ALL TRAILS LEAD TO ICE CREAM

A helmet is a must when mountain biking.   Knock on wood...I've never forgotten mine.   With clipless pedals on my Stumpjumper...biking shoes are also a must.   I've forgotten them once.  Today, at Rocky Ridge with Mark , I forgot my gloves.   Nowhere near as serious as forgetting shoes or helmet...but a big inconvenience.   Power lines coming from TMI were filling the air with electricity today -- September 29, 2015 The weather guys said the rain was going be over the area after 5 PM but the atmosphere was already like a sponge and, like an elderly man in the middle of the night, unable to hold it's water.  I did okay without my gloves for about 20 minutes but, after I began to sweat and after the rain began to come down, things got tricky.   Rocky Ridge can be tough in dry weather.   Add a little rain, sweat, and bare palms and it gets pretty interesting.   After riding up "Forbidden Four" and then back down "Rusty Chair"...

My entire life has been centered around structure...Catholic school, altar boy, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, high school football....yep, structure.  I've always been early to rise and ready to get on with my day.   Even as an adult I plan my workouts before my work day (or day off) starts.   I'm at my worst when there is no structure.   My brain tends to go into either panic or shut down mode.   I know this about myself.  Don't get me wrong...I work on this...but sometimes it's hard.   God bless my wife because she has so much patience with me.  Stone wall on Lewisberry Road looking north -- September 27, 2015 I say all this because I went to bed last night already with today structured in my head.   Get up...have breakfast with my wife...take Alex to his baseball games...and then, like last Saturday, go for a ride while I wait for his games to start.  I even had my route planned out.   I was going to take some back roads th...

Autumn in Pennsylvania is beautiful.   Jerusalem School Road lined on both sides by corn stalks about to be harvested -- September 26, 2015 Pennsylvania in the Fall is absolutely beautiful.   The foliage hasn't begun to turn yet but harvest season is in full swing.   The air is crisp and the breeze is comfortably cool.   My favorite time of year.  It felt great to be out on the bike today after such a long week...not having any real destination in mind.   After meandering through a few neighborhoods in Emigsville I ended up in the miniature community of  Glades, PA .   Talk about small town, rural Pennsylvania!   Talk about a small town...as far as I can tell this is the only public building in Glades, PA -- September 26, 2015 Descending towards the  Codorus Creek  from Glades I passes a few old stone walls, stone buildings, and a really cool looking mill pond.  Sometimes I wish I could glimpse back in time to see ...

I love the fact that  Rocky Ridge  is only 15 minutes from my house.   I can be home from school by 3PM and at the park by 3:30.   Plenty of time to get a quick ride in on my mountain bike with Mark Lentz.   Mark and I both teach at  Northeastern .   He and I have been riding together now for ten years.   Mark is good at what he does...both in the classroom and on his bike.   The best part is that he doesn't brag or show off in any way.   He's one of the few people I know that, at a moments notice, is there to help. Yesterday he raced and proudly "won a beer for his wife."  Today he just wanted to do a slow ride .   You know...take it easy.   Getting ready to ride with Mark Lentz at Rocky Ridge -- September 21, 2015 We almost didn't get to ride.   Mark brought his "husky" bike.   He's been having trouble with the wheel set.   About a tenth of a mile down the trail his back tire blew up on may face a...

Normally I plan my rides for early in the morning.   I've always been an early riser and I love getting my daily workout in before I have to do anything else that day.   It sets the tone for the rest of the day.  My wife says that she loves this about me.   I needed to sleep today, though.   I've been extremely tired.  My body woke me up at 8AM today....just in time for my weekly breakfast date with the beautiful Robin.  There were other things on the agenda today, too.  Alex had two baseball games.   I just decided to take my bike to West York and ride during the first couple innings of his first game.   Sprenkle Road heading west towards Spring Grove, PA -- September 19, 2015 I started today's ride  about 200 yards from my old house.   It was a weird feeling to be back in that neighborhood.  I wanted to ride things I haven't ridden for a while.   Turns out that I rode some roads that I've never been on. ...

