John has been mountain biking since the year 2000. He's traveled extensively across the USA, sampling the best mountain bike trails along the way. As a result, John topped the Singletracks leaderboard for "most trails ridden" for many years. He spent several years writing for Singletracks as a freelancer and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Sustainable Trails Coalition.
2015 was an amazing year in many ways, but especially in the world of mountain bikes. Over the course of the year, I got to put in double-digit miles on almost two…
We bike for fun. We bike for fitness. We bike for meditation. We bike for solitude, or we bike for companionship. But we can also bike for charity (and still get most…
"Ahhhh, the weekend approaches. Where shall I ride tomorrow?" For some people, this is not often a question of note as we have limited options next to the house, so we simply…
Editor’s Note: John Fisch is an avid backcountry enthusiast who hikes, bikes and backpacks at every opportunity. While John is a regular contributor to Singletracks.com, the opinions expressed in this commentary are his alone and…
Native Eyewear has long been a purveyor of quality sunglasses for adventurous outdoor pursuits. As a lifelong outdoor enthusiast as well as a dedicated mountain biker for the last 15 years (who goes through…
New Year’s Day is always a mixed bag of feelings as I reflect on the year gone by and look forward to the year ahead. As for the year ahead, I always…
photo: Lisa Fisch I finished the Foes Mixer Enduro "On Review" article by promising to answer the question of whether the new mixed wheel (29" up front and…
Prologue: Skiing 1996 At the 1996 US Junior Downhill Skiing Championships, a then largely-unknown 18-year-old Bode Miller announced his presence by winning three of four events, and placing second in the other. …
A LeMans start is always a bit of a frenzied affair, as runners sprint to be the first to make the transition to be riders. After all, we don't register for a…
Typically flowy cross-country singletrack on the Mt Marquette trail. In recent years, Copper Harbor, Michigan, has rightfully established itself as a major mountain biking destination with a very…
Having enjoyed my time on the Turner RFX so much, I decided to wrap up my Outerbike experience with another Turner, this time migrating from the all mountain side to the opposite…
I have always found Knolly to be an intriguing brand. Between their reputation for hardcore durability and their unique Four by 4 suspension design, they always seemed to be a brand I…
Have you ever met someone you were instantly, completely comfortable with? From the first exchange, you simply fit well with them. It’s not the fiery passion of “love at first sight,” which…
I always find it fascinating when I’m reminded of a long forgotten, but very important, lesson, even if it doesn’t really apply to me at the time. My fourth demo at Outerbike,…
Outerbike was full of surprises. One came while wandering down the second aisle looking for my next demo bike and spotting a tent with the letters “KTM.” Doesn’t KTM make motorcycles? I…
As I prepped for Outerbike, there was one bike I was particularly stoked to have the opportunity to try: the all new carbon Turner RFX 4.0. Traditionally, Turner has made stouter-than-average bikes…
The opening of Outerbike is a frenzied melee, as hundreds of riders who have waited an hour or more in the morning desert sun all sprint to the tent of their choice…
The start of Movil Maze beckons the rider into its wonderful world of tight n' twisty With all the news of recent or pending losses of access to…
Of all avid cyclists, the percentage who ride with protection (beyond a standard helmet) is pretty low. Many of us don't regularly ride terrain that really demands pads, and for those of…
You may not have heard of iSSi yet, but they are making a strong bid to join the fairly short list of performance pedal purveyors. However, they have a slight twist: iSSi’s…
The Thunderbolt was a hoot to throw around fast singletrack. Expectations Expectations can be tricky. High expectations are the perfect setup for a letdown or disappointment. Expectations need…
Rocky Cheats Up It has always seemed to me that Rocky Mountain bikes "cheat up" on the gnar scale. That is to say that a Rocky Mountain cross country bike can be…
Trails. It's all about the trails. Especially for beginners. While advanced riders may think they "need" gnarly trails, that's not so much a "need" as it is a "want." However, for the…
