The Life Outdoors

The Life Outd rs 28

Biking to the Limit: how mountain biking has evolved over the years

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The Start of a Skaterboarder’s Journey On the FastTrack: the horseback riding experience

16 Climbing at its Highest

To reach the top, you have to start at the bottom

Photo by Ryan Palo via Cruxn.com

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How to bunny hop on a BMX bike.

Learn the parts of a skateboard and which ones are the best to use.

A short history and what you need to know before you go ice climbing.

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How more and more teens are getting into skateboarding.

Learning the basics of rock climbing.

Restore your energy with a new trail mix blend.

Mad Hops

The Young and The Wild

Parts of a Skateboard

It’s All About The Climb

Ice Climbing Guide

Energy Boost

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How horseback riding effects everyday lives.

The top 5 outdoor sports that promote fitness and endurance.

The steps to learning how to ski.

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The Way of the Ride

Carving the Pavement Longboarding, and why it’s so much fun.

Outdoor Sports

Evolution How mountain biking has evolved over the years.

Skiing for Dummies

Contributors Reece Ryan

Evelyn Bixby

is 14 years of age and goes to LASA High School. His favorite activities are rock climbing and being outdoors in general.

He plays lacrosse and is currently on a rock climbing team with his friend Alex. He loves to explore the park next to his house with his friends and go swimming in his pool. His favorite foods are crab/lobster and buffalo wings, he loves the color blue and he is a huge Scooby Doo fan. Apart from his outdoor activities he enjoys playing D&D with his friends and loves playing video games of all kinds. He likes to hang out with his family and is a fun person to be around.

is a budding film actor and student.

He recreationally mountain bikes and longboards, and loves to cook. He drums and sings, occasionally does homework if he really has to, and loves to hang out with his friends. Also, he used to live in Hawaii, where he fell in love with surfing. In terms of free time, he watches a lot of Mythbusters, because it is one of of the best shows ever.

He spends a lot of time with his family because they rock, and tries to spend as much time as he can with his brother, when he is back from college.

is an amazing person who loves to be outside and constantly listens to music.

She plays volleyball and basketball competitively, and swims and runs with her friends for fun.

When she’s not outside or doing homework, she is at the Mall or the Domain shopping.

Evelyn likes to travel and recently went to Ontario, Canada and New York City with her cousins. Her favorite movies are comedy and action movies, and her favorite type of food is Mexican food. If she could be anywhere in the world right now, she would be on the beach of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Enrique Resendiz

Photos by Zach Kosub

Cameron Randall

is a 15-year-old who lives pretty close to his high school (LASA), so he gets more time to sleep which is one of the things he loves to do. Another thing he loves to do is skateboard and he recently joined a group of friends to skate downtown spots and skateparks every Saturday in order to get sponsored by local skateshops and maybe go pro one day. After a tiring day he enjoys watching funny YouTube videos to ease his mind and forget about stressing things like school. He also enjoys listening to music that may creep other people out, but that’s just the way he rolls.

Carving L

The

ongboarding is a sport of many faces. Some see it as a mode of travel, others as a hipster pass time, others as a way to simply go extremely fast downhill. Whatever the case, however one perceives longboarding, it’s hard to deny the raw fun of it. From the perspective of an outsider, the board just seems like an expensive skateboard minus the tricks. These people, to put it bluntly, are missing the point.

The regular skateboards, coined trick boards by longboarders, are designed to be able to do tricks, to ollie and kickflip. Longboards are used for carving, for riding streets and hitting massive speeds. To provide an analogy, skateboards are rally cars, longboards are Lamborghinis. While they fall into the same general category, they are far from the same.

There are a variety to factors that allow the longboard to behave differently from skateboards. The wheels tend to have a much larger diameter so that they can roll faster and smoother, especially on rougher street terrain.

The trucks are also different, in that they tend to be much wider and have softer bushings, which are the rubber cones or cylinders that provide the spring in trucks. The board is much springier than a trick board’s, which allows for comfort and deep carving. Additionally, the board is wider and longer, allowing for large smooth turns and increased stability.

The sport of longboarding has been partitioned into a variety of separate styles. There is transportation, where you are just using the board to travel, slalom, which involves quickly turning between obstacles at high speeds, and freeride, which

involves sliding on harder wheels at high speeds. Additionally, there is downhill, which is essentially going down mountains at very high speeds, sometimes in excess of 60 MPH. There is also a small niche called dancing, where the rider rides a very long and wide board and dances up and down it, mimicking the styles of surfing from decades ago.

