Monday, December 31, 2012

Riding the Top 10 MTB Trails in the World, Part 2


After riding the top 10 mountain bike trails in the world as ranked by users on Singletracks.com, I thought I’d take some time to review my initial impressions of those trails and reflect on them based on my perspective today.

Click here to read the full blog post.

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Sunday, December 30, 2012

3 Reasons Why Winter is Mountain Biking Season

My road biking compatriots tell me that we have some of the best road riding on the East Coast here in Dahlonega, Georgia. Since the local mountains were once the most challenging stage in the Tour De Georgia and are now home to the popular Six Gap Ride (drawing 2,500 riders), guess I believe them. Still, when the winter makes its annual appearance, many riders who primarily roll on the pavement take to the woods… and here’s why: Click here to read the full article.

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Saturday, December 29, 2012

What Makes an Epic Mountain Bike Ride


The word “epic” has been entirely overused in recent days, and especially in mountain biking circles. It seems like every time I ask a rider how his ride or the trail was, the classic response is either “It was epic dude!” or “Man, it was so gnarly!”

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Friday, December 28, 2012

The Best Singletracks MTB Articles of 2012

2012 has been an awesome year here on the Singletracks.com blog, even if I do say so myself! We have published hundreds of original destination features, gear reviews, how-tos, race reports, news articles, and more. We’ve also revamped the blog design to provide a cleaner look and better interaction in the comments. Since even my memory of what we published earlier this year gets hazy, here’s a list of just a few of the best blog posts and series that we’ve published this year: Click here to read the full recap.

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Monday, December 24, 2012

Riding the Top 10 MTB Trails in the World, Part 1


As many of you may know, I spent almost two months this summer traveling the nation and riding my mountain bike. One of my main goals when I was out west this summer was to ride any of the trails on our top 10 best mountain bike trails list that I hadn’t ridden yet.

Our list is constantly changing based on user ratings and other factors computed by our ranking algorithm, and some of the trails I went out of my way to ride this summer are no longer even ranked in the top 10. However, a few weeks ago I went and took another look at the list and realized that I’ve now ridden the 10 best mountain bike trails in the world, as ranked by Singletracks.com!

I thought it would be interesting to take a look at what my initial impressions were of these 10 trails, a photo that I took out on the trail (if any), and what I really think of these trails now that I can look back on them with the clarity that retrospection provides.

Click here to read the full blog post.

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Sunday, December 23, 2012

Trail Tuesday: Soquel Demonstration Forest, Santa Cruz, California

I think the reason so many San Francisco riders want to claim the Demo Forest as their own is that it is just so good! Demo Forest is home to the only legal downhill/freeride trails in the region… so if you are into pure XC riding, you’ll probably want to pass on this place. Read the rest of this blog post here.

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Saturday, December 22, 2012

Recent POD on Tripleblaze.com


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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

How To Turn Your Strava Data into a Usable Mountain Bike Trail Map

The massive popularity of Strava has changed the way many of us analyze data from our trail rides and has even changed how some people ride their mountain bikes. What some people don’t seem to realize, however, is that the data you collect via your Strava app can be used for much more than just proving that you’re actually the fastest rider to the top of the hill. Read the full article here.

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Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Recent PODs on Singletracks.com



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Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Ecyclingstore.com MTB Jersey and Shorts Review

It’s no secret: mountain biking can be an expensive sport at times. With the economy as rocky as it has been, it can be tough to keep up with the latest and greatest bike gear and components. Add in the fact that normally when you spend more money you get a better product, and it makes it even harder to cut back. However, every now and then a product comes along whose quality belies its price. Enter Ecyclingstore.com. Read the full review here!

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Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Recent PODs on Singletracks.com





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Monday, December 3, 2012

Final Review: Airborne Goblin 29er v2.0


In the initial “On Test” blog post I mentioned all of the modifications that Airborne has made to v2.0 of the Goblin based on what they learned from their experiences with v1.0. While some of these changes were large and others were small, when added together they equaled a very different ride out on the trail!

Click here to read the full review!

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Saturday, December 1, 2012

Recent PODs on Tripleblaze.com



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Friday, November 30, 2012

Recent PODs on Singletracks.com






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Thursday, November 29, 2012

Liberty Mountain Trail System: A True Diamond in the Rough


If ever there was an under-acclaimed trail system, a network of trails that flies way, way below the radar, it is the Liberty Mountain Trail System in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Click here to read the full blog post!

