Mountain Flyer | Number 65

[On the Cover] Julia Hoffmann, a former downhill and enduro racer from Germany who now organizes mountain bike camps in the Alps, carves a near-sunset turn above the Italian mountain town of Sexten. Says Mattias Fredriksson, "She loves the Dolomites and returns to Sexten, near Dobbiaco, as often as she can." Mattias Fredriksson FEATURES How The West Was Changed Even after a few decades of change, the landscape of West Texas's Big Bend area remains unforgiving and still alluring enough to keep photojournalist Zach White returning to explore by bike. The Rise Of Lift-Assisted Mountain Biking Back when bike parks were largely considered a "dumb-ass investment" by resort owners, a few pioneers were willing to go against the grain to build lift-accessed trails. But those early bike parks—and the riders who frequented them—ushered in a new era of mountain biking. On Tour And Trail With Birds Of Play Members of the band Birds of Play forgo stability, job security and 401ks in pursuit of a