Gregg Bleakney's Blog on Bicycle Touring, Cycling, Travel, and Adventure Photography

ExOfficio Winter 2012 Storytelling Campaign

2012-01-27T16:51:00.000-08:00

Since last Fall, I've been working with adventure travel clothing manufacturer ExOfficio to help build an archive of storytelling content for catalogs, look books, in-store merchandising, and advertisements. The campaign is scripted around authentic travelers and stories rather than manufactured moments. To gather images, I've scouted the globe for fellow travelers who fit the ExO mold--then I simply hang out and photograph them in real travel scenarios. Cambodia, Vietnam, South Korea, Southern Mexico, India, the Amazon/Orinoco, and Argentina have all served as backdrops for the project.

Next week I'm dropping-in to Colombia with a team of storytellers to document a tale of self-discovery and renaissance--for both the country and its travelers. It's a fresh commercial concept with a compelling editorial thread. Real travelers, real destination, real stories. Still imagery, video, music, words. All coming this Spring/Summer to an ExOfficio touch-point near you!

Here's a few images and videos from the winter campaign:

Don Thomas cameo in Nat Geo Kids

2011-11-23T06:33:00.000-08:00

Don Thomas is making a cameo in National Geographic's new Ultimate Weird But True book for kids--and I couldn't think of a more appropriate title for the book, considering the character selected for the two page opening spread:) Photo taken in high-desert of Bolivia.

Fall Work with New Clients

2011-11-01T14:48:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy Fall season and busy is good in the world of visual storytellers. With two laps around the world in the past six weeks to amazing destinations like Beijing, Emilia Romagna Italy, New York, Southern Mexico and Olympic National Park--I think that I've become time-zone agnostic. Some of my images from these assignments are starting to publish in print and online. Below, I've included some tear sheets from the past weeks. Enjoy!

Gregg

New Client: Bicycling Magazine - November 11 Issue/The Ride of My Life

New Client: New York Times - October 11/Tour of Beijing

New Client: WIRED Magazine - RAW FILE/Tour de France iPhone

New Client - Cyclesport UK - October Issue/Tour of Beijing Feature

New Client: La Gazzetta dello Sport, Italy - October 11/Beijing Bike Culture Feature

VELO Magazine: December 11/Tour of Beijing

Paris Brest Paris for La Gazzetta's Sport Week Magazine

2011-09-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

La Gazzetta dello Sport is Italy's biggest newspaper and the largest sporting publication in the world. Each weekend, they publish SportWeek Magazine as special insert in the newspaper. The magazine recently featured a photo-essay of my work from the Paris-Brest-Paris ultra endurance cycling race. Held every 4th year, the race was a precursor to the Tour de France and has been running for over 100 years. I shot the race with my trusted moto-driver, Mr. Stephan Schier, for 90 sleepless hours--rain and shine, along the incredible backroads of Brittany and Western France.

La Maglia Rosa - Feature Picture Story for September's VELO/VeloNews

2011-08-29T22:29:00.000-07:00

September's VELO Magazine (formerly VeloNews) is featuring a picture story I produced about the history of the Giro d'Italia's modern-day pink leader's jersey. Researching the article took me into the heart and soul of the race with the sport's biggest champions, directors, and business owners--and of course, plenty o' gelato. What a fun gig indeed.

Backyard

2011-08-18T03:13:00.000-07:00

I've been living in the countryside near a small town in eastern Italy. It's late-summer, the fruit is sweet, it's hot, and most people are on vacation at the sea, the lake, or wherever it is that they go to cool off. This is what I see when I'm here.

Next week, I leave for China.

It's been nice to have a backyard.

My pasta class from Grandma down the road

Din Din on top of the ridge

At the lake

Sausage Fest

legs at the station

At the swimming hole

the usual Sangiovese loop ride.

Totally NOT behind the scenes at Le Tour de France

2011-07-28T23:41:00.000-07:00

After witnessing the crazy press hordes, photographers shouting at each other, and tales of friends being elbowed in the face in the finish line pit, I decided that the press pass for the Tour de France that allows "behind the scenes" access wasn't really so "behind the scenes" after all. Here's a video from the photographer at Bicycling Magazine where Frank Schleck gets knocked off his bike by the crazed "behind the scenes" media who are scrambling to get a shot of the moment he hugs his brother after loosing the time-trial (and the Tour itself).

