2018 in Review: Our Favorite Photos

Over the course of the past year we composed well over 200 posts on the TBD Journal. We wrote about nearly every discipline of racing, covered travel on at least four different continents, and interviewed some of the leaders of the New York City cycling scene. Yesterday we called out some of our favorite posts from that sea of content. Today we’re focusing instead on our favorite images from the year that was. With thousands of images making their way onto the journal over the past twelve months, and thousands more winding up in the B-roll bin, it’s a nearly impossible task to succinctly summarize our favorite images from the journal. But here goes all the same…

Rainey Park Cyclocross: Two Perspectives On One Great Race

There are many special elements to Rainey Park, most of them related to bringing the NYC CX community together for one final go at the end of the CX season. But racing against the backdrop of the NYC skyline makes for some pretty special images as well:

Escape to Norcal

This photograph actually dates back to 2015 or maybe earlier. But it only made its way to the TBD Journal early in 2018. Set on a hidden gravel road outside Morgan Hill, California it certainly stands up as one of our favorite photographs of the year (even if we’re stretching the definition of 2018 photographs ever so slightly by including it here):

Weekend Roll: Good Weather Until It Wasn't

Does this image feature a beautiful backdrop? No. But it does nearly perfectly capture the reality of riding bikes in New York City - we set out with decent weather and wound up in a frigid mid-winter rainstorm that left our kit covered in muck and pain on most of our faces. Welcome to the blessing and curse of riding bikes in NYC, all in a single photograph.

Traveling to Barcelona: Our Top 10 List

For a change of pace from winter riding in the Big Apple the Journal jumped across the pond to Barcelona for some spectacular images as part of a post featuring some of our favorite sights and restaurant recommendations in this wonderful city:

My Heart is in Havana

There were probably more spectacular photos in our entry on Cuba. But if there was one photo that captured the warmth of Cuban culture it was this one, captured at night on the Malecón, which is also known as the couch of the city. If you haven’t read this Journal entry we highly recommend it. And if you haven’t traveled to Cuba we recommend doing so even more highly.

Rasputitsa: Is it a race or is it a ride?

Every April the team heads North for Rasputitsa. And almost without fail we return with some of our favorite images of the year as the mix of gravel, early season fun, and post race smiles lead to an intoxicating photo opportunity. Some of the photos from our Rasputitsa Journal entry may have better captured the riding portion of the day, but this photograph - with Cullen’s mud-covered grin - is the epitome of what Rasputitsa is all about:

Bear Mountain Classic 2018 Race Report

The mid-day races at the 2018 Bear Mountain Classic featured chilly temperatures and on-and-off rain. While the racers probably didn’t appreciate the conditions it did make for some beautiful pictures, including this one captured on Tiorati. In fact we have more coming to the TBD Journal in 2019 from this edition of the CRCA Bear Mountain Classic - stay tuned.

Equal Pay & Fast Racing: Harlem Criterium 2018

We have a somewhat conflicted history with Harlem. It’s one of those magical New York City events but the 2017 edition featured a truly disappointing disparity between the Men’s and Women’s fields (with the latter having prize money removed on the start line). Thankfully the 2018 edition stepped up to USA Crits, offered equal prize money, and on top of it all some brilliant racing that we were there to capture:

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MTB Races and Dark Places: Stewart Poison Ivy Mousetrap MTB Race

At heart we’re a road and CX team. But earlier this summer Van Dessel lent us some demo mountain bikes so we could partake in the aptly named Stewart Poison Ivy Mousetrap MTB Race. The racing was fun but the photographs we walked away with are perhaps the most memorable part of a day that brought us into new terrain and tested our limits (and hey, we scored several great results along the way).

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A Journey Through Guatemala

By mid-summer the TBD Journal was once again headed abroad as we captured a week of exploring Guatemala in words and images. This shot from Lake Atitlan may have been our favorite, but there was plenty to choose from including the temples at Tikal and the final days of the year in Antigua Guatemala.

Cyclocross Practice Returns to NYC

Late summer brought the return of NYC Cyclocross practice. To a casual observer this photograph probably doesn’t even belong on our list of favorites for 2018 but much like some of our early season riding images, it perfectly captures those Wednesday nights that we spend on Randall’s Island practicing starts and other technique using a combination of headlights and light pollution from the nearby soccer fields as night falls on the Big Apple:

Nothing and Everything: Nittany Lion Cross 2018

With CX season formally getting underway in September there were plenty of amazing photographs on offer, some of which Clark detailed on the Journal a few weeks ago. But this early morning shot from Nittany Lion Cross captures those CX vibes that we know and love:

Cheese Curds and Belgian Fries: Trek CX Cup

This is another image that only made its way to the TBD Journal well after it was originally captured. But it was our favorite from a terrific set of images that Daghan shared this year as part of the build up to the US World Cup CX races:

Hunting, but not exactly finding, fall foliage

Sometimes we jump the gun a bit and wind up hunting fall color just a touch too early. This was one of those days but its still tough to beat the huge vistas on offer just a few hours North of New York City:

A Different Type-A

In one of our favorite rides and favorite posts from the year, this was probably our favorite image as we ventured down a closed-to-traffic Storm King with a waterfall dumping on the roadway and fall colors illuminating the backdrop. This ride was truly something:

Saying Goodbye to Fall

Maybe we spend too much time chasing fall foliage in October and early November (and three fall foliage photos on our list of our favorite photographs from the year might be a bit excessive). But sorry, not sorry because with a long, grey winter to survive we thrive on rides like this one:

Mud, Snow, More Mud at Supercross Cup 2018

Steve was, without a doubt, TBD’s strongest CX racer during the 2018 season. But even at his skill level the conditions at Supercross 2018 proved to be something else altogether (he still finished 12th in a tough field):