Features

Illustration by David Biber.

In the fall of 2001 we sent out a request to our readers to share with us their reactions, their experiences and their feelings about the events of that day. What we recieved was a flood of contributions. Far more than what we expected. Here are some of the notable responses, ten years later:

Editor’s note: We love to hear from readers who want to share their story with others. Got something you think Dirt Rag readers would be into? Send it to [email protected].

By John Frachella

By Vicki Barclay

Approaching a big race like the Trans-Sylvania Epic, people always ask, “How you are feeling?” and “Are you ready?” I always find it a funny question to answer! The same way as when someone asks how a job interview went, men tend to answer with confidence, I have noticed, whereas females tend to be more coy and careful. I prefer the coy and careful approach.

Words and photos by Adam Newman.

The week-long celebration that is Crankworx climaxes each year with the Canadian Open Downhill, a three-minute blast down some of the most technical riding on the mountain.

The highlight, of course, is Heckler’s Rock, where beer-soaked fans were pre-gaming as early as 10:30 a.m. for the 3 p.m. finals. 

An ominous sign when walking down to the Rock. 

[portfolio_slideshow id=14925146] Photos by Adam Newman. Video by Justin Steiner. About a month a go we got wind of a new opening up at one of the premiere bike parks on the East Coast, Snowshoe Mountain, West Virginia. A couple of the Dirt Rag crew put in a tough day at the office rolling laps ...

A long-standing Pennsylvania tradition, Bilenky Cycle Works has hosted a… unique cyclocross race each winter through a salvage yard. There are no UCI officials measuring tire widths, the barriers are not to spec, and #handupsarenotacrime. This Saturday the annual event was pushed to new levels with the influx of humanity (and inhumanity) in town for ...

This is it. The main event. After Friday’s party, Saturday’s qualifying rides and Junkyard ‘Cross, then Saturday’s party, it was time get some racing on for the Golden Speedo and tattoos. The first SSCXWC to be held on the East Coast, Philly was an amazing host for the weekend. Despite some horrible weather for driving to ...

In Issue 175 you’ll find the story of Heather and Jay Goodrich, who explore Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula to retrace the steps of their honeymoon more than a decade earlier. We couldn’t fit all of Jay’s wonderful photography in the magazine, so here’s an extended look at their adventure. Want to read the story? You’ll have ...

By Anka Martin. Photos by Sven Martin. Our trip went down in early February in beautiful Nelson, New Zealand and the surrounding areas of the Nelson Tasman district. We planned a little backcountry adventure with a few of my friends on our Juliana bikes.

Once again we had a great time at Dirt Rag Dirt Fest presented by Niner Bikes at the Allegrippis Trails at Raystown Lake, Pennsylvania. We had a blast and we sure hope you did, too. We’d like to extend a HUGE thank you to our title sponsor Niner Bikes, all our exhibitors, the volunteers to put ...

Photos by Adam Newman The sixth round of the Enduro World Series rolled into Whistler just in time for a little thing called Crankworx to get under way. Several classic Whistler trails were groomed especially for the event with the deep, soft terrain of Crazy Train contrasting sharply with the rocky, exposed Top of the ...

Editor’s note: Each year Dirt Rag solicits readers’ fiction, essays and poetry in our annual Literature Contest. In Issue #182 of Dirt Rag you’ll find the winner of our 2014 Literature Contest, but we received many submissions worth sharing, so we will be posting some of the finalists here over the next few weeks. We hope ...

Editor’s note: Each year Dirt Rag solicits readers’ fiction, essays and poetry in our annual Literature Contest. In Issue #182 of Dirt Rag you’ll find the winner of our 2014 Literature Contest, but we received many submissions worth sharing, so we will be posting some of the finalists here over the next few weeks. We hope ...

Editor’s note: Each year Dirt Rag solicits readers’ fiction, essays and poetry in our annual Literature Contest. In Issue #182 of Dirt Rag you’ll find the winner of our 2014 Literature Contest, but we received many submissions worth sharing, so we will be posting some of the finalists here over the next few weeks. We hope ...

Editor’s note: Each year Dirt Rag solicits readers’ fiction, essays and poetry in our annual Literature Contest. In Issue #182 of Dirt Rag you’ll find the winner of our 2014 Literature Contest, but we received many submissions worth sharing, so we will be posting some of the finalists here over the next few weeks. We hope ...

Editor’s note: Each year Dirt Rag solicits readers’ fiction, essays and poetry in our annual Literature Contest. In Issue #182 of Dirt Rag you’ll find the winner of our 2014 Literature Contest, but we received many submissions worth sharing, so we will be posting some of the finalists here over the next few weeks. We hope ...

By Chris Reichel I have decided to do something I have dreamed about since I was a kid. I’m going to ride across the United States. Yeah, I know what you are thinking, me and 10,000 other people this summer. But that’s just it, I don’t really want to do one of the same old ...

As a first-timer at Crankworx, most everything about this event is eye-opening. From the overall turnout to the the diversity of the crowd, I’ve come away impressed. While there are plenty of incredible events, including Saturday’s legendary Red Bull Joy Ride, the Whip-Off World Championships was one of the events I was most excited to watch ...

Photos by Justin Steiner and Adam Newman The racing here at Crankworx took center stage Friday night as the threatening rain clouds hovered overhead but never dampened the action. The dry and dusty course was running fast as rookie Dakotah Norton, left, came out of nowhere to take the win as challenger Martin Maes took a ...

Catch up: A cross-country bike tour with a twist: Chris Reichel is riding his mountain bike from Colorado to North Carolina and hitting all the best trails along the way. If you missed Part 1 of the Ultimate Ride to the Ride, read it here. By Chris Reichel This trip became a reality faster than ...

Few mountain bike races have earned the title of “legendary,” but if one is a shoo-in for the list it’s the Leadville Trail 100. With a starting elevation above 10,000 feet, it climbs to more than 14,000 through thin, Colorado air. In a race where just finishing is a victory, this year Alban Lakata took the ...

Catch up: A cross-country bike tour with a twist: Chris Reichel is riding his mountain bike from Colorado to North Carolina and hitting all the best trails along the way. If you missed Part 1 or Part 2 of the Ultimate Ride to the Ride, you might want to start there. By Chris Reichel I ...

Catch up: A cross-country bike tour with a twist: Chris Reichel is riding his mountain bike from Colorado to North Carolina and hitting all the best trails along the way. If you missed Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3 of the Ultimate Ride to the Ride, you might want to start there. By Chris Reichel ...

Catch up: A cross-country bike tour with a twist: Chris Reichel is riding his mountain bike from Colorado to North Carolina and hitting all the best trails along the way. If you missed earlier installments of the Ultimate Ride to the Ride, see them here. By Chris Reichel I didn’t have much of a schedule or ...

Words and photos by James Murren Feature story from Issue #182 The Cuyamacas My bike leans against a tree as I walk in cleated shoes through the green spring grasses in the direction of granite slabs slightly visible from the trail. Remembering a group of picnicking students that had piqued my interest during a previous ...

