Riding with Restrap: Quique Arias

Introducing Restrap customer Quique Arias, 39.

Quique has been a cyclist all his life, getting his first bike as a 7 year old and steadily building his collection from there. The latest additions to his horde include his Dedacciai Scuro RS carbon road bike, and brand new gravel bike, Niner RLT Steel, perfect for adventures off the beaten track.

A seasoned European cyclist, Quique has lived and cycled all over the continent, owning and riding bikes in Salamanca, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Mallorca and Bogota.  Today however, he’s back in his native Madrid where he’s been running a cycling café since 2012.  

Quique enjoys all kinds of cycling. “I don’t understand moving around the city without a bike”, he says, and he uses his urban bikes every day for commuting. Once or twice a week he escapes the city, doing 100-130km rides with his local club, Ciclismo en Cadena.

It was last summer, however, that changed Quique’s cycling outlook for good. “I got into bicycle touring”, he explains, “and I am enjoying it SO MUCH”. Quique’s first trip took him from Madrid to Santiago, over to Oporto and then from there to Salamanca along the Douro river. 1500 kms over 17 days.

 

“We set up steel classic bikes with modern groupsets”, explains Quique, “and set off without much planning”. The trip was supposed to last a week, but once that was over Quique wanted more and continued solo. “The enjoyment is really in the journey, not the destination”, he says.

“I’ve learned that even you don’t plan anything, at the end of the day, everything is fine, and you will fix the problems you could have on the way. I’ve discovered a new way of spending your holidays enjoying everything from the very first minute. I’ve discovered how cool is to improvise your trip, choosing where to head every day, where to stop, and where to sleep. “

Restrap first came onto Quique’s radar back in 2012.  At the time a purely urban cyclist, Quique was an early Restrap adopter, using our very first product, the pedal strap. “Back then Restrap was one of the few brands making good quality fixed gear products”, says Quique.

As the years went by and Restap evolved, so did Quique’s cycling, and he went on to discover the Carryeverything range, using our bar and frame bags on his trips.

“I tried the bar and frame bag last summer for the first time. What I like most of all is how fast you can attach and detach them. I love how the the magnetic buckles work, letting you open the holster in less than 1 second. I also had the upper food pouch, which was very helpful for carrying food, and to hold an extra battery charger for the phone or GPS.”

He’s recently returned from a winter tour of the Balearic Islands. Soaking up the winter sun, he explored every island. “I love going out of season”, he says “you really have the sense that you own the island, it feels like the beach, mountains and roads are there just for you”.

 We’ve been following Quique’s progress and enjoying his stunning photos on @quiquearias. This one made us particularly envious.

Check out Quique’s latest project, Gregario Atelier, a show room, workshop and coffee bar for friends and cyclists in Madrid.