- Rapha bought up by RZC, Walmart family heirs – This week British clothing maker Rapha revealed that American investment company RZC Investments had acquired a majority stake in their business. RZC, co-founded by Stuert & Tom Walton, grandsons of the discount store Walmart’s founder, are putting their financial weight behind Rapha & original founder Simon Mottram’s continued vision for growing the premium cycling clothing brand. Don’t worry, you Classic Bib Shorts didn’t just lose value and your merino jersey isn’t likely to get value engineered anytime soon. In fact, the move looks like it will support Rapha’s plans to expand the number & coverage of their global clubhouses and increase the rewards for their Rapha Cycling Club (RCC) membership. Full details on the announcement at: pages.Rapha.cc
Check out some cool places to ride and how to win new gear after the break…
Where to Ride
- Travel to ride in Alaska, Palm Springs, Scotland, or Provence with Trek Travel next year – Trek Travel just announced a suite of new destinations that it has added to its 2018 itinerary. They already will take you to so many places, but the newest crop of premium travel trips will venture into the wild Alaskan frontier on & off the bike, a journey through the rolling highlands of Scotland, or a desert oasis in Palm Springs & Joshua Tree. There’s also a new luxury trip to French Provence that will have you pampered in the evenings & dining on Michelin-starred cuisine. TrekTravel.com
- Get the Assos Experience this month in California – The Assos Experience is a series of events the premium clothing maker is organizing with three of their CA retailers: Studio Velo of Mill Valley, Palo Alto Bicycles, and Serious Cycling of Northridge. Each event will combine group rides and a reception hosted by Desi Maier, daughter of ASSOS founder Toni Maier. Desi will tell the tale of Assos’ history and show current tech innovations. The event is free and will include drinks and light appetizers. The quick tour kicks off in Mill Valley on Aug 13. Full details on Assos’ Facebook.
Gear/Contests
- Podia brings back their Summer Social competition – Back for another season of hot riding, clothing (and road tour) company Podia are running their Summer Social Competition 2017. Log as many rides as you can from August 21-27 for a chance to win a selection of their Podia road kit. You just need to join their Strava Club and follow them on Instagram to get a chance. More info at: Podia.cc.
- Strive for Five: a new Zwift mission crossover to Training Peaks – Numbers are what those who train inside focus on to ride faster and smarter. So for Zwift’s latest mission, they partnered with friends at TrainingPeaks. The prize is a 1 year premium subscription to get your workouts dialed. Watch your routines get analyzed and dig deeper into your intervals within individual workouts. To get a shot at getting picked you need to link up your TrainingPeaks& Zwift accounts, then complete the 5 new workouts from the mission. Upload them to TrainingPeaks and then wait to see if you won. Community.Zwift.com
- Save on Scicon travel gear for the month of August – Maker of pro-level bike travel bags Scicon is running their annual Summer Sale now. Get up to 30% off through the end of the month on everything from small saddle bags to closeouts on version 2.0 of their premium Aerocomfort bike bag. SciconBags.com