I like my freedom to roam and since this freedom is effectively restricted in the press area, I decided to scrap my press pass and big cameras to wonder around outside the lines and shoot 2011 Tour de France w/ an iPhone--as a fan/spectator. My goal was to convey what it's like to be a "normal person" without a press pass at the Tour de France. How close can a fan get to the athletes, what's the vibe, and how fun, wacky, wild is it (fans are much more chill than the media)?

Here's a short gallery photos from the 2011 Tour de France:

2011 Tour de France iPhone Gallery - Images by Gregg Bleakney

Outside Magazine. India, RadioShack and New Frontiers

2011-07-26T07:16:00.000-07:00

The August 2011 issue of Outside Magazine back cover "Parting Shot" is an image I made of Team RadioShack during their warm-up ride for the Tour de Nasik cyclothon in India. I'm fascinated by pro-cycling's recent push to expand into new global frontiers and am equally glad that mainstream, non-cycling magazines are willing to publish pictures of the trend.

A Car-Free Tour de Suisse Experiment

2011-07-06T02:21:00.000-07:00

For more photos see the VeloNews Tour de Suisse Web Galleries: Lugano Prologue and Car-Free Gallery

Last summer (while in Switzerland researching trips for the VeloNews Ultimate Ride Guide) I discovered the Swiss National Bike Network and its nine cross-country road bike routes with 82 local and regional trails covering 9,000 kilometers. I also learned that for an extra $10 (above and beyond my train ticket), SwissRail allows travelers to toss a bike onto any Swiss train. Wonder-twin-power-activate this rail and trail system, sprinkle some heart-thumping terrain on top, and you get a veritable Disneyworld for DIY cycling junkies.

This summer, with 1-month remaining on my annual 50% off Swiss train pass, $7+ per gallon gas prices, and an assignment to photograph several Tour de Suisse stages, I wanted to see how far I could push the Swiss transportation infrastructure. Would it be possible to shoot the race using only trains and a bicycle?; i.e. no cars or motos. To find out, I put this “carbon-free as possible” Tour de Suisse experiment in-motion after the stage 1 prologue in Lugano, where I aimed my bars north to Zurich and fully embraced my roots as a steel frame riding, wool sock wearing, earthy-crunchy Pacific Northwestern cycling photographer.

Rather than follow the race from point to point, I based myself in a small village near Zurich with easy access to a train station and feeder lanes to the Swiss National Bike Network. From this hub, I could hop a train or pedal to the beginning of stages and either hang at the start or spin ahead on the Tour de Suisse race route until I found a scenic spot to shoot the passing peloton. Next, I would catch a train to the finish or ride a National Bike Network trail back to Zurich.

In 2010, I somehow overlooked the fact that Switzerland has no open container laws but took full advantage of Heidiland’s public beer drinking tolerance this year by rewarding myself at the end of each day’s photo-shoot with one or more Swiss brewskies. Prime swilling locations included the grassy slope of stage 7’s 2383 meter Fluelapass and every time I used the rails to get back to my crash pad near Zurich. In total, I managed 386 kms of cycling with 4630 meters of climbing to cover 4 stages—a far cry from what the racers hammered but much more fun than sitting in a car.

I was never alone on the trains or trails and met meet hundreds of cyclists who were also using this rail/bike combo to follow the race. South Africans, Germans, Italians, and Swiss, by the end of the race I’d made two-wheeled friends from all over the globe. It’s truly been a “pinch me this ain’t real” experiment.

Here's some photography from my car-free 2011 Tour de Swiss gig:

2011 Tour de Suisse - Images by Gregg Bleakney

Giro d'Italia for VeloNews Magazine

2011-06-27T07:10:00.000-07:00

In addition to producing daily and theme photography packages for VeloNews.com during the 2011 Giro d'Italia, some of my work from the race is starting to turn up in print too. First up--a photo-essay and general content images sprinkled throughout the VN July issue.

Some popular galleries and content from my Giro coverage on VeloNews.com:

Photo Essay, Team Androni - The Giro's poorest team with the biggest dream

Interview with Giro race director Angelo Zomegnan

Photo Essay, At the Giro with Gregg Bleakney

The Giro was just a super-dreamy gig, when I have a little more time to digest it all, I'll post some light color galleries from my own wild ride around Italy in this blog.

