What’s on the other side of that ridge? Where does this trail go? How far is it? What’s around the bend? What’s at the end of this road? I wonder if…
These are all things that go through my mind when running trails or riding my bike. I rarely run from my home any more because in the nearly 15 years I’ve lived there I am certain I have run every possible combination of routes up to 10 miles, or so. You will not often find me running or riding with a group because the temptation for me to suddenly change course and explore a new route or road is too great, and often too sudden, to be held to the path of others. I almost always drive to a trail to run now, and often, I don’t even wind up at the trail I intended to run on because I saw a new place to run. As far as cycling goes, I’ve pushed my old Giant OCR2 beyond it’s limits on trails and gravel it was never designed to traverse simply because I wanted to explore.
In this issue of Endurance, we’re celebrating those off road gravel and dirt road escapes you can experience by bike.
If you recently discovered mountain biking or gravel riding our cycling columnist Thomas Henson has few tips for you in his column “For Beginners Only: Mountain Bike Safety Tips”. While Thomas has been an avid road cyclist for years and many of you know him from the North Carolina Tour de Cure of which he was a co-chair from 2009-2014, it was actually mountain biking that got him interested in cycling. Like many in the sport, he picked it up as a young adult when he was still young enough to feel invincible. I, however, didn’t pick up mountain biking until I was nearly 40 and while I came to love it, I really wish I had this important information earlier. So, if this issue has you inspired to try some off road cycling, be sure to read this column!
Another cyclist who got into the sport at a young age is Brian Sain, who we featured on our cover back in 2009. At that time, Brian was not yet 20 years old but, already a seasoned veteran of the charity event, the 24 Hours of Booty. Brian’s older brother Aaron, who passed away from brain cancer at an early age, was his inspiration for cycling. It took just that first event to get him hooked and now, more than 10 years later, Brian owns his own bicycle shop in Blowing Rock, NC. His years of experience riding and working on bikes made him a great choice to preview a couple of bikes you’ll want to take a look at if you plan on tackling one of the “gravel grinder” events we feature in this issue.
While we have previewed some great mountain biking events before, we have never previewed this new segment of cycling events called “gravel grinders”. I am super-excited about these events because for me, mountain biking was more about getting off the asphalt than tackling tricky descents and gnarly obstacles. After finishing by “bucket list” mountain biking event in 2007, I rarely strayed from hard-packed dirt trails on my mountain bike, a Specialized StumpJumper, which was way too much bike for a path. My StumpJumper served me well at La Ruta de los Conquistadores in Costa Rica but, soon found itself buried behind my other bikes in the shed. While not perfect for dirt roads my old road bike with 25mm tires was actually a better fit for what I was riding. So, if you are like me, you’ll definitely want to check out our “Gravel Grinding Getaways” feature in this issue. Be sure to check out our recommended bike type for each event as well. Some are more suited to mountain bikes, some gravel grinder or cross bikes, and even some that’s best suited for a road bike.
No matter what bike or event you choose, you will also want to check out Brian Diaz’ column on some great strength exercises for mountain and off road cycling. We also feature another great core corner exercise from Elizabeth Towe at Balanced Movement. In addition to the other great articles and recipes in this issue we also feature Brian Beatty’s great article “Finding Your Line”. The article is filled with practical tip for trail running or single-track riding for sure but, I read it more from a philosophical standpoint. “We remember not to get hung up on the obstacles, but focus on the path through them,” says Brian in his article. For me, an avid trail runner, I am always more focused on finding the best line through a path of obstacles so, reading this and applying the imagery off it to my personal and professional life, helps me focus on the journey more so than the end result. I hope you can do the same— find your line and enjoy the journey!
Inspire. Perform. Endure.
