Apps make it easy to map our own cycling routes, but there鈥檚 something special about pedaling along a rail-trail. The new PBS documentary, From Rails to Trails, follows the 60-year fight to convert these once-forgotten train lines into peaceful, car-free corridors that allow us to move at the pace of our thoughts and soak up the scenery one pedal stroke at a time.

I fell for rail-trails during the pandemic when I started logging miles on Virginia鈥檚 45-mile , which I can pick up near my house. Before long, I was ready for something bigger: the 150-mile that听stretches from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland, and forms part of the ambitious , a cross-country route that will one day connect Washington, D.C., to Seattle.

Rail-trails are more than bike paths. They鈥檙e connections between towns, travelers, and a bygone age of steam and steel. What鈥檚 more, pedaling through a century-old tunnel or across a weathered trestle bridge captures the quiet joy of self-propelled travel.

From the newly completed Adirondack Rail Trail to the ever-popular Trail of the Coeur d鈥橝lenes, these are seven of our top rail-trails to ride across the U.S.

Elroy-Sparta State Trail, Wisconsin

32.5 miles: Elroy to Sparta

Opened in 1965, the was the first completed rail-trail conversion. It paved the way for thousands more across the country, which today total more than 25,000 miles. This crushed limestone path winds through wetlands, farmlands, and wooded ridges, connecting five bike-friendly small towns along its 32.5-mile route.

Bring a headlamp to walk your bike through three 1870s railroad tunnels, each hand-dug by crews armed with little more than picks and shovels. Between Norwalk and Sparta, the longest tunnel stretches nearly three-quarters of a mile. Cool air swirls and dripping water echoes off the stone walls. In Kendall, the restored depot serves as the trail headquarters and houses a small railroad museum filled with historic photos and artifacts.

Don鈥檛 miss: About halfway along the trail, Norwalk makes a great lunch stop. Try Bailey鈥檚 Diner for tacos and tostadas. In Wilton, swing by the Hitchin鈥� Post for classic bar burgers and local brews.

Pro tip: A $5 daily or $25 annual state trail pass is required for cyclists 16 and older. Also, keep in mind that tunnels close each year from November 1 to April 30.

Illinois Prairie Path, Illinois

61 miles: Maywood to Aurora, Geneva, Batavia, and Elgin

The set the standard for suburban connectivity when it debuted in Chicago鈥檚 western suburbs in the mid-1960s. Today, its 61 miles of asphalt, crushed stone, and concrete link DuPage, Kane, and Cook Counties, serving as a reminder that you don鈥檛 need to leave the city to find open space and fresh air.

Start in Maywood on the main branch and follow the leafy route west to Wheaton where you can split off toward four westerly trailheads. Before branching out, stop at the Villa Park Historical Society, which operates a small museum and visitor center inside a restored depot. Along the way, take in sweeping prairies, shaded forests, and small-town streets lined with caf茅s and local shops.

Don鈥檛 miss: In Elmhurst, the Keith A Olson Prairie is a rare, thousand-year-old remnant of prairie preserved between two historic railroad lines.

Pro tip: Combine your bike ride with a Metra train trip for an easy car-free adventure into and out of Chicago鈥檚 western suburbs.

Island Line Trail, Vermont

13 miles: Burlington to South Hero

Few trails are as photogenic as Vermont鈥檚 . Starting on Burlington鈥檚 waterfront, this 13-mile route traces the shoreline before funneling riders onto the Colchester Causeway, a narrow, gravel path that stretches across Lake Champlain. Views of the Adirondacks to the west and the Green Mountains to the east, including Mount Mansfield, are simply spectacular.

Two and a half miles out, riders reach 鈥渢he Cut,鈥� a 200-foot gap bridged by the . A five-minute ferry ride deposits cyclists on South Hero Island. There, riders can sip wine at Snow Farm Vineyard or indulge in maple creemees and cider slushes at Allenholm Farm.

Don鈥檛 miss: Stop at Burlington鈥檚 lakefront parks. North Beach Park and Leddy Park boast sandy beaches, picnic areas, and snack bars perfect for a break from the bike.

Pro tip: The Island Line Bike Ferry operates from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The crossing is free, but donations are welcomed to keep this one-of-a-kind service up and running.

Flint Hills Trail, Kansas

118 miles: Osawatomie to Herington

Kansas may be famed for its wide-open plains, but the reveals a wilder, more varied side of the state. As in, rolling hills, limestone bluffs, and the largest remaining expanse of tallgrass prairie in North America. Spanning 118 miles, it鈥檚 Kansas鈥� longest rail-trail and a newly minted member of the Rails to Trails Conservancy鈥檚 Hall of Fame for 2025.

The rail-trail connects a dozen small towns and passes historic landmarks like the John Brown Museum State Historic Site where visitors can learn about the abolitionist鈥檚 efforts to make Kansas a free state, and Allegawaho Memorial Heritage Park, honoring the Kaw Nation. The trail traces nearly 100 miles of the Santa Fe National Historic Trail, a route that once carried traders, settlers, and dreamers westward during America鈥檚 frontier expansion.

Don鈥檛 miss: Ride in spring or early summer when Kansas prairies burst to life. It鈥檚 when hundreds of native wildflowers blanket the landscape beneath an endless blue sky.

Pro tip: Services are limited along the route. Carry extra water and snacks. Check trail conditions after heavy rain since the crushed-stone surface can soften.

Chief Ladiga and Silver Comet Trails, Alabama and Georgia

100 miles: Anniston, Alabama, to Smyrna, Georgia

Spanning two states and a century of rail history, the and connect to create one of the South鈥檚 most popular long-distance rides. The fully paved 100-mile route winds through pine forest, farmland, and the red-clay hills of Alabama鈥檚 Talladega National Forest before crossing into Georgia near the town of Cedartown.

In April 2025,听Chief Ladiga Trail completed a 6.5-mile extension into downtown Anniston, providing access to Amtrak and the Main Street district where riders can refuel at barbecue joints and breweries. With Alabama designating 2025 its official 鈥淵ear of the Trails,鈥� this rail-trail stands out as the centerpiece of a broader statewide initiative to connect all 67 counties by bike and foot.

Don鈥檛 miss: Snap photos beneath the arched gateway that marks the Alabama鈥揋eorgia border, a symbolic crossing that unites the two state trails.

Pro tip: Cedartown sits midway along the linked Silver Comet and Chief Ladiga Trails. Stop to grab a bite, spend the night, or explore the Cedartown Museum of Coca-Cola Memorabilia.

Trail of the Coeur d鈥橝lenes, Idaho

73 miles: Mullan to Plummer

Northern Idaho鈥檚 delivers one of the most scenic long-distance rides in the West. Stretching from Mullan to Plummer, this route follows a former rail line that once carried silver ore through Idaho鈥檚 rugged Silver Valley. Today, it鈥檚 a model of restoration and stewardship, a collaboration between the Coeur d鈥橝lene Tribe and the State of Idaho.

Part of the Great American Rail-Trail, this section winds through the historic mining towns of Wallace and Kellogg. Along the forested route, there are 20 developed trailheads, as well as 20 scenic waysides with picnic tables or benches. There are restrooms at more than a dozen stops.

Don鈥檛 miss: The Chatcolet Bridge is a historic swing bridge turned pedestrian span that offers first-rate views of Lake Coeur D鈥橝lene, Lake Chatcolet, and the St. Joe River Valley. And keep your eyes peeled for moose, especially between Medimont and Springston, where sightings are common between late-June and October.

Pro tip: Row 国产吃瓜黑料s, with headquarters in Coeur d’Alene, offers 4 and 5-day guided .

Adirondack Rail Trail, New York

34 miles: Lake Placid to Tupper Lake

Completed in phases, the officially opened in full in October 2025, linking Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, and Tupper Lake in New York鈥檚 scenic Tri-Lakes region. This 34-mile route features mostly smooth crushed stone, with a two-mile paved stretch through Saranac Lake, and offers views of forests, wetlands, and mountains, including Mount Jo and the High Peaks.

Welcoming trail towns make perfect pit stops. In Saranac Lake, refuel with a latte from Origin Coffee Co. on Main Street or linger on the patio at Bitters & Bones, a brewpub known for its burgers and flatbreads. In Tupper Lake, check out the beautifully restored train depot, which is now the starting point for scenic rides aboard the Adirondack Railroad鈥檚 Tupper Lake Explorer.

Don鈥檛 miss: Pop into Lake Placid Olympic Museum for Winter Games history, including Team USA parade uniforms through the years and original footage of the 1980 鈥淢iracle on Ice.鈥�

Pro tip: Shuttle services like and can drop you off at your starting point, making one-way rides easy and your adventure more flexible and scenic.

Erin Gifford began cycling rail-trails in 2020. She has completed several multi-day bikepacking trips on rail-trails, including the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage and the 57-mile New River Trail in Virginia.

The post More Than Bike Paths, These Rail-Trails Bring Back the Joy of Self-Propelled Travel appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

You’ve seen them in thrift stores and at garage sales. Heck, maybe you have one in the far recesses of your basement, a thick layer of dust building up on its rim brakes, grip shifters, and threadbare 26-inch tires.

I’m talking about early-nineties mountain bikes. Perhaps you’ve stared at one of these relics of cycling history and wondered: Did anyone really race this thing up and down a mountain?

The answer, of course, is yes. In the early nineties, the halcyon days of mountain biking, a cadre of American cyclists competed all over the world on these glorious if archaic machines. Ned Overend, John Tomac, Juli Furtado, Sara Ballantyne, and others dominated the World Cup and world championships of cross-country mountain biking back then, their neon spandex and ping pong ball-like helmets blurring across singletrack from Vail to Val d’Isere.

Americans invented the mountain bike, so it made sense that our athletes were the fastest.

Alas, this era of American dominance was short-lived. Within a few years of the Mountain Bike World Cup鈥檚 creation in 1990, European racers pushed the Americans to the back of the pack. With the new European era came new names to cheer for, , and yes, glorious new bike tech.

Years, then decades, flew by. The old bikes and old American heroes faded away.

In the aughts and teens, American women scored decent results, but the U.S. men lagged. I covered mountain biking for the cycling magazine VeloNews听from 2004 until 2009, and I wrote about the U.S. men as they tried to break their losing streak. I became an immediate fan of the sport, and I often wondered if I would live long enough to see an American man win鈥攍et alone dominate鈥攖he World Cup.

