THE WAY OF THE RIDER

Cycling & Photography by Kyle Thornhill

By GripGrab Field Notes

March 1^st, 2021

I live in California just outside of San Francisco. To put it bluntly, my approach to cycling is to have as much fun as possible while riding. Being from northern California, we tend to ride in the Marin Headlands the most. There is a great mixture of road, gravel, dirt, and trails, and all bikes can be ridden in this area. The route options are endless, and we are still finding new roads to explore daily - we are a lucky group of cyclists here!

I work shifts in a hospital, so I ride solo at least 90% of the time - just me and the bike. I do not really set any goals other than the amount of time I want to spend on that ride. Social rides are my favorite, sometimes the conversations you have on a ride are better than the ride itself. For me, it is like meeting someone for lunch or a coffee date to catch up. When I am riding with someone, I am personally interacting with another human being and I find great value in that.

Exercise, therapy, and adventure all in one

Cycling has been the one consistent hobby I’ve had throughout my life. Through all the good and bad times, my bike has always been there. I have a deep love for cycling and the culture that surrounds it which continues to grow and evolve, and I am enjoying every minute of it.

It started at the age of 12. I broke my arm rollerblading and swore off anything with more than two wheels. I started racing BMX and my love for cycling blossomed from there. BMX brought a group of friends together and all we did was ride bikes for the pure enjoyment of riding bikes. The bikes have changed over time, but the values remain true for me.

Cycling is my exercise, therapy, and adventure all in one. I have been riding bikes almost daily for the last 25 years and it has shaped me into the person I am today. The sport has continued to grow and evolve - gravel has exploded over the last three years. Last year was the first year that I spent more time in the dirt than on the tarmac, following the cultural shift towards exploring the wilderness. To me that is what makes cycling so appealing; the opportunity to explore new roads, trails, and national parks. The sense of adventure has never been bigger within the sport.

If you want KOMs then go

There are so many great reasons to ride a bike, and no one reason outweighs the others. I started riding long before Strava and power meters were a thing - I never logged miles or worried about how fast I could get up a climb - we would just go out and ride for the sake of riding. I am not saying KOMs and watts are not important, I believe whatever gets you stoked on riding a bike is a good thing - let that be your driving force. If you want KOMs then go, get them all. For me, I want to capture the feelings I had as a kid, riding in my local skatepark and trails. I am not convinced a KOM will ever give me that feeling of letting the bike take you wherever you want to go. If I start training for something, the joy seems to fade the harder I train. It becomes more of a job and less of an escape from my daily life.

I am happy that I found a group that values the less serious side of cycling as much as I do. The race scene has never been a thing for me, though I do go to races to support friends. I have done events locally, like Grinduro and Lost and Found. Those are extremely fun and I will continue to do them.

Cycling and Photography

I remember riding up Mount Tam in Marin County before I started carrying a camera on my bike. I told myself “man this is really beautiful, I should probably take a picture of my surroundings” - I pulled out my smartphone and snapped away. Instagram was a way for me to post sometimes and look back on it later, I really enjoy that aspect of social media. However, it soon progressed into carrying better cameras and lenses - it brought two of my hobbies together. Cycling made it easy to carry a camera and travel greater distances at the same time. My friends became my subjects and in return I became theirs.

I think having your own individual aesthetic is important both in your photography style and your riding style, we are all different people and we should show off our differences. It took me a long time to find my style in photography because I wanted to be different from everyone else who was taking photos on a bike ride. Whether it is the coffee, a flat tire, or the comradery between the group - those are the moments I wanted to capture.

About Photo Pace

It is about storytelling. Photography can tell amazing stories and Photo Pace was created to capture the intersection between lifestyle and cycling. We all ride bikes, love finding new ways to adventure and enjoy carrying a camera to document the story along the way. We love to encourage others to incorporate visual storytelling into their active lifestyle, whether that is running, climbing, hiking, or riding.

Photo Pace started as a collective of photographers and cyclists. We share common interests and we began bonding over both hobbies, as everyone in this group is talented both on the bike and behind the camera. Together we can create a story that could not be accomplished alone. It is a very special group of people.

Last year Photo Pace embarked on a ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. It was a group of 5 of us riding and 3 people supporting us in our SAG vehicle. Honestly, I do not remember much about the ride itself. The memories I have are from the times we spent together after the rides, cooking and eating together like a family. We talked about life, cameras, and bikes. Every morning we drank coffee as we prepared for the next 200km. Those were the moments I cherish the most.

Carving out a space

Honestly, I hope we are creating our own space within the cycling community. There are already people who carry cameras on bike rides, but we want to drive it forward. We are carving out a space that watts and KOMs cannot compete with, space where it is not about training and being the fastest, but about the adventure of riding bikes with your friends and telling the story of that ride. I think we are doing something that is relatively new, and we have not figured everything out yet, which is fun and challenging! Who knows where this will go? I am just glad I am part of a group that values riding a bike the same way I do.