Former stunt trials world champion and "Road Bike Party^[1]" star Martyn Ashton's world changed after a 2013 accident left him paralyzed, but in a new short film titled Back on Track, released Thursday by the Global Mountain Bike Network, he's on the bike again, ripping down a singletrack with friends. In the video, we see Ashton go from his wheelchair back onto a different set of wheels with fellow cycling legends Danny MacAskill^[2], Chris Akrigg, and Blake Samson at the Antur Stiniog trail in North Wales. He is given a push, sets off down the Welsh mountain, and has a smile on his face the whole ride.

RELATED: Italian Cyclist Shows Up Danny MacAskill on a Road Bike^[3]

In an interview^[4] released with the video, Ashton explains what it was like coming back from an injury that paralyzed him completely from his T7 vertebrae (right below the ribs) down. "It was 'career over' when I had the accident," he says. "[But] I guess because of the type of people bike riders are — we're like, 'Oh, I wonder how I'll do that,'" says Martin of his return to the bike. "It was almost fun straightaway, because I knew I was going to have to learn how to ride a bike again, and I knew that was going to be pretty funny."  

Ashton's custom bike has a sit-ski seat designed for use in Paralympic snow sports and a safety belt that keeps him upright on the trails, but it's otherwise unmodified. To keep his feet steady, his friends tape them to the pedals. Everything else is under the control of Ashton's hands, and he is able to fishtail and pop wheelies with the rest of the group. "I'm kind of gliding through the air, and not getting the same feedback from the suspension that you normally would, because you feel so much through the pedals and your knees. I don't know, it sort of feels so awesome. Just the excitement of that and knowing that I'm getting nearer to it — that's what's driven me on."

Ashton hopes to inspire others and advocate for paralyzed athletes beyond the film by working with spinal-cord research foundation Wings for Life, his Try Before July blog^[5], and his long-term goal to use his own breakthrough to help create mountain bike events at the Paralympics.

Get the latest in gear, style, travel & more delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up now for the Men’s Journal newsletter.^[6]

References

1. ^{^} Road Bike Party (www.youtube.com)
2. ^{^} Danny MacAskill (www.mensjournal.com)
3. ^{^} RELATED: Italian Cyclist Shows Up Danny MacAskill on a Road Bike (www.mensjournal.com)
4. ^{^} an interview (www.youtube.com)
5. ^{^} Try Before July blog (www.trybeforejuly.com)
6. ^{^} Sign up now (www.mensjournal.com)

Credit: Cal Sports Media / AP Images

Nate Boyer can probably do whatever he wants. He's one of those guys for whom no challenge is too great, no obstacle too difficult, and no goal left unachieved. Boyer is just one of those against-all-odds guys you'd want both next to you in a foxhole and dating your sister. He's just a solid, good-natured American dude who smells like apple pie and baseball.

He's also a 34-year old rookie for the Seattle Seahawks, and a career commando with combat experience from multiple deployments to the Middle East. A former Green Beret, Boyer will try to add NFL long snapper to his CV this summer when he reports to Seahawks camp.

RELATED: HBO Airs the Truth About Supplements in the Military^[1]

"The biggest obstacle that stops us from achieving our dreams is placing additional limits on ourselves," Boyer wrote^[2] this week in a column on MMQB.com. "Why would we do that? Why make things harder than they already are? I didn't always look at things like this. I had to run away from what was familiar and comfortable. I had to take a long, hard look in the mirror and make the decision to change the way I attacked life. For me, it took a journey to a place I knew nothing about. It took a trip to the Darfur."

In 2004, Boyer enlisted in the Army. Within two years, he earned a Green Beret with the elite special forces unit. He counts Che Guevara and Shia LaBeouf as inspirational touchstones in his journey from the frontlines to the NFL.

"Doubt will creep in, and people will say you can't do something because they can't do it, or they're jealous, unhappy," Boyer said. "Don't listen to them. Listen to Shia LaBeouf."^[3]

Make no mistake: Boyer's path to the NFL was forged long before any epic inspirational videos urging viewers to "Do it!" Following a deployment to Iraq in 2008-09, he returned to the United States, enrolled at the University of Texas, and proceeded to walk-on to the football team as a defensive back before moving to special teams. He was 31 the first time he ever long snapped a ball to a waiting punter. And he did it for the Longhorns for three years.

Still serving in the military, Boyer flew in and out of hot zones during the offseason.

"I deployed to Afghanistan and returned the day before training camp to trade in my Kevlar and body armor for a football helmet and pads," he said.