Times change and losing streaks end. On October 5, Christopher Blevins of Durango, Colorado, won the World Cup race in Lake Placid, New York. By winning, Blevins, 27, earned enough points to claim the entire World Cup title for cross-country mountain biking鈥攁 prize for season-long performance.听The last guy from the USA to win the听series was John Tomac back in 1991, the second year of the series.

Yep鈥攖hat was 34 years ago, back in the era of heavy bike frames, rim brakes, and 26-inch wheels.

“The World Cup overall was one of the biggest goals of my career,” Blevins after the race.”To prove to myself that I can have consistency throughout the year was a big achievement.”

Adding to his title, Blevins also won the short-track cross-country race and the World Cup title in that discipline, which was added to the series in 2022. In short, Blevins was the most successful racer of 2025 from the start of the season to the finish.

If anyone were to break the European stalemate, it was Blevins. He grew up in Durango, the same town where Overend, Tomac, Furtado, and other American racers lived and trained during the gilded age of American off-road racing. Durango also hosted the inaugural mountain biking world championships way back in 1990. The world championships听will return to Durango in 2030 for the 40th anniversary.

The town’s network of singletrack trails鈥攕ome of which were used during the 1990 worlds鈥攕tart in town and climb into the mountainsides above the city. The kids who grow up in Durango have access to Durango DEVO, a youth cycling program, which is perhaps the country’s best at getting kids to love bike racing.

I interviewed Blevins , when he was a budding star on the U.S. circuit. He told me that he grew up idolizing Durango’s famed mountain bikers like Tomac and Overend. He even loved the guys from later generations who were routinely spanked by the Europeans.

At the time, I became convinced that Blevins’ connection to mountain biking’s past would help him end the U.S. drought. You see, Blevins is a true cycling wunderkind, and since childhood,听he has been on the trajectory to cycling greatness. He could climb with the best, zip down rocky and technical trails better than almost anyone else, and also sprint, corner, and chase. He was a Swiss army knife of cycling talent.

But Blevins also kicked butt at road cycling, which forced him to make a crucial decision early in his career. Would he chase the Tour de France or the mountain biking World Cup?

In previous generations, during the so-called “Lance Era,” many of America’s best up-and-coming cyclists chose听the Tour over mountain bikes. The paycheck was bigger, the glory more substantial. This talent drain also contributed to the U.S. drought.

But Blevins stayed committed to Durango, to Tomac and Overend, and to mountain biking. He quit road cycling in his early twenties to focus on the World Cup. And now, that decision has paid off. I have no doubt that Blevins would have won a big road bike race or two by now鈥攁 huge accomplishment. Instead, he has etched his name into American cycling history as the guy who ended a multi-generational losing streak and returned the country of mountain biking’s origin to the top of the podium.

And who knows? Maybe the next Blevins was standing in the crowd at Lake Placid, or is lining up for the local races in Durango, ready to continue the American cycling tradition into the future.

“I don’t feel any different than the kids who were racing out here yesterday,” Blevins told reporters after his big win, referencing the kids’听races that went on the day before. “There is such a through-line, an organic process to get here.”

My colleagues at Pinkbike recently that Blevins rode to win the World Cup. It has all of the bells and whistles of modern mountain biking technology: a carbon-fiber frame, shock absorbers controlled via an electronic remote on his handlebars, 29-inch tubeless tires, hydraulic disc brakes, electronic shifters, and far too many other doodads to name.

But someday, this fancy bicycle will also exist as a relic of a bygone era, stored away in a basement, inspiring wonder and awe from those who gaze at its out-of-date technology. Some may ask: Did cyclists really race this thing on trails? My hope is that, when this day comes, the American legacy of Blevins winning mountain biking’s World Cup will still be going strong.

The post America鈥檚 34-Year Losing Streak in Mountain Bike Racing Finally Ends appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

My quadriceps burn like they’ve been dipped in chloric acid and sweat gushes down my nose and splashes onto my bicycle. I huff and puff and grit my teeth.

The pavement kicks upward and I feel the bite of the climb. I stare at the spinning rear cassette of the bicycle in front of me and try my hardest to ignore the riders on my left and right. My mind begins the agonizing countdown that every cyclist has, at some point, performed: If I continue at this pace, my entire body will explode in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, fiiiiive…

FOUR-THREE-TWO-ONE!

And then? Kaboom. My head slumps, my back arches, my pedal stroke becomes an uncoordinated bounce. The other cyclists surge past me as I slide backwards through the group. After a handful of seconds, I’m by myself, still pedaling my bicycle as hard as I can up this steep and awful road somewhere outside of Boulder, Colorado.

Another thought pops into my head: I woke up at the crack of dawn for this. And then another: This is supposed to be fun. I look up the road. The group chugs higher up the hillside. I’m getting no closer to it, but no farther away. My place in the peloton is back here in no-man’s land.

One final piece of psychological torture enters my mind:听Man, it didn’t used to be this way.听

The Group Ride Junkie

This past May, I returned to the Wednesday Morning Velo group ride here in Boulder after a three-year hiatus. My leave of absence was due to the usual scheduling conflicts that arise in middle age: parenting, work, attempting to be a somewhat decent spouse, and sleep.

For those unfamiliar with group rides, a simple primer: Dozens, no听hundreds, of loosely-organized bicycle rides similar to Wednesday Morning Velo dot the country. Cyclists meet at the same place at the same time on the same day of the week. Everyone knows the route. People go hard and push the pace and try to听beat each other to an agreed-upon stopping point. It’s like Fight Club, only with way more Lycra.

Is it a race? Well, no鈥攂ut kinda sorta yeah? There’s no official finish line or podium or medals. Nothing more than bragging rights and personal satisfaction are at stake. Most of these rides end with a celebratory beer, a coffee, or maybe just a fist bump and a “see you next week.”

I love these rides, and I became a junkie for them decades ago. As a college kid at UC Santa Cruz, I avoided Friday night parties so that I’d be ready for the Harbor Ride on Saturday morning. In my mid-twenties, I’d skip out of work early to make the nightly Bus Stop Ride here in Boulder. I learned about the backroads of San Diego County from the Swamis Ride. And some of my fondest memories of living in New York City in my early thirties involve painful mornings on the in Westchester County.

But my love of these rides is also tied to an obvious trend鈥擨 was usually one of the strongest riders in the group way back then.

Alas, that’s not the case anymore. A lot changed during my recent break. Well, nothing changed with group rides, but a lot changed with me. I have entered my mid-forties, added a few pounds, and lost a few points from my VO2 max (the rate at which my body consumes oxygen when exercising). In total, I have gotten slower.

I learned this fact in humiliating fashion throughout the summer on Wednesday Morning Velo. My perception of myself had not caught up with reality. I got dropped again and again, and spent most Wednesdays fighting to hold on to the group. More often than not, I was the lone weirdo dangling off the back of the group. Not strong enough to stay in the bunch, and too dumb to pack it up and go home.

There’s a longstanding proverb in amateur bike racing: results on the group ride don’t count. That may be true. But every competitive cyclist I know has basked in the personal glory that comes with winning the group ride. It’s a fleeting feeling, but one that is very real.

From Junkie to Weirdo

I know what you’re thinking:听who cares about your results on the group ride? It’s a fair question, and of course, I have an answer. I care! Deeply! Blame it on vanity or my own insecurities鈥攇etting dropped sucks. It’s confirmation that my days of glory are over. My place in the pecking order has forever changed.

Reckoning with one’s athletic mortality, of course, is something that every weekend warrior and elite endurance athlete must, at some point, do. For me, it forced me to reexamine my lifelong affection for group rides, and I spent ample time this summer reflecting on听this, usually after getting dropped.

I’d ask myself: Why the hell do I still do these darned rides?听

My answer? My affection for group rides isn’t just about being the strongest. It it about the adventure of racing over familiar and unfamiliar roads, of learning the geography of an area by riding across the landscape at top speed. I also love the camaraderie of meeting other cyclists on the ride.

Throughout my time in group rides, I got to know the people who made up the social fabric of the local cycling scene. Sure, when the pace got really fast, many of these people faded into the background and became the ride’s early flotsam and jetsam. But they were always there, week in, week out.听 And many of them had been stalwarts on the local ride for decades.

Some of these characters were especially eccentric, and everyone on the ride knew them by nicknames: Big Ring Bob, Puya, Montgomery, Randy, MoneyGram. They told dirty jokes, belted out songs, and sparked up conversation with everyone. They were the reason people kept showing up.

No, they weren’t the fastest, but they were the most memorable. I can close my eyes and still picture the 50-year-old weirdos I rode alongside in Santa Cruz 25 years ago. They had a huge impact of my love of cycling, even if I spent most of my efforts trying to drop them.

After detonating one too many times this summer on the Wednesday Morning Velo ride, it finally dawned on me. I have graduated from the ranks of group ride junkie, to group ride winner, to group ride weirdo. My quirk? Going too hard and getting dropped and then riding just off the back all the way to the top of the hill. It’s the natural progression that we cyclists must take in life.

And thus, I’m already preparing for the group rides in 2026 and beyond. It’s going to get weird.

Fred Dreier used to be fast but now he鈥檚 slow. He鈥檚 still processing it.听

The post I鈥檝e Become the Slow Weirdo on My Local Group Ride. I鈥檓 OK With It. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

I got my period for the first time when I was 13 years old. I was at summer camp. At the time, it was the worst thing that could possibly happen. I was scared of tampons and too embarrassed to talk to anyone about it. I went to the bathroom and cried.

I continued to hate having a period for a long time. I thought it was gross and annoying. I had always played sports, and dreaded my period interfering with my activities. Like many other , I developed an eating disorder. I had grown up seeing so many images of athletes who were extremely thin, and so in my mind, being thin was part of being successful. I didn鈥檛 fully understand my own body; therefore, I didn鈥檛 know how to take care of it. I ran varsity cross-country in college, but was wildly underweight. Eventually, I stopped having a period altogether.

It took me a long time to fully understand that starving myself did not make me faster; it actually made me slower, and more often than not, injured. I eventually taught myself how to fuel properly and how to be honest with myself about nutrition.

I was never an elite runner, but I was incredibly disciplined. However, my introverted nature made it difficult for me to ask for help. But I did eventually ask for鈥攁nd got鈥攖he help I needed, which has been an ongoing process. I found a therapist who specializes in treating athletes who have developed eating disorders.

