Rebecca Ruiz of Forbes investigates the starkly beautiful landscapes, natural history, and challenging trail riding opportunities near Fruita, CO.

“Embedded in the valley floor and its cliffs are shark teeth and dinosaur fossils. To the south ordinary-looking hills are a false front for the topography of the majestic Colorado National Monument. Also unseen are the hundreds of miles of mountain bike trails carved into the landscape.”

photo credit: Tim Brink

Scottish pro rider Danny MacAskill in Chamonix, France filming his upcoming trick film Perfect Moment.

Produced by watch26.tv

• Riding San Francisco’s Sunday streets: San Francisco Chronicle
• 5 Mountain bike trails near Pittsburgh: About.com
• Transportation Department embracing bikes: New York Times
• Fargo Street–one of L.A.’s sharpest grades: Los Angeles Times
• Academic courses in downhill biking? BBC News

Adam Riser of Backcountry Beacon helps tune your mountain bike for the upcoming riding season, with attention to tubes/tires, brakes, air suspension, and the drivetrain: “Your drivetrain usually needs more love than anything else, so it’s a logical place to start. Kick it off by thoroughly oiling your chain, cassette, front chainrings, and rear derailleur cogs. This gets everything moving smoothly and lets you actually tune the derailleurs.”

Chris Akrigg takes his Mongoose Teocali on a ride through the Yorkshire moors.

Produced by Chris Akrigg

Downhill Freeride

Bicycle enthusiasts from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, known internationally as a top winter sports destination, are hoping in the next few years to begin leveraging the area’s already existing natural resources, in addition to adding “new trails, new terrain and, in turn, new events,” in a collective effort to market the town as a top biking destination.

“Facing a lengthy economic recession and lingering questions about the sustainability of summer tourism, and sitting atop what they swear are some of the nation’s best natural resources — summer or winter — leaders in Steamboat are seeking to add a second nickname: Bike Town USA,” writes Joel Reichenberger of Steamboat Today.

“‘Sounds corny to say synergy, or perfect storm, but it is the perfect storm,’ said Craigen, director of Routt County Riders. ‘…There’s been such a buzz in the positive direction and very little pushback. Maybe we can accelerate what might happen organically in the next 10 to 15 years into a three- to five-year plan.’”

photo credit: sharpneil

B.C. Filmmakers Derek Frankowski and Ryan Gibb are the vision behind Life Cycles, a mountain biking movie they have been shooting and editing for nearly three years. The philosophy behind the film has been to “spend time, not money… and look at what inspires people to bike.”

The filmmakers felt compelled to work with a wide selection of riders–Darren Berrecloth, Matt Hunter, Cam McCaul, Brandon Semenuk, and others. “Every rider in the movie is there for a specific reason and there is something about their riding style that we want to highlight. We want the movie to feel balanced, we don’t want too much of one aspect of riding,” says Ryan Gibb in Pinkbike.

Produced by Life Cycles

Saturday is “blowout day”: portrait of local UK rider (Rob from Plymouth, England) as part of Trunk Films Census mountain biking project–a film about the unknown riders of the UK mountain biking community.

“We’re all just grasping for the same thing… to get out on a Saturday and peddle through the forest,” Rob.

Produced by Trunk Films

Riders Lane and Miles Paxton ride trails during “Sandpoint Bike Week” in Northern Idaho.

Production by Seven.B Media

Mountian Biking, Kootenays

John Bradley of Outside investigates the Wilderness Act of 1964 and the long history of excluding mountain bikers from “this country’s 170,000 square miles of Wilderness.”

“Through years of misinformation, mountain bikes have gotten lumped in with ATVs, snowmobiles, and other maligned vehicles by people citing environmental concerns. But on several different metrics—erosion, runoff, soil compaction, loss of vegetation—study after study has found the trail impact of mountain bikers to be equal to or less than that caused by hikers, and far less than equestrians.”

The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA)–an advocacy group from Boulder, Colorado–is doing its best to stem the tide: “IMBA works with environmental groups, land agencies, and legislators to create nuanced ‘companion designations’ for new Wilderness areas. These congressional designations, like National Conservation Area, National Recreation Area, and National Protection Area, offer many of the same safeguards as Wilderness regulations but without the bike ban.”

photo credit: Courtney Nash