Thanks to the North American Handmade Bike Show, I was able to score 2 issues of Rapha’s Rouleur magazine and the 2007 Photography Annual.

Who is Rapha and what is Rouleur? Rapha is a UK-based performance cycling clothing company and Rouleur is their magazine.

According to Rapha’s website:

Rouleur has been created to celebrate the drama and beauty of road racing. It is aimed at those people who, like us, are passionate about the sport. Don’t expect to see bike tests and race reports.

This magazine is the antithesis of most cycling magazines and rather than be a catalog for clothes, Rouleur extends Rapha’s brand with content that captures the essence of cycling. What better way to do that than tell stories of real people?

It also shows in the magazine’s evocative cycling photography. Two contributing photographers I especially respond to are Camille McMillan and Timm Kölln.

When I realized Issue Five had Timm’s Polaroid images of the Giro d’Italia, there was no question about buying. (Be sure to check out his 2006 Tour de France Polaroids, too!) The other issue I picked up was Issue 3 with John Vink’s photographs of the 1985 Tour de France.

Rapha has chosen Portland for their North American headquarters. If you are into cycling and appreciate high-quality clothing, Rapha may be for you. It is “spendy” (a Portland term I recently picked up) and if you can afford it, it is worth every penny.

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