Outside Magazine Pacific Coast Cycling Spread

2011-06-22T04:41:00.000-07:00

It's nice to see mainstream mags. (i.e., beyond-niche cycling publications) pimpin' travel bike trips and destinations to their readers--so kudos to Outside for featuring this image.

This shot was made two years ago with fellow vagabundos gMack, Hall-Pass Ben, and Sir Scotty M. in the Quinault rainforest, an alternative route option for the popular Pacific Coast Cycling Trail that loops around Olympic National Park and/or the Hood Canal to Astoria, Oregon. We landed an assignment to test cycling-specific rain gear and decided that it would be appropriate to do the testing in the rainiest place in the Lower 48 at the rainiest time of year. As luck would have it, nary a rain drop glazed the tarmac during our 4-day shoot and I had to get creative to make it look wet when it was actually sunny and uncharacteristically super-fab November weather.

Regarding the swag test results...for me, bike travel ain't about the gear, it's about traveling differently and experiencing landscapes and people in a more intimate way than possible with a car or plane...but if you just have to know, the article on the topic by Sir Scotty M. is here.

Ditch Logic - A Podcast from the Dirtbag Diaries

2011-05-31T02:56:00.000-07:00

Listen to the Podcast on Patagonia's Cleanest Line

I had a great time working on this podcast about how my two year "out in the world" bicycle trip changed my life. I think that Fitz and Becca did a great job of keeping my thoughts in line--heck, they even got my big bro to speak without mumbling! This, more than anything I could write in a portfolio bio section, explains my path to photojournalism.

G

Tour de India -- Road Magazine Photo-Essay

2011-05-31T02:53:00.000-07:00

Made In Italy - Feature Story for AC Magazine

2011-03-28T16:47:00.000-07:00

This month, Adventure Cyclist Magazine is running my semi long-form feature on the Price family bicycle touring company, ExPlus. Most of my work for Adventure Cyclist to-date has been focused on my personal travels. Since 2010 my photographic projects have grown to include feature writing and I've found that first person format limiting (and overdone quite frankly--I bore myself sometimes). Initially this piece was slated to run as a fairly standard travel narrative about cycling across Sardinia but I change my mind after meeting the company founder, Rick Price. I found Rick's story of ditching a small town on the Oregon coast to pursue true love and a life of travel in Italy fascinating and decided to trash my first proposal to focus on his journey instead of my own. Fortunately, the editors of AC were cool with this (at least as far as I know). When I first dropped this "change of subject" think on Rick he responded, "that sounds like a bad idea...I'm not very interesting."

I disagree:)

Cover Shot and 45-Page Feature Story - What I Did Last Summer

2011-03-23T13:23:00.000-07:00

Last May, my 11-day assignment to Sardinia accidentally turned into a dreamy four months of scouting Europe for the best routes, trip operators, hotels, and people in-the-know for VeloNews' 2011 Ultimate Ride Guide. The issue hit the newsstands this week.

For my part, I produced articles on Italy, Switzerland, France, and Spain--45 magazine pages of reviews, short stories, and interviews in total. I also created a photographic package and podcast for the feature(s). I'm entirely grateful to the editors of VeloNews, who gave me tons of creative freedom and the authority to stay away from the top-10 list format (usually researched by a cubicle googler who's never done any of the stuff they are recommending) that has become so common in today's toddler attention span, search engine results driven publishing world. In short, they let me keep it real.

Life's a boomerang. My former career in software started at the University of Oregon where I founded a digital publishing company called WhereNext.com with a group of college buddies. We focused on, of all things--travel guides to Europe. I remember starting that company with dreams of stomping the streets of Europe ala Rick Steves--tracking down fresh new destinations and activities for young, independent travelers. However, WhereNext quickly scaled to include a full staff of talented writers and as the President, I assumed the role of working the upper floors of towering office buildings in Seattle, Angel investor meetings in Portland, and unassuming cafes in Silicon Valley to raise multiple rounds of VC funding to finance our growth. So it was odd, though entirely fulfilling, to find myself doing what I originally set out to do after college--but with a 13 year detour.

