PHOTO OF THE YEAR
Even for writers, there are times when words fail to convey the complete scope of an experience. In these instances photography proves a powerful tool. Bike publishes many such images, but the Best Photo of 2009 captures the sense of visual nirvana photographer Sterling Lorence experienced while riding through the heart of Iceland with Matt Hunter, Joe Schwartz and Andrew Shandro.
SOUTH
The South is often reduced to clichés and is generally misunderstood by those who live outside it. But what’s the riding like? That simple question drove us to venture below the Mason-Dixon Line in search of answers. Starting in New Orleans and winding east, we set out to explore one of the country’s most overlooked regions. The quality of the characters we met along the way was matched only by the caliber of trails they showed us. Some were defiantly scratched into swampland, while others were built with church-group labor. We came looking for trails and found an under-exposed mountain bike scene with its own wild and exotic singletrack.
TEN FOR ‘10
Every few years, a dozen wild women converge on a highly sought-after singletrack destination for a few days of riding, camping, boob jokes and bacchanalia. After a half a decade ban, the group returns to Moab for their rendition of Girls Gone Wild II. To find out exactly what happens when 12 girls run wild, Bike embedded our own beer-swilling, football-loving, hairy-chested correspondent among the girls. Would adding a man to the equation erode the female camaraderie? Or would the girls leave the dude’s machismo on the side of the trail in a swirl of dust and pink boa feathers? Read on to find out how our intrepid reporter fared. (110) (more…)