Words: Hans Rey Photos: Stefan Voitl A young man, 18-year-old Kevin, stood on a dusty street corner on the outskirts of Antigua, Guatemala, waiting for us. Two years ago he received a bicycle from Wheels 4 Life through his school, “Escuela Proyecto La Esperanza,” which was founded and is run by a UK-based charity. When we found ...

Catch up: A cross-country bike tour with a twist: Chris Reichel is riding his mountain bike from Colorado to North Carolina and hitting all the best trails along the way. If you missed earlier installments of the Ultimate Ride to the Ride, see them here. By Chris Reichel I never thought I would say this ...

PRESS RELEASE — Bell Helmets today announced an important extension to its new Joy Ride women’s program – the launch of six Joy Ride grassroots program cities, each with a dedicated female mountain bike ambassador. These ambassadors will help inspire and enable female mountain bikers with regular, structured, fun and social rides that appeal to all levels of riders where they ...

American cyclists know full well that beer and bicycles go as well together as 90-pound European roadies, white Spandex and strong espresso. Along Colorado’s Front Range, one company takes that pairing particularly seriously, building bikes in the same way it brews beer: one at a time, with a guiding ethos of fun, craftsmanship and quality. ...

With apologies to Bill Bryson.  I come from San Antonio. Somebody had to. There are generally two types of people born in San Antonio: those who can’t imagine leaving, and those who can’t wait to. Raised by two Midwesterners who often seem bewildered as to how they ended up as residents of the Lone Star State in ...

Words: Mary Dishman Photos: Adrian Marcoux Trails are the basis of everything in mountain biking. They’re the arteries that flow life into every ride. They’re the blank canvas, the empty sheet. They’re the beginning, middle and end of every mountain bike story. Whether beaten into submission by machines, carefully sculpted with blistered hands and simple ...

Catch up: This is a cross-country bike tour with a twist: Chris Reichel pedaled a road bike towing a mountain bike from Colorado to North Carolina and hit all the best trails along the way. If you missed earlier installments of the Ultimate Ride to the Ride, see them here. By Chris Reichel I know that there ...

There are people who love mountain biking, and there are those who love it so much they dedicate a vehicle to mountain biking. Chris and Leslie Kehmeier are two of those people, and Henry Tan Van is one such vehicle. The Kehmeiers live in Golden, Colorado, and have each worked at IMBA for over six years. ...

Words: Hank Hansen Illustrations: Juliana Wang Green Bean’s chest hurt. Again. He didn’t quite know how to describe it—pressure, kind of, almost like something was overflowing inside him, but sharper. Not that he had tried to explain it to anyone. The lexicon of pain that Green Bean’s friends employed had no room for things like “tension” ...

“Nobody reads anymore” goes the saying. Maybe that’s why podcasts are on the rise: one-third of Americans listened to one last year (according to the Pew Research Center). But search for cycling podcasts and you won’t find more than a handful. One of them is Roam Rydes—a women’s cycling podcast created and produced by Ash ...

Words and photos: Zach White Originally published in Issue #190 When I was a kid, my great-grandmother’s humble backyard was my favorite place in the world. It couldn’t have been more than 1,000 square feet, yet within that confinement was a separate little area behind the broadside of a detached garage with a massive wall ...

Words: Brice Shirbach Photos: Abram Eric Landes Originally published in Issue #189 Growing up, I’d often sit and stare at it. My obsession began the moment my family moved to Emmitsburg, Maryland. I was 7 years old and we piled into a single-story rancher a mile and a half down the road from town square. ...

Words: Gregory A. Cummins, D.O., M.S. American Board Internal Medicine Fellow Candidate (as of original writing), American Academy of Wilderness Medicine Illustrations: Andy Jones Note: This article originally appeared in Issue #155 (2011), but was one of our most popular stories and is still entirely relevant. Read, learn, then enjoy your rides! Ever notice that your biking ...

Words and photos: Montana Miller Originally published in Issue #191 My back just went numb, right between the shoulder blades. Which actually feels a lot better than the shooting pain I had a few minutes ago. I hike slowly next to my bike; hopefully I can make the top of this pass before sunset. I’m ...

Words and photos: Brice Shirbach Originally published in Issue #191 For most of us, the UCI World Cup downhill series is a somewhat nebulous arrangement, largely unfolding by means of online media, live video streams and an assortment of social-media posts from the athletes themselves. While fans of the sport are well aware of what ...

Words and photos: James Murren Originally published in Issue #191 Shakedown in the Storm The evening light wanes, but we ride on into it. Carlos’ German shepherds weave and dart between our bikes, never dragging tail. I am on a shake-down ride in preparation for the big one coming up two days from now. Singletrack ...

Words and illustration: Paul De Valera The Idea It seemed like a great idea. We go to Wal-Mart, buy bikes, race a trail loop and then return said bikes for a refund; the first one to do so is the winner. When I told people about it they howled with laughter or looked at me ...

Words: Alice E. Key Illustration: Stephen Haynes She said comfortable clothes. My powder blue linen short overalls are comfortable, and I like how they look with my dorky powder blue Mary Jane Birkenstocks. Just because it is a mountain bike ride, it doesn’t mean I have to look like an athlete. Besides, I don’t own ...

Words: Hurl Everstone Wednesday nights got weird in the mid ’90s in Minneapolis, Minnesota, when some of the local dirt bags darkening the door on the weekly Wednesday night ride started showing up on singlespeed mountain bikes. These hump-day rolls had been initiated by several employees from Quality Bicycle Products and typically included a singletrack ...

Reprinted from Dirt Rag #194.  Thank you, thank you. Thank you very much. Friends, readers and fellow cyclists: I humbly and gratefully thank you for bothering to read another edition of The Rant. Who would have believed that when I started this journey—because I started out packing boxes at Dirt Rag headquarters more than eight ...

Words by Chris “Bama” Milucky Photos by Devon Balet It’s not that I hate roadies, but some are pompous, and the most famous has a reputation—now bordering rap sheet—for lies, manipulation and legal threats. So when my editor, Mike Cushionbury (Cush), called at exactly 4:20 p.m. and told me Floyd Landis was starting a marijuana-product ...

It was an amazing adventure to a historic land littered with scenic trails, long climbs and high-speed descents. A holy land that hosts one of the best three-day mountain bike stage races I’ve ever done. Yet it almost didn’t happen. In early 2014, I received an invite to attend the Epic Israel. While some questioned ...

“The world needs more people, especially women and girls, who have more faith in their abilities, on a bike and in life,” says Angi. In this inspiring video, Angi shares her passion as a coach and shows off her skills as a rider.

Words by Eric Porter. Photos by Scott Markewitz. This story originally appeared in Dirt Rag #186. “Pull over! It’s burrito time!” snarled Scott as he reached his breaking point. Throughout our entire time in Ecuador, he had been carrying a bag of tortillas and a can of refried beans that he brought from the U.S. ...