Longboarding has a few other supplies that are recommended, if not required to longboard. Firstly, helmets are absolutely required. A crash at high speeds or getting hit by a car without a helmet on are both very easily fatal, and so the use of a helmet is a necessary precaution.

Slide gloves are also very common,

Pavement

Art by: Longboard Loft NYC (top), Floris Kester (mid)

A girl cruising on a longboard

which are A rack of longboard decks thick cloth gloves with a hard plastic plate in the middle. These allow riders to touch the ground and balance themselves without shredding their hands. Padding is highly recommended, because nobody enjoys broken bones or road rash.

That’s enough with the nitty gritty. Longboarding is a fun alternative to the aggressive styles of shortboards, with smooth turns and massive speeds. This truly is a sport that isn’t about the destination, but the journey to it.

For more information, go to longboarddirectory. com, skateboardexpress. com.au has a great amount of info about longboarding, and wheelbasemag.com has some great tips and tricks about the sport.

2012|The Life Outdoors|5

Photo By Ben D’Ath

The Young and The Wild by enrique resendiz 2012|The Life Outdoors|7

Photo By Omar Diaz

A

skateboarder looks on from a distance at a set of ten stairs, to most people these set of stairs are just a way to get up to an office building, but to the skateboarder it’s an obstacle that he needs to overcome.

After a long stare at the set of stairs, the skateboarder pushes himself and his board as hard as he possibly can, sets both his feet on his skateboard, pops the end of the skateboard’s tail and soars through the air and lands perfectly on the volts and rides away.

Another great achievement for this

Skateboarder performing a Tre Flip Photo By Enrique Resendiz

Skateboarder performing a Heelflip

10-year-old skateboarder.

The spread of skateboarding is reaching teenagers and children all around the world. It is becoming more and more popular than it was before. Skateboarding has given kids and teens something to do, something that is not complicated, something that eases their minds and makes them forget about a hard day of school, something that keeps them occupy, and something they can just simply love doing all day. Rene Villafan, 14, Juan Herrera, 14, and Rashard McCray, 14, are examples of these teenagers.

According to Lakeside Skate park’s website in 2008 there were over 13 million skateboarders in the USA, and 93.7% of those people are under the age of 24. In the USA, there are 80 million people that are in the ages of 5 to 24, that means that at least 1 out of 7 young kids and teenagers are skateboarders. According to the Austin Skateboarding Club, skateboarding is the third most popular sport among teenagers. Skateboarding has been considered not only a sport but an extreme sport since it is physically

hazardous.

Skateboarding made its first appearance around the late 1940s and was invented by surfers who wanted to do something when the waves were flat. Throughout the years, skateboarding has had pros and cons contributing to society one con being that people would label anyone who was involve with a skateboard a criminal and a person that is up to no good according to skateboardhere. com.

However, skateboarding prevailed by revolutionizing the deck itself and shaping it into a form that would allow a skateboarder to perform trick like the “Ollie” and the “Kickflip” which was invented by freestyle skateboarder Rodney Mullen. These types tricks attracted many people into skateboarding because it was something new to the world that has not yet seen. Many other things has made skateboarding popular throughout the years such as the 1999 video game Tony Hawk Pro Skater that made skateboarding more noticeable than it already was.

Now there are many more reasons why skateboarding has

become so popular over the years to young people. Some of the reasons, according Rene Villafan, are that “It is a lot simpler than joining another sport because you don’t need a team or anything just a skateboard and concrete.” Rene is an amateur skateboarder who began skateboarding at the age of 10 and skated for a year but stopped for three years however he returned to skateboarding and is now trying to get sponsored by a local Skate shop. Unlike many other sports, skateboarding does not require a team, a field, or a specific kind of equipment just the skateboard itself and a person can skateboard. Other than requiring a lot less than other sports, “Skateboarding gives you style and personality.” According to amateur skateboarder Juan Herrera.

A person can never tell who is a skateboarder because each skateboarder dresses differently.

