at Stoemper and Josh at HiFi for making something so fantastic.

Mettle Riders Aden Kailin and Bennett Shane set out on a "Farewell Summer Tour" through some of the most iconic, Mid-Western riding they could find. Both sent a Field Report of their favorite day of the trip with some good photos from the rest...

A look at this custom machine for Randall Fransen of Mettle Cycling w/ HiFi wheels and custom paint from Stoemper's Lucas Strain.

Everyone hoped it wouldn't happen, but here it is: Video Proof of the 2016 SSCXWC. When the circus comes to town, you bring your best whether you're paid talent, slave labor, or a spectator. Tired of seeing drunken flemish men falling over barriers turn into the most exciting part of the day? Do you love the smell of Port-O-Pottys? Sick of seeing World Champion Domination?

This is for you...except the last part. That still happened and 149 other racers from around the world got to line up against the best: Sven Nys.

Remarkably, nearly every mile of riding down the coast from Portland to SF has a memory tied to it; right down to which debate was currently brewing and who was ultimately "right." That includes recalling most of our original motivations and layering on new ones.

"Though I travel down a dark path, I know victory awaits and glory will be someone's if not mine; or my teammate's... or my other teammate's. My heart leads me. Courage propels me. I will make my ancestors feel true PRIDE! Hark! Epiphany! I've passed the pizza hand-up but must travel course-direction to vanquish it!"

Even at altitude we had hot temps but once again, it was a ride that generated more smiles than "spots of bother" and put this route on the maps of our minds as a stunner of a day.

Mettle's first true road race of the season was a circuit out at Montinore Vineyards this last Sunday. The circuit is a 6 mile loop with a .7 mile climb and hilltop finish; just long enough to string the fields out on a summer day. The descent is fast and makes catching back onto the main group difficult at times.

We've been waiting a long time too... After much testing and sourcing, we're finally offering a small run of our Speed Strap for the "on the bike" photographers. Here's a quick rundown of the strap and the best ways to use it after riding over 1000 miles with the first prototype.