Greg Rides Trails

Trail Maintenance 101

2012-02-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

I’ve been dedicating more of my time lately to volunteering during trail work parties at my local trails. This blog post tells the story of our most recent work party, but also explains the why and the how behind basic trail maintenance.

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

Lack of Snow Around the US Means Extended Mountain Biking Season

2012-02-08T10:50:00.000-05:00

Originally written 1/11/12.

Most of the country has been suffering from a horrible snow year, but for many people this just means that the mountain biking season hasn’t come to an end yet! When I went home to visit family up in Wisconsin, I packed my skis because I was so stoked to hit the slopes during my annual winter trip. And there was snow on the slopes… but that was the only place that had snow, thanks to an artificial snow-making system.

Click on over to Singletracks.com to read the rest of the article.

New Exclusive GRT Blog Series: "A Year in the Life"

2012-02-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

I know that most of the information I have been posting here recently has just been linking back to articles I've published in other places, mainly Singletracks.com. However, I am going to start a small weekly series that will be exclusive to GRT: "A Year in the Life."

I've decided to take one picture everyday that either epitomizes what my day was like, or showcases the highlight of my day, and combine them into a photo album. There will undoubtedly be many mountain biking photos, as a mountain bike ride is almost always one of the highlights of my day.

Unfortunately, I didn't decide this until January was almost over... so it'll be 11 months of 2012 and one month of 2013. That is, of course, assuming that the Mayans were incorrect, and that the world actually makes it to 2013. Of course, the rapture could happen anytime, so maybe talking about this is totally a moot point...

So here on Greg Rides Trails I will publish one post a week with the past 7 photos from this experiment. Since February started just a few days ago, there won't be 7 photos today... but stay tuned for a new update each week!

Day 1, February 1st. Better late than never!
Post-2.15 mile run in the NHS Track & Field hoody... bringing back memories!

Day 2: This was my day today: Staring at a screen working, wishing the entire time that I was outside playing. Hopefully tomorrow will be different!

Day 3: Is it REALLY a mountain bike ride if you don't draw any blood?
(2 hrs and 45 minutes in the saddle.)

Photo Featured on Singletracks as a POD

2012-02-04T14:19:00.004-05:00

I recently had this photo featured on Singletracks.com as a Photo of the Day:

“Tire tracks through ice crystals on one of the coldest days of the year.” Trail: Bull Mountain, Dahlonega, GA. Photo: mtbgreg1.

Photo Featured as a POD on Singletracks

2012-01-31T16:44:00.000-05:00

I recently had this photo featured as a Photo of the Day on Singletracks!

About to drop into the Dyke Trail, Crested Butte, Colorado. Photo: mtbgreg1. Be sure to read the blog post about this trail!

How to Track Your MTB Statistics Using Singletracks.com

2012-01-27T16:41:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about completing my goal of riding 2,000 mountain bike miles in one year. If you are going to tackle a statistics-oriented goal such as this, tracking and logging all relevant stats is a step that sometimes seems insignificant–yet it is crucial!

Click on over to Singletracks to read the full article!

Photo featured as a Singletracks.com POD

2012-01-25T16:40:00.000-05:00

I recently had this photo featured as a Photo of the Day on Singletracks.com!

Rider: Christian Robertson. Trail: Timeline, Evolution Bike Park, Crested Butte Mountain Resort, Colorado. Photo: mtbgreg1.

Giro Xen Gloves Review

2012-01-23T16:38:00.000-05:00

Photo Credit: Sydnah Swails

A couple of months ago I received a cache of Giro gear in the mail for my reviewing pleasure. Among the goods were a pair of Xen gloves.

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

The 2,000 Mile Year

2012-01-20T13:13:00.000-05:00

Over the past two years, I have been trying to reach a goal of riding 2,000 mountain bike miles in a single year. Unfortunately last year (2010), I didn’t meet my goal, mostly due to a physical injury that I had little control over (you can read more about it here if you’d like). So when January 2011 rolled around, I knew that I had to give it my all and go for the 2,000 mile year!

I met my goal of riding 2,000 miles in one year! For the full blog post, be sure to click on over to Singletracks.com!

WTB Nano Race 29er 2.1″ Tire Review

2012-01-18T13:10:00.000-05:00

I’ve put close to 600 miles on the Nano as my rear tire on the Ibex Maroc. Over the course of my extensive test, I was very surprised to discover that despite being relatively narrow and so low-profile, the Nano provides excellent traction!

Click on over to Singletracks.com to read my full review!