Words and photos by Jeffrey Stern. The concept was simple really – traverse three mountain ranges, tip-toe around two wilderness areas all while crossing the entire southern portion of Los Padres National Forest, a nearly 2 million-acre section of seldom-visited forest in northern Santa Barbara county. Logistics were the ultimate challenge in completing such an ...

Words by Maurice Tierney. Photos courtesy of www.firstflightbikes.com. Richard Cunningham founded Mantis Bicycles in 1981. Ever the innovator, Mantis made a variety of bikes, including the fillet brazed Sherpa, Pro Floater suspension bike and Flying V monocoque frame. Here we have an early Valkyrie X frame bike, made just before elevated chainstays came into vogue. ...

Words by Adam Hunt, photos courtesy of Stan Cohen “The bicycle has a number of advantages over the horse, it does not require as much care, it needs no forage, it moves much faster over fair roads…it is noiseless and raises but little dust, and it is impossible to determine its direction from its tracks… ...

Words and photos by Jeff Archer Industry 9 has a place in the history of cycling because of the wheels and hubs it has produced for the past decade, but it goes deeper than that through its parent company, Turnamics Inc. in Asheville, North Carolina. Turnamics produced some of the parts for the original RockShox ...

Get your copy now! Cover Illustration: #vanlife by John Ritter Columns and Readings Our columnist Rebecca Rusch muses on cycling storytelling with former Secretary of State John Kerry and his unwavering love of riding his bike beginning as a kid and continuing to this day. In Dog’s Bollix new columnist Simon Stewart tells a tale ...

Words by Jeffrey Stern. Photos via blackriver.  On a brisk spring morning we navigated our rental van from Chicago to Madison in search of the best charcuterie we could find, rolling country farm roads and more information on the mythical blackriver—the ultimate place to create, find and share cycling experiences, or so we’d heard. We ...

Words and photos by Montana Miller Gah, quit squishing me!” yells my wife. I’m trying to climb over to my side of the bed; there’s barely space for me to squeeze past against the roof of the cab-over. “Sorry, but it’s not my fault you need to sleep on the side with all the air,” ...

There have been rumors about major teams and fast riders showing up for a World Cup downhill race on 29ers this year, but Santa Cruz is the first major team to confirm it with news of a 29-inch V10. I can already hear the comments; “but XXXX did it first!”. Yes, there have been a ...

Words and photos by Brian Leddy  High in the pines of northeastern Arizona lie 200-plus miles of sweet singletrack. Traversing the rocky, volcanic slopes of the White Mountains, the trails flow through ponderosa pine forests and high mountain meadows. If you’re looking for a place to get away from it all, this is a great ...

Words by Ben Brashear. Photos by Ben Brashear unless otherwise captioned. Upon meeting Davidson Lewis and Justin Daugherty of Green Guru Gear, located in Boulder, Colorado, it is apparent that their success rests squarely on a strong foundation of environmental stewardship, solid craftsmanship, pragmatic adaptability and ultimately, not taking themselves too seriously. With a little ...

Words and photo by Chris Klibowitz No utterance will garner a bigger groan among the retail world than, “The customer is always right.” Having worked in shop for over fifteen years, I’ve had the misfortune of hearing it too many times. While the origin is unclear—either coined by Marshall Field or an employee of his, ...

Words and photos by Devon Balet It’s 4:20 a.m., a seemingly perfect time to depart Sedona, Arizona. Aiming northeast, I sleepily rub my eyes as I steer my home on wheels, aptly named El Tigre Del Norte—a Chevy Astro van converted into a small pop-up RV in 1990 that I bought in 2012—up state Route ...

Words and photos by Watts Dixon I thought I was doing the right thing, approaching the cop. Being proactive. Humbly and apologetically explaining why my van was going to be in a one-hour-only parking spot at the rest plaza for the next six hours. With his attention focused on whatever he was shoving in his ...

Words and photos by Rob Korotky It’s Oct. 21, 2016, and a beautiful autumn morning in Marin County, California. A group of 12 guys with their bikes mill around under a canopy of trees at the end of a dirt fire road in the hills above Fairfax. A few minutes ago, the last rider skidded ...

Words and photos by Jeff Archer These days, it’s tough to go on a group ride without at least one rider on a Trek mountain bike. Let’s take a quick look back to see how we got to this point. Trek was founded in 1976 and produced high-quality road bikes in Wisconsin. By 1980, the ...

Words and photos by Jarrod Bunk Dirt Fest is a bit of a homecoming for me each year. I don’t get to see or ride with friends who are relatively close to me throughout the year, because, bike shop life, so I get to typically catch up as well as ride some fresh new bikes. ...

Welcome to our second annual Guest Editor issue. This time around we present none other than Joe Parkin, celebrated racer, writer, book author and former magazine editor. As an introduction to this special edition, he in part pens, “Photographers like to say that the best camera in the world is the one you’re carrying right ...

When you express to a co-worker or family member that you signed up for the Trans-Sylvania Epic mountain bike stage race you’ll likely be greeted with an interesting response, and rightfully so. You want to do a what? On your pedal bike? You’re going to do this for how many days? The conversation continues but ...

I often say that I don’t really race. I do a few events a year, but I usually would much rather go on a big group ride with friends than spend the day trying to ride faster than other people. That being said, I have had a lot of fun at every race I’ve ever ...

Words and photos by Kurt Gensheimer At 11,542 feet above sea level, Hoosier Pass south of Breckenridge, Colorado, is not the ideal spot in which to be driving an unfamiliar RV, especially in the middle of a snowstorm. But alas, that’s where I found myself only two hours after purchasing a 1990 Toyota Sunrader sight ...

Ed. Note: This review of the Kona A, the first ever production full-suspension singlespeed, was originally published in Dirt Rag 102 in August 2003.  Rider: Philip Keyes Height: 6’2” Weight: 196lbs. Inseam: 34” Kona is one cool company. Case in point: these guys are offering the first-ever production dual suspension singlespeed. They had to know ...

Ed. Note: This piece was originally published in Dirt Rag 106 in March 2004.  For the uninitiated, a fixed gear bicycle is a singlespeed without a freewheel—if the wheels are rolling, the cranks are turning. Rudy Nadler is one of the many people who have learned the joy of off-road fixed gear cycling, and when ...

By Nick Lubecki, photos by Brad Quartuccio  Anyone can ride 1,000 miles. Anyone. -Nick Lubecki Nick Lubecki isn’t someone you know, but his attitude towards long distance riding is one you should know. He’s pedaled around the United States and Canada using equipment most enthusiasts would balk at. He finds his food in dumpsters and ...

By Stevil Kinevil  The year was 2007. One person or another asked me if I’d planned on attending the first-ever Singlespeed Cyclocross World Championships, which were to be held a few weeks later in Portland, Oregon. Having been in the trenches both organizing and racing in some of the first Singlespeed World Championships of the ...

Words and photos by Burt Hoovis  If you’re like most folks, you probably have a few local rides that you gravitate to. And if you tend to do a ride frequently, there’s going to be a point in that ride where you find yourself thinking, “Man, a beer would be bitchin’ right now.” This is ...

