Issue number 60 of Mountain Flyer reminds us why we ride and explore and how our community of dedicated advocates, creative minds, and passionate riders continues to shape the sport. Learn about hut-to-hut trips and bike parks spanning the border of Austria and Switzerland, go back in time to the story behind a long-lost bike-park masterpiece, get inspired by those dedicated to giving kids their first experience on mountain bikes, and see inside the lives of a self-taught suspension guru and a master of titanium.

FEATURES

Why Riding Rules in Alpen Villages
Elladee Brown first rode in Austria in the mid-'90s, racing downhill events when the sport was a skin-suited, neon-clad affair. Last summer, she returned to the Alps with photographer Leslie Kehmeier to explore a different scene: a hut-to-hut route across southeastern Switzerland and Europe's newest lift-assisted bike park in Sölden, Austria. In addition to never-ending trails, Brown found calming, pastoral landscapes, high-elevation cake and cappuccinos around every turn.

'Just the Beginning' for Maryland Youth League
The Maryland Interscholastic Cycling League celebrated its picture-perfect inaugural year in 2018. With 294 participants—of which 18 percent were female—students logged 3,650 miles and amassed 231,495 feet of vertical gain as one of the newest chapters of the National Interscholastic Cycling League. At the finish line, photographer Stephanie Chall captured a season's worth of excitement.

Virginia's Vanished Shangri-La
In 2001, former pro downhiller Brad Stone constructed a bike-park masterpiece at Virginia's Wintergreen Ski Resort. A conservative homeowners' association shut it down in less than two years, but Wintergreen remains a mythical Shangri-La for those who rode it.

Like Magic: James Bleakley's Love for the Torch
Black Sheep Bikes' owner James Bleakley has welded thousands of bikes over the course of his framebuilding career. He has mentored an equally impressive number of up-and-coming framebuilders, who have gone on to launch their own brands, putting his reputation as an "all-around good guy" on par with his framebuilding finesse.

DEPARTMENTS

Profile: Anthony Diaz
Author Dylan Stucki gets inside the shop and life of suspension tech and innovator Anthony Diaz of Diaz Suspension Design. The self-taught suspension technician is known for spot-on custom valve tuning and recently introduced the Runt, an innovative product for managing spring rate on air forks.

Trail Anatomy: Knight Ide
Knight in Shining Rock Armor

Chain of Fools
In Defense of Laziness

Of Bikes and Beer
Singlespeed World Championships and Boneyard BCM

Effecting Change
Elorie Slater Asks Women What They Want

Photo Essay: Oaxaca, Mexico
In Oaxaca, Mexico, Dia de los Muertos and several days of enduro racing at TranSierra Norte offer haunting transcendence

Tested
Liv Intrigue Advanced 0 and Dean Colonel LT

Tailwind
I'm Thinking Mongolia by Lizzy Scully