Shredding on Two Wheels

We are drawn to surfing for many reasons; expressions through movement, exercise, communion with nature, and let’s not forget good old fashioned American advertising. Still, some of us find us diving deeper into a lifestyle that completely centers around tides and swell pulses. This lifestyle requires an even greater degree of dedication and suffering on our swell-starved coastline. While we have learned to love that struggle, we’ve also learned to cope with it by nurturing other passions. For us at Surf and Adventure, cycling has filled that void.

We understand the preconceived notions that many in our area have about bikes; Virginia Beach likes them slow, with beer holders, and off the roads. While I could argue those notions for hours, there is much more to agree on than disagree. Bikes are rad and you’ve known it since you were 7 years old and pumping airs off curbs and the similarities between cycling and surfing are endless.

Doing wheelies on your bike didn’t get less rad when you started surfing.

Just as nose riding and the WSL seem like polar opposites, cycling comes in an assortment of flavors.

Road; the side of cycling that VB loves to hate; think Lance Armstrong and the Tour de France.

Mountain Biking; you don’t need mountains when you have great local trails like Ipswich, New Quarter, Freedom Park, Newport News Park, and the homemade trails built in small patches of forest all over Virginia Beach.

Track; This is what fixed gear bikes did before they retired to Brooklyn.

Cyclocross; can only be explained through the video below.

Fat Tires; Yes, you can ride sand or snow on tires fit for the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man.  By far, the best way to explore False Cape.

Bike Packing; Self-powered, Bohemian travel that shames van life hashtags back to their parents’ garage. Similar to touring but with much less asphalt.

There is still so much more and the sport is constantly evolving.  When builders and creative types join forces on passion projects new and beautiful iterations pop up every season.  Just like you wait to see what will come next in wetsuit technology or board construction, we are are glued to our computers waiting for new geometries, gearing components, and metallurgy to push us into the next frontier.

Of course, there is always just plain old putzing around; the undisputed champion of cycling disciplines.

This is where Surf and Adventure comes in; we’ve always loved cycling, rented an assortment of bikes to our customers in Sandbridge, and maintained close relationships with our local bike shops. Through our partnership with Kona and Gonzo Gears, we offer Kona’s entire line for retail with many models for rent from our shop. This isn’t just a sales pitch, it’s our way of life.

Cycling isn’t about racing; its about cutting loose and shredding what mother nature gave us. It’s only fitting that a bunch of us surfers ride bikes.

Some Great Reviews on some of our Favorite Bikes

• Kona Sutra Ltd; Josh’s bike packing obsession.
• Kona Wo Fat Bike; the best way to get to False Cape.
• Hei Hei Trail MTB; Rob’s excuse for skipping out on cold surfs and heading to Williamsburg.

Links for further exploration into two-wheeled curiosities

• The Radavist
• Kona
• Gonzo Gears
• Fat Frogs
• Dirt Rag
• BikePacking
• Behind the Barriers
• Limberlost