By Maureen Gaffney  Clouds indistinguishable from 50’s-style UFOs marched past, a sleek and silent armada against a blue background. Red, pink and sand-hued rock formations towered, bulgy and swirling in the wavy heat. Any vegetation in this stern expanse looked ready for a fight, scrappy little dukes raised skyward, each fist or finger equipped with ...

Words by Andreas Hestler, photos by Dave Silver Last time I went bikepacking it was with a 50-pound backpack while smashing my personal undercarriage to smithereens on the saddle! It was tough (maybe we were just tougher then), and it gave me reason to pause whenever considering a repeat. Fast-forward a few years, the equipment ...

By James Murren We woke inside our tents under a cloudy, early morning sky. Knowing we had a hard ride in front of us and unsure of what the trail conditions would be like on this backcountry route, we welcomed the cover from the sun. The Fiske Peak loop, in California’s new Berryessa Snow Mountain ...

Kona Gravity team rider Graham Agassiz and Kona Canada’s resident fishing enthusiast Matt Stevens head out to do some fly fishing in British Columbia on the new Kona Remote. What are your thoughts on e-bikes for applications like bikepacking? Let us know in the comments!

Follow high school senior and Canfield Brothers rider Lorin Whitaker on his final cross-country race of his high school mountain bike racing career and for a run down the infamous King Kong freeride line in the Utah desert.

By Captain Dondo Like the 25th anniversary of that drunken wedding you had in Las Vegas that seemed like a good idea at the time (but knew deep down had no chance of going the distance), Dirt Rag is still here. The 25th anniversary passed a while back and recently we celebrated the 200th issue, ...

By Burt Hoovis Ahh … summer. Sweltering days, dusty trails and nights spent socializing, perhaps next to a campfire or in the backyard. This is the time of year for beers that refresh and invigorate. Classic German Pilsners, with their bright character and temperate bitterness, are always a favorite when the days are long. Pilsners ...

One of the best things about handmade bike builders is the pure love they have for creating two wheeled machines and the time and effort they put into a startup business, just for the simple joy of making and riding bikes. Jon and Erin Acuff of Proudfoot Cycles are no different. When you meet them, ...

Words and photo by Devon Balet, video by Will Campbell When I heard the words from the ER Doctor, “You have a broken scaphoid bone in your right wrist,” it felt as though my entire world came crashing down on me that day. The crushing weight of the injury was detrimental. When you go from ...

I attended the inaugural Keystone Gravel on a whim last year and I’ll forever be glad I did. It was the day before I needed to get on a plane to head to my first Interbike and I still needed to pack, but it turned out that all the rushing around was worth it. My ...

Interview by Patrick Brady, photos by Devon Balet The mountain bike was a thing and would sell We went high-end. Gary Fisher bikes were super expensive. I mean, come on, you could buy a full Campagnolo-equipped Colnago for 450 bucks in 1979. You could buy a Ben Serotta super-nice custom bike, complete, for $995—Mavic rims, ...

This coming weekend is IMBA’s annual Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day, so we felt this was a timely opportunity to share some of our tips for taking your little shredders out on the trails. Kids are resilient but if they have a terrible experience on a bike, they might not be quite so willing ...

It’s that time of year again. With each passing day, the sun sinks in the sky a little earlier. For those of us with 9-5 jobs, getting out and riding after work without encountering darkness is impossible with the recent time change. But as we mourn the loss of evening light, we can also celebrate ...

By Peth Puliti  It’s too early to be awake, but I’m too cold to sleep. I attempt the fetal position in the tight quarters of my sleeping bag, but wince in pain when my weight shifts to my hip bone. Last night was the second spent camped out in the shell of an outbuilding on ...

By Montana Miller “We’re going to San Felipe. On a bike tour,” I say to the Mexican border guard, nodding toward my dusty bike. We’re going a lot farther than that, but I’m hoping our first stop sounds more believable. “San Felipe? On bicycle? No.” He looks at me like I’d just told him I ...

By Carmen Freeman-Rey Chances are that in the past, if you had heard of Tasmania, it was for one or maybe all of the following reasons: It’s a decent-sized island 150 miles off the big island of Australia; there is a tough little creature that lives only there called the Tasmanian devil, immortalized by the Looney ...

Words and photos by Myke McNoldy  “Koan ˈkōän/ noun a paradoxical anecdote or riddle, used in Zen Buddhism to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning and to provoke enlightenment.” A sandy recollection of images, craggy peaks and rocky singletrack. Jeep roads. Horse flies. The sound of rushing water. Tires crunching against ageless sediment. The trail ...

“A bike ride fixes everything;” that is a statement that is pretty much completely true. Look, I know if you have a broken leg or a blown out knee and you are reading this you’ll quickly disagree, and I don’t blame you. First, you are right; bike riding will not miraculously mend your broken bones ...

The only thing better than a big day of riding is a big day of riding on new trails. My husband and I, and our friend Ryan, marinated on this thought as we left in the pre-dawn cold to drive an hour and a half southeast, towards unexplored (by us) territory. We sipped coffee as ...

At the Philly Bike Expo this past weekend the Pennsylvania Convention Center was filled with custom frame makers, component manufacturers, food trucks and yes, even e-bikes. Over the years the Expo has morphed into a sort of mini NAHBS attracting builders from all over the country to bringing some of their latest creations to show ...

Regardless of the time of year and riding conditions, every bike needs a good cleaning every now and then. We reached out to some experts for their advice on what to do, and what not to do. People give all kinds of advice about what kind of products you can use—dish soap, automobile soap, etc. ...

If you follow the lineage of New England frame-builders back to its roots you will find Witcomb USA and Serotta. Both companies, which established themselves in 1972, would go on to become the breeding ground for the current state of custom frame building in the New England area. In 1977, after Witcomb closed its doors, ...

By Brian Fox, United States Geological Survey  Mapping is important these days. Maps are critical to helping people discover the closest coffee shop, navigate to a new place or, in our case, discover and experience new trails. Maps, to me, mean anything from the latest app on your phone (like MTB Project) to that folded ...

Gravel Cycling by Nick Legan is a comprehensive guide to many aspects of the latest up-and-coming niche in cycling – gravel riding and bikepacking. The 300-page book is packed with photos and covers gravel races and events and adventure touring routes, as well as tips for race prep, choosing a bike and outfitting your bike ...

Ed. Note: The full version of this piece appears in Dirt Rag 202. Grab your copy today to read the full story and much more.  In some ways, it seems that plus tires have always been with us. It was the summer of 2012 when Surly released the Krampus and the Instigator, the first production ...

By Stephen Haynes Do you know a cycling artist? These six items easily fit in a frame bag and allow for artistic adventures on the go. Moleskine Large Watercolor Notebook – $20 At 8 ½ x 5 ½ inches, the Moleskine Watercolor Notebook is big enough to capture just about any scene, both real or ...

