Patrick O'Rourke with his mountain bike

pedalon.org · All Things MTB

PEDAL
ON.

Get outside. Get home safe. Whether you're a first-time rider or someone who bought a bike from a friend for a camping trip with no idea what MTB was, this site is for you.

Explore the site →

Free · Works with no signal

I built a free first aid tool for when someone goes down on the trail and help is far away.

Save it to your phone before you ride, so it is there when you need it, even with no signal.

Open the tool → Save it to your phone

Why this exists

Every ride, I wish
I'd started sooner.
I'm here to help you start today.

I'm Patrick. Mountain biking changed everything for me: the way I think, the way I handle hard days, the way I see the outdoors. I built this site because I wished something like it existed when I was starting out. Every section here is something I genuinely needed.

4
sections: ride, the shop, be safe, power on

What's here

Everything you need
on and off the trail.

01
Ride
Trail Tales, Racing & Trails
The journal: crashes, comebacks, and race weekends. Plus where I ride and how racing categories actually work.
→
02
The Shop
Builds & Fixes
Builds and fixes. What broke, how I figured out why, and how I put it back together better.
→
03
Be Safe
Trail First Aid
What to do when a rider goes down, plus a free first-aid tool that works with no signal.
→
04
Power On
Get More Kids Outside
Why getting outside matters, a picture book for young riders, trail care, and the places worth protecting.
→
Latest from the journal · October 18, 2026 Home has a name. It's Luiseño. My favorite local bike park is closed, and nobody will promise it is coming back. Here is how you can help. Read it →
Patrick on the trail

Jump Right In

I'm Patrick.
I wish I started sooner.

It started by accident. I bought a used Specialized Rockhopper off a friend to take on a camping trip. I had no idea what mountain biking even was. My mom was so annoyed I'd spent money on something I'd never use that she signed me up to ride with a local trail expert, figuring I'd hate it and learn my lesson. Instead, I fell completely in love. Best mistake I ever made.

The speed drew me in first. But what keeps me coming back is harder to explain. It's that feeling of being totally in control and completely free at the same time. When I'm on a trail, nothing else exists. Bad day? Gone. Too much screen time? Gone. Whatever was stuck in my head clears out within the first five minutes of riding. There is no better reset.

My dad Ben started riding with me and it became our thing. We do weekend rides, chase new trails across Southern California: Lake Arrowhead, Laguna Beach, bike parks, trails that don't show up on any map. Some kids bond with their parents over dinner tables. We bond over dirt and open trails.

Along the way I started meeting other riders, kids from all over LA who love this as much as I do. What started as solo rides turned into a crew. That's what MTB does. It finds your people.

I built this site because I found mountain biking later than I wish I had, and I want to make it easier for anyone who's curious to just start. You don't need the perfect bike. You don't need to know what you're doing. You just need to get outside and pedal on. (A bike helps too.)

— Patrick O'Rourke, Founder