passing-through

Mountain bikers may be forgiven for overlooking Seattle’s smaller east-side sibling; the second most populous city in Washington and the largest city between Seattle and Minneapolis, Spokane (pronounced Spo-CAN) has managed to stay off the radar of ride destinations. But over the last two decades, the riding community has quietly built an enviable trail network, ...

One of my riding companions has a shit-eating grin—quite literally. We’re descending Mill Creek, just outside Grand Targhee Bike Park on the west side of the Tetons. This is very much cattle country; reports on Trail Forks reference dung rather than dust (“no cow shit today”). But when the riding is this good—the flipbook-fast flash ...

Settlers first moved into the northeastern reaches of New York’s Catskill Mountains in the 1780s, and the town of Windham was formed along the banks of the Batavia Kill in 1798. Tanneries, sawmills and gristmills eventually sprouted along the watercourse. By 1851, the original expanse of Windham was divided to create six additional towns: Ashland, ...

Nestled in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains along Highway 50 sits the city of Gunnison, Colorado. The town received its name in honor of United States Army General John W. Gunnison, who was sent to survey the land for the railroad. In the late 1800s, miners, ranchers, and mountain men settled into Gunnison once ...

By Stephen Haynes When tasked with conjuring names of cities in Tennessee, one might be inclined to list Memphis and Nashville ahead of Knoxville. If this were a magazine about music, you could have an argument, but as far as mountain biking is concerned, Knoxville may just surprise you. A lot of manufacturing cities are ...

Last month, we headed over to Buena Vista to check out a new Maverick just released by Juliana. While we had plenty to say about the bike and how dreamy it was to ride out there, the town of Buena Vista was newsworthy unto itself. It’s a bit of a haul from the Denver airport ...

by Melonee Hurt If you haven’t experienced East Tennessee’s newest mountain bike park, Tannery Knobs, you need to. But this fun new skills park isn’t the only biking hotspot in the area. We kicked around this fun mountain town for a weekend and can whole-heartedly recommend several good biking spots, great biker-friendly places to stay, ...

by James Murren Southwestern Utah, with St. George and Hurricane, is a true mountain bike destination. Add in Gooseberry Mesa, and you easily have an extra-long weekend of riding available to you. Throw in Little Creek Mesa, and you now have a week of riding red dirt and slick rock in your purse of riches. ...

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 ...

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 ...

By Emma Walker If you’re coming from the Front Range, Del Norte is on the way to big-name destinations—Wolf Creek, Pagosa Springs, Durango—but blink, and you might miss it. It was hard to believe, as I circled my truck around the block to pull in at the historic Windsor Hotel, that this was the place ...

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 ...

Pittstown State Forest is located northeast of Albany and Troy, New York and the I-87 corridor. While its 12 miles of trail hardly make it a destination-worthy mountain bike spot, it’s a great place to ride and camp if you’re passing through the area. The 12 miles of trail are located within Pittstown State Forest, which ...