Break new ground. Discover new lands. Spread the passion. Awaken spirituality. The stories in issue 61 of Mountain Flyer reveal how mountain biking can spur life-changing adventure. Get inspired by the women who aren’t afraid to push the boundaries of freeride, learn why Dave Weagle can’t stop innovating to improve our ride, follow Sarah Rawley’s lead in empowering women, feel emboldened by Mattias Fredriksson’s decision to settle down in a new country. These stories and more are packed into the pages of issue 61, now on newsstands. 

[On the cover] Photographer Sven Martin says there is a correlation between the best racers and the sharpness of panning photos like that on the cover: A racer’s clean, efficient, fast arcs lead to crisp captures. It was no surprise, then, when winner Vaea Verbeeck turned out to be his sharpest pan at New Zealand’s Crankworx Rotorua Air DH. Sven Martin

FEATURES

How High Can They Fly?
Being the fastest girl in the neighborhood isn’t what inspires a female freerider. Instead, the talented women who are building up the female freeride community want to do it their own way—whether that’s Casey Brown dropping in on big lines at Red Bull Rampage, Veronique Sandler making a must-watch video or Vaea Verbeeck hitting ever-bigger jumps. Writer Jen See goes sky high with the women of freeride.

Durango Devo’s Winning Formula
Jennifer Mason spent time with the Colorado-based Durango Devo to see how this nonprofit is using mountain bikes to teach and enhance bike-handling skills, grow confidence and nurture decision-making among youth. And while several Durango Devo alumni have gone on to race on the international stage, including at the Olympics, coaches brag about their focus on fun and inclusion the most.

Northern British Columbia’s Fresh Canvas
Talk about mountain biking in British Columbia, and most people think of Whistler, Squamish or the North Shore of Vancouver. But a few hundred miles northward, in towns like Smithers and Terrace, a vast network of trails is rapidly growing among raw and wild landscapes. Photographer Mattias Fredriksson recently relocated to this increasingly noteworthy region and, through his words and photos, shares why.

Dave Weagle: Mountain Biking’s Mad Scientist
When a bike doesn’t ride as well as it could, mechanical engineer Dave Weagle finds the barrier to fun and starts sketching and prototyping until he finds a better solution—whether it be designing a chain guard, a fork or a revolutionary, new suspension platform. In this issue’s “maker” profile, Berne Broudy catches up with Weagle to offer a glimpse inside this brainiac’s inner world.

DEPARTMENTS

Profile
Patrick Kell, grants manager with the International Mountain Bicycling Association, makes the case for trails

Trail Anatomy
Aaron Mattix: From Road Cut to Rollercoaster

Chain of Fools
Tyler Cohen Mustache You a Question

Effecting Change
Sarah Rawley: Building Community

Photo Essay
Bruno Long travels to Roopkund Lake, India, where the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve inspires spiritual awakening for people from all corners of the globe, no matter the reason for or method of traveling the fabled Himalayan trekking routes.

Tested
Marin Mount Vision 9 and Mondraker Foxy Carbon RR 29

Tailwind
James Murren goes hog wild in Sedona