Travis is a professional freelance writer who's deeply embedded in the mountain bike industry. His articles have appeared in Freehub Magazine, Mountain Bike Action Magazine, and The Loam Wolf, and he's a regular contributor to Singletracks. Travis has been riding since 2003 and currently resides in the mountain bike mecca of Bend, Oregon.
Author snapshot
MTB experience
- Mountain biking since 2003
- Current bike stable: Revel Rail 29
- Favorite place to ride: The Pacific Northwest
Writing experience and education
- Education: Masters in Teaching
- Other Publications: Freehub Magazine, Mountain Bike Action Magazine, The Loam Wolf, Bend Magazine
New state laws went into effect January 1 of this year prohibiting the sale of waterproof and water-resistant clothing made with polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
Technically, the mountain bike trails at Kelly Canyon near Idaho Falls, ID, closed in 2008. Now the Forest Service is finally enforcing the closure, but new trails are also proposed.
Mountain bikers are currently split over electronic shifting. Here's what the two sides are saying they love and hate about the idea.
Colorado Springs is working on roughly 75 miles of new and newly-legal mountain bike trails, and they're even hoping to build a lift-served bike park in a reclaimed quarry.
Despite approval by the city, the Sierra Club and other local environmental activists are opposing the construction of mountain bike trails at Gans Creek Recreation Area in Columbia, Missouri.
10 miles of new singletrack have just opened in Hailey, Idaho, with 70 more on the way.
Thanks to a massive effort from Pisgah Area SORBA's sawyer crews and volunteers, trails in the Pisgah National Forest near Asheville, NC, are slowly reopening to mountain bikes.
New trails have been built at Cline Butte, and more are proposed at Horse Ridge in Bend, OR. But will the "official" involvement in these trail systems threaten historic trails and e-bike access?
Hell Hole DH will soon offer five miles of uninterrupted shuttle-served descending outside of St. George, Utah.
Historic trails in Janesville, Wisconsin, including a renegade jump line, were destroyed to make way for a dog park. Now, new trails have been built across the street.
The ACT Greens have promised $1.2 million for trail developments in key trail systems near Canberra, Australia, such as Stromlo Forest Park.
The Casper Mountain trail system outside the town of Casper, WY, is expanding dramatically, from 10 miles to 23 miles.
Payson is quickly making a name for itself in the Arizona mountain bike scene, with 8 miles of social trails getting legalized and 6 miles of new trails in the works.
The Flathead Area Mountain Bikers are working to resurrect the Historic Ridge Trail near Whitefish, Montana. Once work is complete, it will connect to the Ralph Tayer Memorial Trail, creating a 23-mile high alpine epic.
The historic Highline Trail is currently being rehabilitated with lengthy reroutes, promising to turn Payson, AZ, into a bikepacking destination.
15 miles of new, sanctioned singletrack is coming to Bigfork, Montana's Crane Mountain — including the Flathead National Forest's first mountain bike-specific trails.
After Powdr Corp announced its intention to sell the internationally-renowned Mt. Bachelor ski resort in Bend, Oregon, a local community group named "Mt. Bachelor Community Inc." has formed to return the resort to local ownership.
Cincinnati, OH, is taking cues from the trail development in Bentonville, AR, by building a network of connected trail hubs.
A privately-owned shuttle-served bike park known as "Red Hawk Ridge" is coming to Talent, Oregon.
The new Mogo trail system in the Eurobodalla Shire in New South Wales, Australia, will be home to 130km of new purpose-built mountain bike trails — and 70km are already open.
Every dollar earned at Bogus Basin is re-invested into the ski area, making it one of the few non-profit ski areas in the country. These re-investments created the Basin Gravity Park, a phenomenal downhill MTB park just minutes from downtown Boise, ID.
Despite facing many challenges over the years, like having its chairlift repossessed and hauled off by helicopters, Idaho's Tamarack Resort has persevered to become one of the state's premier downhill mountain bike parks.
The famous Greenslick trail in Asheville, NC, has been re-opened after receiving a top-to-bottom makeover, making it more and fun rugged than ever.
An all-new 60km system known as "Djuwang Baring" is being built in the town of Creswick, northwest of Melbourne, Australia.
Mountain biking really is the new golf! The former Little Traverse Bay Golf Club near Harbor Springs, Michigan, has been transformed into a nature preserve, complete with 5.2 miles of MTB flow trails.
A proposal from the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit would open over 100 miles of singletrack in the Lake Tahoe basin to e-bikes.
A proposed update to the Norwegian Motor Traffic Act would implement a blanket ban on e-bikes on singletrack in Norway. European MTB advocates worry the ban could spill over into other European countries.
The Velomont Trail will eventually span the entire state of Vermont, and a new 38-mile segment has just opened.
The Park City City Council approached Deer Valley Resort about opening 5 miles of singletrack to e-bikes. However, 68% of locals are opposed to the change.
The Mammoth Bike Park barely opened in 2023, and some of the trails remained closed the entire season. This year, the bike park is back to its full glory.
The USFS has brought forward a proposal to open 160 miles of non-motorized singletrack near Bend, OR, to e-bikes.
Lael Wilcox is attempting to set the fastest known time for cycling around the globe.
A proposed trail system is in the final stages of the approval process near Oregon's dairy capital: Tillamook.
The addition of an uphill climbing trail in North Cheyenne Canon Park create a potentially dangerous intersection — but the parks staff came up with a creative solution.
Nathan Peterson is racing his grandfather's 1994 Merlin Mountain titanium hardtail mountain bike, and in spite of the dated geometry, he's winning.
While at this time no trails are expected to close, truck traffic and silica dust could negatively impact access to trailheads and riders on the road heading to the trails.
The Domestic Bicycle Production Act proposes suspending tariffs on imported bicycle components and making low-interest loans available to US bike manufacturers.
Travis argues that a wheel upgrade can make the biggest difference when it comes to mountain bike performance.
Directional trails are proving to be an effective strategy for reducing user conflicts and increasing capacity in popular locations.
The Apogee One full suspension mountain bike features a unique modular linkage located around the bike's bottom bracket.
Tom Prochazka shares how some of Whistler’s most iconic mountain bike trails got their names.
A study of studies looks at 220,000 mountain bike injuries, and the author has some interesting theories based on the data.
Ryan Leech teaches us how to climb the steepest trails on our mountain bikes.
A new trail segment will link the towns of Truckee and Nevada City and is set to allow e-bike access along the entire route.
A mountain bike park is being built in South Carolina that promises trails and features for everyone from new riders to pros.
Why have trunnion-mounted mountain bike shocks become more common lately? Like a lot of components, it has to do with frame design.
Reach measurements on modern mountain bikes have grown, and it may be bad for our backs. Here's what to consider now on a new bike and to solve a current fit issue.
The Velomont trail will stretch nearly 500 miles from south to north. Here's how the massive singletrack project is coming together.
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