Who to Follow: Cycling's Social Media Stars

John Watson
@TheRadavist didn't just make his love of bikes and design profitable through—he also became a respected tastemaker.

Kathryn Bertine
The cycling phenom proves Twitter is good for much more than cat pictures and twee witticisms.

Richard Sachs
According to our opinion, iconic framebuilder Richard Sachs is pretty great.

Taylor Phinney
The son of cycling heavyweights shows us the right way to recover from injury with the whole world watching.

Pretty Damned Fast
These tastemakers are bringing women into cycling through high fashion-style media.

Garrett Chow
Meet the graphic designer leading the cycling industry in 'cool'.

Jools Walker
The fashionista behind @LadyVelo combines urban style with bike love.

Danny MacAskill
MacAskill's videos are always Internet gold. The Scottish cyclist explains his rise to fame, and what he's learned about making great media.

Elly Blue
This feminist writer harnesses her personal experiences to unite cyclists of all kinds.

@AdamMyerson
A fixture in the New England cycling scene for decades as a racer, coach, and promoter, Adam Myerson has just about seen it all. While sometimes polarizing, his outspoken take is always thought-provoking.

alpsandes.com
Colombia native Klaus Bellon brings an intimate familiarity to his blog devoted (mostly) to Colombia's pro-cycling history and renaissance.

@ARTCRANK
Fundamentally, Art-crank is a traveling art show featuring bike posters. "But what we really want to be is a gateway drug for art and cycling," says founder Charles Youel, who has been hosting these "popup" events since 2007. Twitter and then Instagram helped spread the word, says Youel, but he insists the goal is to get people to show up in real life, "not just click something in the middle of the night to get what they want."

@bahatiracing
Former US national criterium champion, Rahsaan Bahati, uses on-board cameras to capture the action from within a race, then posts it to YouTube with voiceover play-by-play. It might be the best class on how to race bikes you could ever take.

Benedicto.co
This popular bike-adventure site founded by Portland, Oregon-based photographer Daniel Sharp includes stunning imagery, practical gear and travel advice, and colorful, but not hyperbolic, storytelling.

Betsy Andreu
For years, Betsy Andreu was known by adjectives bestowed on her by Lance Armstrong: jealous, crazed, obese, to name a few. But her dogged pursuit of truth helped reveal Armstrong's lies. She has since become a standard-bearer: not merely for anti-doping, but for a kind of honesty and truthfulness that some see lacking today. Andreu holds forth most often on Facebook.

@BikePortland
Founder, publisher, and editor of Bike-Portland.org, Jonathan Maus is a powerful voice in one of America's great cycling-friendly cities and the larger advocacy world.

@BikePretty
Melissa Davies ditched walking in heels around San Francisco for riding in them. London-based Kelly Miller has an expert eye for vintage fashion. Together they are Bike Pretty, an online source for cycling style, event announcements, outfit ideas, and tips such as how to ride in a long skirt.

@bokanev
The key to accumulating nearly 19,000 Instagram followers? "Road porn," says up-and-coming Seattle-based photographer Andy Bokanev. "I'd love to go to France or Italy and ride legendary roads all the time, but it's just as cool to find undiscovered places outside your door. I want my photos to inspire people to get outside and ride."

@CadenceClothing
In 2003, artist and former bike messenger Dustin Klein launched an apparel line because he didn't see anything for cyclists that wasn't a racing kit. Cadence Collection was one of the first lifestyle brands for cyclists ("we are the originators of cycling denim" says the website). Beyond innovation, we just really like Klein's design aesthetic. "He never seems to follow a trend," says BICYCLING art director Colin McSherry. "It is all about his art."

@ChrisRiekert
As a PR guy at Specialized, Chris Riekert helped lead the California-based bike manufacturer into new marketing territory with campaigns such as #SeekAndDiverge, a bike launch pushed out primarily through social media. The Big Red S has the largest social following of the major bike companies, and Riekert himself has more than 11,000 Instagram followers, thanks to a keen eye, mad selfie-stick skills, and liberal access to rad bikes.