I had been through Flagstaff many times before, but I had never ridden there, despite having heard great things about the mountain biking. But on each previous pass through, I was either…
Mountain bike helmets have long been seen as a vital part of self preservation in a sport which promises the opportunity for disaster at every turn--at least for aggressive or uncoordinated riders.…
Heading into Big Laguna Meadows Some years ago I had been alerted to the idea that Noble Canyon was the best ride in Southern California. As such, I…
Riding the Blue Joint area in Montana's Bitterroot National Forest (photo: Red Barn Bicycles, Hamilton, MT) In 2009, Wilderness advocates brought a suit before federal court to force…
The 24-hour racing format makes for a very fun race, especially for the somewhat less competitive who just want to get out and push themselves turning cranks and enjoying the revelries that…
As Kiefer Sutherland learned all too well, a lot can happen in 24 hours. Certainly, putting in 24 continuous hours on a bike lines up among the greatest of physical challenges. Fortunately,…
The sock is a lowly piece of attire, both literally and figuratively. If Singletracks was to do one of those surveys with all the fancy infographics covering which pieces of apparel we…
Marin County, CA, is if not the very birthplace of mountain biking, at the very least one of the cradles which gave birth to our sport. When Joe Breeze threw a fat…
We’re almost two months into 2015 now and trails will be drying out sooner than you think. So, between work, family, and skiing, my thoughts turn to where to ride in 2015. …
photo: boulderwhiteclouds.org Idaho's Boulder-White Clouds area north of Sun Valley remains one of America's largest and most stunning unprotected natural areas. As such, this area was to many…
One of the more interesting features I rode in 2014--at the entrance to the Devil's Racetrack route in MiddleOfNowhere, Utah. 2014 is in the books and, having completed…
When you're young, you can fly We are young Wandering the face of the earth Wondering what our dreams might be worth Learning that we’re all immortal .…
Marketing professionals would say I am not an “early adopter.” When shaped skis replaced traditional skis, I eschewed them for the better part of a decade, opting instead to stick with my…
Part 1: The Beginning Big bike companies like Specialized and Trek have marketing departments dedicated to finding out what bike innovations they can sell, and sell lots of, to you, the mountain…
In keeping with the wild and wacky ways of our government, the recently-passed 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (the law which authorizes military spending) included some unrelated riders. One such attachment was…
Yesterday, I told you about 10 trails which you fail to appreciate in the way they deserve to be appreciated. In the interest of keeping balance in the universe, I must now…
Having ridden over 400 distinct trail systems from coast to coast in 25 states and 3 Canadian provinces, I’ve developed a pretty broad base upon which I draw when I assess trails. …
I've always enjoyed playing in the snow--even more so on the Chumba Ursa. Bike companies come and bike companies go. Even if they don't disappear, they often fall…
For many of us, there's nothing so marvelous as the perfect bike. Even as a total noob, when I bought my first mountain bike, I tried 16 different bikes, most of which…
Even the dirt road looks cool at the start of the Flat Pass ride. Flat Pass. The name itself is an oxymoron. I live in Colorado and spend…
A year ago, Singletracks included Santa Fe, New Mexico on its list of the top 10 mountain bike destinations. The capitol of "The Land of Enchantment" does indeed sport a superb variety of…
I purchased my first mountain bike in 2000, by which time aluminum had largely displaced steel as the frame material of choice (which has since been displaced by carbon fiber), and front…
As previously reported,Taos's South Boundary trail is a world class epic for strong riders and experienced adventurers that belongs on every serious rider's bikeit list. But while Taos's marquee ride is for the strong…
The Endura Guppy fits snug and secure, but comfortable. Hydrophobic--that's me! Many years ago, when I chose to serve, there's a reason I walked into the Air Force…
Having had such a stellar day on the first of our New Mexico shuttles on the Winsor Trail, Miniskibum and I were completely stoked for day two, especially since it would take…
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