Jess Caldwell

Jess started racing cross-country mountain bikes at fifteen in the Victorian High Country and never really stopped. Based out of Melbourne, she has ridden trail networks across every Australian state, most of New Zealand, and enough of Southeast Asia to have strong opinions about tyre pressure in humidity.

She is a qualified personal trainer who works with endurance athletes, which means she actually understands what a trail grading means for different fitness levels. When she says a climb is steady, she means it. When she says bring water, she means more than you think.

Jess rides a hardtail by choice, runs trails when the bike is in the shop, and will always pick the longer loop. Her reviews focus on what matters: trail surface, signage, how the climbs actually feel, and whether the coffee at the trailhead is worth the detour.