Why do they dress differently you may ask? Well because no one is telling them how they should dress or what specific style they should have, skateboarding gives a person so much more freedom than any other sport because not only do you get to dress however

Girl Skateboard Photo By Enrique Resendiz

you want, you can skateboard wherever you want, whenever you want especially when you have nothing to do and there is no one to tell you what you should do or how you should do it. Skateboarding is like the America of the sports, it gives you a whole lot of freedom. With all this freedom a skateboarder can actually become great at the sport and dream for something

“It means my life my [skateboard] is [like] my baby.” said amateur skateboarder Rashard McCray. Skateboarding can become the thing a kid or teenager loves the most, everyone knows that kids have dreams and some of them dream to get paid for doing what they love to do the most, in this case skateboarding.

Dreaming to become a professional skateboarder definitely starts at an early stage for kids. As soon as they see a professional skateboarder getting paid for skating all day, they instantly make it their goal to get sponsored and become a pro. For instance, Nyjah Huston is a professional skateboarder and is sponsored by companies such as Element skateboards, DC shoes, Monster, and Beats by Dre, and he is a 17-year-old. Many kids would love to be like Nyjah that’s why they get addicted to skateboarding and try to

become better and better in order to make their hobby become their career. It’s skateboarders like Nyjah that inspire kids and teenagers.

Other skateboarders that inspire kids are “Sean Malto, Chris Cole, and Paul Rodriguez” said by Rene Villafan.

That’s why kids and teenagers enter competitions such as HoodWood, Rat, and Element’s: Make It Count so they can get noticed by local skate shops and get sponsored by them first then enter bigger competitions and get noticed by sponsors. “I want to become a pro and get sponsored by my favorite local skate shop, ‘No Comply’” said Rene Villafan. He also stated that part of his plan to get sponsored is by entering this year’s Element’s” Make It Count.

It has only been around 60 years and skateboarding is now more accessible than ever according to skateboardhere.com making it more noticeable to the public to everyone especially kids. As you watch skateboarder and see him do a Tre Flip (360 degree Kickflip) of a 10 stair you get the urge to learn how to do that yourself. Rene Villafan got into skateboarding the same way. “I saw my friends skate a lot and I wanted to learn how to do that as well”. By just witnessing skateboarding a kid suddenly becomes more interested in the sport and wants to learn more about it and before they know it, they find themselves picking up a skateboard and going outside to skate. Skateboarding is spreading throughout the youth of the world simply because is another thing that attracts the human eyes and by doing the sport it gives young people a way to let go of everything and focus on the one thing and one thing only and that’s to skateboard until they are not physically able to do so.

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Parts of a Skateboard

Some people identify a skateboard as just a piece of wood with wheels attached on the bottom. Well, I am here to tell you that that statement is totally wrong because if it was true, the wheels would not be able to move in the first place. Well I am here to show you and tell you all the different parts of a skateboard and their functions while being riden and in addition, I will inform you of my personal favorite brands for each part.

Deck

The deck of a skateboard is the board itself and it is made of various woods compressed together. Usually underneath the board, there is a design and could be a design from the company that made it. The front of the deck consist of what is refered to as the nose and the back of it consist what is known as the tail. The tail is use to pop the board into the air usually to perform a trick like an ollie or a kickflip. I usually go with Plan B or a Girl deck, but I also like Zero decks as well. All of these companies have very cool designs.

Photo By: Enrique Resendiz

Griptape

Griptape is simply to help the skateboarder stay on the board and have a better grip on the board.

Griptape is not expensive and not very different from each other just designs that may be on it, so you shouldn’t worry that much about griptape.

I would recommend Mob griptape because it is very durable, but other brands you may want to check out are Grizzly, Shakejunt, and Black Magic according to eHow.com

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Photo By: Enrique Resendiz

Hardware

Hardware is use to connect the deck to the trucks and maintain them together. If these part of the skateboard is loose then you will have trouble riding it, so make sure you tighten them good with a skate tool. Again this is not a very expensive part of the skateboard unless there is some sort of design by the company.

A very well known company for making hardware is Shorty’s and they have been around for a while, so they are a good choice.

Photo By: Enrique Resendiz

Trucks Trucks are the part of the skateboard that attach the deck underneath and wheels on the side.

You use the hardware to attach them by putting the volts through the four holes on the deck and then take one truck and but the volts thorugh the four hole on the truck and use a tool to tighten them up. Thunder trucks are a good choice for a beginner because the are really quick to move while riding but Independent trucks are great once you get into skateboarding.

