an unpredicted journey

CHRIS KELLY RUSHES OVER TO UNLOCK the wide-swinging wooden gate that separates Topanga Creek Outpost from the winding, southern California canyon road that serves as his shop’s namesake, just as the clock ticks past 11 a.m.

Kelly has good reason for being a few minutes late: He spent the night before camped on an island off the coast of Los Angeles, guiding a crew of riders through the most mundane part of the week as part of his regular Wednesday, close-to-home adventure. Early that morning, he boarded a ferry, traveled 26 miles back to the mainland and battled Thursday morning gridlock that might have caused him to boil over had he not just come off two days of bikepacking punctuated by beachside camping, $1 tacos and stunning views of the Pacific Ocean seemingly around every desolate dirt corner. Even the unexpected overnight rainstorm that sent the under-sheltered crew