Year 5: The Year of 1-Gear

Paseando MTB on Substack in 2025

Four years ago, I started this Substack as an outlet for writing and communicating about mountain biking. The idea was to create a community of people interested in all things mountain biking, minus reviews of bikes and gear because there is plenty of that already out there in the webs of internets. It was to be about lifestyle, mostly, which included promoting a post-ride indie beer/brewery or two.

Going forward, it will still be that. There will be some changes, too.

2025 will be year 5 of this newsletter and I’m going to change things up. First, my two columns on here, No Dabs and Fully Rigid, will not be continued. Honestly, I’m a bit worn out with writing them. Sometimes you reach a creative endpoint and instead of trying to keep it going, which likely means the outcome isn’t going to be what you want it to be, it’s best to let it die. No Dabs is done. I owe you 4 Fully Rigid columns for 2024 and then it, too, will be dead. They’re coming up later this week and the column is going out with a bang; a 4-part series titled “Mountain Biking is at a Weird Place” will be the parting shot.

What’s going on in 2025 with Paseando MTB? First, as a reminder, I’m reposting this: The verb pasear in Spanish is one of my favorite words. It can be translated into “to walk/to stroll,” but I came to understood it as being more than that. You can andar paseando, which sort of means something like to go about wandering. There is a feeling to it, possibly in that you don’t really know where you’re headed or what’s around the next corner. One can add en bici and you get a feeling like you have when you are on your bike, riding trails and being content in space and time, not really caring about much of anything. Paseando MTB is about that feeling.

I get that feeling when riding my single speed. I’m not going to proselytize about 1-gear riding, though. I simply enjoy pedaling my bike and mashing away the miles. There is a state of contentedness I get that I don’t get on my geared bikes. So be it.

2025/Year 5 is the Year of 1-Gear.

New for 2025 will be Paseando MTB Kick Ass Guides. I will be writing guides, like I’ve done for media outlets for many years, that will be exclusively available here. They will include trail info, photos, local bike shop details, where to eat and drink, camping/lodging tips, as well as where to go see live music when you’re in town. Shanna at Endless Bikes is down with me using Kick Ass in the titles and the thought is that if I can ride single speed using her Kick Ass Cogs when putting together the guides, it means anyone can ride what’s in the guide. Think of the guides as Kick Ass-approved.

Post Ride Beer Stream of Consciousness will continue. It’s a way to rant and rave and wander from brain to pen, so to speak, and it’s a way to put some breweries on the screen and hopefully send some business their way. I’m a firm believer that locally owned and operated businesses generate monies within local economies that support the actual definition of community. If I’m going to kick back and have a beer, I’d like an indie one, if possible, and/or one that gives back to communities.

Click to Read About Montucky Cold Snack

Every two weeks, I’ll send out a News Round-Up. Basically, I read numerous mountain biking websites. The thought is that I’ll pass on the most important headlines/stories to you. Videos/films will be added, as well.

Ride reports and general mountain biking lifestyle-type posts will continue, appearing from time-to-time. When someone agrees to do it, profiles of fellow mountain bikers will be added.

Discounts to mountain biking-related businesses and breweries will happen, like they have for the past four years. What am I talking about, you ask? There are a lot of new free subscribers here on Paseando MTB. If you become a paid subscriber, you get access to discounts throughout the year. For example, Endless Bikes and Purple Lizard Maps, Julian Beer Co and Burning Beard Brewing have all been part of the program over the years. If you use this link below to subscribe, you get 66% off the yearly rate. It’s the only way I know how to get around the Substack pricing model and it brings the cost down to $10.20/year:

https://mtbeer.substack.com/0fd4133e

Also, with a subscription, it unlocks a bunch of stuff from years past that is locked behind a paywall from the early days of MTBeer.

Almost forgot … To add a little Dirt Rag-esque-ness to the mix (I was a DR contributor for a while), I have a big wooden box of 80’s hair/glam rock and heavy metal cassettes. Tape Deck Fridays sounds fun, where I match up some bands/songs with trails.

That’s it. That’s what you get in Year 5 of Paseando MTB. This Substack newsletter is 100% independent. I receive no sponsorship money, by choice. I’m beholden to not a single person in the mountain biking “industry.” F that!

Again, to support independent writing about mountain biking and indie beer, as well as receive discounts to MTB-related businesses and breweries, use this link below to get the $10.20/year subscription rate. You’ll receive upwards of 75 newsletters in your email inbox throughout 2025, bringing it to about 14 cents for each email/musing/post:

https://mtbeer.substack.com/subscribe?coupon=0fd4133e

That $10.20 puts $8.38 in my pocket, after Substack takes their share and before I pay taxes. If you subscribe, you’re basically buying me a beer at San Diego pint prices. Ha! Who’s gonna buy me a beer in 2025?!

I’m super appreciative of your support over the years. The emails on the side, along with the comments and “likes,” inspire me to keep doing this. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Cheers, y’all. Happy 2025 and if you see me out on the trail, say Hi!

Update, as of February 2025: Check out this post about the newly organized site:

P.S.—check out my new adventure travel Substack: Land. Water. Adventure. Travel. People. It’s entirely free.