Photo By: Enrique Resendiz

Wheels

The wheels are obviously the reason why the skateboard moves in the first place. There many types and sizes of wheels. Wheels larger than 60mm are usually good for going over cracks and bumpy roads but I would recommend sizes 51mm-55mm that way your skateboard is not as heavy. Brands such as Bones and Spitfire are great according to About.com because they have formulas that prevent flatspots, which is when part of the wheel burns off, and are very durable.

Photo By: Enrique Resendiz

Bearings

You might think that the bearing of a skateboard might look useless but is actually a very vital part of the skateboard. This is what actually make your wheels spins and how fast your skateboard goes.

The bearings are placed inside the wheel and then place in the axel of the trucks. Bones Reds are really good bearings and are very durable; however, Bones Swiss Ceramis are really fast and last longer according to BonesBearings.com, but they are more expensive so I would recommend Bones Reds for beginners.

Photo By: Enrique Resendiz

2012|The Life Outdoors|11

Its All About The Climb Dont look Down

By Cameron Randall

man bouldering, Photo courtesy of Crux and Cairns

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photo by Craig Clarence, lead climbing in San Diego

feel the sweat dripping down your face, the coarse stone Y ou beneath your hand, you see the next hold above you and

slightly to the right. Slowly you inch yourself up the wall, and you feel the slight rush when you finally grab the hold, but you’re focused on what’s ahead. That the feeling of rock climbing. All serious climbers have experienced this feeling before. climbing in a camp at the North Austin Rock Gym. He loved it and began going three to four times a week. Eventually, he decided to join the rock climbing team and has never regretted it. Alex, like many climbers, began his hobby bouldering. There are multiple types of rock climbing, there is top rope climbing, lead climbing, and bouldering. Top rope is when the climber has a rope fed through a bolt at the top of the climb. The climber will have one belayed ready to catch them if they fall by pulling down on the rope they have fed through an atc or grigri. Lead climbing is when climbers begin with the rope on the ground. There will be one climber and one belayer.

The climber will begin climbing up the wall as the belayer feeds rope to him. Periodically, throughout the climb, there are clips which the climber will attach his rope to using a quick draw so that if he falls he won’t hit the ground.

The rope, with the help of the belayer, will catch him before he hits the ground. “Lead climbing is photo courtesy of Zion Mountain School, girl on top-rope the most difficult forms of climb Rock climbing is a sport that takes great strength and balance. A climber must be able to pull himself up the wall and maintain perfect self control or else he will immediately fall.

“Climbing can be very difficult but with a lot of practice and an experienced instructor anything is possible”, says Alex Lemens. If someone wants to try rock climbing they should begin indoors in a class or at a camp. Fifteenyear-old Team Austin Rock Gym member Alex Lemens, began

ing” Alex says “and would not be recommended if you are a beginner”. The final form of climbing is bouldering. Bouldering is debatably the most dangerous form of climbing because the climber does not use a rope. However, the climbs are not nearly as high.

If someone is looking to start climbing, the most popular climbing areas in Austin are the North Austin Rock Gym (indoors), the South Austin Rock Gym (indoors), and the Greenbelt (outdoors). “It’s a great release of stress and a good source of exercise,” says Alex. People can join in “Powerhouse” which is a thirty minute extreme workout at the North and South Austin Rock Gyms and takes place from 7:308:00 and 8:30-9:00.

Team ARG is a way to improve climbing skills. “I would recommend the team to any climber who is ready to commit to practicing weekly,” Alex says. The team has two coaches, Coach Morgan Young and Coach John Myrick. Both coaches have been climbing for at least 10 years. The benefits of being on the team are

that you learn proper climbing technique, names of moves, and climbing etiquette. Also, you get fit, and can meet a lot of people. The team has competitions throughout the season.

If a climber does well then they can attend the regional competition. If they continue to excel the may be eligible for the Worlds competition for bouldering, top rope, speed climbing, and many other genres of climbing competitions. If someone wants to join the Austin Rock Gym (ARG) team and get in shape, or simply have a good time, it costs $160 a month to attend and a membership to the gym is included. Practices are Monday and Wednesday at the North Gym and Tuesday and Thursday at the South Gym. If someone is mad, climbing is an effective way to let go of their surroundings and just be completely focused. “It’s a great way to just forget about school, or work and focus on the climb, ”says Alex “I’m most focused when I’m mad at a climb I can’t complete...I love that feeling.” Many people think of climbing as being close to a form of

meditation. This is especially true if the climber is high up because they become so focused on not falling that they completely zone in on what they are trying to do with their body.

