Matt’s Esker Cycles Hayduke Ti Feels Like Home – John Watson | The Radavist | A group of individuals who share a love of cycling and the outdoors.

For cyclists, some bikes feel like an extension of ourselves. They offer comfort and familiarity. For Lowelifes RCC founder Matt Baffert, his Advocate Cycles Hayduke Ti was that bike. He spent nearly a decade riding it in the San Gabriel Mountains, taking it on trail work days, scouting missions, and camping trips. When Matt lost his home in the Eaton Fire, his beloved Hayduke burned with most of his belongings. Then, the local community rallied, and a new Esker Cycles Hayduke Ti rose from the ashes…

Matt on his Advocate Hayduke in 2018

Matt’s Hayduke

Matt Baffert and I were climbing back up the fire road to Red Box. Our conversation that day had run the gamut from the scope of work on Kenyon DeVore to native wildflowers, the Gabrielino, and the vibe in Los Angeles since the Eaton Fire. As we rounded a corner, with a beautiful array of late spring flowers, I asked about his new Esker Cycles Hayduke.

Matt’s Advocate Hayduke from a Beautiful Bicycles gallery in 2018

It felt like an opportune moment for the question. Every time I’ve seen Matt on the trails in Los Angeles, he was always on his Hayduke. I’d photographed him and the bike seven years ago. Earlier this year, Matt lost that bike and everything he owned to the Eaton Fire. His Altadena home was razed, and within his garage, his tools and bikes were piles of charred and molten metal.

Rallying Cry

After seeing Matt post his burned frame, Travis Engel began to make phone calls. I sent some text messages to Chris Reichel from Esker, making sure he was looped in on the conversation. Together, through Travis’s efforts, a group of solid companies rallied.

We’d like to thank Esker Cycles, RockShox/SRAM, Hope, OneUp, Mone, White Industries, Astral, and Robert Axle Project for getting Matt back on a bike and into the mountains.

Everyone pitched in without hesitation to help piece back the one possession that allows Matt to do what he loves: working on trails in the San Gabriel Mountains.

The sun was setting that evening, illuminating the Bigcone Douglas-fir trees on a distant ridge. It was a stunning scene, and I was hoping to document the Hayduke. We were climbing along the fire road, leaving Valley Forge. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like that was going to happen that night as our daylight ran out.

We still had a few days of shooting ahead of us, so instead of spending time poring over the build’s details, I asked Matt what he thought of the new bike.

“It feels like home…” he said.

Collaboration

Coming from someone who’d recently lost his home in the Eaton Fire, that line resonated with me. Writing about the Lowelifes was going to take a lot of emotional energy. Something as simple as a Beautiful Bicycles feature suddenly carried more significance. There’s symbolism here. A metaphor or simile about what it means to give so much to a community and then lose everything.

Matt’s Advocate Hayduke was a scorched skeleton of melted alloys, encrusting a titanium frame. Unfortunately, the frame got discarded, but some memories might be better off buried. Instead, this new Esker Hayduke speaks to looking forward. To progress, restorative efforts, and finding home again.

For people like Matt, that home isn’t of brick and mortar. It’s of decomposed granite. Precariously perched along mountains, ascending into the clouds. Every free moment is spent working and recreating on those trails. And thanks to a number of individuals and brands, Matt was able to get back out there again.

Esker Cycles Hayduke Build

After summiting to the top of the Condor Peak Trail. Or at least as far as we were going to ride along the Condor Peak Trail, I looked around at the 360º views of the San Gabriel Mountains in awe. Eric and Steph still had some time to get to this spot, so Matt and I set up his Hayduke for a photoshoot.

Unloading my camera equipment and my trusty bike stand, we propped it up on the drop-in to the singletrack.

Even though there are thousands of Haydukes out there, this build is uniquely Matt. From his Brooks B17 saddle, just a few months into its long life, to the Yanco bags, Oveja Negra frame bag, SRAM V90, a Red RockShox Pike, Matt’s tires of choice from Teravail, Mone Light Bars, Thomson stem, and White Industries cranks.

It was oddly similar to his previous build, yet everything was nearly new. Bikes like this are a tool. Like an axe handle that patinas from heavy use. Sweat, humidity, rain, all building layers of character, making it unique.

Documenting the Hayduke in a new condition will serve as a reference to just how much this bike gets used over time.

Giving Thanks

Many thanks to Matt Baffert for the time and energy spent with me on this project. And for selflessly serving the trail users of the San Gabriel Mountains for so many years. And a huge round of applause to Esker Cycles, RockShox/SRAM, Hope, OneUp, Mone, White Industries, Astral, and Robert Axle Project for supporting this project!

I’d also like to thank Fox Racing for supporting our Lowelifes coverage and two Dream Trail articles. If you haven’t, check them out here:

It means the world to have a brand like Fox Racing supporting our Independent Reportage here at The Radavist.