@_Cycle_Chic
Mikael Colville-Andersen's blog copenhagencyclechic.com not only launched a revolution in how cities treat bicycle infrastructure, but also managed to pare down the broad concept of everyday cycling into one word—Copenhagenize.

@cyclingfans
Pete Geyer's website cyclingfans.com is a one-stop shop for live cycling coverage, with direct links to feeds from every broadcaster of note, plus start lists, maps, and links to stories.

@MichelleKhare
Keep an eye on recent Dartmouth grad, former US under-23 national criterium champion, and BMW p/b Happy Tooth rider Michelle Khare. Hired at Buzzfeed fresh out of college, she knows a thing or two about making viral videos. Google "bike races Ferrari."

@CycloFemme
Looking for a way to accentuate the positive rather than dwell on the negative, Boulder, Colorado-based Sarai Snyder launched Cyclo-Femme four years ago. Billed as a global women's cycling day, and held annually on Mother's Day, the hashtag-driven event last year included 303 rides in 31 countries.

@DennisChristo4
The guy who brought Dave Stohler to life in Breaking Away (actor Dennis Christopher, now 59) still really, really loves cycling.

@dwuori
If you're looking for a guilt-free guffaw in the form of a timely gif or a not-so-serious—but always insightful—look at the sport, Velo backpage columnist Dan Wuori is your guy.

@emilymaye
A relative newcomer to cycling photography (she started in 2011 after snagging a press pass to the Tour of California), Los Angeles-based Emily Maye gives the small moments in cycling indelible impact. With a background in ballet (her mom founded a studio) and a lifelong interest in the history of pro cycling, she fills her Instagram with visual testaments to the grace and dedication both pursuits demand.

@f_cancellara
Switzerland might have four official languages, but when it comes to Twitter, Swiss cycling superstar Fabian Cancellara speaks only "Fabianese," a rough English that's probably garbled further by autocorrect.

@fuckyeahcycling
Leave it to the Internet to bring together two "30-something" women from across the globe (one from Scotland, the other from Michigan) with a passion for cycling, into one Tumblr. As its title suggests, the blog unabashedly celebrates everything that makes cycling awesome.

@GoZwift
Nearly 70,000 people requested beta access to this multiplayer online training community where members compete with other cyclists on indoor trainers in a virtual 3D world. "We're a convergence of the trends in cycling toward social engagement and increased safety," says Zwift cofounder and CEO Eric Min.

@hizokucycles
They sell T-shirts, and not even great ones, but their Instagram account is incredible: highly 'shopped, but strikingly conceived images of roads with lots of daily inspiration.

@IamtheSecretPro
Since 2012, the Secret Pro has been giving readers of Australian website Cyclingtips.com an unfiltered glimpse into the life, thoughts, and feelings of a pro cyclist.

@inrng
Pro cycling's most knowledgeable pseudonym is as prolific as he is unknown. There is no shortage of cycling bloggers, but what makes The Inner Ring notable is the writer's sure grasp of the sport. Don't let the plain language fool you: It's a sophisticated look at pro cycling.

@jeredgruber and @ashleygruber
Whether they're capturing the sweeping public spectacle that is professional bike racing or their own private moments on bikes, husband-and-wife photographers Jered and Ashley Gruber somehow make every Instagram seem epic.

@L_ArmiTstead
Great Britain's Lizzie Armitstead is one of a handful of women looking to challenge Marianne Vos's supremacy at the top of the sport. With more than 100,000 Twitter followers, she's already defeated her Dutch rival in one key area.

@manualforspeed
Imagine a super-group of Prince, Nirvana, Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder, Garth Brooks, and Public Enemy. Now try to imagine what their music might sound like. That's how hard it is to describe MFS's take on pro cycling. The brainchild of photographers Emiliano Granado and Daniel Wakefield Pasley, it's weird, creative, and somehow just right.

@marianne_vos
When she's not winning races, multitime world champ Marianne Vos is promoting women's cycling via her 100,000+ followers and fans across platforms.

@nolifelikethislife
This photo-driven bike-adventure blog is an homage to living life in the present. "It's important for people to stop and take a look around and appreciate what they have going on," says founder JP Bevins, a New York City—based photographer.