The swift, yet strong movements of a completely engrossed climber is something you cannot experience any other way.

To start climbing a person will need to purchase the necessary equipment. If someone is looking for a place to buy shoes and other equipment to begin their climbing experience they can always find it at either of the Austin Rock Gyms or REI (an outdoors and recreational equipment store located in Austin.

TX) Prices are especially competitive during their sales. For bouldering, the things a climber needs are shoes and, if they are bouldering outdoors, they will need a crash pad (both items sold at REI). For top rope and or lead climbing, climbers will need a harness, rope, and an atc or grigri.

Both an atc and grigri are used to belay a climber. However, the grigri will automatically lock if a person falls, unlike an atc which locks when

man climbing overhanging rock, Photo by Bryan

the belayer pulls down on the rope causing enough friction to stop the rope from slipping through the belayers hands and preventing the climber from falling (atc is recommended for beginners). Climbers will need carabineers, quick draws (only for lead climbing), and, depending on the climbing location, the climber may need cams, also known as SLCD or friends. All of these items can be found at REI and on any climbing gear website.

If someone is looking for something to do to get outside, exercise and get some fresh air or just hang out with their friends and meet new people, rock climbing is an effective way of doing that.

2012|The Life Outdoors|15

Ice Climbing Guide

Ice climbing evolved from rock climbing and other mountaineering activities. It is a thrill seeking and very dangerous sport according to, adventure.howstuffworks.com. At high altitudes rock climbers had to be able to navigate slippery ice and other frozen features, slowly this became its own form of climbing. As climbers got more efficient at climbing these icy features they began designing tools to aid them in the process. The first important tools invented were called crampons. Crampons are sharp spiked pieces of metal jutting out of the front of the boots, you insert them into the bottom of your boots to add traction and make it easier to stay on the wall.

Then in 1960 the ice picks that were used to stab into the ice and hold you to the wall were altered in a couple huge ways according to www.rockandice.com. First, the pick was shortened from 25 inches down to 22. Next a sharper curve was added to the pick axe were before there was a very shallow curve. The steep curve made it so that the pick could be thrust into the wall at a more extreme angle making it more difficult for it to slip out of the wall. Most anyone can ice climb as long as they are in good condition and have a good strength to weight ratio. You can take lessons with trainers to help you learn how to climb and get comfortable with the gear. The classes vary in difficulty, you can take short mid-day classes or multi-day trips in below zero temperatures. As you become more accustomed to ice climbing you can begin doing more extreme and thrill seeking climbs.

Photo By www.skimap.org

Energy Boost Restore your energy with a new trail mix blend.

Trail mix is a staple snack and survival food. Usually made with nuts and dried fruit, trail mix makes for quick fuel while on the trail or other outdoor adventures. Also, it is considered an ideal snack food for hikes, because it is tasty, lightweight, easy to store, and nutritious. The Harvard School of Public Health believes that it is better to get protein from nuts and seeds than from red meat. This being said, trail mix is a good source of protein and should be eaten more often.

m&m’s

raisins

peanuts

almonds

cashews

Photo by Evan-Amos

2012|The Life Outdoors|17

The Way of

the Ride How horseback riding can change you for the better.

By Evelyn Bixby

2012|The Life Outdoors|19

“If I had to stop horseback riding,” she says, “I think I would go mentally insane...just a little bit.”

Losefsky rides to release her feelings, keep her mind occupied, and stay in shape.

Most people wouldn’t think horseback riding is much exercise because they are sitting. But, by keeping balanced, their legs and core muscles are strengthened, and by pulling on the reins, their arms are strengthened. It takes a lot more energy and a lot more skill than people would think. As Losefsky continues to brush the smooth hair of the quarter horse, Topper, it listens while she continues to talk. Sharing signals with your horse is necessary so it knows what to do, and, “you have to be totally in sync with your horse in order for it to work,” she explains.

When riding horses, “It’s the only thing I think about when I’m doing it,” Losefsky explains.

“When you watch me ride, I look really unhappy...but that’s just because I’m concentrating so hard.” For most people, not only is it challenging to master the art of riding, but according to Losefsky, it is also challenging because she is working with an animal that has its own mind. “You can’t control them,” she says. “You tell them what you want them to do, and hope that they also want to do it.”

She takes the pitchfork leaning against the wall and silently begins removing waste from a stall.