By Evan Gross Know someone who regularly gives back by doing trail work? Here are some gift ideas they’ll love and use. Stihl KM 111 R KombiMotor – $350 The Stihl KombiSystem is a motorized head with multiple quick-release attachments to sweep, cut, blow or trim. Attachments vary in price and function but with thirteen ...

It’s that time of year when we all look back at the past 12 months and take stock of what we’ve accomplished and the memories we’ve made. Here in the world of Dirt Rag Web, we took a look at the analytics and what some of our most popular content this year has been. Here ...

By Jon Marsden The rain had flashed on and off like a yellow amber in a midnight town since about two-thirty that afternoon and the subject matter in my middle school science classroom was a perfect match for the melancholy weather. This had been a day filled with bloodletting and bone saws and I often ...

By Steve Thomas Iran, mountain biking and women: There’s a combo you don’t see every day. Meet Faranak Partoazar, the Iranian national cross-country champion, who is shredding convention and preconceptions. Can we get our prize money, please?” There was little doubt as to who was the leader of this prize-hunting pack: It was the slender, ...

Riding bikes outside during the depths of winter, especially in the chilly northern regions of the country, can seem rather prohibitive or unpleasant if you aren’t used to the cold or aren’t prepared. But the truth is, winter riding offers a fun and rewarding experience, as well as a unique perspective of familiar trails, and just ...

Words and photos by Gabriel Amadeus The market is awash with a huge assortment of very well-made bikepacking bags to fit in every nook and cranny of your bike. One of the simplest, and often over-complicated methods of transport is strapping a load to your bicycle’s handlebars. If it’s a small, light load you can ...

I have a confession to make, mostly to myself. I am getting older. I know, I don’t really believe it either, but it’s true. A few weeks ago, I woke up and I was 40. It is a reality that my juvenile brain has been unwilling to accept. I continue to treat my body the ...

Words by Nick Legan, photos courtesy of Trips for Kids As a reader of Dirt Rag, you may have taken the opportunity to ride a bicycle early in life for granted. I did until I spoke with two people who are working to ensure that more kids get the chance to ride bikes and appreciate ...

Words by Emma Rehm, photos by Mike Q Roth  Since I finished riding the Baja Divide — 1400 miles of dirt and sand from San Diego, CA to La Paz, Baja California Sur — I’ve been waiting for its lessons to reveal themselves to me. Some are obvious: Don’t be in a hurry. See what ...

By Katherine Fuller If we could all just live by the great commandment of “Don’t be a jerk,” mountain biking wouldn’t need an etiquette guide. But we have met the enemy and he is us. Recent IMBA surveys indicate even mountain bikers recognize that the biggest threat to access is … mountain bikers. The good ...

By Ange Gagnon I’ve heard about the Ride Like a Girl at the Wheel Mill for a few years,but this was the first year that I actually had the nerve to pursue it. After years as a bike commuter, I’ve decided that this is my year to learn how to mountain bike. Of course, I ...

On a cool and rainy evening, a large orange tour bus hums outside of an 18th-century Catholic church that has been converted into a concert venue. Attached to the bus is a black utility trailer filled with T-shirts and music equipment and the general disrepair that a tightly packed space takes on after a months-long ...

The other day, while I burnt minutes trying to decide what to eat for lunch, I was scrolling through my Instagram feed and something new caught my eye: pen and ink, perhaps some watercolors. I stopped and scrolled back to see this interpretation of a mountain biker lofting through the air. I was instantly taken ...

If you have been paying any attention to the hand-built bicycle scene over the last year, you likely have caught wind of Adam Sklar. His bikes are eye-catching and popping up all over the internet and trail systems around the country. Last year, Adam took home the award for best mountain bike at the 2017 NAHBS ...

Traveling with your bike can be a great way to explore a new locale, but it doesn’t work if your bike is damaged en route. We reached out to Sue George at BikeFlights.com for some expert tips on how to pack your trusty steed. What are a handful of steps that are must-dos for packing a bike? ...

A few weeks ago we caught up with Chris McGovern of McGovern Cycles as he prepares for NAHBS. In our conversation, we asked Chris who he was looking forward to seeing during the show this year, and his answer was Peter Olivetti. Olivetti Bicycles is located in the mountains of Boulder, Colorado. Peter left his job ...

By Jen Sotolongo In 2009, Bill White of Twin Bridges, Montana, began to notice the long-distance cyclists that were passing through the small town of fewer than 400 inhabitants. They stopped for a coffee or burger and then headed on to the next campground. He realized that “all the bike riders passing through were like ...

Tegan Phillips is a comic artist who first started drawing for a contest to win a touring bike and gear. Guess what – she won that bike and set off riding it around the world. Today, she is an avid cyclist, artist, motivational speaker and all-around interesting and adventurous person. We caught up with Tegan ...

If you are like me, it’s hard to think of the city of Boston, Massachusetts without thinking about bicycles. Boston is home to countless custom frame builders, racing legends and access to some wonderful scenic and challenging singletrack within the city limits. The current bicycling infrastructure has also helped grow Boston’s cycling community tremendously over ...

Charlie Kelly’s brother Jim wrote a series of poems about their mountain bike adventures. He is currently working on turning this series into a publication called “The Bike Cycle.” Here is one of the poems, titled “Repack,” recounting the infamous Repack Downhill races.  Riding a bike on the street isn’t hard, Up on the sidewalk, around ...

Words by Adam Newman, photos by Howard Draper This is it. The Big One. The Cascadia Subduction Zone has shifted, resulting in a massive earthquake and tsunami that has devastated the Pacific Northwest. In Portland bridges are unsafe to cross, gasoline is being rationed and electricity is spotty. Luckily the city is filled with cyclists who can ...

West Virginia’s capital city, Charleston, springs up from the convergence of the I-64, I-77 and I-79 and spreads out along the banks of the Kanawha and Elk rivers. With a greater metropolitan population of around 220,000, Charleston definitely qualifies as a small city. What it lacks in census girth, however, the city makes up for ...

If you look up the word stoke in the English dictionary you will find that it means, “to poke or stir up or supply with fuel” or “to increase the activity, intensity or amount of.” On highway 58 in the town of Cedar Point, North Carolina, there is an old service station coated in fresh ...

You may know that Big Bear Lake Trail Center is the home of Dirt Rag Dirt Fest West Virginia.  But how much do you really know about this magnificent mountaintop milieu? How did Big Bear Lake Camplands and Trail Center come to be? Is there really a lake there? And what’s the story behind the ...

We here at Dirt Rag are big music fans. Whether it’s a solo ride with headphones in, tunes in the van to get the crew stoked on the way to the trails, or some mellow morning jams on the stereo to help ease into the work week, we know music is magic. We are excited ...

Walk around the small ski town of Crested Butte, Colorado and it doesn’t take long before you start to notice the bikes parked everywhere. Beach cruisers, converted classic mountain bikes and homages to the klunkers of yesteryear. With all of the town’s amenities in such close quarters, it is really unnecessary to drive anywhere. The ...