One thing I鈥檝e found to be pivotal in moving forward is talking with other women, especially those who have had similar experiences. It’s so helpful to be able to speak with others who understand some of the things I鈥檝e been through.

I Tried Synrgy Cycling鈥攁 Female Coaching Program

Because I love working with other women, I was eager to sign up for 鈥攁 training program that bills itself as 鈥渇emale cycling coaching.鈥� Based out of Girona, Spain, Synrgy was founded four years ago by and Will Harper.

Many women and girls have grown used to always being coached by men, which often means not feeling comfortable talking about their bodies or their menstrual cycle as it relates to performance.

Twisk is a former World Tour professional cyclist who identified a gap in coaching tailored to the unique physiological needs of female athletes. Domestic pro-turned-coach Will Harper, whom I spoke with, came up with the concept after asking a long-time female client how her menstrual cycle affected her training. When the athlete replied that no one had ever asked her that, Harper knew there was an opportunity to coach in a different way. However, he also knew that the coaches all needed to be women so that clients would feel fully at ease. Today, Harper stays mainly behind the scenes, and Van Twisk and the team of women coaches are the face鈥攁nd heart鈥攐f the program.

Women athletes work with women coaches, and that alone can offer relief for some. Even today, many women and girls have grown used to always being coached by men, which often means not feeling comfortable talking about their bodies or their menstrual cycle as it relates to performance. When I was running in college in the early 2000s, my teammates and I would tell each other how awkward and embarrassing having a period was, so much so that many of us felt the need to hide it, especially if we wanted to be taken seriously as athletes. It was less about specific symptoms like cramping or feeling weaker, and more about not wanting to stand out. We wanted to be strong and be perceived as such.

Synrgy puts the menstrual cycle front and center and works to break through some of the stigma that exists around menstruation. They discuss monthly symptoms with their athletes and then use that feedback to design a training plan. Pro cyclist and Synrgy coach听 says she wishes this kind of coaching philosophy had been around when she was advancing听in her career as a young cyclist. 鈥淲e just basically did exactly the same things that the men did.鈥�

The听menstrual cycle becomes a bit of a superpower.

Coaching around the menstrual cycle isn鈥檛 about doing less; it鈥檚 about strategizing to do more when athletes feel their strongest鈥攖his is what鈥檚 known as cycle syncing, according to . While there鈥檚 to back up the benefits of cycle syncing, you can take stock of how you feel at all phases of your cycle. If you understand your cycle and which hormones are occurring, you can potentially time your workouts for when you have more energy to perform at your best. For example, when you鈥檙e actively bleeding (during menses), the body is likely to feel more fatigued, so low-impact exercises are often the way to go. In this way, the menstrual cycle becomes a bit of a superpower.

One drawback, of course, is that you can鈥檛 always plan for your races to be at the perfect time according to your cycle. It would be nice to always have races happen during the week that you feel your best, instead of the week you feel your worst, but that鈥檚 obviously not possible. I talked with Barnes about this quite a bit. 鈥淚f you know a race is coming up during a week that you鈥檒l feel not so great, we plan for that. We add in extra rest and do more things like stretching,鈥� she says.

My Experience with Synrgy Cycling

I鈥檝e been cycling recreationally and for fitness for about ten years. I鈥檝e joined group rides and participated in numerous events, but I had never been coached in cycling. Because I wasn鈥檛 鈥渆lite,鈥� or even very serious about competing when I started riding, I never felt the need for a coach. But in January of this year, I reached out to Synrgy to see what they had to offer.

Women, especially those who are athletes, have often been made to feel like menstrual cycle-related symptoms are insignificant, or even made up, when in fact they are crucial to fully understanding what鈥檚 happening in the body.

Pricing

For those just getting started with coaching, the price may be a barrier for some. I signed up for four months of training, which included the cost of training with a coach, as well as access to , an app to track my workouts. The price changed slightly each month due to the exchange rate, but it averaged around $317 per month. To meet my dietary needs, Synrgy required me to use , an online store that sells products from top sports nutrition and gear brands. This cost a little over $400. I also had to register for the race, which cost $180. The total was approximately $1,860.

Getting Matched with a Coach

Barnes sent me an email letting me know that I鈥檇 be working with her to train for a few months leading up to a gravel race set to take place in April 2025 near where I live in California: the , part of the Grasshopper 国产吃瓜黑料 Series鈥攖he first and longest-running series of gravel and mixed-terrain races.

My goal was not to finish the race鈥檚 76-mile dirt-and-paved route by a certain time or beat others; instead, it was just to feel good and strong throughout the race. An additional goal became to learn how to properly fuel for longer efforts, and to prioritize hydration and nutrition.

My Coach Assessed My Medical and Fitness History

One of the first things I did with Barnes was answer several questions about my athletic history, my menstrual cycle, my experience with hormonal birth control, and my fitness goals. I then had a one-on-one Zoom call to discuss everything to make sure we were truly on the same page.

We听discussed how hydration and nutritional needs can fluctuate throughout the cycle, and that听听often occurs during the听听(the part of the menstrual cycle that precedes ovulation), when estrogen levels begin.听Additionally, higher progesterone levels in the luteal phase also 听core temperatures. These weeks can require different hydration demands, especially when performing in hot and humid conditions.

I鈥檝e never experienced a coaching situation where rest was so valued and prioritized.

Women, especially those who are athletes, have often been made to feel like menstrual cycle-related symptoms are insignificant, or even made up, when in fact they are crucial to fully understanding what鈥檚 happening in the body. Making training and fueling decisions based on different phases of the cycle can reveal an athlete鈥檚 true potential.

My Training Was 100 Percent Remote

The Synrgy model is entirely remote鈥攖hrough WhatsApp texting, a custom Training Peaks workout calendar with daily notes, and occasional video calls to check in with my coach. Even though Barnes was in London, on Central European Time, and I was in the U.S., on Pacific Time (we had an eight-hour time difference), we were still able to communicate regularly. I left notes about my workouts every day, and also let Barnes know how I felt or if I had questions about the written schedule.

Building Strength Was the First Goal

With about four months of training leading up to my event, I started working with Barnes in January on base miles and building strength to ramp up as the race got closer. For better or for worse, we had to contend with challenging weather in the earlier weeks of training, and then tons of travel鈥攎y husband and I are on a quest to find a new place to live鈥攍ater in the build. But it was all still possible with some flexibility and creativity.

The first months of training consisted of indoor trainer workouts, as well as trail running and gym sessions. I learned about different kinds of efforts, and often asked Barnes to explain things in basic terms, like: What鈥檚 the exact point of this workout? What does this mimic or prepare me for? What should I focus on the most? She always replied with insight I had never learned before, and tips for how to fuel. Each workout came with nutrition goals for use while on the bike, as well as instructions on how to pre-fuel and refuel after.

Barnes also readily adjusted workouts if I felt tired and needed an extra rest day. This became key later in the training, when some of my weeks were especially stacked. I appreciated knowing that the goal was to work very hard, but never to feel too overwhelmed or crushed. I鈥檝e never experienced a coaching situation where rest was so valued and prioritized.

Learning When My Body Needed Rest and When I Could Train Hard

I personally had several 鈥渁h-ha鈥� moments where I not only realized what was going on with my body, but I also realized that no one had ever explained it to me in terms of training and in terms of how to strategize training.

For me, in the week before my period, I often feel lethargic and like everything I do in training is much, much harder than it should be. Even when my heart rate doesn鈥檛 indicate any significant strain, rides seem tougher, and efforts feel like death. During those weeks, I often assume I鈥檝e lost all fitness and should give up.

For that phase of my cycle, Barnes gave me mainly endurance or steady rides: days where I focused on riding a certain amount of time, two hours, for instance. No structured workout, no intervals or high-intensity efforts, just getting time on the bike.

Then the following week, when estrogen increased ahead of the follicular phase, I often experienced a in energy, strength, and endurance. Barnes told me, 鈥淭his is the ideal phase for focusing on harder, more intense workouts, such as interval training, heavy lifting, or race simulation rides. Your body is more primed for strength-building and high-performance sessions.鈥� So that鈥檚 what we did. I started looking forward to those weeks when I could feel really good working hard.

My Training Ramped Up About Three Weeks Before Race Day

In the three weeks leading up to my race, we really ramped up training. I had several four-plus-hour rides, where I tried to tackle as much climbing as possible. I didn鈥檛 practice on the course, but somewhere nearby, so I had a good feel for the epic northern California fire roads that go straight up and straight down.

We also did a variety of pre-race preparations, with short sprints and openers. These were the kinds of things that I never knew to do on my own. In a race week lead-up, I鈥檇 likely just incorporate lots of rest. But working with Barnes, I was able to keep my legs prepared without overdoing volume.

Two Weeks Before Race Day

I had a video call with Barnes two weeks out, just to go over fuel and hydration strategy. We worked especially hard in the last month to ramp up carbs and really nail hydration.

In the heaviest weeks, I think I sent Barnes about a million versions of: I鈥檓 so sick of eating sugar. She always replied with ways to change up my carbs so that I wouldn鈥檛 get burned out. 鈥淭ry bites of pancakes or bagels.”

Race Week (I Got the Flu)

The week of the race, Barnes sent lots of reminders about eating well and getting good sleep. Unfortunately, I developed the flu just five days before the race. Barnes suggested getting lots of vitamin C and zinc, and dropped my pre-race rides down to full rest days. Even though we had talked about what to do in hot temperatures, a cold front moved through Northern California, and the race week ended up being foggy, damp, and cool. As disappointing as it was, my illness didn鈥檛 improve enough for me to have the confidence to race all-out.

I talked with Barnes about dropping down to a shorter distance race. She ultimately let me decide and emphasized my health above all. I decided to see how I felt.

Race Day

Race morning was once again cold and foggy. I started with the lead group on the long course, but only one big climb in, and I knew my body just didn鈥檛 have it. I hadn鈥檛 recovered enough from the illness. It was difficult to do, but unlike past experiences, I actually listened to my body. At mile 16, I made the turn for the medium course.

As I pedaled the remaining 20 miles of the 36-mile medium-distance race, with as much effort as my legs could muster, I reflected on what I had learned. More than anything, I thought about how often we, as women, are encouraged to ignore our bodies: to hide them, and quiet them, and normalize them to fit into an ideal mold that isn鈥檛 realistic. I thought about 13-year-old me, who was scared of a changing body, and what it would mean for running, biking, and playing hard. Luckily, I鈥檝e realized that change is good. Evolution, growth, age. It can be hard, but also so, so fun.