Losefsky says that she would rather clean up after her horse than her cat.

“I don’t even know why,” she laughs at herself before continuing, “I’m just like, ‘Ew gross, litter box!’ but then I’m like, ‘Horse poop, whatever.’”

At Bee Caves Riding Center, Losefsky rides and trains horses once

Photography by: Ron Losefsky

T

he sun hangs overhead, the dusty smell of horses floats in the air, and saddles come off the hot backs of horses that are heading to the barn to get some shade and a drink of water after an hour of riding. Leading her horse into a stall, Quinn Losefsky hangs up the saddle and picks up a brush. Losefsky has been riding horses for seven years, and she plans to be riding for many more.

“Horseback riding comes first,” Losefsky says. “I schedule my life around it.” Although it is sometimes a challenge, she would never give it up.

a week. “I work my butt off doing flat work like taking them over poles on the ground...because they can’t do big jumps yet,” she says. “As soon as I build them up to where they can do big jumps, people want to lease them.” Before she could lease horses, Losefsky would get frustrated when people would lease the horses she was training because she could not track their improvement. “I would build them up for months, and then someone just takes them,” she explains. “So I have to start over again with another horse.” Now, it is better because she has enough money to lease also.

When leasing a horse, Losefsky gets one lesson a week, but she can come out and ride at any time just for fun.

“My least favorite part is

that I get so attached to the horses,” says Losefsky. She recalls when her friends asked her what would happen if her horse died, and she started tearing up. “I’m not a very emotional person...but like even talking about that made me sad.”

Topper nods in agreement, and she kisses him on the nose.

Taking care of a horse is a lot of responsibility. “I clean up after them, water them, give them medicine... it’s a lot of responsibility.” It helps a lot if you don’t mind getting dirty.

Beads of sweat roll down her face as she sits down in the hot barn, but she wipes them away with the back of her hand.

Trail riding is one of Losefsky’s favorite kinds of riding.

She remembers a time when she went trail riding with two of her

friends. “When we got out there, [my horse] started running around and prancing!” In the stall, the horse neighed telling us it remembered also. On the trail, the three friends wanted to see how fast their horses would go, since they seemed to have a lot of energy. She kicked her horse and, “he just booked it! It was ridiculous!” Losefsky continues in explaining that her horse is a quarter horse and is bred to go really, really fast for a short period of time. “I almost ran into a tree,” she laughs.

“That was an awesome ride.”

Expressing her love for horses, Losefsky says goodbye to her horse and gives it a treat. She locks the stall door and gets ready to leave the barn for the day.

Quinn Losefsky with a horse at Bee Caves Riding Center.

2012|The Life Outdoors|21

Mad Hops

A beginner’s guide to bunny hopping

Step 2:

Step 1: Make

sure that your seat is low and your tires are full. Next, pedal on a flat surface at a comfortable speed.

A rider bunny hopping a bar.

Lean back over the rear wheel. As you move back, pull on the handlebars, lifting the front wheel.

O Step 3: As the

front wheel lifts up, at the peak of it’s rise, throw your weight forwards. This is the tricky part. As the front wheel is at the top and your weight is flung forwards, tilt your feet forwards, making the pedals about a 55 angle.

Push against the pedals, and pull your feet up, lifting up the tail end of the bike. At this point, your whole bike will be in the air.

Art by: Jesse Garcia of Say Sumtin

ne of the most fundamental skills required to BMX or mountain bike is the bunny hop. For those who don’t know what that is, it’s essentially jumpiong and carrying a bike with you. It’s a necessity for any trick, including going off ramps, because it is what gives you the initial lift and air to do a trick. There are some great online resources, like the tutorials on bmx.transworld.net. Chris Ford, a cyclist and skills coach wrote a great article for mountain bike bunny hopping on bikeradar.com

Items to Have:

-A bike -Sturdy, inflated wheels -Sturdy cranks -Metal pedals (plastic pedals break) -A helmet -Gloves (unless you want blisters) -Shoes (Metal pedals on bare feet are painful) Helpful Skills: -Manuals, or just pulling up the front wheel -Being able to pick up your back wheel (on the fly) With enough practice, you’ll be able to bunny hop ledges, and even pull off flatland tricks like 360s and barspins. For extra help, go to bmxtricksnow. com

Step 4: As you hit the ground, bend your knees and use them to absorb the shock of the landing, letting your whole body compress. This more effectively dissipates the energy, as a hard shock landing is very hard on the joints.

