Read Part II – Sycamore Canyon: On the Heels of Greats if you missed last week’s installment. Mount Palomar: Herding the Kids Riding up Mt. Palomar outside of San Diego All of those training climbs and existential crises on the ascents and descents around Santa Barbara and Point Mugu paid off in full in the […]
Mountain lakes have pristine, untouched beauty all year, but there’s something especially magical about seeing them during the winter. When they freeze, and the landscape becomes blanketed in snow, the views could not get any more enchanting. It’s like getting to see a whole new side of them, and even though it’s a little more […]
The snow began falling as we hit Pateros and climbed the Methow Valley Highway. The light flurries obfuscated the distance. “Deer!” I swerved across the yellow lines and back, feeling lucky we hadn’t seen any cars heading down the valley yet. I guess most Methow residents settle in before Saturday night winter storms. Right before […]
Read Part I – Gibraltar: The Solo Climb if you missed last week’s installment. Sycamore Canyon: On the Heels of Greats The approach to Sycamore Canyon Southern California – specifically, a little park off the coast between Ventura and Malibu – isn’t where you’d assume the great mountain biking happens. But Sycamore Canyon in Point Mugu State Park […]
Cabins provide a cozy escape no matter what time of year it is. In the winter, when the weather turns cold, there’s nothing like curling up inside a log cabin in the middle of nowhere, away from the chaos and worries of everyday life, even if it’s just for a couple of days. Or in […]
Southern California calls to mind palm trees, beaches, Hollywood Boulevard, and juice cleanses. At its most athletic, one might picture celebrity-studded hikes in Topanga Canyon or pull-ups on the rings at Muscle Beach in Venice, surrounded by jocks with biceps bigger than a cyclist’s waist. But if you pan out, you’ll notice that the landscape […]
Reading about an avalanche death causes a flood of emotion – sorrow for the loss, pain and anger from those close to the deceased, fear and uncertainty as you run through the list of people you love that call the backcountry home. Then the analytical mind kicks into gear. What happened? Where were they riding? […]
Mud. Frites. Beer. Thousands of screaming fans. It’s not a bad time to be a bike racer – or, in my case, a racer-turned-team-manager getting the chance to soak it all in. The mandatory fan snack If you’re not familiar with the sport of cyclocross, imagine steeplechase for bikes: It’s a 7-minute course packed with […]
This is the fifth and final installment of a series of articles examining protection of Cedar Mesa and the proposed Bears Ears National Monument. On my first day as a ranger I climbed the Bears Ears. Visible more than 100 miles away from my home in New Mexico, they stood like two beacons above the desert, […]
This is the fourth installment of a series of articles examining protection of Cedar Mesa and the proposed Bears Ears National Monument. When it comes to protecting the land, archaeology is the problem from hell. Ruins deteriorate and crumble away, vulnerable to animal disturbance, erosion, and weathering. Looters and vandals can destroy sites just as […]
