BFGOODRICH GARAGE

The raft jolts as it hits the first rapid, the icy waters of the Río Manso crashing over its sides. Sabrina Hess’s voice cuts through the roar, calm and steady, guiding her group through the churn. As the raft cascades swiftly through the white water, her eyes scan the river ahead for the next challenge, offering a glimpse into the life of a Patagonia wilderness guide.

Looking back on a recent off-road expedition in the Colorado Rockies, there’s one thing that Roger Lovell, a BFGoodrich® Garage Pit Crew member, realized: You can’t climb mountains without the right gear. In this case, his set of BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A® KO2 tires.

It was an otherwise typical day at the office when the Spirit of ‘79 appeared in Jack Tetley’s inbox. It wasn’t a magic moment right away. His years working at Duncan Hamilton ROFGO — a renowned English firm for acquiring and selling classic and competitive motorcars — had taught him the critical skill of always keeping his hopes at an even keel. At least, at first.

In 1920, John F. Sipe worked on a slaughterhouse floor in New York City’s meatpacking district. He spent his days shoveling guts into machinery wearing work boots with thick rubber soles. These boots slipped a lot on the slick factory floor, and after falling one too many times, John started to experiment with modifying them. 

He found that carving perpendicular notches into the tread of his work boots improved his traction drastically — plummeting his rate of workplace falls. 

And thus, the “sipe” was born. 

At least, as legend would have it.