Cross-Country Skiing Backpacking Running Cycling Swimming

Photo by Marketingncc

Outdoor Sports

5

Top

A cross-country skier.

According to Livestrong.com, the top five outdoor sports are cross-country skiing, backpacking, running, cycling, and swimming. Doing these sports improves your fitness and wellness because they burn calories and body fat. They also promote your endurance level and strength. Cross-country skiing is usually done recreationally, but you can burn 600 to 900 calories per hour of skiing. Backpacking is a good way to experience the great outdoors while getting exercise too. Running, as we all know, is one of the leading sports for building endurance and stamina. Cycling can be done almost anywhere, and it supports cardiovascular health.

Last but not least, swimming is one of the top five outdoor sports because it works your whole body and improves coordination.

2012|The Life Outdoors|23

Evolution

Mountain biking’s Rise to fame

By Reece Ryan

2012|The Life Outdoors|25

A rider with a Specialized Stumpjumper, a full suspension Cross Country bike.

A downhill rider launching off a jump.

Throughout the past few decades, mountain biking has been growing into a huge multimillion dollar industry, with an almost cult-like base of riders. These riders finds their ideology centered around the mantra, “The freedom, the exhilaration that you get from riding, it’s such an amazing physical sensation that you can get from few other activities that humans participate in,” as spoken by Hill Abell, mountain bike hall of fame inductee and ex-chairman of the International Mountain Bicycling Association.

The bicycle was first invented in the mid 19th century, with mountain biking following closely.

In its most original form, mountain bikes were invented by the Buffalo Soldiers in the 1890s, a black cavalry regiment, to cross rough terrain as a functional form of travel. It then resurfaced in France in the 1950s, with a group of riders who gave their bicycles fat tires and minor suspension, as well as handlebar shifters. This small niche culture

also died, but then was reborn in America in the early 1980s by a small dedicated group of riders based in California, and has exponentially grown since then. “When [mountain biking] started, it was a tool for a cultural phenomenon that I think continues to evolve,” Abell says.

This sport, for many people, dictates many life choices, with an ever growing group of riders, banded together by a common passion. Abell orates this, saying, “From the time

Terminology

Handlebar Shifters- A device on the handlebar which propagates shifting Dirt jump- A style of riding including large jumps Cross Country- A style of riding through all terrain, from rough rocks to smooth single track Downhill- A style of riding downhill, fast Pump tracks A circular track that is ridden by pumping (pushing the bike up and down)

Photographs by: John Ryan, Jean-Michael BAUD, Trevor Page

I

n a world of rugged terrain, the adventurous thrive. They build elegant works of sweeping metal, tough wheels, with strength and durability to last an age. In a form that is gloriously absurd, they push the boundaries of what should be sane, and enjoy it tremendously.

This is the domain of the mountain bike.

I got on my first mountain bike, I knew there would always be people exactly like me, that would have that first experience on a mountain bike, and be in love with the activity for the rest of their lives.” He, along with a few originators, have ridden since the beginning, men like Gary Fisher, Tom Ritchey, and Joe Breeze.

These men, in their respective ways, all revolutionized the sport, with a large amount of riders accrediting them with creating the modern form of bicycles and riding.

In the beginning, mountain bicycles were all handmade by a few people at most, and were expensive, $2,000-$3,000 in the early 1980s, which is equivalent to about $7000$10,000 today. This was the case until the Specialized came along, with their first production cost retailing at about $1,000, which was followed quickly by a bicycle for $700. Since then, the industry has exploded, with styles and bikes varying greatly, while still being widely accessible.

This sport, while quickly growing, simply didn’t have the means to become popular fast. It was expensive and dangerous, as John Ryan, an Austin rider of almost 30 years and a longtime advocate of bicycling rights points out, “There is a right way and a wrong way, and [we] learned the wrong way; the crash and break it way”. With this thought echoed by hundreds of people globally, rider clinics have spread across the world and safety technologies have advanced greatly.

Even with the explosion of riders, many people resist the sport, especially landowners and contractors. Due to this, making new trails and getting permission to ride on old trails in Austin is a massive undertaking.

“We’re working on a project out at big bend national park, to build the first purpose built mountain bike trail in a national park. We have had enormous difficulty... [The management] is putting up a lot of opposition to this trail,” says Abell.

