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September 2019: Best Bike Parks

Features

Bike Packing

Follow in the muddy tread of two classic bikepacking adventures in Big South Fork National Recreation Area and Pisgah National Forest.

Gravel Grinder

For a backpacker, there may not be a better way to see North Carolina than on a bike

The Rise of High School Biking

In the last ten years, the National Interscholastic Cycling Association has added 27 leagues in 26 states. Will competitive cycling be coming to a high school near you?

Adventure Ed

Want a job in the outdoors? Learn how guides, search and rescue leaders, environmental attorneys, river keepers, outdoor educators, and adventure sports coaches got their start.

Endangered

The most important conservation law on the books—The Endangered Species Act—is under attack, and it’s not just wolves and salamanders that will suffer. Your favorite adventure spots are also critical habitat for many rare species.

Tangled Roots

It used to be that the harvesting of wild ginseng was an honorable occupation. Or at least that was the verdict among the people who lived for centuries off the land in the rough-cut Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee.

Back in the Saddle

After her mom was hit by a car, a rookie rider faces her fears and begins bicycle commuting.

The Battle for Shenandoah Mountain

Is there really enough room in the woods for everyone? A dispatch from deep in the weeds of a generation-long effort to protect Shenandoah Mountain.

Bike Parks of the Blue Ridge

Lift-assisted MTB parks bring convenient, immersive thrills for riders of all ability levels. Here are five of the region’s best.

Departments

BACKTALK

Is your waterproof gear poisoning you and the planet? The outdoor industry tackles toxins.

QUICK HITS

Wheels of Fortune—Industry Nine’s winding road to success · Best bike parks in the Blue Ridge · Shoes for Good · 15-year-old canoeist wins bronze at World Cup

THE GOODS

Best bike gear—Andy Beckman’s favorites for fat tire adventure.

TRAIL MIX

Four Southern musicians on the rise

LIVE OUTSIDE AND PLAY

Read what the Road Team is up to and the gear that keeps them going.

On the Cover

Brandon Blakely rides Slate Rock in Pisgah National Forest.

Photo by Derek DiLuzio |  @derekdiluzio | derekdiluzio.com

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