Category: dirt

Photos of mountain biking in the outdoors.

Forest for the Trees

Posted on by Austin

Trees against the sky on an overcast day in the forest in Brian Head, Utah

Trees along the side of the Dark Hollow mountain bike trail in Brian Head, Utah

|| The Dark Hollow and Bunker Creek trails ribbon through the forest above Brian Head, Utah. Drive to the top of the mountain, unload your bikes, pedal a few hundred vertical, and you’re treated to an hour of screaming-fast riding across well-traveled single track, rock gardens and roots that bite at your feet, and views that give you more than a moment of pause. Mud was the order of the day for this particular ride with photographer Re Wikstrom and riders Shaun Raskin and Weston Deutschlander. Our grins caked with mud and our bikes soaked, we skidded up to the shuttle truck at the bottom well after darkness fell. Two more days of riding to go, and it only rained more. ||

Powered by Pedals

Posted on by Austin

Looking down at the trail below the bikes, shoes, and muddy tires of three mountain bikers in Utah.

|| A Yeti, a Genius, a Jekyll, and a Kona went for a ride at Brian Head. Pictured here are the feet, bikes, and tires of Weston Deutschlander and Shaun Raskin on the trails outside Brian Head, Utah. Although you can’t see the mud in this particular photo, it was omnipresent during our trip. Once you’ve driven four hours and put in the time to park to trucks there’s no turning back, so we rode regardless of the weather. Fast, slick, and fun, it’s like playing in puddles for no good reason when you’re a kid. The best part is that it makes for some amazing photos.||

Headed to Brian

Posted on by Austin

Professional telemark skiers Shaun Raskin and Weston D. standing on a redrock ridge overlooking Brian Head, Utah.

A vast and sweeping view of the redrock cliffs just off the side of a mountain bike ride in Brian Head

Ridges like this make the mountain biking in Brian Head, Utah truly amazing. Re Wikstrom, Shaun Raskin, Weston D., and I shuttled our bikes to the peak intersection of trails in Brian Head, and made lap after lap over a long weekend. Muddy mountain biking is fun (although we try to avoid it) but sunny moments like this are always nice when you’re shooting photos outside.

Unspoiled Singletrack

The singletrack in and around Brian Head is some of the best in Utah and also some of the least crowded. Places like Moab and Virgin get much more attention and far more coverage in statewide tourist marketing and venue selection but Brian Head has its own gems—not the least of which is a stop on the Utah Gravity Series of DH races.

Special thanks to the all of the locals and trail builders in the area who put in countless hours to make these trails so we all can ride them.

 

Where’s Waldo

Posted on by Austin

Well-worn singletrack mountain biking trail winds through the McKenzie wilderness in Oregon.

|| Well-worn singletrack winds through a lush, green forest and among the old growth trees. During our road trip through Oregon, the McKenzie River trail was one of the many mountain bike trails that we rode. Riding all 26 miles of this trail takes time, tons of pedal strokes, and a ton of water.

Anyone with a bicycle should count this as a bucket-list destination. ||