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I think today more than ever, it’s easy to get caught up in the belief that our own lives are mundane. The internet constantly throws articles about traveling to far-off lands in our faces. Instagram makes it easier than ever to see a lot of beautiful people doing amazing things. Every single day, our news feeds are ...

I came really close to bailing on the ride. I felt overwhelmed with stuff to get done. It was a dreary day. I was tired. Maybe I’d just take a nap and then spend the evening at home packing for my upcoming trip, getting ahead with work, and cleaning my mess of a house. But ...

Words and photo: Chris “Bama” Milucky From “On the Road With Bama,” originally published in Issue #191 Moab. Orange waves of sand, frozen in time, almost like me. I’ve been here six weeks—which is about five too long. Moab’s a great place to live, but I’m getting stir crazy. I’m beginning to feel like I’ve ...

Words: Rebecca Rusch Illustration: Stephen Haynes Originally published in Issue #192 I was wet, cold and fucking miserable. Riding 500 miles through Italy sounded much more pastoral and heavenly than it was turning out to be. At home when I looked at the squiggly lined course map for Italy Divide weaving through the hills from ...

Originally published in Issue #192 “Respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be.” — Leo Tolstoy, “Anna Karenina” Repairing bikes isn’t a great way to make a living. On average, bike mechanics are paid less than the average high school dropout. Pretty sad state of affairs for an industry that seems ...

This reader submission comes to us from Hannah Heydinger. She just finished her senior year racing in the Texas High School Mountain Biking League where she was team captain for St. Stephen’s in Austin. In 2015, Heydinger was invited to the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) banquet to be awarded the Specialized Student Athlete Leadership Award. ...

Words: Rebecca Rusch Illustration: Kyle Stecker Originally published in Issue #191 Since you are reading this column, I know that the simple act of moving around on two wheels has changed your life. Riding a bike might elevate your physical and mental health. It might fuel the competitive juices. It might be your social outlet, ...

Words and photo: Chris Milucky aka Bama From “On the Road With Bama,” a column in the print magazine Originally published in Issue #191 A child of the ’80s, I began my photography with a plastic 110-film camera. The pictures were pretty bad, and I think it’s fair to share the blame with both my ...

Words: Rebecca Rusch Photo: Pat R. Notaro for Red Bull Media House Originally published in Issue #190 What is winning to you? Is it KOM/QOM victories that you celebrate alone in front of your computer? Is it a medal or trophy that you take home to show your family? Is it proudly wearing the race ...

Words and photo: Chris Milucky aka Bama From On the Road With Bama, a column in the print magazine Originally published in Issue #190 It’s somewhere over here—just carry your bike towards that tree. Don’t walk in a straight line, either; we don’t want anyone to find our tracks.” We holstered our hardtails and hustled ...

From Issue #190 Throughout the evolution of the mountain bike, we’ve seen new technologies and ideas introduced at a very rapid rate. Just 30 years ago most of what we take for granted while riding now wasn’t even on anyone’s radar. Some of the technology has been discarded along the way, usually with good reason. Dual-control ...

Words: Rebecca Rusch Illustration: Chris Escobar In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few. – Zen master Shunryu Suzuki Fat biking is not a fad. It’s here to stay and has opened the doors to a whole new segment of riding, especially in winter climates. I was not ...

I finally got myself a truck. I didn’t really “need” a truck, nor does its lightweight rear end make it the most practical vehicle in snowy Colorado (doth protest my loved ones), but hauling things like fatbikes and riding gear and sometimes camping stuff and often the dog in a cramped, low-riding hatchback had proved time ...

On the Road With Bama Words and photo: Chris Milucky aka Bama. From Dirt Rag Issue #188 The first time I quit climbing the ladder of public opinion, I moved into a house with six other people, three dogs and a cat; the cat was smart enough to soon skip town and live someplace less ...

With my apologizes to Bukowski. Life continues to surprize me, and frustrate me, and bring moments of unmitigated joy. I quit smoking almost 12 years ago. It was cold turkey, and it wasn’t fun. I fell off the wagon a few times, including a few months of stress smoking involving hand rolled cigarettes and a ...

By Stevil Kinevil This is the landscape of your standard local ride. You’ve seen it all a hundred times before, but have you really? Taking a friend to your usual stomping grounds and showing them your loop is a fantastic way of blowing the dust off of your proverbial routine. It slows things down and ...

By Rob Kristoff   The higher purpose of practicing a sport such as fly fishing, hunting, or mountain climbing is to affect a spiritual and physical gain. But if the process is compromised, there is no transformation.- Yvon Chouinard “If you’re not worried, you’re not paying attention.” It’s an old cliche, but it captures an ...

By Jeffrey Stern We’ve all experienced bike lust. You know, those days that your friend rolls up to your group’s adventure on a bike so new the chain is still silver, the hairs on the tires are still jutting out and the frame just glistens in the sun. Bike envy ensues. The questions come from ...

By Jeffrey Stern It goes without saying, but sometimes it still needs to be said: we’re lucky. Much of the United States offers an undeniably unique opportunity for people of all types, abilities and with varied interests to get outside and play outdoors. Whether it be aboard a bike, on foot, hanging from a rope ...