Boyer's story is a great one. You'll hear more about him during the run-up to the 2015 NFL season — and wouldn't you rather follow him this summer than the Houston Texans on HBO Hard Knocks? Because his is a unique story. Even if you forget that he is a decorated veteran, a winner of the Bronze Star, he picked up the game of football late and taught himself one of the sport's overlooked specialties by watching YouTube instructional videos.

RELATED: Why We Love the U.S. Women's Soccer Team^[4]

"I walked on as a safety, but at a place like Texas, I quickly realized I wasn't going to get on the field anytime soon," Boyer told Army Times.^[5] "My freshman year, both the starting and the backup long snappers were seniors, and I saw an opening there."

Pro sports and football in particular have had a close relationship with the military in modern warfare history. Many players have paused careers in the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and PGA to serve their country. The list is long and includes legends from Joe DiMaggio to Hobey Baker, Joe Louis, Jackie Robinson, Bill Bradley, and Hank Greenberg. Pat Tillman and Ted Williams left the game to enlist, but others like David Robinson and Boyer pursued pro sports after they served. Robinson spent two years in the Navy before he became the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft. Boyer was signed as an undrafted free agent.

If he wins the job, Seattle will have one of the toughest special teams players in the league, a true folk hero draped in red, white, blue — and neon green. At 5-foot-10, 225 pounds, Boyer is considered a longshot. But are you really going to bet against this guy?

References

1. ^{^} RELATED: HBO Airs the Truth About Supplements in the Military (www.mensjournal.com)
2. ^{^} Boyer wrote (mmqb.si.com)
3. ^{^} Listen to Shia LaBeouf." (www.youtube.com)
4. ^{^} RELATED: Why We Love the U.S. Women's Soccer Team (www.mensjournal.com)
5. ^{^} told Army Times. (www.armytimes.com)

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^[3][4]

"There’s something really special about Baja," says Men's Journal columnist^[5] and renowned chef Seamus Mullen^[6]. "You’re in a place that is so geographically close to the United States but culturally so incredibly different. You can explore and find so many different things in such a short period of time. It’s always an adventure." That's why Mullen chose this sliver of Mexico as the location for his next adventure.

RELATED: The Best Wineries in Baja^[7]

In this original video, we follow Mullen, his long-time riding buddy (and coordinator for Doctors without Borders) Whitney Ward, and three-time Baja 1000 class champ Rich Minga on a five-day, 1,000-plus-mile motorcycle tour of Baja. On their trip, they speed across salt flats, get stuck in the mud, seek out tacos, find a one-of-a-kind cheesemonger, and explore Baja's exploding wine country^[8]. 

References

1. ^{^} Adventure (www.mensjournal.com)
2. ^{^} Close (www.mensjournal.com)
3. ^{^} Email (www.mensjournal.com)
4. ^{^} Print (www.mensjournal.com)
5. ^{^} Men's Journal columnist (www.mensjournal.com)
6. ^{^} Seamus Mullen (www.mensjournal.com)
7. ^{^} RELATED: The Best Wineries in Baja (www.mensjournal.com)
8. ^{^} Baja's exploding wine country (www.mensjournal.com)

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^[3][4]

Graphic artist Justin Koziek redesigned every NFL helmet for a Marvel mascot.

Credit: Courtesy Justin Koziek

In honor of the NFL draft and opening weekend of the Marvel comics mega-blockbuster, Avengers: Age of Ultron, graphic artist Justin Koziek of JK Creative^[5] designed hybrid mockups of the 32 NFL team helmets, each with a designated Marvel superhero as a mascot.

RELATED: The NFL's Open Tryout: Behind the Scenes of a Regional Combine^[6]

This isn't the first time an artist has taken creative license over our favorite teams and paired them up with our geekiest interests (like these Star Wars helmets^[7] from last month), but the Marvel-NFL mashup helmets may be the best imaginary teams yet. Some of the coolest include the Kansas City Spideys, Dallas Captains (very fitting for "America's Team"), and the Cleveland Things. The St. Louis DocOcks and the Tennessee Thors seem like they could hold their own on the turf or a battle of superhero proportions as well. Take a look at your new favorite team in the full gallery here^[8]. 