Friend of Dirt Rag Michael Hermann of Purple Lizard Maps was also one of the original mountain bikers in Central Pennsylvania. In this installment of Blast from the Past, we go back to 1990 in State College, PA. Mike Hermann and Randy Moore tell the story of the Bombers.  This piece was originally published in Dirt ...

Words by Emma H. Rehm, photos by Mike Q. Roth On the Baja Divide (1,400 miles of dirt and sand down the Baja peninsula in Mexico), my crew was routinely teased by other riders for being so organized. Spreadsheets! Lists! Itineraries! But we love those parts. We love the skill building, the dry runs, the ...

By Andrew Vontz Stage One I woke up at 6 am. At home and when I travel, I wear silicone earplugs to help me get quality sleep. I popped one out. I popped the other out–and it tore. A huge chunk of it was stuck in my right ear. I tried to dig it out ...

By Robert May (the fatbike guy) We’ve been on our bikes for hours now with the daunting realization that we are nowhere near the end of this journey and will spend days, not hours, out here in George Washington National Forest. Despite the calendar saying it’s April 7th, it has been snowing for hours now ...

By Andrew Vontz If you missed Part 1, check it here.  Stage Four On Tuesday I catapulted my face into a slab of rock on Squirrel Gap. Today’s stage has the most singletrack of any stage in the entire race–including a trip back over Squirrel Gap in the opposite direction and over the same slab ...

By Andrew Vontz If you missed them, check out Part 1 here and Part 2 here. Stage Five: The Battle with Hot Pink + Get on the Bus Today I finished 7th / 36 riders in my cat (open Masters 40+) on the day, my best finish ever in a stage at Pisgah. Final result ...

This year, we partnered with the National Interscholastic Cycling Association to host a literature contest encouraging student-athletes to write about how mountain biking has effected their lives, specifically how their coaches have been a part of the experience. The prompt was: Has your NICA coach helped you develop not just as a rider but in character as ...

This year, we partnered with the National Interscholastic Cycling Association to host a literature contest encouraging student-athletes to write about how mountain biking has effected their lives, specifically how their coaches have been a part of the experience. The prompt was: Has your NICA coach helped you develop not just as a rider but in character as ...

This year, we partnered with the National Interscholastic Cycling Association to host a literature contest encouraging student-athletes to write about how mountain biking has effected their lives, specifically how their coaches have been a part of the experience. The prompt was: Has your NICA coach helped you develop not just as a rider but in character as ...

Words and Photos by Aaron Couch. Imagine catching a ride with a random stranger, being dropped off in a desert town with just your bike and some gear, then heading out on solely your own human power across the red dirt as the sun sets. It may sound appealing to many, as it was to ...

Words and Photos by Colleen O’neil   I’m grinding up the gravel road, sweating profusely in my rain jacket. A sudden summer shower just passed, so now it’s 80 degrees and sweltering again. Drops of water spill from the huge ferns lining the road. My husband Montana stands at the top of the hill, fiddling ...

Welcome back! It looks as though we are going to make this a regular thing. Each month on the first Monday we will be dropping a new mixtape and this month we handed the keys over to none other than Stevil Kinevil.  Our regular columnist and curator of All Hail The Black Market, Stevil has conjured up ...

Lauren Cat West is an artist living and riding in the city of Philadelphia, PA. Her keen sense of observational humor is reflected both in her work and in her personality. When she’s not hanging from scaffolding painting murals on the walls of Philadelphia, she’s out pedaling around in search of subject matter and strange ...

Or: Why I Always Carry a Map Mountain biking is a lot like the military in two ways: It’s a family and operates as an “army of one” (in most every other way it is probably the exact opposite). So it was fitting that I got completely lost riding alone in the Jemez Mountains near ...

by Maureen Gaffney Riding the Kokopelli, the 150-mile trail between the esteemed mountain bike destinations of Fruita, Colorado and Moab, Utah for a second time is like childbirth. Your mind neatly erases the painful bits, assembles a sparkly highlight reel, and there you are, doing it all over again. But if you’re going to endure the labor involved in 30-mile ...

Since Halloween, I have been fundraising for AIDS/LifeCycle to earn my spot riding with roughly 2,200 other cyclists and 500 volunteers from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The ride brings awareness to the streets of California and our internet communities; the funds bring needed financial support to organizations who provide education, community, and medical access ...

by Cassidy Randall photos by Lisa Sumire Ankeny The early morning sun cut through the alpine chill as we assembled with our bikes at the remote backcountry trailhead. We double-checked our gear and sorted through food as the shadows retreated up Sol Mountain, preparing to head out on the heralded new Caribou Pass trail deep in ...

Germantown Avenue seems like a comparatively quiet street when considering the rest of Philadelphia. Trolley tracks and cobbled paths remain from the years gone by, there is a lot that houses a food truck and what appears to be a small farmers market. It’s June in Philadelphia, and the summer heat is already reducing movement ...

by Jen Rose Smith In Huaraz, Peru, local athletes don’t really have a place to swim—the town’s river is clogged with trash, and nearby mountain lakes are glacially cold—but they’ve got easy access to the Cordillera Blanca and the Cordillera Negra, a matched set of mountain ranges that rear up in the country’s northern Andes. ...

For perhaps the first time in modern history, government officials beyond the highest-ranking are household names in the United States. People who are not very involved in politics and invested in policy-making likely had no idea who was Administrator or Acting Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prior to the recently-resigned Scott Pruitt. And ...

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in Dirt Rag Issue #142, published in May 2009. Words by David Alden-St. Pierre, MS, PA-C. Medical illustrations by Molly Thompson of Thompson Medical Illustrations. There’s nothing like an epic day in the saddle: a few hours of riding, burning lungs, tired muscles, and for some riders, an aching ...

Words and Photos by Leslie Kehmeier “Time doesn’t really matter now – we just talk about lunch time, dinner time…” says Beth Roberts. Her tone is soothing. Beth is a guide for Rim Tours, a mountain bike outfitter based in Moab, Utah. She’s leading us on a section of the Arizona Trail on the north ...

Words and Photos by Brett Rothmeyer There’s a certain romance to summer living in the Northeast. Winter can be long and cruel; spring often teases you with a warm day here and there, but only when it’s not raining or just above freezing. I remember being 13, and those first few warm days of summer ...

Words and Photos by Andrea Wilson I hail originally from the hot, flat realm of Memphis, Tennessee. I moved to the Colorado Front Range almost three years ago, and I’ve been obsessed with finding all of the nooks and crannies of the mountains ever since. When I realized that the population density of the Denver ...

Durango is the kind of town where all the bike racks are full. You’ll be hard-pressed to find any regular ole commuter bikes with ergonomic grips, rear racks, and 700 x 38cc tires. I found myself ogling like a bicycle fiend, checking out the antique Specialized Hard Rocks, Clark Kents, Kleins, and Rocky Mountains leaning ...

As a culture, we Americans tend to put a lot of focus on the external healing of a wound or injury. We bandage, splint, cast. Eventually, maybe, we venture into the realm of physical therapy and/or yoga. But our beautiful, complex bodies are doing so much work on the inside to heal what’s broken that ...