And even in my race, it was tempting to push through to get the result. But for what? To prove what? I want to be strong, I want to achieve my goals, but sometimes doing less is the only way to eventually do more.

Overall, the experience working with Barnes and the Synrgy team made me realize that coaching doesn鈥檛 have to be so serious. Sure, we all have goals that we want to take seriously, but the actual day-in, day-out can be flexible, relaxed, and fun. You can listen to your body and still work hard. You can take more rest and still do big things. And more than anything, you don’t need to obsess over numbers and stats and unrealistic outcomes. You can be the best you with a little help, support, and encouragement.

Want more听国产吃瓜黑料听health stories?听. Ready to push yourself? Enter MapMyRun鈥檚听听running challenge.

The post I Used Synrgy Cycling to Train Around My Period鈥擧ere鈥檚 How I Performed on Race Day appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

The heart of the Midwest might be best known for its warm hospitality and sprawling landscape, but Minnesota has also emerged as a for all types and levels of riding. Whether you鈥檙e a seasoned rider or just discovering the sport, Minnesota is two-wheel heaven.

What gives the state its reputation among cyclists? Michael Wojcik, executive director of the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota (BikeMN), has the answers. Growing up on northern Minnesota鈥檚 , Wojcik says, 鈥淢y freedom and quality of life were directly tied to my ability to access places independently on my bicycle.鈥� While his early rides took place on narrow six-inch shoulders alongside logging trucks, much has changed since then. Today, Minnesota leads the nation in safe cycling infrastructure and advocacy.

For these reasons and more, Minnesota deserves a spot on your must-visit list. Here鈥檚 why and which trails you won鈥檛 want to miss.

国产吃瓜黑料: What do you enjoy most about biking Minnesota?

Michael Wojcik: I love the diversity of Minnesota鈥檚 paved , roads, routes, parks, and trails鈥攚e’ve got it all! Maybe this is why Minnesota is among the healthiest and happiest states in the nation? The Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) are among the best bicycle metros in North America. And as a northern state, Minnesota鈥檚 climate is ideal for during the and .

What makes Minnesota biking unique?

There are very few places in the United States where you can experience urban cycling on par with European capitals, expansive road cycling routes, varying topography from flat rail trails to intense climbs, and entire communities built around world-class mountain biking. Bonus: All of this is found in a state that is famously 鈥渘ice鈥� and warmly welcomes people from around the world. It’s also no surprise that many of the nation’s popular bike companies call Minnesota home.

What does the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota (BikeMN) do for locals and visitors?

is a leading nonprofit for bicycling education and advocacy in the United States, showcasing Minnesota鈥檚 diverse communities through a calendar of annual events. Our education team leads programs that teach Minnesota鈥檚 children how to bike, walk, and roll safely. We work closely with minority, low-income, immigrant, and refugee communities to provide adult bike-riding instruction and to ensure that everyone can participate in and enjoy our bicycle culture. Our state and local advocacy teams have helped shape some of the strongest biking legislation and infrastructure in the country. We are committed to making sure every Minnesotan who bikes, walks, or rolls鈥攚hether for transportation or recreation鈥攃an do so safely.

Where are the best places to bike in Minnesota?

Road

Beginner: The park systems in consistently rank among the top five in the nation. Both offer family-friendly amenities for all ages, along with a mix of safe trails and road routes. The Grand Rounds trails in each city connect numerous parks across neighborhoods, creating a seamless and scenic riding experience. The annual showcases some of the finest bicycle infrastructure you’ll find anywhere.

Intermediate: , nestled in the scenic , has stunning views and a nice mix of routes along the river.

Advanced: , located at the northern edge of the Driftless Area, offers a wide variety of scenic routes that wind through river valleys, charming towns, and farmland. Don’t miss the ride through Dexter, where you’ll be surrounded by towering wind turbines and the city鈥檚 exceptional restaurants. You can also connect with local cyclists here during the annual Med City Meander over Memorial Day weekend.

Bike Path

Beginner: The 115-mile in Brainerd is one of the longest continuously paved rail trails in the nation, offering safe, relatively flat rides of any distance. Stretching from Bemidji to Baxter, the trail passes through charming towns and runs near several of the 11 tribal nations located within Minnesota.

Intermediate: The in Lanesboro is a paved trail system that strings together one charming river town after another. The communities in this region are set among dramatic river bluffs with historic main streets.

Advanced: The stretches over 150 miles through historic mining communities鈥攎any still active today鈥攁nd extends all the way to Ely, a gateway to the . Historic Hibbing, the childhood home of , serves as a great central hub for accessing the trail.

Gravel

Beginner: Thief River Falls, located in northwest Minnesota, has big skies, flat terrain, and minimal car traffic. The annual is a celebration of this region’s gravel culture.

Intermediate: Northfield is a small college community with historic charm and diverse routes through farmland, rolling hills, and river valleys.

Advanced: There鈥檚 a reason USA Cycling is holding the in the Mississippi River Valley community of La Crescent. Part of the Driftless Area, this region offers endless miles of gravel routes with challenging climbs.

Mountain

Beginner: is a fun place with relatively open terrain. Definitely check out Mount Kato and the . This is a perfect place for kids of all ages to explore.

Intermediate: The in Crosby has gone all in on mountain biking with an impressive network of forested singletrack and loops circling pit mines turned lakes. This former mining region has been transformed into one of the most popular mountain biking destinations in the central United States.

Advanced: and Arrowhead in northeastern Minnesota may be two of the best under-the-radar cycling destinations in the United States. This region offers stunning scenery and challenging terrain鈥攕o much so that it can feel like you鈥檙e riding through mountain landscapes beside the ocean. In reality, you鈥檙e on the shores of one of the world鈥檚 largest freshwater lakes. The features 40 miles of singletrack weaving through one of the most picturesque cities you鈥檒l ever visit. For those seeking a real challenge, the annual Race Across Duluth is a must.

Explore Minnesota is dedicated to promoting tourism and livability in Minnesota. Visit to find travel inspiration and things to do, subscribe to, and download . See even more by following Explore Minnesota on .

The post Minnesota Is the Ultimate Biking Destination appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

She soars up the steepest roads in the Alps and descends treacherous mountain biking trails with skill and grace. She can pedal over jarring cobblestones, through deep mud, and across slick tarmac. She is, hands down, the most versatile cyclist on the planet, and the newest champion of the sport’s biggest race, the Tour de France.

On Sunday, August 3, French cyclist 鈥攚e cycling fans just call her PFP鈥攚on the . The victory at the top of women’s professional road cycling, and stamped her place in history as one of the most accomplished cyclists鈥攎an or woman鈥攖o ever race a bicycle.

Hardcore cycling fans like myself have followed PFP’s exploits over the past decade. And while the Tour de France Femmes victory is the biggest win of her career鈥攕he was on the cover of The Wall Street Journal on August 4鈥攊t’s hardly the first eye-popping win she’s had.

So, for those of you who aren’t students of pro cycling, here are five things to know about the newest winner of the Maillot Jaune.听

1. She鈥檚 an Outlier in Cycling鈥檚 Era of Versatility

Some quick background: As youngsters, most budding pro cyclists compete in bike racing’s four primary disciplines: road, cross-country mountain bike, cyclocross, and track cycling. At some point in their development, the very best choose just one to master. In past generations, for example, you rarely saw Tour de France heroes also compete in mountain biking World Cups or velodrome events in the same season.

Sport specialization shifted a decade or so ago, with hyper-versatile riders like Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, and Tom Pidcock entering the peloton. But even amongst this peer group, PFP stands out.

In 2014 and 2015, when she was just 23 years old, PFP won the elite world championships for road cycling, mountain biking, and cyclocross in a 12-month span.

I cannot stress the bonkers nature of this achievement鈥攊t was a first for pro cycling.

All three racing formats are of dramatically individual durations, involve different bicycles, and require different strategic acumen and physical gifts. And in each one, PFP beat hyper-talented professional racers who focus on that one discipline. She showed she could sprint, climb, descend, attack, and ride people off of her wheel on flat roads.

No, it isn’t just like Michael Phelps winning the backstroke, freestyle, and breast stroke. It’s more like if Tiger Woods used his talents for swinging a stick to belt home runs, win Wimbledon, and take the Masters.

From that year onward, every cycling fan on the planet knew that PFP was destined for greatness.

2. Her Dogged Pursuit of Olympic Gold

In women’s cycling, the Olympics has long represented the most important prize. PFP focused her attention on Olympic gold, and initially struggled under the weight of expectations and then injury.

Her 2016 Olympics were torpedoed due to lingering complications from a broken leg. Afterwards, news circulated that she might quit cycling altogether. Then, just prior to the 2021 Summer Games in Tokyo, she underwent two surgeries to address a recurrence of iliac artery endofribrosis鈥攁 painful yet common cycling disorder in which blood flow to the legs is reduced by a thickening of the arteries. PFP wasn’t 100 percent recovered for the Tokyo Games, and again suffered disappointment.

Despite the setbacks, PFP kept racing and winning. She focused her attention primarily on mountain biking, and won the world championships in 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023. The sum of her five elite titles are now the most in women’s mountain biking history.

Her big Olympic moment came in 2024, when Paris hosted the Summer Games. PFP dominated the race to win gold medal in front of a home crowd. It was a result we knew she was capable of getting鈥攂ut was hardly guaranteed to ever win.

3. She Made A Bold Proclamation

As the sweat was still drying from her Olympic victory in Paris, PFP made a bold proclamation: she would return to road cycling in 2025 and attempt to win the Tour de France Femmes within three seasons. The women’s Tour de France, launched in 2022, was not around when PFP was racing full-time on the road, and its debut in 2022 immediately made it the most important women’s cycling event on the planet.

The proclamation was bold. A typical cross-country mountain bike race lasts an hour and a half. Tour de France Femmes stages are anywhere from three to five hours in length, and there are nine of them in successive days. And while mountain bike races are individual tests of skill and strength, road cycling is a team event with chess-like strategy.

4. She鈥檚 a Cobblestone Crusher

PFP looked strong but somewhat shaky in her return to road racing earlier this year. During Italy’s Milano-Sanremo race in March, she was penalized by umpires in the final sprint鈥攕he was fourth鈥攁fter they concluded that she zigzagged across the road.