Get the latest in gear, style, travel & adventure news delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up now for the Men’s Journal newsletter.^[9]

References

1. ^{^} Adventure (www.mensjournal.com)
2. ^{^} Close (www.mensjournal.com)
3. ^{^} Email (www.mensjournal.com)
4. ^{^} Print (www.mensjournal.com)
5. ^{^} JK Creative (www.justkozy.com)
6. ^{^} RELATED: The NFL's Open Tryout: Behind the Scenes of a Regional Combine (www.mensjournal.com)
7. ^{^} Star Wars helmets (www.cbssports.com)
8. ^{^} full gallery here (www.justkozy.com)
9. ^{^} Sign up now (www.mensjournal.com)

A man cross-country skis outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, March 3, 2014 after an early morning snow storm.

Credit: Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images

Chances are you didn't know what "bombogenesis" meant a few days ago, but now you're probably aware it's the phenomenon of a storm rapidly intensifying and the pressure dropping out like a sack of frozen potatoes. And in this case, it means anywhere from six inches to three feet of snow for just about the entirety of the Mid-Atlantic. For many, it will be a headache of plowed-in cars and cancelled flights, but for the more resourceful athlete, it could mean riding a dog sled through Brooklyn or making a snow-covered city their snowshoe playground. Here are a few other adventurous ways to make the most of the big dump.

Take Advantage of the Powder
The most obvious choice is to head for the ski slopes. If you booked a weeklong trip to the Rockies, you'd be thrilled with this kind of snowfall forecast. So we may be talking hundreds of feet of vertical drop instead of thousands, and you are far more susceptible to windburn than sunburn, but the powder days on the East Coast are still coveted. Southern New England is poised to get the most out of this particular tempest and Jiminy Peak^[1] in Hancock, Mass with it's 1,150 feet of vertical and 45 trails is steep enough when it's deep enough. Plus, it's in close proximity to all the metropolitan areas to make a tactical strike mission.

RELATED: Shoe Screws: The $1 Fix to Run on the Ice and Snow ^[2]

Surf the Storm
(Surf) This may take a bit more commitment — and is not for amateurs — but blizzards produce some of the best surf the East Coast has to offer. "I think a good blizzard swell trumps even the best hurricane swells as far as wave quality. Those 50 mph-plus winds produce big long lefts everywhere from Long Island to Cape May," says Billabong's Rob Kelly, of Ocean City, New Jersey. "The cold is obviously a big factor and the wind blows right threw your wetsuit. I remember going to a ski shop the day before a blizzard and buying a neoprene ski masks to cover our faces. Everyone else was panicking, thinking about shoveling out, and my brother and I are just thinking about the waves we're going to score." This one should offer up overhead treats. Think hard offshore winds, heavy wetsuits and heavier waves. Not recommended to anyone but the most committed year-round surfers.

Cross Country Ski in Central Park
Cross country skiing may not have the same kind of allure as it's downhill cousin, but you're not likely to find many glades in New York City. However, there is a hearty crew of Nordic enthusiasts in either city. And while they may travel to groomed trails in the Hudson Valley or upstate on winter weekends, on storms like this, Central Park is wide open. For those that own their own skis, mid-Park's Sheep Meadow and The Great Lawn are favorite spots.

Fat Tire Biking Around Town
There's a huge crossover between winter sports and cycling. Cross-country skiers on road bikes, snowboarders on mountain bikes, it just fits. Fat tire bikes, or simply fat bikes, are reinforced mountain bike frames with tires up to five-inches wide for frozen winter terrain. Winter playgrounds like Rochester, New York have become hubs of fat tire biking, with trails, thriving communities, and races.

RELATED: The Best New Fat Tire Bikes for Winter
^[3]

Snowshoeing in Boston
There's a certain New England charm to snowshoeing, especially the vintage wood and weave ones on the wall of a chalet. But the crew at Weston Ski Track^[4] makes it plenty accessible. From Boston, it's just 20 minutes west on the Mass Pike. "People like it because it's super convenient. They come after work for a quick hike and they can be back home or still go out to the bar right after," says Event Coordinator Kathleen Russell, "We're on a golf course, so we have rolling hills, trails along the river and some trees." They have 13 of 15 kilometers of trails open even before the blizzard. And while it may not exactly be a winter wilderness, with this possibly historic storm, the backcountry may come to Beantown.

References

1. ^{^} Jiminy Peak (www.jiminypeak.com)
2. ^{^} RELATED: Shoe Screws: The $1 Fix to Run on the Ice and Snow  (www.mensjournal.com)
3. ^{^} RELATED: The Best New Fat Tire Bikes for Winter (www.mensjournal.com)
4. ^{^} Weston Ski Track (www.skiboston.com)