The  weather guys  got the forecast spot on today.  If I wanted to get my ride  in I needed to do it before 9 AM.   After that I could plan on dodging raindrops.  Setting an alarm for 6 AM on a Saturday morning isn't my favorite thing to do but it's what I had to do to avoid the rain...and get back for a breakfast date with my wife. Sunrise at the York Fair, "America's First Fair" -- September 12, 2015 North gate of the York Fair -- September 12, 2015 I think I hit the sweet spot of the day.  Leaving the house I didn't see any signs of rain.  As a matter of fact, by the time I got down the Susquehanna Trail the sun was up in all of it's glory.  My goal today was the same as my goal last weekend.  I really wanted to get to Lakes Redman and Kain  south of  York City .  The most direct route took me past the  York Fair .  Yesterday was the beginning of Fair Week in York.  I never saw anything like it...

Sunflower field growing on Park Street in Manchester, PA -- September 11, 2015 I would like to say that I always want to ride my bike.   To be honest there are many times that my brain screams "Ride!" but my body tells me "No."   Today was different.  After school ended today my body wanted to go for a ride but my brain kept shutting the idea out.  I get like this when I feel drained...mentally.   The ironic thing is that going for a ride is always the remedy...it just takes some serious mental convincing to get my butt in gear. My least favorite day of the school year is September 11.  As an American History teacher I feel it is my responsibility to teach my students about the events of  September 11, 2001 .  I've found, that the further we move in time from that date, the harder it is to teach my students about it.  In the years  right after it happened I was able to have discussions with my students focusing on our feelings ab...

Early morning sun rising over the parking lots in North York -- September 7, 2015 I decided to get up early on this  Labor Day  to get  my ride  in.  Two years ago, as a Christmas gift, my lovely wife, Robin, promised me trip to  Lancaster, PA  to visit  Wheatland , the home of our 15th president,  James Buchanan .  Well, today I took her up on it.  Our tour started at 10 AM so I had to be back from my ride by 8:15.   All Trails led me to this Friendly's ice cream truck today -- September 7, 2015 Leaving the house I had a pretty ambitious ride in mind.  Once the reality of my time frame hit me I adapted my plans and managed to get a really fun (and nerdy) ride in.  I originally wanted to head out towards Indian Rock Dam...and to do that I needed to pass though  West York.  I decided to take the Susquehanna Trail almost all the way to Rt. 30.  I cut through some shopping center parking lots ...

My wife is truly amazing.  She's beautiful, talented, affectionate, and brilliant.  In the words of my high school English teacher (and now Facebook friend) Michael Hercane...."How did a guy like me marry someone like her!"  Since we've been dating, Robin and I have enjoyed taking hikes together.  Recently, with all of her work travels, those hikes have not been as frequent.  All the more reason to get excited about our  hike today  at  Rocky Ridge .  David & Robin Raymond on Trail #9 at Rocky Ridge -- September 6, 2015 We got out early enough today to beat the Sunday mountain biking and picnic crowd.  When we go hiking I usually try to find new areas for Robin.   These are usually places that I would mountain bike.  Today we parked in the  lower lot near the power lines .  On this bright and sunny morning you could hear the electricity crackling from the power lines coming from  Three Mile Island . ...

Tim told me he would meet me this morning at the house at 8am for our ride .  He was late.  I guess he won't speed on  Fox Run Road  anymore.  Today turned into a $200 mountain bike ride for him.  He won't be buying that new front fork for his bike anytime soon. Dave Raymond, Tim Sindlinger, Matt Linnane, and Brent Shirk -- September 5, 2015 We had a fun crew today.   Matt was able to meet us and my neighbor, Brent, was also able to come.   Brent is a heck of a mountain biker, but recently, has been down on his luck.  In the last year he has had knee surgery and shoulder problems.  Today was, I believe, only his second day out on the trails this year.  Good to have him back! We chose to ride  Swatara State Park  just to get away from rocks for a while.  The trails at Swatara are twisty, turny, and, for the most part, rock free.  We figured it would be a great place for Brent to get back into the swin...