But her skills returned quickly once the peloton hit the cobblestones of Belgium and Northern France. At races like the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, cyclists must ride their stiff road bikes over bone-rattling and slippery cobbles鈥攁 surface that only the best bike handlers can navigate. PFP was second at the Tour of Flanders before winning Paris-Roubaix.

Her big Roubaix win鈥攖he first of the season鈥攚as a sign that PFP road racing skills and strategic acumen were back to 100 percent.

5. She Broke France鈥檚 Losing Streak

PFP won the Tour de France Femmes on the long and grinding Alpine climbs. She survived the chaos and crashes in the race’s opening half, and then dropped the other top women on the Col du Madeleine and the ascent of Les Portes du Soleil to take the yellow jersey.

There’s a historic significance with PFP’s Tour de France win: it ended a 36-year losing streak at the world’s biggest road bike race.

OK鈥攊f you want to be specific, there’s nuance in this figure, of course. The men’s Tour de France has operated since 1903, taking only a few years off here and there for world wars. The women’s Tour de France has been held, canceled, re-launched, canceled, and then re-launched again multiple times.

The last French winner was Jeannie Longo in 1989, and she won a race called Tour de France Feminin.

The last men’s winner was Bernard Hinault way back in 1985. Unfortunately for the French, there’s no male equivalent of PFP on the horizon.

That losing streak is likely to continue for many years to come.

The post The Tour de France Femmes Winner Kicks Butt on All Bicycles appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Cyclists competing in the 2025 Tour de France rumbled into the city of Toulouse on Wednesday, July 16, and some of them no doubt reflected on the handful of compelling鈥攁nd downright zany鈥攕ituations to come out of the event’s first 11 stages.

Throughout this Tour there has been bad blood, barfing, blogging, and all manners of drama and controversy. Yep鈥攑retty standard stuff for pro cycling’s biggest event.

For cycling fans who haven’t followed the Tour’s every twist and turn, I’ve highlighted five storylines from the event’s opening half to catch you up to speed.

Netflix Bids听Adieu听

In June, Netflix released all eight episodes of the third season of its docuseries Tour de France Unchained. Amid the announcement of听 the season that season three would be the final one.

Unchained debuted in 2022 as the cycling-centric version of听Netflix’s听hyper-successful听Formula 1: Drive to Survive.听And like the F1 show,听Unchained took viewers behind the scenes at the race, and showed the sometimes robotic cyclists as being capable of sadness, jealousy, and other human emotions. Yep鈥攊t brought personality to a sport that, for a century, has churned out stoic and boring heroes.

Back in 2022 I wrote that Unchained had the very real potential to convert millions of new cycling fans due to the series’ ability to boil a confusing and nuanced sport down to its most basic elements.

I can’t say whether or not听Unchained succeeded in this goal. But I can attest that the series had to walk a narrow storytelling tightrope that ultimately caused me to stop watching.

The Tour is an international event with fans spread across the globe, but Unchained was shot and edited by French production firm QuadBox, and it was scripted for Netflix France. Thus, the series focused ample attention on French teams, French cyclists, and all things French cycling.

Here’s the thing: the Tour’s best riders today hail from Slovenia, Great Britain, Denmark, and Belgium. Americans are OK, too. The French, meanwhile, have become bit players in their own event. No Frenchman has won the Tour since 1984, and that drought is likely to carry on for decades to come.

And while the Tour’s international heroes all speak English, French cyclists, for the most part, only speak French.

Alas, to watch听Unchained was to immerse yourself in the petty, small-potatoes drama surrounding French cycling鈥攁nd to absorb this not-so vital information via subtitles. In my humble opinion, this was not a recipe for attracting the masses.

Crashes and Poop: Micheal Woods鈥� Blog Garners Attention

Canadian Tour de France hero Michael Woods has been writing daily blogs throughout the 2025 Tour de France, published on and on our sister site, .听

Woods is a very talented writer, and his essays shed light on important moments in the race. On July 8, Woods . Pileups happen every day at the Tour, and on the eve of the race, the organizer, ASO, chided riders for taking risks that resulted in accidents.

Woods very smartly pointed out that the Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) and the sport’s governing body, Union Cycliste International (UCI) are in charge of establishing the rules of competition that govern safety. If these bodies were truly concerned with crashes, Woods points out, they would alter regulations to try and curb crashes. “ASO telling riders 鈥榶ou need to take less risk鈥� is like the NBA telling Steph Curry, 鈥榶ou need to shoot fewer threes.鈥� It does nothing.” he wrote.

The piece lead to a flurry of think pieces and essays on various cycling websites, and boosted Woods as perhaps the smartest voice in the peloton.

A few days later, Woods about a somewhat delicate situation. During stage 10, Woods suffered a gastrointestinal emergency during the race. After fighting back stomach cramps, he had to pull over to the side of the road, sprint into some tourist’s recreational vehicle, and do his business.

“To the poor, very kind, and dumbfounded, man who opened his RV door to me, I want to first say thank you, but also apologize profusely for the state I left your bathroom in,” Woods wrote. He still finished the stage, despite the emergency poop stop.

No Love Lost Between Tour Rivals

The current standings of the Tour have Irish rider Ben Healy in first, with defending champion Pogacar in second, followed by Belgian rider Remco Evenepoel, and then Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard in fourth.

But as anyone who has watched the race can attest, the race for the yellow jersey is a two-horse race between perennial rivals Pogacar and Vingegaard. Of the last five Tours, Pogacar has won three (2020, 2021, 2024) and Vingegaard has won two (2022, 2023). Anytime the road points uphill, these two guys zip away from the peloton and attack each other.

Vingegaard’s team, Dutch squad Visma-Lease a Bike, has adopted a curiously aggressive strategy at this year’s Tour. Big teams often play it safe during the race’s flat opening week and ride in the peloton, saving valuable energy for the mountainous second and third weeks. But not Visma鈥攖he team has upped the pace relentlessly on the flat and hilly stages, sent riders up the road in aggressive attacks, and generally tried to force Pogacar and his UAE Team Emirates teammates to听also burn energy.

The strategy of attacking early and often left the peloton exhausted, and prompted plenty of criticism from including . It also generated some strong words from Pogacar, who called the

In a sport infamous for austere vibes and boring and bland quotes, that’s akin to insulting a rival’s outfit, spouse, and taste in music all at the same time.听

Five Barfs Across 100 Miles

Cycling fans raised a collective eyebrow during the opening moments of the Tour’s ninth stage when teammates Mathieu van Der Poel and Jonas Rickaert on the accelerated听听from the gun and sprinted away from the peloton.

Van der Poel is one of the strongest riders in the bunch, but the long-distance attack seemed destined to fail, given the route’s flat profile. On flatter days, the peloton can easily control the speed and gobble up breakaways well before the line.

But the two soldiered on and rode together as hard as they could for 100 miles. At one point, it looked like van der Poel would hold off the charging peloton. Alas, he was caught and passed by the group within spitting distance of the finish line.

After the stage, Rickaert told reporters what it was like to pedal 400 watts for four consecutive hours鈥攖he effort required to ride alongside van der Poel.

鈥淢y stomach couldn鈥檛 handle the effort. I vomited five times,鈥� Rickaert told the Belgian broadcaster听.听

No guts, no glory.

An Irish Leader on an American Team

As I mentioned earlier, the current leader of the Tour is an , and he races for an American team, EF Education-Easy Post. It’s the first time an Irishman has led the Tour since 1987, and the first time that an Irish guy on an American squad has held this position.

Healy grabbed the yellow jersey during stage 10 by accelerating into a breakaway on a stage with short to medium-sized hills, and then holding off the late charge from Pogacar.

On paper, Healy does not have the pedigree to win the Tour. He excels on short and steep climbs, but has never soared up monster mountains in the Alps and Pyrenees alongside Pogacar or Vingegaard, the two best climbers int he sport.

But hey, this is the Tour, and every few years we see lesser riders go above and beyond their perceived limits while fighting for the yellow jersey.

Now the question becomes: how long can Healy hold the jersey until Pogacar takes it back? Thursday’s 12th stage takes in two massive mountains in the Pyrenees. Whether or not Healy can summon the strength to go above and beyond what we expect of him is a storyline I plan to follow.

The post Netflix, Barfing, and Rivalries: Five Zany Tour de France Stories You May Have Missed appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

The contact points between the rider and a bicycle are some of the most important aspects of riding a two-wheeled steed (think saddle, grips, pedals, and, yes, shoes). The bike shoe category has widened dramatically in the past few years to include everything from the highest-performance road shoes to versatile gravel kicks to flat pedal pumps designed for rugged mountain bike rides.

Our testers rode hundreds of miles to find the best cycling shoes for fit and performance across all of these categories. From sleek, clipless shoes for dancing on dirt to the mountain biking equivalent of steel-toe construction boots for your own personal Redbull Rampage, we hand-picked the following options that meet the needs of modern riders.

Updated July 2025: We added 8 new picks, including our new favorite MTB and road cycling shoes鈥攖he Crankbrothers Mallet BOA and Specialized Torch 3.0. We also updated pricing and info on previously listed bike shoes.听

Best Bike Shoes at a Glance

Best Mountain Bike Shoes

• Best Do-It-All Clipless Shoe: Crankbrothers Mallet Boa ($200)
• Best Flat Pedal Shoe: Pearl Izumi X-ALP Launch ($150 $90)
• Best Downhill/Enduro Shoe: Shimano GE7 ($180)
• Best Protection: Ride Concepts Tallac Mid BOA MTB ($220)

Best Road Cycling Shoes

• Best Overall: Specialized Torch 3.0 ($280)
• Best Performance: Shimano RC903S ($475)
• Best On a Budget: Fizik Beat Tempo ($180)

Best Gravel Shoes

• Best Gravel/XC Shoe: Giro Sector ($240)
• Best High-End Gravel/XC shoe: SIDI Physis ($399)
• How to Choose Bike Shoes
• How We Test
• Meet Our Lead Testers

Best Mountain Bike Shoes

Best Do-It-All Clipless Shoe: Crankbrothers Mallet BOA Clip-In Shoes

Available sizes: US M 6 – 14

Pros and Cons
鈯� Very comfortable
鈯� Super durable
鈯� Supremely adjustable fit
鈯� Limited ankle coverage

Technically, the Mallet is Crankbrothers鈥� offering for gravity-focused endeavors鈥攄ownhill, park, and enduro racing鈥攂ut these well-padded shoes are lightweight and breathable enough that if you loathe the ballet slipper look, they do just fine for any riding this side of XC racing.