Words and photos by Erik Mathy It was Sunday morning and I was running late, as usual. We’d had a last minute change in plans and family had stayed at our place overnight, nixing my ability to figure out what bags would fit where on the new Rawland Ravn. My original plan had been to ...

In the early 90’s snowboarding was a relatively new sport. Resorts weren’t quite sure what to do with the new breed of snow sliders. Some resorts restricted them to certain areas on the mountain and others outright banned them from riding. Snowboarding in the early 90’s as a teen was my obsession. Each fall when ...

Words and Photos by Andrea Wilson I hail originally from the hot, flat realm of Memphis, Tennessee. I moved to the Colorado Front Range almost three years ago, and I’ve been obsessed with finding all of the nooks and crannies of the mountains ever since. When I realized that the population density of the Denver ...

When Justin’s (the nut butter company) emailed us about sending over some samples, we envisioned a mid-morning project with the office kiddos, lazily moving around in the haze of summer and excited to get out into the woods behind Dirt Rag Headquarters. It would be so fun, so nutritious, a learning and bonding opportunity for everyone! ...

Standing at the base of Burke Mountain staring up the line of the Mid-Mountain Express lift, fog blows across the top bringing an early morning chill to the valley below. There is a silence only broken every so often by the chirp of morning birds off to a busy day. Living on the east coast, ...

It was still dark; I sat on a slab of granite staring down at the lakes below descending like giant glistening stairs. The mosquitos were already hard at work trying to get to my blood through two layers of clothing as I looked over my shoulder to see the headlamps of my travel partners disappearing ...

Editor’s note: Our latest print issue of Dirt Rag Magazine, The Road Trip Issue, just dropped in the mailboxes for subscribers and newsstands. Here’s an awesome write-up of mountain biking in Denmark to accompany the print issue. Interested in subscribing? Click here! By Shawna Kenney pamphlet translated by Shawna Kenney with help from Anja Klemp ...

Editor’s note: This story originally ran in issue 206 of Dirt Rag Magazine. Like what you see? Issue 207 is out now on newsstands. Click here to subscribe today to ensure you never miss a story. Located just a mile southeast of the tripoint where Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania meet, Newark may be the best ...

Photography provided by Meyvn Creative On September 15th, Brittany Konsella became the first person to ride all 750 miles of unique trail in the Gunnison Crested Butte area. To cover every unique mile, some rides required revisiting areas she had already ridden and many included a dirt road approach. In all, it took about 3,600 miles and ...

Editor’s note: In excitement for our upcoming issue on Making Do, in your mailboxes and select storefronts soon, here is a story from contributing writer Bryan Chambala on his quest to finish the Green Mountain Gravel Growler. For more stories like this, subscribe now to Dirt Rag by clicking this link, to ensure speedy delivery ...

Words by William Kirk Photos by Josh Pekich   Red Bull Rampage is the ultimate spectacle in mountain biking. Large enough that big wave surfers and mega ramp athletes alike bow down to the athlete’s display of courage in the desert of Utah each October. That said, it is very much a spectator sport; very ...

Editor’s note: Dirt Rag #206 was our DIY issue, where we built a bamboo bike, a steel frame, and fixed a carbon bike. This is the carbon edition, written by Scott, our Operations Manager. Like what you see? Subscribe now to catch all of 2019 and follow along on all our hijinx. Dirt Rag #208 ...

Editors note: From the pages of issue 203 we take a look at the Transition Throttle. Review bikes our like our children and we try not to pick favorites but everyone on staff who saddled up on the Throttle had the same response ‘Dang this thing is fun!’  If you enjoy this review and others ...

Be Kind, Rewind has become a regular addition to the magazine. A way for us to look back at the machines of yesterday and to see how far we have come in mountain bike design. It is also a way for us to appreciate some the simplicity and beauty of some of these early trail bikes. ...

We are super stoked to share a new video from Jeff Kendall-Weed and Co. Join Jeff and the Arkansas riding community as they showcase the riding in their home state and learn why it is one of the fastest growing mountain bike destinations in the country.  Words by Jeff Kendall-Weed Photos by Denis Kremenetskiy I’ve ...

Words and Photos by Brett Rothmeyer (While I set out to cover as much of the day’s events as possible, I was also tagging along with a friend who was carrying some spare wheels and warm clothes for people in the front of the race. Traditionally the women racing for the overall have raced in ...

Words and photos by Brett Rothmeyer The following article was featured in Issue 206. It was truly an honor to hang out with Miki and to be invited into his home. The work he did at his time with Transworld Skateboarding during the late 80’s and through the 90’s greatly influenced how I looked at the ...

Pittsburgh, PA — December 1, 2018 Rotating Mass Media is proud to announce that Pivot Cycles will once again be joining us as title sponsor of both Dirt Rag Dirt Fest Pennsylvania and West Virginia in 2019. Dirt Fest will return to the Allegrippis Trails at Raystown Lake, Pennsylvania for its tenth year, and after ...

We were all sitting around the kitchen table at the Dirt Rag office as we do during our weekly meeting discussing the finer points of handmade bicycles. In particularly we were discussing a current test bike in the form of the Oddity Punk Rock Jazz, a piece of art more than a bike, but it also ...

Allow me to begin with saying that yes, cyclocross is not mountain biking and I won’t in any way try to convince you otherwise. Look I get it, a bunch of fitness obsessed spandex clad gladiators trying to best each other in a muddy field is not your idea of a good time. There’s no ...

Editors note: Originally this story was a feature in Issue #205. If you enjoy stories like these consider supporting Dirt Rag Magazine by becoming a subscriber here. Keep an eye out for more on the future  of  mountain biking in the coming months Story by  Eric J. Wallace It’s a cold morning in mid-March and the ...

If I have learned any life lessons from visiting Florida over the last few years, it is that prejudgment is a terrible character flaw to have. Sure, Florida feels like a never-ending conveyer belt of strip malls and drivers that don’t understand the rules of the left lane. There is virtually no public land that ...

The human brain may never be fully understood. While scientist race to develop artificial intelligence based around the workings of the human mind, others are trying to comprehend its full potential. Amongst its many functions, how we remember things may be one of the brains most essential yet unreliable functions. When recounting the tales of ...

QBP’s Equity and Diversity Internship is now accepting applications. Eligible applicants include students who are members of underrepresented communities and identities and/or students with a demonstrated commitment towards advancing issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. 2019 summer interns will jumpstart their career by working side-by-side with some of the most innovative people in the industry. ...

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in issue 207 of Dirt Rag Magazine. Like what you see? Subscribe now at dirtragmag.com/subscribe to catch issue 209, coming real soon.  Can a miniscule dose of LSD make you a better mountain biker? There’s only one way to find out. By Adam Hurlburt WARNING: This story begins with ...

Editors note: This review originally appeared in Issue #206.  Tester: Stephen Haynes Age: 40 Height: 6’0” Weight: 210 lbs. Inseam: 30 in. Price: $6,950 Sizes: S, M, L (tested), XL Online: undergroundbikeworks.com Reach: 17.5” Stack: 24.2” Top Tube: 25.2” Head Tube: 67.5° Seat Tube: 72.5° BB Height: 12” Chainstays: 17.1” Weight: 24lbs. w/o pedals, specs ...

