Outside Online • 28th August 2017

The Story Behind the 52-Year-Old Woman’s K2 Summit

Last month, 52-year-old mountaineer Vanessa O’Brien found the snow so deep on her K2 summit attempt that she forgot about her aching knee, recent shoulder surgery, and stress fracture in her sacrum. She didn’t think about becoming the oldest woman—and first American one—to ever summit the treacherous, 28,000-foot Pakistani peak, known as the “Savage Mountain.”

The Masters Athlete • 16th August 2017

Where Masters Athletes Go to Never Die (or Even Slow Down)

It’s just before 8 a.m. on a Friday morning in early June, and a group of 12 cyclists, many with more wrinkles and crow’s-feet than hair, assembles in a central Texas parking lot. The lot has slots for cars and golf carts.

Outside Online • 30th June 2017

Lance Armstrong Returns to the Tour

Lance Armstrong is laser-locked on another Tour de France. But the 45-year-old ex-pro rider, who won seven consecutive Tours between 1999 and 2005 before those wins were voided for doping offenses, won’t race the 2017 edition. Instead, Armstrong will analyze, editorialize, and prognosticate via his new daily Stages podcast, addressing both the details and daily highlights of pro cycling’s iconic, three-week, mid-summer clash. “I’m approaching this as if I were in the race..."

The Masters Athlete • 4th June 2017

The Struggle for Masters Athletes Who Need Testosterone

On a steamy Saturday morning in June 2016, 48-year-old road racer Kim Ciolli lined up for the Women’s Master 40+ event at the St. Francis Tulsa Tough. Ciolli’s race was one in a series of prestigious criterium races held annually over a three-day weekend in the northern Oklahoma city. As she looked over the competition, Ciolli thought one thing. “I’m going to win the race.”

Zwift • 25th May 2017

News - A 70-Year-Old Zwifter Feels His Power

Roy Reynolds recently celebrated his 70th birthday, and he seems to have enough lung capacity to blow out dozens upon dozens of candles. Reynolds, who lives in the UK’s North Yorkshire and is emblematic of a notable wave of ambitious, older athletes, is killing it on Zwift.

Outside Online • 19th September 2016

Boredom Is Indoor Cycling's Biggest Enemy. Can Zwift Defeat It?

Indoor rolling on a bike trainer used to be a heinous chore. Now there's an app that turns it into a video game—and puts you on a fast track to aerobic fitness.

Outside Online • 17th February 2015

Bikes vs. Cars: The Deadly War Nobody's Winning

Concussion or no concussion, Steve Hill wants a new bike. Pronto. “To be honest with you, I feel like I should have it already,” he says to the woman he’s facing, Megan Hottman, a 35-year-old personal-injury lawyer who’s taking notes on a laptop inside her Golden, Colorado, office.

The Masters Athlete • 26th August 2016

Be Like Jack (LaLanne, That Is): The King of Fitting It In

Some days we’re far richer in inspiration than time. So how about we share—via a little fitness nostalgia and video of a 90-year-old pushup monster—a reminder that you can squeeze in some physical activity at almost any time and  age?

Outside Online • 12th May 2017

Dick Beardsley, 61 and Minus Two Knees, Runs Faster Than You

Dick Beardsley is out in front again. More than 30 years ago, the now 61-year-old legendary runner podiumed at storied, high-profile marathons and qualified twice to run in the U.S. Olympic marathon trials. Today, defying both odds and naysayers, Beardsley still logs impressive miles—despite the fact that his left knee isn’t what it once was. Nor is his right.

Outside Online • 2nd March 2016

The Best Bike Locks

My favorite tool is an iPhone, because I can use it to call a lawn guy or a plumber. So when my editor asked if I’d write about bike security and today’s best bike locks by learning how to steal a bike, I told her to consider someone else. Turns out, I misspoke. Anyone—even this monkey—can swipe a bike.

Outside Online • 1st August 2016

The Surprising Ways Your Fitness Data Is Really Being Used

Your fitness data is exactly that: data. Which is to say that it can be exposed and vulnerable. Not only could your standard, everyday workout metrics (like how fast, how hard, or how far you ride) surprisingly land in the laptops of crime-sniffing cops, hovering school administrators, and/or determined lawyers—it already has, and to surprising effects. Fitness-data downloads have been used to sleuth crimes, toss mountain bikers from trails, and—on a happier note—save at least one cyclist’s life

The Masters Athlete • 23rd August 2016

Rio's OLDlympics, Where Middle-Aged Athletes Reigned

We here at The Masters Athlete enjoyed a significant game-within-the-Games during the just-concluded Rio Olympics. We’re talking about the Oldlympics—brilliant performances by middle-aged competitors. The drama was plentiful, and impressive. 

Outside Online • 26th September 2016

This Device Knows When You're Dehydrated

Hydration once seemed straightforward. You’re thirsty, you drink. But in the last several years, hydration has become about as complicated as immigration reform.

Outside Online • 26th October 2016

How Cities Are Making Their Residents More Active

If today’s Atlanta were a person, it would wear a whistle around its neck and sport a coach’s white sneakers. It would tell Atlantans to go take a lap. Atlanta, like a significant number of America’s major cities and modest towns, is going to unprecedented lengths so that its citizenry will open their front doors, enjoy the breeze and greenery, and go break a sweat.

Zwift • 11th November 2016

A Father-Son Team, A Dutch National Team and Zwift

One intriguing way or another, every Zwifter can soon follow father-son cycling duo Peter and Martijn Zijerveld.

The New York Times • 18th September 2008

Thank You, Sir, May I Have an Ironman?

How far will triathletes go to be miserable?

Backpacker • 18th June 2008

The Onion vs. Mr. Magoo

The Onion had reason to believe that he could become the first person to complete a roundtrip hike of the Continental Divide Trail.

Outside Online • 1st July 2003

Run For It

ON A PERFECT DAY FOR A JAILBREAK, Jon Gill snugs up his running shoes and takes a few deep breaths. It's a warm March morning in 2002, and under a sunny Oregon sky, Gill jogs past some prison guards and ratchets up his speed, moving faster until he reaches both optimum velocity and a familiar dream state.

Outside Online • 20th November 2015

Can the $7,000 Stromer ST2 E-Bike Replace Your Car? We Spent 30 Days Riding One to Find Out.

Earlier this fall, I performed an of-the-moment transportation experiment. Several days every week for a month, I ditched my beloved hauler of a minivan for an electric bike.

Outside Online • 9th May 2011

I Couldn't Be More Positive

NOW I KNOW how Floyd Landis feels. A few years back, I had an idea for a magazine article: I'd profile an ordinary weekend athlete who cheats by taking performance-enhancing drugs. Although I found evidence of what I call citizen doping, I could never pin down someone who both fit the bill and would cooperate, so I decided to cut out the middleman and do the cheating myself.