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( ╹ -╹) Nº349 Where Does The Mind Stop And The World Begin? Not At Skull And Skin. 🧠 🌍

Nº349 Swimming upstream for a better world. SRAM Inclusivity Scholarship winners, join the ADE Cycle & a collection of kooky bikes. Why Monocle isn't on social, USA tips into fascism & Fix in 26. Mark's Mixed Terrain, Gravgrav Loose in The Woods, FURTHER Pyrénées & solo touring the length of Japan.
Jon Woodroof
6 min read
( ╹ -╹) Nº349 Where Does The Mind Stop And The World Begin? Not At Skull And Skin. 🧠 🌍
Images by @kike.molares and @juulkappelhof of last week's Gear Swap at Patagonia Amsterdam, this month's Ride to School day in St. Pete, Florida (should be every day, right?), and JD & Tracey's sweet titanium S&S tandem built by Cycles Chinook in Seattle!
Table of Contents
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Since July 2015 with its trademark rhyming subject lines, the Twotone Newsletter is a weekly resource to ~1200 readers around the 🌍. Thank you for being part of & contributing to this community! ❤️

This week, while preparing for this edition of the Twotone Newsletter, I read Sam Holden's latest Substack. In it, he asks, "Is a city alive?" It's inspired by Robert MacFarlane's Is A River Alive? I go on a bit of a tangent here, so bear with me.

"Where does mind stop and world begin? Not at skull and skin, that’s for sure. Life is as much undergone as done. We are constitutionally in the midst." —Robert MacFarlane

The first part of the quote refers to the philosophical concept of the Extended Mind Thesis, proposed by philosophers Andy Clark and David Chalmers in their 1998 paper The Extended Mind. This theory argues that the mind is not confined to the brain, but extends to include parts of the body and the external environment that play a functional role in our cognitive processes. Interesting stuff!

Whereas MacFarlane's book is an "impassioned plea to save our rivers that combines poetry and adventure," Holden's allegory extends MacFarlane's philosophy to encompass a city's 'aliveness' as he believes it is much more than economic activity or density of use, much like a river is more than water and current or your mind simply in your skull. It's all connected. Deep, I know. ; )

"Unfortunately, just as the natural world and human culture are being degraded, so too does much contemporary development relentlessly extract what remains of the city’s life-force in the pursuit of narrower purposes."

Just as we should protect what keeps a river alive, we should protect what keeps a city and even society alive: This is a battle cry against "market forces pursuing economic growth and corporate profit at the expense of social solidarity and environmental health."

Francine Mestrum, PhD, a Belgian academic whose research is focused on the social dimension of globalization, poverty, inequality, social protection, public services, and gender, espouses the concept of Social Commons: social protection as a project for the sustainability of life. Read more about her research and the Social Commons here.

Last week's Gear Swap in Amsterdam and our 12th Dox Under The Tracks are two recent examples I'm proud Twotone supported to build community whilst pushing against the tide that solely prioritizes consumerism and mainstream culture.

Buying or selling used bike parts instead of binning old components, ordering new stuff online, and attending a local underground show instead of streaming what you already know are small but essential gestures.

Considering Macfarlane's warning cry for rivers, Holden's allegory for cities, and Mestrum's vision for Social Commons, it's easy to know that we don't want to end up where we'll go if we continue to go with the flow.

So here's to swimming upstream for a better world. ❤️

Thank you for reading this week,

Jon

p.s.

If you're near Antwerp this Thursday, swing by the Finding Nessie premiere late to spend the weekend bashing borders at Border Bash Nº6. And if you'll be at Sea Otter Europe. Lemme know!

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Mechanics of Joy Nº48 w/ Jasien Haridy of Gregario Cycling Services will broadcast LIVE at 14:00 CET this Thursday! Tune in!
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Bikes

BESPOKED SRAM Inclusivity Scholarship Recipients & Pre-Show Industry Tours Announced for Dresden 2025

The SRAM Inclusivity Scholarship Builders have been revealed and two days of industry tours before BESPOKED, connecting builders with regional innovators in cycling and manufacturing in collaboration with Saxony Trade & Investment. Read more here.

