I'm currently in the midst of an internship with Dirt Rag magazine, and the most recent issue (#162) showed up in my mail box a few days ago. I started reading through the magazine, but I soon realized that I had already read most of it since I had had a hand in editing most of these articles a month earlier.

While working with Dirt Rag is providing numerous opportunities for me to learn and grow, it takes some of the joy out of getting the magazine in my mail box every month. (But seeing my name in print brings that joy right back again.)

Here are all the articles that in this issue that I had a hand in editing:

• "Simple Complex," page 22.
• "Of Rides and Rednecks," page 30.
• "There Are Three Types of Mud Here," page 39.
• "Manic Mechanic," page 62.
• "Trail Fairies, Pixie Dust, and the Recreational Trails Program," page 65.
• "Pisgah Stage Race Diary," page 72.
• "Builder Profiles: Waltworks," page 76.
• "Specialty Files: 1988 Rock Lobster Single Speed," page 82.
• "Last Chance for Gas: An Open Letter to Poison Oak," page 96.

This new shoe from Five Ten is perfect for all sorts of applications
including normal trail riding, freeriding, downhill, and more.

Click on over to Singletracks.com to read the full article.

Gallatin Crest Trail

At the age of 23 I am still pretty young but I’d like to think I’ve
already learned some valuable lessons thanks to my unique life
experiences. One of the lessons I’ve learned, but that I need to be
reminded of often, is to live in the present and not take anything for
granted.

This lesson can be applied in many different ways, some of them very
serious, very deep ways. But when it comes to mountain biking, I would
rephrase it this way: Don’t take any opportunity to ride a new trail or
to travel for granted, saying “Oh, I’ll get around to riding it
someday.” You never know where life will take you, and you may never get
the chance to ride the trail that you passed on.

 Click on over to Singletracks.com to read the full article!

This past Friday marked a new personal milestone: I had my first article published in a print mountain bike magazine! While I love writing for the internet, and specifically for Singletracks.com, there's just something special about seeing my work published in such a venerable mountain bike publication.

The article in question was a short news piece about the Southeast Bike Expo, and if you're interested in reading it you can find it in Dirt Rag issue #162, page 18--check it out!!!

I had a short article published in this week's issue of the NGCSU student newspaper, The Saint:

Jaymee Carnes Named National Player of the Year

Daylight savings time is upon us, and with it comes progressively
more afternoon and evening sunlight. But that doesn’t mean night riding
season is over! Nope, now’s the time for dawn patrol and 24 Hour races.

And for that, you need a dependable light. I give you the Niterider Pro 1500 LED.

Click on over to Singletracks.com to read the full-length review!

Bull Mountain
has been castrated. What used to be one of the last remaining bastions
of technical mountain biking in the state of Georgia has been cut and
bled of its virility. What was once a true man’s trail (or a true
woman’s trail ) for those who wished to challenge themselves is now a trail fit only for eunuchs.

Click on over to Singletracks.com to read the full article (and the long list of in-depth comments).

There’s been a lot of hubub around the interwebs of late about the
potential explosion of the 650b wheel size. Much of the commotion is
around the very substantial rumor that Fox and Rock Shox are both
developing 650b forks, leading many to believe that several major bike
brands will be rolling out 650b-specific rigs.

I’m not much into hype, but if something new is going to work, then
it’s going to work. If it’s not… well, then it isn’t. Regardless, I want
to make my own decision. The recent Southeast Bike Expo provided the perfect opportunity to get some hands-on experience with the 27.5″ wheel size.

Click on over to Singletracks.com to read the full article!

This is a feature article that I recently wrote for The Saint student newspaper:

The Hoag Student Center, the heart of campus, has been roped off for what feels like half a lifetime. In reality, it’s only been closed since last summer.

According to school officials, Barnes Hall is on schedule to be finished by August, but the opening of the Hoag Student Center will be delayed until December 2012 or January 2013.

Click here to read the full article.

The ASR-5 is a trail bike with 5+” of travel and 26″ wheels. It’s
compatible with either a 120 or a 140 mm fork, depending on how
aggressive of a ride you want.

The Yeti was blinged out with Fox suspension front and rear, a full
Shimano Deore XT drivetrain, XT brakes, and tubeless XT rims.

Click on over to Singletracks.com to read the full article!

This is a story that I wrote recently for the student newspaper at North Georgia College and State University:

Before you hit the road on your way to the ultimate spring break destination, make sure you’re ready for anything by downloading these five crucial Spring Break travel apps to your iPhone:

Click on over to The Saint to read the full article.

Mountain bike bloggers: when you hit the publish button, do you ever
feel like you’re just throwing your carefully-crafted articles out into
the wilderness of the world wide web where no one will ever read them?

Despite the fact that Singletracks.com is the #1 mountain bike blog on the internet, we know how you feel, because we have all been there at one point or another.

Enter the “Readings” forum.

Click on over to Singletracks.com to read the full article!

This is a feature article that I recently wrote for The Saint student newspaper:

The sound of an explosion rips through the humid night air in the town of Natchez, Miss.

Wharlest Jackson Jr. hops on his bike to go see what had happened, not expecting to find his father’s pickup truck ripped to shreds with his dad dead inside it. The year was 1967, and even to this day the memory of that event brings tears to this man’s eyes.

Click here to read the full story.

This was my final research essay for a class titled "Rhetorical Theory" in Fall of 2011. In it I draw on Augustine to make parallels about the critical importance of focusing on the audience when blogging.

Despite putting a lot of time and considerable effort into this paper, I only made a B. My professor's final remarks read: "The focus of your essay remains abstract and broad, and the application of Augustine is not consistent. You do pretty well clarifying the role of the subdued and middle style, but the discussion of the grand style is not clear. Elsewhere, you connect format to audience understanding, but you don't offer and analyze specific examples that would explain the connection that you present. You use other secondary sources well, but the application of Augustine's principles seems forced at times."

While it seems that my essay was not as good as it could have been, I put a lot of work into this essay and am still proud of the final product that I created:

 

This is a feature article that I wrote for The Saint student newspaper:

The number was 1,500—that’s how many people had “liked” the NGCSU Memes Facebook page by the end of the day on Monday, its first full day online.

Click on over to The Saint to read the full article!

Photo Credit: Drew Graham

Southern Cross is one of a growing series of events that features a style of racing that has been christened “UltraCross,” or UltraCX for short. UltraCX is a wonderful mash up of the fast-paced action of normal cyclocross and the quad-burning endurance challenge of a gravel-grinder.

The February 25 race is organized and directed by 55nine Performance, the people behind the popular Fool’s Gold 100 NUE mountain bike race.

Click on over to Singletracks.com to read the full story!