essays

By Trina Haynes The dictionary definition of Digital Detox is: “a period of time during which a person refrains from using electronic devices such as smartphones or computers, regarded as an opportunity to reduce stress or focus on social interaction in the physical world.” Taking a break from all the digital in our life for ...

Words by Paul De Valera My bicycle is my best friend, my only true ally in this world. My bicycle will never betray me. Though it may break and throw me off into a bush or get a flat and make me push it now and again, it won’t ever work toward my undoing — ...

Words by Helena Kotala, photos by Evan Gross As someone who has been serious about riding bikes for a relatively short period of time, I still vividly remember being a beginner. Well, to be honest, I started riding bikes seriously a long time ago (around age 10 or 11), even raced a little, but then ...

Ed. Note: It Sounded Like A Good Idea is a new semi-regular column by Olympic track racer Bobby Lea and endurance mountain bike racer Ian ‘Big DiRtY’ Mullins who have teamed up with plans to race Cape Epic, Breck Epic and Leadville next year. But, this isn’t just another story about some guys going to ...

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 ...

Singlespeeds aren’t rational, like eating cereal for dinner. That’s not healthy; you know better; you just can’t help it; you don’t have time to put together something more complicated or nutritional. You just want to get on with it. Cereal for dinner was an extremely rare occurrence in my childhood home and not even all ...

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 ...

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 ...

The first bike shop job I ever had was at a place called Rob N Charlie’s in Santa Fe, New Mexico. One of my wrenching mentors there gave me good advice when I began working on an expensive bike for the first time: “Consider the Hippocratic Oath: First, do no harm.” That advice stuck with ...

By Jeffrey Stern What do we know about even the most well thought out plans? Well, they more often than not they don’t pan out as expected. But only if you let them derail your training, fun, life or work should they cause any concern. We all want to ride 10, 15, 20 hours per ...

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 ...

By Jeffrey Stern Climbing the steep pitches, he’s faster than me. Four-wheel (er, leg) drive naturally makes it easier. When the trail flattens and turns into flowy singletrack, we’re about dead even; it’s as if I’m riding with someone who has the same climbing skills as me. When it comes to the technical, ripping downhills, ...

By Jeffrey Stern We all know them, those friends that appreciate the convenience and simplicity of integrating more bike riding into their daily lives, but rarely do it. Why? It’s hard to put a finger on one reason why and pin it down as the end all, be all for all of our once in-shape ...