A few pages from the article:

New Client - British Airways Magazine

2011-02-23T17:09:00.000-08:00

En route to India a few weeks ago I had a nice surprise when I noticed the passenger sitting next to me flipping through a Twilight feature I worked on for British Air's in-flight magazine, High Life. I forgot the photo-spread was out this month. Later, I had a "pat myself on the back" moment when that same passenger asked me what I did for a living and I simply pointed to the image in the magazine he was reading (and the diminutive dude in the bottom corner of the image--tripod self-portrait). But before I could let my ego get carried away with itself--I was quickly reminded of my bottom of the rung coach class status by the olfactory splendor of a freshly reeking bathroom--which was conveniently located just behind my right shoulder in the triple-7's back row--which in retrospect, was a proper warm-up for the streets of India.

Quinault Rain Forest - British Airways High Life Magazine, February - 2011

Some E-Pubilished Work w/ Patagonia, British Air, and Cycling News

2011-02-19T19:30:00.000-08:00

Three online publications are circulating some of my fresh images this quarter. Two of them are new clients: British Airways and Cycling News. British Air pulled one of my shots of an ancient Maple Tree from Olympic National Park for a Twilight feature on their homepage, CyclingNews is using a gallery of shots of Team RadioShack and Liquigas @ the Tour of Mumbai II, and Patagonia Clothing Company is rotating an image of single-speeding through the Thar desert in Eastern India during my "India on Two Wheels" project.

Secret Maple Tree in the Quinault, Olympic National Park

My $50 Indian-made fixie at a pit stop in the Thar desert.

RadioShack and Liquigas image gallery on the world's largest cycling web-site

India Exhibition/TDI Fashion Week Wrap

2011-02-07T15:53:00.000-08:00

It's 5am in Mumbai--or more appropriately, "the jet lag hour."

Here's a wrap from some of the happenings at my India Exhibition and TDI Fashion Week which served as a charity fundraiser and promotion for the forthcoming cycling race. Next up, we're heading to Nasik, India for the team arrivals and to flag off stage one of the UCI 1.1 Tour of India.

TDI Fashion Week - Images by Gregg Bleakney

Video of Lobby Exhibition

Kick-Off Media Scrum

India Exhibition and the 2011 UCI 1.1 Tour of Mumbai

2011-02-03T10:22:00.000-08:00

This afternoon, I'M hopping the bird to Mumbai for my "India on Two Wheels" exhibition at the Trident hotel for TDI Fashion Week--starting February 6. It's a great opportunity to leverage my images to help encourage sustainable health and transportation initiatives in India. After the show, I'll stick around for the UCI's 1.1 Tour of Mumbai, where teams RadioShack and Liquigas have just signed up for the start list.

Here's the press bit for the exhibition:
Gregg Bleakney's "India on Two Wheels" project was initially conceived on assignment at the 2010 Tour of Mumbai for VeloNews Magazine. During the pre-race Cyclothon, he met some of the city's Dabba Wallah delivery cyclists and became fascinated by the country's cycling culture. After the race, he postponed his return flight home, rented a bicycle and mini-van, and self-funded a two-month photo-tour around India--making over 16,000 portraits of cyclists. Gregg considers India's 300 million "common man" cyclists a cultural treasure at risk of extinction because of the emergence of a new class of inexpensive motorcycles. By partnering with the Tour of Mumbai and ID Sports for this exhibition, he hopes to help preserve and share this fascinating bike culture while encouraging future bicycle transportation, health, and sport initiatives in India.

A web-preview of the show.

*New* India On Two Wheels - Mumbai Exhibition - Images by Gregg Bleakney

2011 Kick-Off: Judging and Being Judged

2011-01-30T22:37:00.000-08:00

Año Dos Zero Uno Uno dropped with an email from the folks at Photo District News Magazine notifying that some of my 2010 images had been selected for their annual World In Focus professional travel photography awards. PDN is a photo-industry magazine and sums up the recognition: "World In Focus teamed up with National Geographic Traveler to find the most innovative and inspiring travel images captured by professional photographers around the world."

Though I didn't nab the grand prize (that honor was bestowed upon an exploding Icelandic volcano--and those are generally tough to beat), I was awiggled to learn that my pictures were chosen for three of the five total categories: "Sense of Place" for an image of a South Korean bus station, "Spontaneous Moments" for a street scene in India, and "Photo Essay" for portraits of tourists at the Taj Majal.