ADE CYCLE | 21-22 Oct 2025 | London to Amsterdam

In 2025 the ADE CYCLE will run a new 2-day London to Amsterdam route, to make the ride more accessible to those with full ADE schedules and touring artists. This London route consists of 2 stages (days) totalling 230 km in total. Day 1: London to Harwich, over night ferry. Day 2: Hook of Holland to Amsterdam The ride will arrive into the Amsterdam Dance Event on Wednesday 22 October with special ADE welcome reception for all riders and friends. Sign up here!
Download the ADE Cycle 2025 Deck
The 9th ADE Cycle has become one of the most awaited charity cycles in the industry.
ADE_CycleDeck2025.pdf
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A collection of kooky-but-rideable bikes (treadmill bike, pull-up bike, and more)

I was looking for more cargo bikes, tandems & tall bikes. How about a tall cargo tandem? Hat tip to Jason Kottke for the link.

Ideas

Why Monocle isn’t on the big social platforms: TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook.

"For Monocle, that means:- Print worth keeping.- Radio worth returning to.- Newsletters worth opening.- Digital journalism worth paying for.- Events and conferences worth attending – ideas and connections in real life.- Books worth collecting – designed to last.- Shops and cafés worth visiting – physical spaces that bring the brand to life and where people can meet." – Anders Braso, Monocle's CMO says it's not about being absent from social media but being present where it matters. Something to consider before that next paid ad campaign, vanity metric evaluation or assigning too much weight to fleeting doomscroll goals.

America Tips Into Fascism

"The precise moment when and where in recent weeks America crossed that invisible line from democracy into authoritarianism can and will be debated by future historians, but it’s clear that the line itself has been crossed." – Garrett M. Graff | This essay outlines the USA's descent into authoritarianism. We all feel the effects to some degree, but visiting this week, the moment felt remarkably prescient. Read it here.

From “Survive till ’25” to “Fix in ’26”

From “Survive till ’25” to “Fix in ’26”
Here we are. Surviving.
LinkedInPhillip M.

Phillip M Lucas' takes here are effectively spot on across the board. One gem in the list: "Sporting bikes are volatile by nature. The real, durable volume lies in mobility. This calls for institutional work—joining forces to lobby for safe urban infrastructure and embedding bikes as a mainstream mobility tool, not just a recreational one." That's how bikes will save the world!

Friends

Mark's Mixed Terrain Ride v3 | 28 / 09 / 25

It's time for another wicked edition of Mark's Mixed Terrain on September 28th. The previous one features lots of great trails, and you can expect a totally new 100km route this go 'round. Lead by the one and only @markhlkm! RSVP here.

Gravgrav's Loose In The Woods Recap

Max at Gravgrav, who just took 3rd at Further, talks about Loose in the Woods, 3 days of epic bikepacking in Ljubljana, and offers a teaser to the Cake Movement's new event in Carinthia. Read more here.

FURTHER - PERSEVERANCE - Pyrénées results

If you ever have the chance to 'race' FURTHER. You should. Read Camille's write-up here.

Radness

Solo Bikepacking The Length of Japan

A trip of more than 2500 km in a country consisting mostly of mountains and rivers. Read Vera's story here or hear it first-hand (in Danish) in Copenhagen on the 26th!
Thank you very much for reading!
Here's to finding that spot where your mind stops and the world begins in your local community this week!
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Written by
Jon Woodroof

Jon Woodroof

♥️ @Kristyspark✨, Otto, Mira, Errol, Simone, Brayden & Rowan 💡 living the dream @Workspacesix & @Twotoneams 💌 I love to send special stuff to special people weekly.
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