While the brand makes their own pedals, the Mallet utilizes the brand鈥檚 鈥楳atch鈥� design philosophy: a long and wide cleat pocket that鈥檚 designed to both shed mud and aid cleat engagement/release regardless of your preferred clipless pedal. The shoes come with shims to optimize your pedal-cleat-shoe interface, but in a nod to their own pedals, and as an encouragement for you to use them, the Mallets come with Crankbrothers鈥� own cleat already installed in a neutral position.

The shoes are burly yet offer a comfortable amount of padding, with silicone gripper dots in the heel cup for a secure fit. They also utilize just the right amount of ventilation for good breathability on all but the hottest days. The medium stiff midsole combined with a nicely rockered sole makes for exceptional comfort both on and off the bike. All these features, combined with the ability to dial in an exact fit with the BOA dial, make these shoes a winner. Our only complaint: We wish they offered a little more ankle coverage.

Best Flat Pedal Shoe: Pearl Izumi X-ALP Launch

Available sizes: EU 39 – 49

Pros and Cons
鈯� Lightweight
鈯� Optimal for narrow feet
鈯� BOA loosened on longer rides
鈯� Soles not as grippy as Five Ten or Ride Concepts

The X-ALP Launch is an affordable flat pedal mountain bike shoe that takes the cake when it comes to a lightweight, flexible feel. The shoe features a stout Cordura mesh upper with a single BOA dial that allows for quick fit adjustments. We found that the X-ALP has a low-to-medium internal volume that runs a bit narrower in the toe box than other brands. An EVA foam midsole is paired with an outsole featuring Goodyear rubber molded with a chevron pattern, designed to offer good grip and traction.

Despite the use of brand-name rubber, the X-Alp is not the grippiest shoe out there. But that鈥檚 not necessarily a bad thing: this allows for easy micro foot adjustments compared to the locked in feel of some other shoes on our list. What the sole lacks in grip, it makes up for with impressive lightweight feel and efficient power transfer. In our testing, the shoes excelled on longer trail rides in dryer weather where heat and foot fatigue can be issues. And while the single BOA loosened up a bit on our longer rides, it’s fairly easy to tighten up on the fly. This might not be the shoe you want for bike park laps, but it hits the mark for those who prefer the versatility of a flat pedal shoe versus clipless for hot cross-country and trail rides.

Best for Downhill/Enduro Riding: Shimano GE7

Available sizes: EU 38 – 48

Pros and Cons
鈯� Excellent off the bike grip
鈯� Longer cleat channel
鈯� Roomy toe box
鈯� Runs a little hot

The Shimano GE7 is one of our favorite clipless MTB shoes. The SPD-compatible GE7 features laces with a velcro instep strap for precise fit, a burly outsole for enhanced grip, raised and padded ankle collar, enhanced toe cap, and a reinforced fiberglass midsole (TORBAL 2.0, a midsole technology that provides targeted rigidity and flexibility) for stellar pedaling efficiency.

Originally designed for Enduro style racing, this shoe is meant for big days that could involve a fair bit of hike-a-bike as well as full-tilt boogie pedaling. Translation: it鈥檚 super comfortable and holds up well on longer rides thanks to a nice balance of stiffness and flex in the sole, plus a relaxed鈥揹are I say 鈥榬oomy鈥�?鈥搕oe box to give those little piggies room to stretch out. The traction is excellent when you鈥檙e off the bike and the cleat placement is slightly more centrally placed than other brands, allowing for a more performance-oriented cleat position. More importantly, the shoe can take a beating. And the asymmetric padded ankle cuffs keep ankle/crank interaction downright civilized.

Shimano shoes tend to be durable enough for multiple riding seasons, and while this one runs a little on the warm side and lacks the bling of a BOA system, the fit and performance won鈥檛 let you down. 鈥淸This is a] great all around mountain bike shoe for gravity-oriented folks that want traction while off the pedals,鈥� commented one tester from Hood River, Oregon.

Best Protection: Ride Concepts Tallac Mid BOA

Available sizes: US M 7 – 13

Pros and Cons
鈯� Excellent grip in all conditions
鈯� Mid-height design adds extra protection to ankle
鈯� Easy to adjust fit with BOA庐 system
鈯� Bulky

When Ride Concepts released these mid-high shoes into the wild last summer, there was much rejoicing from riders demanding a more robust solution for technical gravity riding. The surprisingly roomy mid-volume shoe features BOA鈥檚 PerformFit Wrap for a snug fit, and burly Cordura mesh upper with liberal amounts of D3O padding in the ankles, toe, heel, and insoles for bombproof impact resistance. A stiff EVA midsole helps reduce foot fatigue, and an outer sole crafted from RC鈥檚 Maxgrip rubber provides secure pedal grip and confident traction off the bike.

The mid-height upper offers greater support than a low-fit shoe, while the gusseted tongue keeps debris at bay like a champ. Surprisingly, the Cordura mesh breathes tolerably well, but the trade-off for all this added material is a much longer break-in period. If you have the patience for that, the reward is a glorious, comfortable fit that offers loads of confidence no matter how gnarly the trail or how much you鈥檙e off the bike scouting lines and sessioning techy features.

Best Road Shoes

Best Overall:听Specialized Torch 3.0

Available sizes: EU 36-49

Pros and Cons
鈯� Excellent weight
鈯� BOA Li2 dials
鈯� Hard wearing exterior
鈯� Cleat mounts aren’t adjustable

Road cycling shoe prices aren鈥檛 just creeping up鈥攖hey鈥檙e skyrocketing. Specialized is part of that trend, but the Torch 3.0 offers a refreshing exception. It鈥檚 not quite as performance-oriented as the S-Works Torch ($500), but you鈥檙e getting 90 to 95 percent of the performance for significantly less鈥攁nd with some surprising perks. The Torch 3.0 actually has a better BOA system. Both models use a dual-zone setup and the same pressure-optimized tongue cut, but the S-Works dial doesn鈥檛 pop for quick release. The Torch 3.0鈥檚 BOA Li2 dials, BOA鈥檚 best, make on/off much easier.

Elsewhere, the Torch 3.0 simplifies slightly. The upper is more uniform but still durable and easy to clean. The carbon sole is just as stiff, though slightly heavier and less detailed. It lacks cleat-mount adjustability鈥攂ut after thousands of foot scans, Specialized says you won鈥檛 miss it. (We didn鈥檛 during testing.) Bottom line: The Torch 3.0 delivers elite-level performance without the elite-level price.

Best Performance:听Shimano RC903S

Available sizes: 38-47

Pros and Cons
鈯� Supple, form-fitting upper
鈯� Hard to keep clean

Shozaburo Shimano would be proud to know the freewheel company he started in 1921 has grown to showcase a wide range of cycling components and gear for competitive and recreational riders alike, including high-performance cycling shoes like the RC903S, which falls within Shimano鈥檚 S-Phyre line.

Dual Boa metal dials lock a rider鈥檚 foot into the anti-twist heel cup with the help of the wrap-around upper and six points of retention over the front end of the foot. The carbon sole is strategically reinforced around the cleat for added power transfer while remaining compliant toward the heel for optimal stiffness鈥攔ated as 8/10 by our test team who altogether put more than 4,000 miles of riding in these shoes.

Best On a Budget: Fizik Tempo Powerstrap R5

Available sizes: EU 36-48

Pros and Cons
鈯� Impressive weight for price
鈯� Velcro powerstrap
鈯� Vertical volume in toe box
鈯� Non-adjustable cleat mount
鈯� Narrow fit

Budget road cycling shoes are a tough category鈥攎ost cut corners so severely they鈥檙e no fun to wear. One common compromise? BOA dials. The top-tier Li2 dials are great, but cheaper versions often can鈥檛 adjust both ways and don鈥檛 pop for quick release.

The Fizik Tempo Powerstrap R5 avoids those issues altogether. It uses the same lightweight, easy-to-adjust Powerstrap system found on Fizik鈥檚 higher-end Aeroweave model, and it outperforms many dual-BOA setups: It鈥檚 easy to adjust (even mid-ride), lightweight, and offers a snug fit with zero hotspots. The shoe is on the narrow side, typical of older Fizik models, but a tall toe box adds comfort. The carbon-reinforced nylon sole is shaped well enough to feel plenty stiff. The biggest downside: The cleat mount point is fixed and offers limited adjustability.

Still, for this price, we were willing to overlook that shortcoming. The Tempo R5 doesn鈥檛 feel cheap鈥攕kipping BOA is a smart move here, not an oversight.

Best Gravel Shoes

Best Overall: Giro Sector

Available sizes: EU 39 – 50

Pros and Cons
鈯� Lightweight
鈯� Quick drying
鈯� Responsively stiff
鈯� Pricey
鈯� Not ideal off the bike

The Giro Sector is our go-to riding shoe for all types of riding, from laps on our local trails to all-day gravel adventures to XC racing. They offer a nice balance of comfort and stiffness to keep the feet remarkably comfortable regardless of how hard you鈥檙e pedaling. The Sector features a one-piece synchwire material upper, dual BOA庐 adjustment, reinforced toe and heel, and a fairly stiff carbon-composite sole (for pedalling efficiency) with a dual injected rubber outsole with impressively tall lugs for off-the bike traction and pre drilled toe spike mounts.

While the Sector is lightweight and adequately ventilated, it is not the lightest on the market, but it鈥檚 by no means portly either. That being said, it gets extra points in comfort, and despite the fragile appearance of the upper, the shoe is surprisingly durable and robust; they show very minimal signs of wear despite extensive testing. If you are a one shoe do-it-all household, we highly recommend the Sector, although it鈥檚 happiest pedaling hard.

Best Performance: Sidi Physis

Available sizes: EU 36 – 50

Pros and Cons
鈯� Wide toe box
鈯� Excellent power transfer
鈯� Expensive
鈯� Walkability

Brutally efficient and decadently comfortable aren鈥檛 descriptive phrases that typically go together. But if you鈥檙e describing Sidi鈥檚 new Physis shoes, then you鈥檝e pretty much hit the nail on the head. But to tweak an old Keith Bontrager maxim鈥攂rutally efficient, decadently comfortable, cheap鈥ick two鈥攂ecause at $400, these ain鈥檛 cheap.

