Robert Annis
Outdoor Travel Writer For Hire
After spending nearly a decade as a reporter for The Indianapolis Star, Robert Annis finally broke free of the shackles of gainful employment to freelance full time as an outdoor travel journalist.
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outsideonline.com
Campers are Great, But (Gasp!) You Really Should Rent an RV | Outside Online
“That sign warned trucks about going up this road—tight switchbacks and no shoulder,” I said. “Should we find another route?”
“I think we’ll be alright,” Sally said.
bicycletimesmag.com
The Mirage: Cycling Death Valley
“The universe is monstrously indifferent to the presence of man,” echoed through my mind in Herzog’s soft-spoken German rasp, and arguably nowhere on the planet is that more true than this sparse, desolate desert.
bicycling.com
KALAMAZOO
Survivors, their families, and community members recount the car crash that killed five cyclists and injured four more.
mtbproject.com
Finding Gnar at 75 Feet Above Sea Level
I tried to cry out “For MTB Project! For Journalism!” as I pushed off, but only a garbled yell escaped my throat as I plummeted down the chute.
pastemagazine.com
Skiing in Japan: Powder Paradise in the Land of the Rising Sun
As I picked up speed gliding from powder stash to powder stash—go too slow and you’ll get mired in the knee-deep white—my legs burned from the effort and my lungs seared from the cold air and my hoots of joy.
Mens Journal
The New Specialized Venge Could Be the Fastest Road Bike Ever
The New Specialized Venge Could Be the Fastest Road...
pastemagazine.com
Exploring Chicago’s Underground Country Music Scene
When you think of country music hotbeds, Chicago probably doesn’t spring to mind. But at one time, Chicago was the country music capitol of the world, before Nashville shoved it off the throne.
bikemag.com
#outsideisfree (just not in Indiana) | BIKE Magazine
#outsideisfree (just not in Indiana) | BIKE Magazin...
bicycletimesmag.com
A Shamrock sprouts, just in time.
Veins are popping out of Tim O’Donnell’s forehead, and the dreamy brown eyes that once melted the hearts of many a Cincinnati teenager in his youth now narrow into a frustrated squint. After spending hours trying to wire the two small LED lights into the split top tube of a customer’s city bike, the Shamrock Cycles owner couldn’t take any more. Snatching the light, he angrily winged it toward the wall of his 600-square-foot workshop. But instead of splintering into shards against the wall, O’Donnell heard an unsettling “tink!”.
The bike’s fork, freshly returned from the painter, sat in a vice more than 12 feet away. The tiny LED bulb chipped off a small piece of paint. For the perfectionist O’Donnell, that small flaw might as well as been a flashing neon sign.
bicycling.com
Natchez Trace Hit-and-Run Won’t Deter Injured Rider
“This is one of the most fun things I’ve ever done,” Tyler Noe giddily told his riding partner nearly two hours into his first bike ride since he was a kid. The weather was perfect, the scenery beautiful, the traffic thin. The two heard a honk, then an engine revving. Moments later, a black Volvo slammed into Noe. That instant felt like an eternity.
“I closed my eyes,” Noe, 24, said. “I didn’t know if I’d ever open them again.”
pastemagazine.com
Greetings From Indianapolis
Despite the backwards actions of the state political leaders, Indianapolis is one of the most progressive cities in the entire Midwest. From the 162-acre solar farm bordering the Indianapolis International Airport to the electric car-sharing program slated to start this summer, the Circle City has an eye toward the future.
Indianapolis Monthly Magazine
Will Ballard's Cycling Agenda Leave Office When He Does? - Indianapolis Monthly
Will Ballard's Cycling Agenda Leave Office When He ...
blog.rei.com
Welcome to the Best MTB Festival in the Midwest
I desperately try to hold Sally Marchand Collins’ wheel as the 4’10” firecracker rockets down Aynes Loop in Brown County State Park. Her tiny pistons are a blur as she bombs through the bermed corners, kicking back loose dust from the dry singletrack. I try to use my much more sizeable mass to catch up on the downhills, but she’s descending like the professional skills coach she is.
gearinstitute.com
Tour Inspired: 2018 Bikes Announced
The start of the Tour de France means companies are revealing new bikes, components, and accessories. Road bike makers are unveiling gear being used in the Tour, and even though few mountain bikers care about European stage races, those companies are leaking the details of their 2018 models too.
gearinstitute.com
Is it Time to Consider a Custom Built Bike? | Gear Institute
I’ve known Shamrock Cycles builder Tim O’Donnell for years. Even if we weren’t friends, I would still lust after his custom steel steeds that bicycle nerds have drooled over for the past decade.
I first worked with Tim about five years ago, when he built me a gorgeous Campagnolo-equipped travel bike that was exhibited at the National Hand Built Bicycle Show in Charlotte. Since then I’ve ridden it around the US and Europe, and it never fails to receive enthusiastic compliments from other riders.