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BikeRiding High in Colorado
Riding High in Colorado
The 2012 USA Pro Cycling Challenge is longer and higher than 2011’s inaugural race: In seven days, road bikers cover 683 miles and 42,000 feet of elevation gain. Levi Leiphemier returns to defend his title, with a field including Tour de France winners Cadel Evans and Andy Schleck chasing him up and over nine mountain passes. Here’s a primer on the action from August 20–26, plus ways to play in the mountain towns along the way. Stage 1: Durango to Telluride The PCC starts with neutral laps circling Durango, leading to an all-out sprint for the first valuable…...
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BikeBreck Epic: Stage 6
Breck Epic: Stage 6
Stay tuned to the Mountain blog this week, where we’ll be previewing each stage of the Breck Epic. Click on the photo to launch a slide show, and read about Stage 6 below. Get more beta here: Stage 1 • Stage 2 • Stage 3 • Stage 4 • Stage 5 Finally, the last stage offers a respite. But be warned, after five days of racing some of the most difficult terrain in the country, you’re liable to crack if you haven’t already. Stick to your normal morning routine to minimize shock to your body. Day six sees the Epic come full circle, as…...
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BikeBreck Epic: Stage 5
Breck Epic: Stage 5
Stay tuned to the Mountain blog this week, where we’ll be previewing each stage of the Breck Epic. Click on the photo to launch a slide show, and read about Stage 5 below. Get more beta here: Stage 1 • Stage 2 • Stage 3 • Stage 4 • Stage 6 This classic loop on Wheeler Trail starts climbing up the ski area. Then the trail heads due south over rocks and roots to the remote basin between Mount Helen and Peak 10, passing the popular backcountry hut, Francie’s Cabin, and continuing up the backside of Peak 10. At first glance the trail seems…...
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BikeBreck Epic: Stage 4
Breck Epic: Stage 4
Stay tuned to the Mountain blog this week, where we’ll be previewing each stage of the Breck Epic. Read about Stage 4 below, and get more beta here: Stage 1 • Stage 2 • Stage 3 • Stage 5 • Stage 6 At the end of today’s race, two-thirds of the Breck Epic will be finished. Congratulate yourself for making it this far, but hold the pat on the back—this stage kicks off with another trek up Heinous Hill. After cresting the summit, the descent to the Dredge trailhead feels unstable at best. Hold on tight and keep air in your tires.…...
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BikeBreck Epic: Stage 3
Breck Epic: Stage 3
Nick Truitt descends a section of the Colorado Trail on Stage 3 of the Breck Epic. Photo by Daniel Dunn Stay tuned to the Mountain blog this week, where we’ll be previewing each stage of the Breck Epic. Read about Stage 3 below, and get more beta here: Stage 1 • Stage 2 • Stage 4 • Stage 5 • Stage 6 Stage 3 starts with a police escort through downtown Breck; then the cruiser pulls off and the race begins in earnest. Minnie Mine feels relatively smooth and fast this morning and the rocks on X10U8 seem to have shrunk to mere pebbles.…...
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BikeBreck Epic: Stage 2
Breck Epic: Stage 2
Nick Truitt riding the Colorado Trail, part of the Breck Epic’s Stage 2. Photo by Daniel DunnStay tuned to the Mountain blog this week, where we’ll be previewing each stage of the Breck Epic. Read about Stage 2 below, and get more beta here: Stage 1 • Stage 3 • Stage 4 • Stage 5 • Stage 6 The legs are tired from yesterday, but today offers up possibly the best section of Colorado Trail in the state. The climbs are challenging, but the fast, flowing descents erase any pain. Never mind that today also includes Heinous Hill, whose name alone elicits…...
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Bike
Reveal the Path
Reveal the Path
Two veterans of the North American Tour Divide race venture farther afield in this film, exploring far reaches of the globe using their mountain bikes. Follow Matthew Lee and Kurt Refsnider on a far-reaching yet intimate exploration of communites across four continents. Visit the “Reveal the Path” website to find out when it screens near you. revealthepath.com...
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BikeReady, Set, Epic
Ready, Set, Epic
Sydney Fox (left) and Nick Truitt bomb through aspen tunnels on Stage 1 of the Breck Epic. Photo by Daniel Dunn Stay tuned to the Mountain blog this week, where we’ll be previewing each stage of the Breck Epic. Read about Stage 1 below, and get more beta here: Stage 2 • Stage 3 • Stage 4 • Stage 5 • Stage 6 Never heard of the Breck Epic? No worries. Here’s your primer for the six-stage, 240-mile mountain bike race held annually in Breckenridge, Colorado. Masochistic athletes battle through oxygen deprivation and 40,000 vertical feet of climbing through incredible scenery…...
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BikeTested: Hestra Bike Multi Gloves
Tested: Hestra Bike Multi Gloves
Hestra gloves feel good and look great. The Claim: The Swedish, family-owned glove maker Hestra has been making supple and durable leather ski and work gloves since 1936. Does their craftsmanship carry over to the bike line? Hestra says yes. The Trial: The Bike Multi gloves arrived at Mountain HQ in early spring. I use them for regular bike commuting, weekend mountain bike rides, and early morning excursions on the road bike. The Verdict: Slip on a pair and the quality fit is self-evident, with range of motion and uninhibited sensory perception. The lack of padding makes these…...