Editors note: This story originally appeared in issue #206. If you like what you see here help keep print media alive by becoming a subscriber! By Stephen Haynes What makes a place special? Is it something intrinsic or experiential? Does a special place need lots of, or very few, things to do? Perhaps it’s the ...

Fox 36 Float Factory GRIP2 – $1,065 By Eric McKeegan This review is about this bright orange 2019 Fox 36 fork shown above. But in reality, this review is really about the new GRIP2 damper that replaces the RC2 damper in the all-mountain 36 and downhill 40 forks. This damper is an example of trickle-up ...

Depending on where you live the winter months can be challenging to stay out on the trail as much as you would like to. Whether it’s wet and muddy trails or they are buried under two feet of snow, our time on the bike is limited to the few days where conditions are favorable. When ...

Words and Photos by David Wilcox The winter solstice marks the onset of winter, and the shortest day of the year, usually falling on December 22 in the northern hemisphere. Short, dark days that are often cold, wet, and coincide with the hustle and stress of the holidays make getting out for any kind of ...

I love winter. I know this goes against our basic feelings as mountain bikers, but it’s true. I love winter, but I should clarify, I love ‘real’ winter. The snowstorms followed by blue skies and crisp air can be and are just as magical as those long summer days. Winter’s here in Pittsburgh however can ...

Editor’s note: The next issue of Dirt Rag is all about ~The Future~ (said with a booming echo). Our Gear focus for the issue is on bike park gear, and the two fit rim-and-tire because bike parks and resorts are becoming more a part of the everyday mountain biker’s experience every year, with more parks ...

Tucked away on the edge of the Pisgah National Forest, Pilot Cove is a relatively new option for lodging in Brevard, NC. Offering luxury cabins in a prime location, we were more than excited to go down and check out what Pilot Cove was all about. First and foremost what is automatically appealing as a ...

By Bryan Chambala   In 2017, there was no bike shop in Millinocket, Maine, but there was a librarian with a Karate Monkey frame in his garage and a bunch of parts that didn’t fit. “I had a garage full of road bikes that I had assembled over the years, but I was having a ...

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in issue 209 of Dirt Rag Magazine. Like what you see? Subscribe now at dirtragmag.com/subscribe to catch issue 210, coming real soon.  by Abby Cooper Single droplets fell from the heavy grey skies and temperatures threatened snow. The timing for a trip to the sought-after loamy trails of Canada’s ...

There was once a time when Maurice would back the van up to the garage, load it up with bikes, gear, and elixir, and head for the open highways in search of trails and camaraderie amongst the tribes of dirt worshippers littered around the country. The crew often would leave no trail system unridden nor ...

Originally this story appeared as our cover story for Issue #202. We are always grateful and excited when Leslie’s work shows up in our inbox. A world traveler, mountain biker, and a fantastic photographer, we are very excited to share this feature with you.  By Leslie Kehmeier It’s 10:30 p.m. on Day 5. It’s just ...

Passing Through: Marquette, Michigan By Scott Williams Photos by Brett Rothmeyer Could you draw the state of Michigan without cheating? Chances are, your first effort would be an outline of the famous “mitten,” completely forgetting the other third of the state. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Mislabeling or entirely omitting the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) has ...

Editors Note: Originally this feature appeared in issue 206, this is Part 1 of a three-part series of DIY fabrication.  We had plans. Big plans. Plans to send staffers off to classes. Classes on frame building. Classes on bike mechanics. Classes on mountain bike skill instruction. But things got in the way. Employees moved on, ...

Jim Gaffigan has a bit at the end of one of his early stand-up performances that starts off, “I like wood!” Of course he’s speaking euphemistically, but with the general sentiment, I agree. I also relate to the old-man voice he puts on in the bit. Anyway, wood has always intrigued me and although I’m ...

Editors note: This story originally appeared in issue 209, our island adventure issue. If you like what you see and would like to see content like this more often, consider becoming a subscriber or invite us to your adventure Island! Photos and Words by Brett Rothmeyer A voice breaks through the crackle of AM radio: ...

Editors Note: This story originally appeared in issue 210. Now that the riding season is fully upon us we would like to share our experience from the Windrock Bikepark located in Oliver Springs, TN. Consider becoming a subscriber and keeping independent mountain bike journalism like this alive and well.  Words and photos by Brett Rothmeyer ...

Editors Note: This story was originally published in issue 211. If you would like to receive all of the awesomeness of an issue of Dirt Rag Magazine at your front door Subscribe Here! Clint Spiegel feels most at home amongst the whirling jets of CNC machines and the hum of lathes shaping aluminum. A self-described ...

by Riley Missel Photos by Martin Vecchio Nestled inside a cluster of lush trail systems and quaint stone farmhouses in eastern Pennsylvania is a small urban city obsessed with bikes. One weekend in August, the obsession is especially obvious: the Radsport Cycling Festival. A crowd of teenagers on BMX bikes pop wheelies to the delight ...

Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in issue 210. If you like what you are seeing and reading Subscribe and help support independent mountain biking journalism. By Leslie Kehmeier “But is it foldable?”   I am told this was a question that was raised when the SQZBX (pronounced “squeeze-box”) Brewery and Pizza Joint was about to ...

By Stephen Haynes Whether cutting the sleeves off a brand-new T-shirt or remodeling the interior of a home, the desire to tailor one’s possessions is a siren song most of us succumb to at some stage of our existence. It’s human nature to personalize artifacts to reflect whatever self-image we’ve contrived, imbuing these things with ...

Road-Trip Objective: Explore the northern Canadian territory known as Yukon. See, bike and experience its rarely spoken-of bike culture. Hosting more trails than the total population of riders, this remote location supports a thriving bike world thanks to an abundantly passionate community and a supportive history. We were positive that the people and the trails ...

I had never seen much of society outside of the metro-suburban areas in and around New York City, where I lived most of my young life, and now as a seventh-grade kid in upstate New York, I was in a whole new world. The fringe was filled with rednecks, hippies, young punks and more rednecks. ...

With nearly 200 miles of pedaling in our legs, we were happy to start the second week in Portugal with a day of shuttling trails. With eucalyptus smells blasting our faces, we had traded frame bags for fanny packs, well on our way up to a fun week of trail riding.   Based just north of ...

I had been in the town of Quincy, California, for no longer than an hour before I was perched atop Mount Hough, beer in hand, peering down at the deep-blue waters of Crystal Lake alongside Mason Werner and Garen Becker. Werner, a resident, and Becker, a native of Santa Cruz, were here to guide me ...

“What the proverbial fuck?” That’s pretty much what I thought the moment I was told that Fat City Cycles would be shuttering its Somerville, Massachusetts, doors and, in the process, laying everyone off. I had just spent the better part of a year of my life trying to get a job in the bike industry. ...