Bicycling Issue 1 2022

On my first ride without training wheels, I remember coasting downhill in a parking lot. Since I didn’t quite understand the concept of coaster brakes, I attempted to Flintstone the bike to a halt. I didn’t stop in time, hit a tall curb, and ejected myself over the bars. That laid the groundwork for the next 40 years of my cycling life. ALSO: While I ride for my community and my friends in cycling, I mainly ride for myself. Always remember to do what makes you feel fulfilled and not necessarily what others want or expect you to be.…

PRODUCTSI’M USING RIGHT NOW GREATEST RIDE OF MY LIFE… First time riding Bug Springs Trail on Mt. Lemmon in Tucson. The hike-abike sections are brutal, but the way back down is stupendously good. OOPS! I once crashed before a group ride even started. With everyone watching, I rolled up, hit a bit of sand, lost the front wheel, and over I went—shout-out Southwest Collegiate Cycling Conference retreat 2018. HOW I CROSS-TRAIN Rock climbing is one of my favorite activities. It’s a great way to meet new people and build upper-body strength. UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS IN THE SADDLE Barreling through the streets of Tucson, Arizona, on my fixed-gear bike back in college. Whether it was mashing on the pedals or whipping skids, those who ride fixed will know what I’m talking about. HOW CYCLING CHANGED ME Cycling opened my eyes to the…

PRODUCTS I’M USING RIGHT NOW GO-TO RECOVERY ROUTINE I do just about nothing on recovery days—maybe walk my dog or stretch. It helps my brain reset and gives me time to do other things I like to do. BIGGEST CHALLENGE Burnout. A few years ago, I let my identity get too wrapped up in my cycling performance and ended up not wanting to ride at all. It’s taken me a long time to work through it, and there’s still stuff I struggle with, but I’m enjoying riding again—and I’m a lot better now at choosing what I let have power over my brain. HOWL AT THE MOON In July, I planned a “full moon” ride with two of my favorite lady mountain bikers. We rode to the top of a local trail and shed our clothes…

PERRY DROR, 67 ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA KEEP TURNING THE CRANKS TOUGHEST RIDE OF MY LIFE The 2010 Blue Ridge Breakaway. I rode a metric century that was 20 miles in nice weather plus 42 miles in cold, driving rain. (Many people in the full century had to quit when the Blue Ridge Parkway leg of the ride was closed after some riders got hypothermia.) I was repeatedly asked by support vehicles if I wanted to be ferried to the finish, but I was determined to complete the ride and managed to do so without getting lost. BTW, it was not only my first Blue Ridge Breakaway, but the first Blue Ridge Breakaway ever. DREAM RIDE PARTNER One is my very good friend Tony Hauser, a lifelong cyclist who continually challenges himself with epic unsupported rides. He…

One cool thing about gravel riding is how it exposes us to new and wild places—like, must-carry-bear-spray kind of wild. I was reminded of this last summer during The Last Best Ride, a gravel event in Whitefish, Montana, home to grizzly bears, huckleberries, and the ultimate mash-up: huckleberry bear claws. Whitefish is a resort town in the Rocky Mountains and a gateway to Glacier National Park. The name of the event comes from a 1990 book written by William Kittredge and Annick Smith, The Last Best Place, which is an endearing term used by Montanans to refer to their state. On a 60-mile pre-event shakeout ride through the west side of Glacier, we stopped halfway through at the Polebridge Mercantile & Bakery, a rustic-looking general store that’s served the North Fork community…

IAN DILLEP.26 → “Interviewing via Zoom kinda sucks but Hannah filled me with hope for the future,” says Dille, whose work has been featured in Outside and FloBikes. He profiled freestyle BMX sensation Hannah Roberts on her road to the Olympics this past summer, and the role she continues to play in bridging the sport’s gender equity gap. “She beamed, holding up her medal.” TIMOTHY NWACHUKWU P.36 → Nwachukwu, a sports photographer for Getty Images, photographed five Black and Latinx cyclists as they rode 1,100 miles from Mobile, Alabama, to Washington, D.C., along the Underground Railroad route. “It was apparent how much of a toll it took on them,” he says. “But the impact of their journey on people was powerful to witness firsthand, and it was mind-blowing, considering where we were in…