Many old, well established

trails are being restricted or leveled.

As the numbers of riders increases, public awareness of trails that are in a legal grey area has skyrocketed.

Due to this, access to these trails has been severely restricted, or even blocked altogether,as Abell points out, “One of the biggest reasons we’re losing access to some places is development of open space. Places we’ve previously rode have been closed for whatever reason.”

The growth of the sport, while not small, still isn’t massive.

This is due to the fact that it’s expensive, and people are reluctant to try it. The danger aspect and the risk of losing money to such a dangerous activity

produced products, because that makes them cheaper, while still having repute and quality. A few smaller dealerships exist, but they are few and far between, due to the difficulty it is to enter a new product into the market. “It’s exceptionally hard to bring a new product to the market, unless you’ve got a million dollars, minimum,” Abell says .

As time has passed since the 80s, riding has diversified into a plethora of variations, from downhill to pump tracks to dirt jump to cross country. This diversity has attracted many newcomers to the sport, as Abell points out, “[The diversity] has been super positive, it’s opened up people who would not have otherwise been attracted to mountain biking”. This variety of people and styles has allowed growth of the sport in many ways. As long as we have riders and bikes, there will be more styles. Even with trails being restricted and developed over, there are still prosperous, well established trails, and the support of them is strong.

“As long as there are mountain bikes,” says Abell, “There are people who will be passionate about riding mountain bikes.”

“It was a tool for a cultural revolution that I think continues to evolve” “Honestly, I’m amazed it’s not bigger than it is. The only reason that it is, people are just slow to try new things, and even as long as mountain biking has been around, people still perceive it to be this radical, over the top activity, and it really is not, it’s so accessible to people of all walks of life.” Says Abell, and as an owner of one of the largest bike dealerships in Austin, he is well aware.

Today, the majority of bikes people buy are generally mass

2012|The Life Outdoors|27

To begin , you should rent your equipment.

Don’t worry to much about your skies because your boots are the most important piece of equipment.

Your boots must not be too big or too small, as it will effect your skiing form.

Put the point of the boot into the front slot of the ski bindings, then push your heel down to lock your boots into place.

Make sure you lift your feet and rotate your ankle to try to get used to the feeling of the skies.

First, before you put on your skies, you will want to test your balance. To find your correct stance, stand so that the pressure from the tongue of the boots is equally distributed from shin to calf.

Take a first step with your skis and try to slide from ski to ski. Use the inside edge of your skies to help push off and glide across the snow.

Continue to do this, alternating legs, until you have some momentum.

Your first form of brakes as a beginner is known by some as the “pizza” or the “wedge”.

You cross the tips of your skies, and the friction from the edge of your skies will slow you down.

Now, you will want to turn so that your shoulders are facing down the hill. Then turn your skies so they’re in the wedge.

Next, turn your skies so they’re facing down the hill and slowly proceed down.

Always keep your shoulders pointed down the hill. Turn your hips from side to side. Make long arching turns down the hill and keep in the “pizza” stance.

7th step: turning 6th step: First run

5th step: Brakes 4th step: Walking in skies

3rd step: First feel for skies

2nd step: Balance 1st step: Equipment

Skiing for DummiesLet’s Practice on Terry Peak 2012 Photo By www.skimap.org

The Life Outdoors

57

The Life Outd rs Reader,

Hey, we’re the crew of The Life Outdoors! We’re just a group of four kids stumbling

through some confusing programs to make the best possible magazine we can. In the past few months, we’ve strived to create a magazine that really can capture the essence of a fun, active outdoor lifestyle. As we created and sculpted this magazine, we’ve put our own passions here, in an attempt to get you, the dear reader, to get out and try new things. With

For every reader, an outdoor adventure begins.

that in mind we encourage you, hop on a bike, climb a wall, ride a horse, or learn to kickflip!

Our sole goal is to entertain you and provide you with activities that we think you might enjoy. So that brings us to your part of this trade. We worked for months to make this product, on the condition that you go outside. Just for a little bit. It doesn’t matter if you go outside and play hardcore sports for hours, or just lay down and read a book. We want you

- Age 15-25 - Not married Thank you, - Family (Parents/siblings, not kids) - Family income of $90,000-$100,000 - Gender- 60%/40% M/F to, like we have, experience the Life Outdoors to the fullest.

The Life Outdoors Crew 2012|The Life Outdoors|29

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