We’re living at a time during which the pace of change is unprecedented in human history.

And each year, when we start to create this issue—an edition that is largely themed around the concept of “progression”—it forces us to reflect upon the advancements that have been made since the previous year. This is a process that has become downright philosophic, especially during an era in which the immediacy of artificial intelligence is raising existential questions about the very future of humanity.

In light of such all-encompassing concerns, it seems almost trivial to ponder the incremental progress that is being realized in our global mountain biking bubble. In the eye of this perfect storm of an AI revolution, overpopulation, economic volatility, climate change and frightening geopolitical confrontation, it can feel frivolous to dwell on the nuances of a leisure activity that the preponderance of people on our planet don’t have the luxury of enjoying.

Despite this, such broader contemplation has been useful, if only for the fact that it has compelled us to recognize those things that are realistically within our control—and to embrace the power and responsibility we have to make our privileged corner of the world a better place for all who want to be a part of it.

Indeed, our collective capacity to effect change became evident as soon as we started producing this issue. We hadn’t overtly planned it to be a heavily female-focused book, but many of the important stories that needed to be told at this time happened to center primarily on women. The majority of words and photographs in this edition were written or taken by women. The perfect image for our cover was of a woman, captured by a woman. Then the advertisements started roll- ing in, and lo and behold, almost all of them featured women. Much of this happened organically, and it seemed an apt statement of the times.

This is not to say that the bike industry has finally reached an egalitarian state—far from it. The stories in this issue, and the importance they hold to vital members of our growing community, should underscore this reality. Our cover feature chronicles the meteoric rise of women’s freeride through the all-female Formation event, which many have viewed as a launching pad to an eventual women’s category in Rampage, the big-mountain contest by which all others are measured. But the cancellation of this year’s Formation gathering, together with the news that there would not be a women’s division in the forthcoming Rampage, has this burgeoning group of talented riders wondering what the future holds for them.

Not every story can have a feel-good ending, but we believe that even a bittersweet piece can lead to positive outcomes by outlining divergent points of view, bringing issues to light and contributing to a more informed conversation. To this end, we’ve taken an in-depth look at the problem of affordable housing shortages in mountain bike towns across North America, highlighting the varying ways that communities are addressing this mounting issue.

The core goal of Freehub will forever be to help elevate the broader mountain bike community, but we acknowledge that progress is not always pain-free. As with the act of riding itself, there is always a climb to get to the top. And it makes the descent that much sweeter.