HIGH DESERT MIGRATION

To launch Rapha’s Spring/Summer 22 collection of mountain bike apparel, we traveled to Sedona, Arizona, where milder weather allows for year-round riding. I chose this location, not just because it’s laced with hundreds of miles of iconic singletrack but also because the high desert offers a sense of reverence for its open, timeworn landscapes. Few destinations are as magnetic or as renowned as Sedona.

The inspiration behind the campaign was an age-old tale of spring training. Across North America, mountain bikers flock to the American southwest, a region that boasts warmer temps in winter months, not to mention some of the most picturesque and iconic trails in the world.

But the key insight and a critical dimension of this narrative ties back to Rapha’s core tenet of proportionality, or ’reward through effort’. Mountain biking is hard. Riding a mountain bike in winter is even harder. However, if you persevere through the cold, rain and snow wherever you live year round, by the time you are greeted with either better weather or drier trails, you’ll be up for the challenge.