New guest post on Loving the Bike:

When Darryl emailed me the possible topic of “going fast down rocky and uneven trails on a mountain bike,” my first thought was “hey, that’s a great topic!” But as I started thinking about it a little more, I realized that going fast down a technical trail isn’t just one skill—it’s the culmination of a multitude of bike handling skills that need to be learned and cultivated over time.

Read the full blog post here.

El Prieto has been hailed by many as one of the best singletrack rides in the Los Angeles area. After hearing such accolades, I just had to check it out! And let me tell you: the reputation is not unfounded.

Read the full article here.

During our 2 week stay in the Los Angeles area this past summer, I had the opportunity to ride numerous trails all over the region. To be frank, while I added and/or reviewed every single trail that I rode, many of them aren’t even worth writing about. Overall I found SoCal mountain biking to be incredibly unappealing. Sure, there’s a mess of trails all over the place, but in general I thought the riding left much to be desired.

Read the full article here.

Inspired by CraigCreekRider’s forum post titled “2012 Memorable Ride Pics,” I decided to go through some of my best mountain bike photos from last year. Boy, was it an awesome year! Sometimes at the end it’s hard to remember things you did way back in the spring, so I love to go back and reminisce about all the places I’ve been… and think about all the places I still want to visit!

Check out the rest of the photos here.

I recently had a new guest post published on Runtastic.com:

But sometimes, at least for me, it can get tiring. Yeah, I know getting tired is the point of mountain biking. But I mean tired of waiting for people to fix flats and broken derailleurs, the pressure of keeping up with the wheel in front of you, and the noise of whoops and hollers as someone almost flies off the mountain but manages to hang on. After so many of those rides, the solitude of the forest disappears. Instead of escaping from the busyness of the world, it seems to follow you there.

Read the full guest post here.

As I hinted near the end of my On Test article, this bike is fast! And at just 23 pounds (with pedals), you’d expect it to be. My first ride on the Broadaxe began with a heinously steep gravel climb up the infamous Winding Stair road in Dahlonega, Georgia. The longest, steepest, most sustained dirt climb in the region, we had been riding it a lot at the time to access a technical singletrack decent. Switching from whatever bike I had been riding before to the Broadaxe was a night-and-day difference. The Foundry seemed to fly unbidden up the endless climb, with superb traction and the energy of a mountain goat. Thanks to the 71.5 degree headtube angle, the front wheel tracks straight and true with no wandering even on anaerobically-steep climbs.

Read the full-length blog post by clicking here.

Based on the SoCal guidebook published by Falcon Guides, I decided to try Mount Wilson as one of my first trails in the area. Dropping 5,000 vertical feet in 8 miles, this trail is so steep that really the only reasonably choice is to shuttle it. On our drive up to the top of Mount Wilson, we passed a bunch of riders unloading from a shuttle van at a different trailhead. After stopping to talk to them, they all recommended the trail they were going to ride, Mount Lowe, as one of the best trails in the region. Mount Lowe was already on my radar, so I just decided to continue with my plans for Mount Wilson and to hit up Lowe the next day.

Read the full blog post here.

The hydration pack “Goldilocks zone” can be hard to pin down. You know what I’m talking about: the perfect balance between adequate water, sufficient storage room for gear, all without being too bulky. The perfect pack needs to be neither too big nor not too small: just right.

Click here to read the full review.

So, based on my personal experience (and my personal experience alone), here are a few trails I’ve ridden that I think would make excellent candidates for a top 10 list… at least, a “Top 10 Trails in the United States” list.

 Click here to read the entire blog post.