But what you get is what you pay for: Sidi鈥檚 legendary Italian craftsmanship mated to modern footwear ergonomics. With the Physis, you get a phenomenally-fitting and well ventilated dual density TPU upper that errs on the roomy side (consider sizing down a half size for Sidi鈥檚 legendary glove-like feel while still enjoying the roomy forefoot volume of the Millenium fit), secured with Sidi鈥檚 proprietary BOA庐 type system and their patented Tension Strap over the instep, mated to a X2FC carbon sole so stiff that you might as well be wearing two-by-four planks with a footbed strapped to your feet. Only a two-by-four never screamed performance the way these do; rest assured that every single watt you generate is going right into your pedals. Other details: rubber dimples in the heel cup for a more secure fit. Minimalist abrasion/impact guards around the toe box and heel. Threaded holes at the toes for spikes (CX anyone?).

In essence, these are Ferraris for your feet, but are purpose built for performance gravel and XC riding; if your ride involves any halfway serious hike-a-biking, look elsewhere. But if you鈥檙e chasing podiums or KOMs, these are just what the doctor ordered.

How To Choose Bike Shoes

Cycling shoes can be segmented into categories based on their intended use and cleat interface.

Cleats/Clipless Shoes

Road cycling shoes are typically compatible with composite-based, three-bolt style cleats like Shimano鈥檚 SPD-SL and Look Delta/Keo. These cleats offer a high amount of retention and have a greater surface area to maximize stability and power transfer per pedal stroke, which is ideal for road cycling. However, the cleats are often exposed and provide poor walkability.

Gravel shoes use a two-bolt pattern for use with cleats like Shimano鈥檚 SPD. Two-bolt cleats are generally smaller and made of metal, offering greater durability for walking on uneven surfaces.

Flats

More and more mountain bikers are ditching clipless bike shoes in favor of flats, shoes with sticky rubber soles that offer good grip on pedals and don鈥檛 require you to clip in/out of pedals. Many experienced riders and downhillers who navigate high-consequence terrain prefer flats because they allow you to bail off your bike more easily.

Flat shoes are also better choices for novice riders, since they don鈥檛 come with a learning curve (getting the hang of clipless shoes and cleats can be tricky). The downside to flats is they don鈥檛 offer the same power transfer as clipless shoes.

Budget Versus Performance Cycling Shoes

Don鈥檛 disregard your budget. Bike shoes can be exorbitantly expensive, especially on the high-performance end of the spectrum. If you鈥檙e looking to get into racing, the higher price tag might be worth it for every additional watt of power. If you鈥檙e not racing, we recommend leaning to the more comfortable end of the spectrum, rather than trying to maximize stiffness and performance; these shoes generally come with more palatable price tags.

Materials

Road biking shoes feature lightweight soles made up of carbon or composite materials that blend stiffness and compliance to best suit the rider鈥檚 needs. A stiffer sole generally provides higher power transfer; a more compliant shoe flexes more and provides a more comfortable ride, but often equates to more power loss.

Gravel and mountain bike shoes add tread around the sole to improve walkability and stability.

Shoe uppers will consist of a microfiber or knit material with varying amounts of suppleness, ventilation and foot/ankle support. Microfiber uppers tend to provide more durability and support, while knit uppers have a greater amount of ventilation and suppleness.

How Should Bike Shoes Fit?

Fit is critical in a cycling shoe and directly impacts performance. If you can, try before you buy. Your local bike shop may have a selection of bike shoes and employees with a wealth of experience to help you find the right fit. Call around to see what鈥檚 available and visit your local bike shop to get a real feel for the shoes before you commit.

How We Test Bike Shoes

• Number of products tested: 21
• Number of Testers: 8
• Number of miles collectively ridden during testing: 12,000
• Biggest ride: 110 miles

Our group of testers, made up of men and women across the country and bike industry experts like and , put 21 pairs of the year鈥檚 newest road, gravel, and mountain bike shoes to the test on various rides, races, and trails. Some testers assessed a shoe鈥檚 performance while preparing for marquee road and gravel events, while others set out to determine a shoe鈥檚 comfort and versatility on their weekly coffee ride.

Our primary testing ground for MTB shoes was mountain biking mecca Hood River, Oregon, where we assessed a shoe鈥檚 performance on everything from technical, muddy trails to mellow, meandering cruisers. We graded each pair of shoes we tested on characteristics like stiffness, weight, comfort, and functionality. The shoes on this list impressed our crew in all departments.

Meet Our Lead Testers

Nikki Rohan has been mountain biking for close to 20 years, and testing mountain biking gear for Pinkbike for almost a decade. She resides in Hood River, Oregon, with her husband, two teenagers, a 1-year-old, two dogs, and a grumpy cat. When she is not working, cooking, or parenting, you will find her biking on the local trails.

David Kennedy has been riding road and gravel bikes for 15 years and has been writing about the latest tech in the sport since 2017. He鈥檚 toed the line at premier road and gravel events nationwide, including the Belgian Waffle Ride San Diego and the Unbound 200. When he鈥檚 not writing or riding, he鈥檚 pulling apart bikes at his local shop and connecting with the diverse cycling community around his hometown of Los Angeles.

听is a senior tech editor at Velo. He hails from the Pacific Northwest but when it鈥檚 time to ride, hot and dry is better than cold and wet. He will happily talk for hours about the minutiae of cycling tech but understands most people just want things to work. He is a road cyclist at heart and doesn鈥檛 care much if those roads are paved, dirt, or digital. Although he rarely races, if you ask him to ride from sunrise to sunset, and beyond, the answer is always yes.

More Bike Gear Reviews

The Best Road Bikes of the Year
The Best Gravel Bikes of 2025
The Best Bike Helmets for Road, Gravel, and Trail Riding

The post The 9 Best Bike Shoes for Road, Gravel, and Trail Rides (2025) appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Bikepacking might be the perfect adventure. Ride bikes, sleep outside. It鈥檚 like bike touring, only dirtier since you鈥檙e camping and carrying all your gear on your bike, as opposed to staying in lodges and relying on your credit card for sustenance. I鈥檝e been bikepacking for almost 20 years now, and continue to be entranced by its charm. Pedaling into the wilderness gives you a chance to experience more of the landscape than when you鈥檙e powered by foot. In some cases, you can get further away from civilization.

A few years ago, a bikepacking trip through Idaho became one of my favorite adventures. I linked together a handful of different backcountry hot springs while traversing some of the state鈥檚 most rugged singletrack, pedaling more than 70 miles. I wouldn鈥檛 have been able to cover half of that distance in that amount of time on foot.

Here are seven of the best bikepacking routes in America, some of which I鈥檝e pedaled myself, while a few others remain firmly affixed to the top of my to-do list.

1. Singletrack and Waterfalls, Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina听

Distance: 64 miles
Duration: Two to three days
Highlights: Singletrack descents, backcountry streams

With roughly 300 miles of singletrack and twice that distance in gravel roads, in North Carolina allows you to create all kinds of loop options.听I recommend starting your journey at The Hub, a bike shop and beer garden at the entrance of Pisgah National Forest on 276, so you can get any last minute provisions you might need before you leave and finish the adventure with a beer when you鈥檙e done. Also, you can incorporate some of the forest鈥檚 signature singletrack, waterfalls, and swimming holes.

Follow the route of the mountain-bike race and you鈥檒l hit a highlight reel of the area鈥檚 singletrack over 64 miles of trail and gravel. There are plenty of options to extend or shorten the route, too, but this is a solid introduction to what the mountains have to offer and 64 miles is the perfect two- to three-day adventure. Pisgah鈥檚 singletrack is technical and the climbs are steep, so don鈥檛 overestimate your ability in this forest. For instance, this route gains more than 10,000 feet of climbing. As a rule, I tell people to double the amount of time they think it will take them to pedal a mile in these mountains.

is about as flowy as Pisgah gets, with fast berms and plenty of rollers, while Black Mountain is a long, technical descent that draws cyclists听from all over the country. Bring a fly rod and you can fish tight mountain streams, like North Mills River. There are good swimming holes on Bradley Creek, adjacent to Yellow Gap Road, too.

Where to camp: (from $35 a night) is a developed campground site along the river of the same name and is located near the start and finish of this route, but there are plenty of primitive, free campsites throughout the forest, especially on the gravel Yellow Gap Road, which helps form the backbone of this route.

2. Flint Hills Trail State Park, Kansas

Distance: 96 miles point to point
Duration: Overnight or more
Highlights: Tallgrass prairie and farmland

When it鈥檚 finished, the will run 118 miles off-road from Osawatomie to Herington, making it one of the longest rail trails in the country. The last 20 miles or so are still a work in progress, but bikepackers can zero in on the 96 miles that are open from Osawatomie to Council Grove, offering a crushed limestone path that gets you away from traffic while passing through the largest expanse of tall grass prairie still standing in the U.S. The trail is open to bikes, foot traffic,听and equestrians, so you might share space with the occasional horse.

The route only gains 1,880 feet along its entire length, so you can cover a lot of miles quickly, but you could also take your time and explore the small towns and rivers along the way. In fact, you can treat this as a civilized version of bikepacking, pedaling from coffee shop to ice cream shop.

The terrain is mostly farmland and rolling hills, but you can expect to pedal across several bridges, cruise along the Marais Des Cygnes River, which has the occasional bluff to shake up the view, and even pass a cave that outlaw Jesse James supposedly used as a hideout. There are inns, bike shops, restaurants, and campgrounds as it cruises through ten听small towns, making this one of the most beginner friendly bikepacking routes in the country.

Where to camp: is roughly in the middle of the trail, offering great camping and access to the 4,000-acre reservoir. There are more than 240 sites to choose from in half a dozen different loops. Try to score a primitive site in the Waucondah Primitive Campground near the marina ($21 per night).