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BikeRide Report: Tahoe Rim Trail, CA
Ride Report: Tahoe Rim Trail, CA
Mountain biking in Tahoe offers a bird’s eye view of the lake. Photo by North Lake Tahoe/Jeff Dow I crank the pedals of my rented mountain bike (no clunker, it’s a high end Trek Remedy 8), ascending loamy singletrack, trying to catch my breath and wondering where the climb ends. It’s July 1, and two hours ago we set out from the Olympic Bike Shop in Tahoe City before connecting with the Tahoe XC trails and cruising through Burton Creek State Park. Then the climbing began—straight shots up the flanks of a few rolling ridges, followed by a stretch…...
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Bike
Where the Trail Ends
Where the Trail Ends
Typically mountain bikers follow a trail built and ridden by others before them. But Darren Berrecloth, Cam Zink, and other top freeriders carved their own paths down big mountains around the globe. The result? “Where the Trail Ends” is a film from Red Bull Media House and Freeride Entertainment that tells a story of bikes and bodies pushed to their limits in search of adventure and adrenaline. September 2012; wherethetrailends.com...
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BikeTrail Report: Crested Butte, CO
Trail Report: Crested Butte, CO
Taking a break to enjoy the views at the top of the 401. Photo by Jason SumnerIn mountain towns, nobody wishes for a bad snow year—but mountain bikers tend to make the best of things. Home of the Mountain Biking Hall of Fame, Crested Butte’s trails were dry and tacky when we visited in late June. After a warm-up day riding closer to town on Tony’s Trail, Upper Loop, and Strand Hill, it was time to head for the 401, an iconic Colorado high country ride with a deceptively mundane name. Starting from the base of the ski…...
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BikeBikes All Over Breck
Bikes All Over Breck
Super D action above Breckenridge, Colorado. Photo by Liam DoranI clip in to my pedals and brace on a nearby tree, listening to the 10-second countdown. The starter gets to five seconds, and I’m free to go. My heart racing, I start pushing down Baldy Mountain’s flank for the four-minute descent. It’s my inaugural Super D, and this course does not let up. Racing through berms and over bridges, I opt out of crossing a bridge that drops a foot to a 45-degree ramp—the drop is small, but the consequences of missing either are high. I intersect with the drop…...
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BikeRide Report: Soquel Demonstration Forest, California
Ride Report: Soquel Demonstration Forest, California
The Ridge Trail dips to the right, and I put in a couple pedal strokes to make the sweeping turn. Below me, the singletrack keeps dropping, turn after thrilling turn. Just ahead, my riding buddy pulls to the right and rolls a log jump with a four-foot drop. He keeps the momentum up, rolling another log with a rut through the middle and a slight lip off the end. I follow him over the 18-inch drop. He heads left to hit two more logs and I roll the singletrack, keeping my speed for the slight hill after the next turn.…...
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BikeThe Tour Divide Races Through Bike Town USA
The Tour Divide Races Through Bike Town USA
Taylor Zimmerman averages 114 miles per day on the Tour Divide race, but he found the energy to pop a wheelie in Steamboat last Friday. Photo by Doug DavisThe premise is simple: Race your mountain bike, self-supported, across the spine of the Rocky Mountains. But finishing the world’s longest mountain bike race, all 2,745 miles of Adventure Cycling Association’s Great Divide Route from Alberta to New Mexico, is anything but simple. You must summit the highest peaks, brave the loneliest deserts, and wend through the wildest terrain in the continent, using only your wits and the power of your pedals.…...
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BikeReady, Set, Gather
Ready, Set, Gather
The scene at Washington’s Sasquatch Music Festival. Make your own festival magic this summer. Photo by Dave CoxSummer fun lies in trying to pack in the music, food, adult beverages, and outdoor adventure. See the Summer 2012 issue (out early July) for a report from Washington’s Sasquatch Music Festival and our picks for music events in the high country this season. For the best of the rest, keep reading. WanderlustVermont, Colorado, California, British ColumbiaSquaw Valley hosted the first yoga and music extravaganza in 2009, and now it’s gone continental. Visit Stratton (June 21–24), Copper (July 5–8), Squaw Valley (July 26–29),…...
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BikeTested: Ibex Indie Freeride
Tested: Ibex Indie Freeride
The Claim: Ibex promises its women’s Indie Freeride jersey (part of the merino wool Ride collection) fights odor and pulls moisture away from your skin. The Trial: I wore the Freeride this spring for bike commuting, longer road rides, and mountain biking around the Front Range in temperatures ranging from 50 to 83 degrees. The Verdict: Wool clothing sounds itchy and uncomfortable, but the Freeride jersey is anything but. Ibex starts with New Zealand merino wool fibers at a small diameter (18.5 microns) to create yarn that is soft against the skin. For chilly mornings and inclement weather, the wool…...
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BikeSkinny Tire Ride Report: Mount Diablo, CA
Skinny Tire Ride Report: Mount Diablo, CA
Drafting effortlessly at 20 miles an hour up Marsh Creek Road, the approach to California’s Mount Diablo is anything but devilish. San Francisco lies unseen 50 miles to the west, but the northwest flank we’re rolling up is a terraced valley of picturesque farmland. And then the road curves and Diablo’s profile changes. The mini peloton breaks up. I’m forced to stand on my pedals to climb. Just as the summit’s observatory comes into view, the road narrows to one lane and increases its pitch to a leg-searing 16 percent on the final ascent. It’s a challenge fit for the…...
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