Help save important Mt. Hood trails

From the June, 2008 issue

Oregon mountain bikers need to take action and ensure important trails around Mount Hood are protected with bicycle-friendly designations. Representative Earl Blumenauer has proposed a comprehensive plan for Mount Hood, one part of which would close the beloved Boulder Lake area to bicycling. This important detail is a key divergence from the proposed Lewis and [...]

No Comments »
Filed under: Advocacy, Eastern Oregon, MTB

There’s (MTB) gold in them thar hills

From the May, 2008 issue

by Tom Baldinger
I have a treasure in my back yard. Not many people know about it. At the risk of spilling the beans, I am going to let Eugene mountain bikers in on a sweet secret. I live just outside the city limits on Lorane Highway and have 70 miles of trails to ride on [...]

No Comments »
Filed under: MTB, Willamette Valley

Getting paid to ride: the guided tour

From the April, 2008 issue

by Tom Baldinger
In an almost mythical era in the past, I was youthful and svelte. I was tall, skinny and fast.
I relished hill climbs, hair-raising descents, epic treks. I acquired a reputation as a glutton for punishment and for leading my peers on unexpected bushwhacking episodes. I was a young man in a mountain biking [...]

No Comments »
Filed under: MTB, Personal Stories

Riding out the Great Winter of 08

From the March, 2008 issue

by Brian Sather
This winter in the La Grande area of Oregon, we had lots of snow. There was a seemingly endless cycle of snow and wind. Many of our roads and highways, including I-84, were closed numerous times from heavy snowfall and drifting. People who live in frequent snow areas like ours know the extra [...]

No Comments »
Filed under: Advice, Eastern Oregon, MTB

The yoga of mountain biking

From the August, 2007 issue

Ellee Thalheimer
I roared down the trail (I say “roared,” but, between you and me, I probably wasn’t going all that fast) trying to keep up with Laura in Tillamook State Forest. At one point, I was cursing her, the trail, my stupid egg beater pedals, and the dumb guy who passed us in a [...]

2 Comments »
Filed under: Advice, Health, MTB

Inside Black Rock

From the August, 2007 issue

How mountain biking enthusiasts and land agencies worked together to create an Oregon freeriding mecca
by Tom Baldinger
Black Rock Mountain Bike Area is a set of mountain bike trails outside Falls City, Oregon. The tale behind it is unique and a good lesson for other mountain bike clubs around the country. In the early 1990s, most [...]

2 Comments »
Filed under: MTB, Willamette Valley

They don’t call it the Test of Endurance for nothing

From the July, 2007 issue

by Mike Ripley
Words can barely describe what took place and what it took to finish the 3rd annual Test of Endurance 50 presented by Mudslinger Events and Cyclotopia of Corvallis. The event brought together 128 men and women—from weekend racing warriors to adventure-seeking trail riders—in the coastal foothills northwest of Mary’s Peak. The Test of [...]

No Comments »
Filed under: MTB, Racing, Willamette Valley

K-Man interviews the Deckerator

From the July, 2007 issue

(T. Kenji Sugahara interviews Carl Decker, of Giant/Pearl Izumi)
by T Kenji Sugahara

K-Man: To get us started, let’s get a little background info from you. Where were you born, what are your vital stats, what lives in your backyard…
Deckerator: I’m 6’tall, 160 lbs, bald hair, blue eyes, 32 years of age. I’ve been a [...]

No Comments »
Filed under: Interviews, MTB, Racing