It’s that time of year again! The nasty, gritty, sometimes-muddy-sometimes-not time of year, where I get about 20 minutes of riding time before I have a whole symphony of clicks and cracks and squeals coming from my drive-train. Some of you may wonder, “how do you deal with this?!” The most common answers I’ve heard […]

I absolutely love riding this time of year. Yeah, I know my last post was about how filthy riding in November will get you, and yes I also agree that, with a couple notable exceptions, I love riding in general. But, it’s true: this is my favourite time of year to ride. It’s cold (3C/38F […]

By the end of this summer my “go to” bike was my converted 650B Avalanche. I really like the overall ride and handling of the 650B platform. Don’t get me wrong I still gave the 29er and my old 26er some more rides, but something about the 650B just felt better. It was nimble, accelerated, […]

Two weeks ago I took part in my first cyclocross race.  I’ve never before been a part of any race involving a bicycle, so the whole experience was incredibly new.  After agreeing to do it with a few friends a week or so before, I proceeded to not train at all, instead opting to go […]

This week may have finally been my last mountain bike ride of the 2013 season.  While I jealously watch many of you in more southern climes enjoy riding in long-sleeved shirts to fend off that fall chill, I am considering hanging my bike up for the year because the whisper of snow is in the […]

I may be in the minority here (and, well, everywhere), but I actually enjoy riding on tape, rather than grips. It’s entirely possible this preference stems from the fact that I started riding in high school, and am currently in university, so I haven’t often been able to afford the luxury of buying new grips. […]

Who says there are no downhill parks when you live in the Midwest. Just this year Gravity Logic designed and built a downhill park at a skill hill in Milwaukee, WI. Formerly Crystal Ridge is now The Rock Sports Complex, located in Milwaukee County Wi. Earlier this year I got my first intro to downhill […]

It takes a tough Tour de France cyclist to get to the top of the Col du Tourmalet – one of highest roads in France. But it takes an even tougher Mountain Biker to then ascend over 1,000 metres up a rough dirt track to the “Pic du Midi” on the “Rooftop of France” in […]

Six years ago, Rebecca Stone was over-weight and got sore knees whenever she tried to run. Two weeks ago she stood atop the podium to receive the Gold Medal at the “Epic” cross-country mountain bike race. How did this 33 year old endurance rider get to where she is today? How did you get into […]

To get straight to the point, this will be my last regular post on The Mountain Bike Life. I’ll continue to be an editor behind the scenes, but I’ve reached a point where I have to refocus creatively on other projects. It’s also time to come clean with myself and our readers and admit that […]