Mountain Bike Magazine Feature - Colombia's Coal Miner Cyclist

I was bummed to hear that Rodale's Mountain Bike Magazine was shuttered last month. In a media age where top ten product lists (that suck in search engine eyes) dominate so much editorial content, it can be tough to get actual "out in the world" stories approved. So, I was really excited when the editors of Mountain Bike greenlighted a powerful story that I proposed--about real people in tough circumstances doing extraordinary things.

The story, featured in the September issue (written by Grace Bastidas) was about Colombia's coal mine cyclists. These guys are the most inspirational people I've ever worked with. Recently, 70 of their friends and peers lost their lives in an explosion in a neighboring mine, a tough blow to the resilient community of Amaga on the outskirts of Medellin, Colombia.

I've attached the article, video about what it's like to descend into some of the world's gnarliest mines, and a few more photos. I hope to get back to Amaga to cover this story in more depth at some point next year.

Coal Miner Blog Gallery - Images by Gregg Bleakney