3. Olympic 国产吃瓜黑料 Trail, Olympic National Park, Washington听

Distance: 65-mile out and back
Duration: Overnight
Highlights: Old growth forests and Lake Crescent

Another ongoing recreation path, Washington state’s听Olympic Discovery Trail will be a cyclist鈥檚 dream one day. When it鈥檚 finished, the rail-grade trail will run for 130 miles from Port Townsend to the coast along the northern flank of the Olympic Peninsula. It鈥檚 currently about half done but bikepackers can enjoy the fully completed , a 25-mile singletrack alternative to the main path between the Elwha River and Lake Crescent. Combine it with the 11-mile , and you have a scenic 66-mile out and back in and around Olympic National Park. The terrain could double as the Forest Moon of Endor, the home planet of the Ewoks in Star Wars, with giant old growth evergreens, moss-covered everything and fields of tall ferns covering the forest floor. The route also skims the northern shore of Lake Crescent, an 11-mile long lake surrounded by green peaks within Olympic National Park.

The route is a mix of paved rail trail (Spruce Railroad Trail) and buff single and double track (Olympic 国产吃瓜黑料 Trail), ideal for either a hard tail mountain bike or gravel bike with fat tires. I rode the Olympic 国产吃瓜黑料 Trail and some adjacent gravel and paved roads on a gravel bike while camping听nearby, but it鈥檚 an ideal route for bikepacking with two developed campgrounds on the edge of Lake Crescent. If you hit it during the summer, you can even take a cool lake plunge; there鈥檚 a bridge over an inlet on Lake Crescent that makes for a cold, refreshing plunge that locals call the Devil鈥檚 Punchbowl.

Where to stay: is a National Park Service campground with 84 tent sites on the western edge of Lake Crescent ($24 a night). You鈥檒l need reservations between May 15 and September 15 (which can be tough to get) but it鈥檚 first come/first serve outside of that window.

4. Idaho Hot Springs Route, Boise National Forest, Idaho

Distance: 70-mile loop
Duration: 3-4 days
Highlights: Hot springs!

The 国产吃瓜黑料 Cycling Association is a nonprofit that develops safe, long-distance bicycling journeys all across the country. The majority of these routes are paved, but they have made a few exceptions such as . This 518.5-mile loop through central Idaho has access to over 50 hot springs, and has two path options鈥攐ne that traverses dirt roads and another that travels via lonely singletrack.

Several years ago, I rode a 70-mile loop that combined a piece of the main route and a singletrack option around the tiny towns of Featherville and Atlanta. It was a hard three to four days of riding, but each night ended with a soak in a backcountry pool of 100-plus degree water. You can recreate my adventure by combining the main route through Featherville with the , which passes through the historic and tiny mining outpost of Atlanta.

Much of the route follows the Middle Fork of the Boise River and Willow Creek, both of which are gorgeous backcountry streams. The terrain is tough, with long gravel road climbs and sinuous singletrack. Climbing to the top of Decker Creek Summit (8,800-foot tall) is a beast of an endeavor that involved a lot of hike-a-bike for me and my partners. But the 10-mile long downhill that followed is one of the longest and most enjoyable descents of my entire life. You鈥檒l also have the chance to soak in several hot springs along the way. My favorite? Chattanooga Hot Springs, near the mining outpost of Atlanta, features a piping hot waterfall tumbling over a tan cliff into a shallow pool at its base.

Don鈥檛 attempt pedaling this route without buying both the Main Route and Singletrack Option maps from 鈥攏ot only will you be supporting a worthy nonprofit, but the maps will give you the best beta available with information about the various hot springs, general stores and terrain challenges throughout the adventure.

Where to stay: You鈥檒l be choosing your own primitive campsites along this route, which travels within Boise National Forest. Choose a site with an established fire ring, and plan to pitch your tent along the rivers, which will give you the best chance of flat terrain.

5. Coconino Loop, Coconino National Forest, Arizona听

Distance: 240 miles
Duration: Seven days
Highlights: Slick rock, canyons galore

The is 240 miles of singletrack and dirt roads through the canyons and peaks of Northern Arizona, combining some of the best trails and most spectacular terrain around Flagstaff and Sedona. It鈥檚 a difficult loop that hosts a bikepacking stage race that鈥檚 part of the burly , but serious mountain bikers should definitely put this route on their to-do list. Yes, you鈥檒l climb 28,000 feet during your journey, but half of the route is made up of some of Arizona鈥檚 best singletrack, from the fast, flowy descent on the Arizona Trail into Flagstaff to the grippy slick rock that surrounds Sedona.

Go-getters will knock out this massive loop in four days during the stage race, but it鈥檚 best suited for a week-long epic, which will also give you time to hang out in Flagstaff and Sedona. The terrain is tough and you鈥檙e tackling serious elevation in the desert, so slower is probably better. The hike-a-bike up Mingus Mountain, which climbs 4,000 feet in 10 miles, is legendary. Don鈥檛 do this ride in the summer, as it鈥檚 too damn hot. But fall is perfect, and be sure to have the capacity to carry enough water for each day on the trail, especially if you鈥檙e taking your time between the towns, as finding fresh water in the desert can be tough.

Where to stay: There鈥檚 primitive camping throughout the Coconino and Kaibab National Forests throughout much of this route, but you鈥檒l also have the chance to snag a hotel room or two, like the (from $100 a night), in the small town of Williams, which sits on Route 66.

6. The Maah Daah Hey Trail, North Dakota听

Distance: 100 miles
Duration: Four days
Highlights: Badlands scenery, remote terrain

The badlands of North Dakota earned their name ages ago, first by the Native Americans who lived in the region, and then by the European explorers that stumbled upon the landscape of canyons and buttes after traveling across the benign midwestern plains. I understand the hyperbolic nomenclature; I wouldn鈥檛 want to settle here either after passing through acres of fertile grasslands. But we have mountain bikes now, and pedaling through the gorges and cliffs created by ages of erosion sounds like a blast. And that鈥檚 exactly what you鈥檒l get to do if you bikepack the 100-mile section of the 听between the north and south units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

The mostly singletrack route drops into deep creek drainages and climbs to the top of a multitude of听buttes with moments of respite that offer long-range grassland views and the occasional stand of aspens for shade. Bighorn sheep and elk have been reintroduced to the area, so keep your eye out for wildlife.

Logistically, the Maah Daah Hey is pretty straightfoward: Multiple trailheads and access points give you the chance to create a distance and duration that suits your schedule, and there are established campgrounds with drinking water and safe places to pitch a tent throughout. While there鈥檚 water and camping to be found throughout, you鈥檙e in the middle of a complex of public lands so don鈥檛 expect any gas stations or restaurants along this route. You鈥檒l need to bring all your gear and food with you. Offshoots of the trail allow you to create loops and check out nearby points of interest, like the Ice Caves, which are large overhangs in sandstone cliffs that have been known to hold ice into summer.

Go during the fall, which will make the stream crossings easier because of lower water. Or the summer when it鈥檚 warm enough that you鈥檒l look forward to the deeper stream crossings.

Where to stay: There are nine along the Maah Daah Hey Trail, spaced roughly about 25 miles apart. Magpie Campground ($10 per night, first come-first serve) has good shade and is close to the Ice Caves Trail, so you can ditch your bags and pedal without all the weight for that excursion. Regardless of which campground you choose, the night skies in this area are reported to be legendary.

7. Kokopelli Trail, BLM, Colorado and Utah听

Distance: 145 miles
Duration: Three days or more
Highlights: Canyons and the Colorado River

It鈥檚 hard to say what is the ultimate O.G. bikepacking route, but the , which runs from Fruita, Colorado, to Moab, Utah, is definitely in the conversation. It鈥檚 a classic, old–school route that combines mostly dirt road with some spicy singletrack through a mix of sandstone canyons and dusty plateaus along the Colorado River. There are moments of brilliant singletrack, particularly at the beginning near Fruita where the trails are buff, and the end near Moab where big slickrock and singletrack descents are earned, but mostly you鈥檙e pedaling lonely dirt roads with grand views of the La Sal Mountains on the horizon and the Colorado River below. While I鈥檝e never ridden the Kokopelli from end to end, I鈥檝e ridden bikes in this area multiple times and I鈥檓 always blown away by the scenery.

This is remote backcountry, so you need to be totally self-sufficient. Bring plenty of water (a lot of cyclists听will cache water along the route) and a filter in case you need to pull from the Colorado River. There鈥檚 no food either, so pack what you want to eat. Plan this ride for spring or fall to make the most of mild weather. It would be near suicidal to attempt this big of a ride in the summer.

Finishing an epic adventure in the town of Moab is always fun, especially when the crescendo of the adventure includes ripping down the , an 11-mile technical descent with听drops and epic views into the Castle Valley. There鈥檚 no shame in walking pieces of this trail, especially with a loaded down bike.

Where to stay: The majority of the route passes through Bureau of Land Management terrain, so you鈥檒l have a mix of primitive, backcountry sites and established campgrounds throughout. , after you enter Utah, has half a dozen first-come-first-served sites on the Colorado River ($20 a night).

Graham Averill is 国产吃瓜黑料 magazine鈥檚 national parks columnist. Bikepacking is hands down his favorite adventure and is constantly planning his next route. He recently wrote about the best swimming holes in our national parks.

The post 7 of the Best Bikepacking Trips Across the U.S. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

The Friday morning after Kevin Underhill crashed, I returned to the Driveway auto racetrack around 7 A.M. The track鈥檚 owner, Bill Dollahite, greeted me. How was I doing, he asked.

I had already told Bill that we鈥檇 had to transport Underhill to the hospital the previous night. It was important for the venue owner to know that there had been a serious crash, because he might need to speak with local media outlets about the incident. But Bill had already seen the blood on the race course. A car club would be using the track at 9 A.M., Bill reminded me. We needed to have the venue cleaned up and prepared for their arrival.

It was August 14, 2009, near the end of my first full eight-month season as the promoter and race director of the Driveway Series, a Thursday night road bike race at the far end of east Austin. I dumped PA cables, extension cords, and other equipment out of five-gallon buckets I’d been using as storage. I found a scrub brush and some Dawn dish soap, and went down to the tree-lined section of the track. I carried one bucket of clean water, one of soapy water.

I scrubbed the track for the next hour and a half, trying to get the blood stain out. I understood that the group of people Bill was hosting were paying for a premium experience. One of the members in the car club was a doctor from Austin鈥檚 Brackenridge Hospital, where we鈥檇 transported Underhill the previous evening. The doctor had finished a long overnight shift. We began to talk.

鈥淚s Kevin going to be okay?鈥� I asked. Because of medical privacy rules, the doctor couldn鈥檛 say much. He just told me, 鈥淚 know you probably want to go home, but you should really go back to the hospital.鈥�

The post Confessions of a Bicycle Race Promoter appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.