PDN Magazine: "Photo Essay" for portraits of tourists at the Taj Majal--top

While being judged for World In Focus, I also played judge @ The Daily Randonneur's annual photo contest for endurance cyclists. I started my career by making pictures of endurance cycling trips and it was nice to get back to my roots while sifting through edits of smiling (sometimes grimacing) pedal pushers.

If you're keen on checking out some other 2011 picture-props, Adventure Journal ran my image of a "Mystic Indian Cyclist" and Photoshelter dropped my "India on Two Wheels" gallery in their weekly "shout out" blog.

PDN Magazine: "Sense of Place" for an image of a South Korean bus station--bottom left

PDN Magazine: "Spontaneous Moments" for a street scene in India--bottom left

Don Thomas Strikes Again - Nat Geo.com

2010-12-20T14:52:00.000-08:00

My charismatic, dirtbag, wind-energy salesman and adventure buddy, Don Thomas has had a nice little run @ modeling these past few months. This fall, he made his debut in the Patagonia catalog and last week his hard work pedaling across South America landed an image I made of him in National Geographic's bucket list of the 20 most extreme adventure on the planet.

On a separate note, I'm excited to see bicycle touring expand beyond niche media outlets and gain exposure to larger audiences through mainstream publications like National Geographic. One of my career missions is to inspire more people to consider using the bicycle as a tool for travel, even if it does require putting up with the likes of Don Thomas for weeks on end:)

Co-Motion 2011 Catalog Cover

2010-12-15T16:30:00.000-08:00

Co-Motion Cycles is using a self-portrait I made with my trusted steed the "Geoduck," a tricked out Co-Motion Americano that delivered me 18,500 from Alaska to Argentina. It's been a while since I reviewed images from this adventure and the Co-Motion cover takes me back to windy days in Southern Patagonia--my tripod blew over several times before I was able to make this picture. Thank you Co-Motion, thank you Geoduck, thank you tripod!

Adventure Cycling Association Tours Catalog Cover

2010-12-02T10:09:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I wrapped up a 47-day bicycle journey along Adventure Cycling's new Sierra Cascades Route with adventure buddy gMack. Challenging, beautiful, and lucky...2,400 miles along the backroads of the Cascades and Sierra with only 2.5 days of rain...in the Fall...are ya kidding me? I'll be writing some articles and guest blogs about the route over the next few months, but in the meantime, some images from the journey are starting to turn up online and in print.

One of my favs., gMack taking a mid-day siesta over Crater Lake, OR was selected as the cover for the 2011 Adventure Cycling Association Tours Catalog. I'm all about pimping these tours -- they are truly a great way to vacay...and a big reason why the Adventure Cycling Association has been killing it these past few years, even through the recession.

If you're curious, here's a link to an article I wrote about the Adventure Cycling Association's Tour of Washington a few year back.

Winter 2010 Patagonia Mailer

2010-11-26T12:24:00.000-08:00

Last week, Patagonia used one of my pictures from the RibbonofRoad collection for a promo emailer for their new windproof gear. I'm always stoked when they use one of my cycling images b/c I'm a big advocate for using the bicycle as a tool for exploration and travel and think that Patagonia is a perfect company to help push this travelosophy. In my high school years, before I had even the slightest interest in making pictures, I used to take the ferry to downtown Seattle from Bainbridge Island and ride my bike up to the Seattle Patagonia store just to grab a catalog and look at the pictures on the wall.

Mountain Bike Magazine Feature - Colombia's Coal Miner Cyclist

2010-11-18T14:29:00.000-08:00

I was bummed to hear that Rodale's Mountain Bike Magazine was shuttered last month. In a media age where top ten product lists (that suck in search engine eyes) dominate so much editorial content, it can be tough to get actual "out in the world" stories approved. So, I was really excited when the editors of Mountain Bike greenlighted a powerful story that I proposed--about real people in tough circumstances doing extraordinary things.

The story, featured in the September issue (written by Grace Bastidas) was about Colombia's coal mine cyclists. These guys are the most inspirational people I've ever worked with. Recently, 70 of their friends and peers lost their lives in an explosion in a neighboring mine, a tough blow to the resilient community of Amaga on the outskirts of Medellin, Colombia.

I've attached the article, video about what it's like to descend into some of the world's gnarliest mines, and a few more photos. I hope to get back to Amaga to cover this story in more depth at some point next year.

Coal Miner Blog Gallery - Images by Gregg Bleakney