The Drop Bag is stocked with Active Pursuit reading to enjoy at the finish line of your day, or a coffee break aid station. The name refers to the drop bags that competitors use to get their post-race necessities from the start line to the finish line of point-to-point races. Look for it as a mid-week feature on The Active Pursuit.

Christmas bike tips: For all those parents who watched a child unwrap a bicycle on Christmas morning, Bicycling Magazine offers a few tips on how to teach riding skills. Bundle up and go.

Ski tracks near MKE: The weather delivered a white Christmas and excellent conditions for cross-country skiing, especially in the Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest. This story serves as a quick reference guide to a half-dozen trails for kicking and gliding.

Bikes over Baghdad: Brian Kachinsky, a Neenah native, has visited the Middle East for several years and performed BMX tricks for troops in Iraq, Kuwait and Qhatar. His father, a military veteran, told Wisconsinoutdoorfun.com: “Brian and the rest of the ‘Bikes Over Baghdad’ crew are the 21st century version of the Bob Hope USO shows. The troops enjoy them immensely. My experiences serving in the Army were the most memorable experiences of my adult life. Brian’s tours with Bikes over Baghdad will the be same for him.”