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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

On Test: Airborne Goblin 29er V 2.0


Still, one of the main bikes in my stable is the original version of the Airborne Goblin, and I use that bike to test many of the products and components I get in for review. When I heard that Airborne was releasing the latest rendition of the Goblin this fall, I knew that I had to check out the updates!

I’m pleased to announce that I was one of the first people to throw my leg over a production Goblin, so the scoop doesn’t get any fresher than this:

Click here to read the full blog post.

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Monday, November 26, 2012

Top 3 Mountain Biking Tips

The relation of mountain biking to road biking/cycling fascinates me. On one hand, they each seem to be just a different side to the same biking coin. But on the other hand, mountain biking is oftentimes so radically specialized when compared to road biking that it seems like a different sport entirely. Since these sports are so different, transitioning from the road to the trail can be a daunting task. Specifically, while road riders often bring an amazing fitness base to the mountain bike trail, the technical side of the sport usually proves to be challenging. While I could write for days about mountain bike skills, here are the three most basic mountain biking techniques that you should have in your arsenal: Read the rest of this article here.

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Sunday, November 25, 2012

Trail Tuesday: Bent Creek, Asheville, NC

Bent Creek has been on my ride wishlist for a very long time. I’ve heard so many rave reviews of this trail system that my mouth started to water at the mere whisper of the words “Bent Creek,” but I had yet to taste the sweetness for myself. Until now. Click here to read the rest of this ride report.

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Saturday, November 24, 2012

Mountain Bike PRO Cycling Computer App Powered by Runtastic

I rarely use my GPS unit anymore–partly because it has been on the fritz, and partly because I hate carrying a different gadget for everything. Carrying an iPhone is just so much easier, and so I was on the lookout for the perfect GPS app to log my forays into the wilderness. I’ve tried just about everything on the market, from MapMyRide to Strava to AllSport LE… and many more. Finally, after a couple of email nudges from one of the Runtastic marketing people, I gave the Mountain Bike PRO Cycling Computer App (powered by Runtastic) a try… and I’ve fallen in love! Click here to read the rest of this article.

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Friday, November 23, 2012

Smartphones on the Trail: All Your Mountain Biking Electronics in One Package

Some people denounce the smartphone as a technological leash forever tying those who own them to the world of digital screens and the internet. I, on the other hand, choose to think of my smartphone as the ultimate liberation from the burden of mountain biking electronics. Click here to read the rest of the article.

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Thursday, November 22, 2012

Pearl Izumi Octane SL II MTB Shoe Review

Pearl Izumi is famous for making high-quality apparel for running, road biking, and, of course, mountain biking. While you can easily get decked out in Pearl gear from head to toe, the company is especially known for their shoes. Read the rest of the blog post here.

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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Recent PODs on Tripleblaze.com




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Saturday, November 10, 2012

Recent POD on Singletracks.com


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Friday, November 9, 2012

Recent PODs on Tripleblaze.com





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Saturday, October 27, 2012

Recent PODs of Mine on Tripleblaze.com




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Monday, October 22, 2012

Recent PODs of Mine on Tripleblaze.com




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Saturday, October 20, 2012

Yakima Doubledown Ace 4 Review


This summer my wife and I undertook a road trip of epic proportions. Traveling from Georgia to California and stopping at many places along the way, our travels lasted for almost two months and involved about 600 miles of dirty singletrack under my mountain bike tires and about 7,000 miles of pavement under the tires of my Toyota T100 pickup truck. Such an epic journey called for a reliable bike rack, and the Yakima Doubledown Ace 4 proved to be just such a rack.

Click on over to Singletracks.com to read the entire review.

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Friday, October 19, 2012

A few recent photos features as PODs on Tripleblaze.com





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Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Some PODs that I Took for Tripleblaze.com




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Greg Heil is the Editor in Chief for Singletracks.com. He's been writing and publishing online since before blogging existed.

About This Blog

Mountain biking, plain and simple. Trail reviews, ride reports, and philosophical musings induced by delirium from grinding up way too many vertical feet.

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