PORTAL × MET: TRADEWINDS – FOLLOW THE ELEMENTS
A new tool for what lies ahead.
Portal and MET collaborate on a helmet designed for changing conditions.
For when the pace shifts and the line reveals itself.
Lightweight. Ventilated. Stable in changing conditions.
Optimised airflow. Low-profile fit that stays in place.
Designed for long days across mixed terrain.
Photography — @kengpereira
Words — @kadens.journal
Podcast — Designing the Portal x MET Trenta
Trade Winds is a series of artworks by cyclist, runner and artist Hugh Scott Douglas, that highlights the juxtaposition between nature and technology.
The layers are derived from the organic patterns of the ocean, contrasted with the direction of currents and winds.
Using a piece of logistics industry-specific software normally used to track ships on the ocean, Scott-Douglas programs it to generate images of the ocean’s weather patterns, and non-graphic, organic and experiential elements of the ocean—the direction of currents and winds.
These images are manipulated, both materially and chromatically, and then printed digitally in a manner that echoes the analog process of screen-printing further masking what was there in reality.
Captured by Keng Pereira on location at the Traka in Girona, four riders take on the 560km ultra distance race. Each with different goals and approaches to completing the distance, the series captures the journey outside the finish line. Where the preparation, journey and outcome is heavily influenced by both nature, the mind, and technology.
Work with the elements and use them to create less friction, not more.
Hours pass without noticing,
The pace drifts, then returns.
You stop chasing it and let it come back.
Wanting it to get to the finish, but also never wanting it to end.
Take in the moments you may never experience again.
A headwind moves across the road.
The surface breaks, then smooths out again.
Day turns to night and back again.
You read it as it comes and stay with it.
Pedal, breathe, adjust.
You’ve been out long enough that everything starts to simplify.
New fitness. New perspective. Things carried forward.
Some mental, some physical.