Appearances in Singletracks.com PoDs

2012-01-16T13:09:00.000-05:00

Two photos with me on the bike were featured as Singletracks.com Photos of the Day recently:

To check out the other PoDs from that week, click here!

Singletracks.com PoDs

2012-01-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

One photo that I took recently made it as a Photo of the Day on Singletracks.com:

And one photo of me riding, taken by Golden Goose, was also featured:

Check out the rest of the PoDs here!

The Biker's Bane: Saddle Sore Treatment and Prevention

2012-01-11T13:04:00.001-05:00

It happens to the best of us… if you ride enough, it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll get saddle sores sooner or later. They’re uncomfortable, even painful, and they threaten to make every biking experience a nightmare, and in some cases they can keep you off your bike completely!

Simply put, they are the biker’s bane.

Read the full article here!

Riding My Trail

2012-01-08T16:00:00.002-05:00

All photos taken by Sydnah Swails, circa Thanksgiving 2011:

Trail Tuesday: Strand Hill, Crested Butte, CO

2011-12-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

This is the final installment in my series of ride reports from my vacation to Colorado during the first week of August, 2011. By the time this blog post goes live, it will probably be December. Man, how time flies.

Click on over and read the full article here!

Aaron Gwin: Riding Mountain Bikes for Jesus

2011-12-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

Aaron Gwin
Photo Credit

2011 was a big year for the USA in downhill mountain biking: it marked the first time in the history of mountain biking that an American took the overall men's World Cup title! Despite the fact that America was the birth place of mountain biking, it took us 34 or 35 years to grab this title, and it was done by a talented 23 year old by the name of Aaron Gwin.

Click on over to Cranial Collision to read the rest of the article!

7 Gravity-Defying MTB Photos

2011-12-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

One of my photos made it into the recent blog post on Singletracks.com, "7 Gravity-Defying MTB Photos." Check it out!

Thanksgiving Week PODs

2011-12-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

A photo of me was recently featured in the Thanksgiving Week PODs blog post on Singletracks.com!

10 Radiant Fall MTB Photos

2011-12-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

I had a photo featured in the recent blog post, "10 Radiant Fall MTB Photos," on Singletracks.com!

Final Review: Ibex Maroc Carbon Fiber 29er

2011-12-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

Click on over to Singletracks.com to check out my final review of the Ibex Maroc Carbon Fiber 29er, complete with photo gallery!

Week in Review: MTB Photos of the Day

2011-12-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

I had a photo featured in this week's POD selection!

The Blurry Relationship Between Consciousness and Memory

2011-12-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

"The Blurry Relationship Between Consciousness and Memory" began life as a memoir for my Intermediate Composition (creative nonfiction) course (read more about that here). After having written the paper, adapting it for use on Singletracks was easy.

Head on over to Singletracks.com to read the full piece: "After the Crash: The Blurry Relationship Between Consciousness and Memory."

New Corridor Cut

2011-11-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

Here are photos of the new corridor I cut over Thanksgiving break:

At this point, the trail will fork. One section will head down to the left, around a tree, and through a massive natural rock garden. The other section will head up to the right and will swing down to where I'm going to build a 3-4 foot drop in. There's already a natural drop-off below a tree, I just need to build it up some! Brush is getting thicker ever yard, it's going to be a lot more work...

Update on the Trail Building

2011-11-28T12:20:00.000-05:00

I spent about 15-16 hours building trail over the Thanksgiving holiday. Much of my time was spent digging in the actual tread of the trail and building a couple of interesting features, including a small berm. Check it out:

Duke, my trail building partner

Small berm. This is one of the tightest corners in the trail, and the berm really only functions to keep your front wheel in the corner.

2 Feet = Personal record for closest I've been to a black bear

2011-11-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

Last night (on Thursday night of last week) on a solo night ride here in North Georgia, I set a new personal record for the closest I've been to a black bear: about 2 feet!

I was rolling along a gravel road out in the Chattahoochee National Forest and a heard a rustling over to my left. As I looked over, a big ball of black fur jogged out of the underbrush and out onto the road, straight towards me! It turned and ran up the road, running right beside me, literally about 2-3 feet away from me! I could have about reached out and touched it, and could have easily jerked my front wheel into its side. It didn't seem to be in any big hurry, because I was easily keep pace with it. After I recovered from the shock, I grabbed the breaks to let it get ahead of me. As soon as it got out in front of me, it darted across my path off to the right and ran up into the underbrush. I stopped and watched it go, but it was soon out of sight.

MAN was that an adrenaline rush!