Rawland’s Sean Virnig keeps creating bikes that both embody his Viking heritage and reinterpret classic mountain bike culture for a modern generation. Either that or I’m just a sentimental old coot who continues to see his bikes as the ultimate in awesomeness.

Recently, Sean posted photos of his Nordavinden prototype cruising through Morgan Territory, his Mt Diablo, California, playground. There’s something intrinsically sentimental about a tall frame, shod with fat 700c tires, that seems to personify honest adventure – dusty back roads, an overnight bag and a wide gear ratio. This is his Ravn model. While there’s no indication of the Ravn on Sean’s website, the Elgokse ‘bullmoose’ bars are, which teamed with an Rsogn frame, would achieve the same effect. These are an updated version of the ones that came on my first mountain bike.

It’s certainly got me thinking that my next bike should be a mountain-trail conqueror like this. Follow the Rawland blog and website for more adventures.