@olegtinkov
If you can withstand the crushing gravitational force of the Tinkoff-Saxo pro team owner's black-hole narcissism on Twitter, you may observe the quasar-like stream of high-energy emissions, often in English. Oleg Tinkov will offend you at some point, but his feed is a phenomenon worthy of Nova.

@PedalingNowhere
This digital destination focused on bikepacking and dirt-road touring, routes, and gear has become a hub for the long-distance cycling community. "You don't have to ride for weeks on end to find adventure," says founder Logan Watts.

@petosagan
His antics can be controversial, but Peter Sagan's more than 250,000 Twitter followers (and 336,000 Facebook fans) prove that it's hard to ignore the 25-year-old Slovakian sprinter.

@_pigeons_
UK-based Sarah Connolly calls herself "just a fan-girl" but she, along with collaborator Dan Wright (@Dan-WOfficial), runs the Unofficial Unsanctioned Women's UCI Cycling Blog (prowomenscycling.com), a clearinghouse of race reports, interviews, and video from the women's pro peloton.

@rapha
When Simon Mottram and Luke Scheybeler launched Rapha in 2004, they managed to push people and competing brands toward a clean, simple look and (largely) straightforward clothing. One of the first cycling companies to embrace content marketing, Rapha became a textbook example of how to create a brand that seems like it has a long heritage and legacy, but is actually quite new.

@Rodeo_Labs
This combo race team, club, and movement started when a group of Colorado cyclists decided they didn't want to be told how or where to ride. The team counts more than 300 members from around the globe. "There is no functional benefit to tribalism in cycling," says founder Stephen Fitzgerald. "If it involves two wheels, it's cool, and most importantly it's fun."

@SocialPeloton
This nascent crowd-sourced initiative plans to bring cyclists together for an online experience that blends the best of Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Planned launch: July 2015.

@spinlister
This peer-to-peer bike-rental platform launched in New York City in 2012 and now has listings in more than 60 countries. "Promoting the use of idle capacity is a benefit for everyone," says CEO Marcelo Loureiro. "Listers make money and renters spend less and can travel light."

@Strava
The popular endurance sports-oriented social platform has transformed the way people ride. "We've tapped into the universal human need to not be out there in the world in isolation," says president and cofounder Michael Horvath.

@TenspeedHero
Deploying a rotating roster of students, photography professors Luke Batten (University of Illinois) and Jonathan Sadler (Boise State University) run a fanciful blog that is at once a paean to cycling tradition and a celebration of whimsy. It's now also a thriving apparel business thanks in part to being one of the first to capitalize on the cycling-sock obsession.

@theamandabatty
Pro downhiller Amanda Batty's viral "Why I'm Leaving Pinkbike" post was a response to bike-industry bro culture. But Batty isn't just firing off complaints from the sidelines—she's actively trying to change the industry with Proving Possible, which funds entry fees for first-time women downhill racers.

@TheBicycleStory
Seattle-based writer and cyclist, Josh Cohen, has a knack for sussing out interesting riders and telling their stories.

@thejensie
Despite retiring in 2014, Jens Voigt has hardly disappeared. While his missives as a Trek ambassador can be entertaining, his most noteworthy updates come when he's doing his most important job: being a dad. Whether making crafts or baking cookies, Mr. Shut Up Legs isn't afraid to share his softer side with his more than 200,000 followers.

@Vaughters
Cannondale-Garmin manager Jonathan Vaughters tweets on everything from racing to wine to fart jokes, and is one of the few team officials in pro cycling to regularly, enthusiastically engage with fans.

@veloclinic
Sports-medicine doctor and Cat 1 mountain bike racer Mike Puchowicz's wide-ranging blog includes power-output modeling, redneck-haiku commentaries, random riding shots—and plenty of antidoping cynicism.

Willy Wauthle
Dutchman Willy Wauthle spent the last 35 years as a race-moto driver all over Europe, and knows many of the best photographers. In his free time, he posts and catalogs images on Facebook. The result? One of the world's biggest collections of procycling photography.

@WTFKits
Jonny Burns scours the Internet for cycling's best and most bizarre kits.

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