Thursday, November 30, 2017
Dropping into the Welschtobel Valley in Switzerland in 2016.

Despite having ACL surgery three weeks ago that has relegated me to the lazy boy sidelines, I didn't want to stop sharing photos on my Instagram account because, you know, I'm just a little bit addicted. Thankfully, over the past few years I've created a folder full of photos to share to Instagram, and while I share at least one shot (usually more) every day, my back log of unshared snaps continued to pile up, until I'd amassed somewhere around 300+/- images.

While perhaps those 300 images weren't the cream-of-the-crop (because I'd already shared those), as I've delved into my archives over the last three weeks, I've unearthed some pretty great photos that had not yet seen the light of day. I guess having this opportunity to share these photographs is one silver lining to having surgery (albeit a thin one).

Here are some of the best shots I've discovered in my archives over the past three weeks:



A post shared by Greg Heil (@mtbgreg) on








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A post shared by Greg Heil (@mtbgreg) on


A post shared by Greg Heil (@mtbgreg) on


A post shared by Greg Heil (@mtbgreg) on


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And of course, if you dig what you see here, be sure to follow me on Instagram for even more photos!
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Shops roll fat tired bikes onto their showroom floors to prepare for the onset of a long, snowy winter. Riders are shaking down their snow-specific rigs, checking to make sure they have all the gear they need to brave the cold, dark, wet trails of winter—and inevitably, adding more gear to their Christmas wishlists.
Some people have argued that fat biking isn’t even really mountain biking, or is almost another sport entirely. Of course, I disagree with that sentiment—I think fat biking is one of the most important revolutions in the sport of mountain biking, ever.

Saturday, November 25, 2017


Surgery recovery can really screw with your mind. On the one hand, progress is painfully slow. After two weeks spent mostly sitting in the lazy boy, aside from doing the meager exercises that qualify as “physical therapy” twice per day and hobbling to the fridge for a beer, I’m still faced with many more days of binging on video games.

On the other side of the equation, progress from one day to another seems startling. “Did you see that?!” I exclaimed to Summer. “I just lifted my heel off the bed! I couldn’t do that yesterday!” Motor function, strength, and range of motion consistently return, getting noticeably better ever single day, and yet 16 days in I still can’t do a full pedal stroke.

One thing I’ve learned from my second go-round with ACL rehab is that when you have expectations or a drive to get to a certain physical fitness level as soon as possible, it does provide you with some motivation to do your daily exercises and put yourself through pain in the hopes that one day soon, you’ll be able to return to the sport that you love.

But when you have this type of drive, this burning desire to be better, to heal quickly, it also makes the process feel even painfully slower.

While I can never quite kick the drive to get back on the bike and get out in the mountains, which is why I’m going through this mess in the first place, in this second stint I feel like I’ve set lower standards and more modest goals than I did two years ago. Chilling out, trying not to be as driven when the drive gets me nowhere, is proving to make for a better rehab experience all around. Some days still feel dark, but once I've realize that health and recovery can’t be rushed, it relieves the pressure to perform just a little bit more.

The one major catch in this “chill and heal” strategy? Chilling just creates more time to hatch big plans…
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
I think that we don’t always get to choose what we want in life. Instead, the desire is so deep-seated within us that we feel compelled, motivated, driven, and inspired to do and be a certain type of person. For Cam, that’s throwing 360s off of massive drops–so much so, that he retired from slopestyle mountain biking last year to focus solely on preparing for this one competition in the Utah desert.

 Read more here.

Friday, November 10, 2017
“What determines your success isn’t, ‘what do you want to enjoy?'” writes Mark Manson in The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. “The relevant question is, ‘What pain do you want to sustain?’“
This line struck a chord with me more than any other in his book, as it’s been proven true over and over again in my own life. Manson goes on to expound on this principle, by showing that there is pain associated with everything that we choose to do in our lives, the process of everything we strive for and seek after. The pain is just different from one thing to the next, and what indicates whether or not we will accomplish our respective goals is whether or not we’re willing to live with and embrace that pain.
Photo: Marcel Slootheer
Wednesday, November 08, 2017
By living either in the past or in the future, we miss the present–the one thing that we know for sure we possess, if momentarily. What a tragedy it would be if we missed all of our present moments, only to arrive at the end thinking, “I thought there would be more.”
Autumn’s ephemeral appearance on the mountains reminds us of this. Just a dozen days ago the trees were green, and now the leaves have already turned golden and are falling. The color is grand, but the grandeur is brief. As is life.
Live the present.

Monday, November 06, 2017
The internet accomplishes many tasks incredibly well, and it has co-opted many of the roles that Interbike used to serve. Websites like Singletracks now play a massive role in sharing new products with consumers just moments after they’re announced. You don’t have to worry that you’ll miss something, because your social media sites and inbox will be blasted with all the latest and greatest tech.
Doing business and placing orders online has revolutionized bike shop ordering. In fact, most shop buyers I talked to said that every single one of the brands they work with requires orders for product for the upcoming calendar year to be placed before Interbike even takes place.
So what does that leave us with?
Relationships.

Photo courtesy Interbike

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