ALL TRAILS LEAD TO ICE CREAM

As much as I love summer, the long shadows of Autumn create scenes that seem to come straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting.   Today my after school bike ride  took me out though the town of York Haven  and back.  It felt great to be outside in the cool, crisp air.  The sun was lower in the sky, peaking through the purple and white clouds, and highlighting the last of the orange, red, and yellow leaves hanging on the trees.  The long shadows of the season helped create a backdrop that was nothing short of amazing...turning ordinary sights into colorful and amazing works of art.  Sometimes pictures ARE worth a thousand words.   Allow me to just let my pictures speak for themselves today.   Pumpkins line the field at Farmer Dan's Pumpkin Stand near Manchester, PA -- October 30, 2014 The Little Conewago Creek was turned into a shimmering ribbon of water today -- October 30, 2015 The tops of the trees lining the farm fields wes...

The remnants of Hurricane Patricia will turn tomorrow into "washout" Wednesday here in south central Pennsylvania.   The soaking rain and wind will, more than likely, bring an end to the colorful foliage that has provided an incredible backdrop for my bike rides this autumn. As November nears the leaves begin to fall -- October 27, 2015 I really wanted to get out after school today to enjoy the Fall colors while they last. Cruising out of the neighborhood, I decided to head over to Starview Road .    Starview a nice, long climb that opens up to an incredible view and an orchard.   When I ride I usually follow a few simple rules:  One, have fun.  Two, be safe.  Three, carry what you need to fix your bike in case of an emergency.  Four, if I ride with someone (or in a group) I will always wait at the top of a hill and, if someone in the group is faster than I am, I ask that they do the same for me.      Fixing my flat ti...

In the early 1990s I went to college at California University of Pennsylvania .   For  two years I lived in McCloskey Hall with Chris Lowe.    Each weekday, at 2 PM, we would come back to the dorm to watch THE JOY OF PAINTING WITH BOB ROSS.  The show was a stress reliever.   A time out from our day.   An opportunity to see Bob Ross fill his canvas with amazing colors and"happy little trees" and "happy little rocks."  Lake Williams from the top of trail 4 -- October 24, 2015 Bob Ross would have loved to be on our ride today.   The Lakes in York County were a canvas of colors.   If the foliage isn't at 100%...it's darn near close.  Tim and I were here last week but our ride was cut short and we didn't get to ride all that we wanted to.   Today we set out to ride the fun stuff we missed out on a week ago.  Today's ride very nearly didn't happen.   I take a lot of pride in the fact that, 99% of the time, I can...

After I got married in 2013 a weird thing began to happen to me when I was on my bike.   About half way through each ride I would have the urge to go home.   For the first time in my life I had a reason to go home.   My wife.    Don't get me wrong....Robin fully supports my riding and even encourages it.  Even on a beautiful late October day like today....the foliage is almost at one hundred percent, The foliage is near 100% at the corner of Chestnut Street and Main Street in Mount Wolf, PA -- October 23, 2015 the sky is blue, the temperatures in the 60s...I began to miss her.   One of the things I love about Robin is that she and I often seem to share a brain.   As I was riding past the Conewago Creek, and began to turn towards home, my phone rang in my ear.   I heard her voice ask me how far I was from home.    Today I turned up Conewago Creek Road to head back home -- October 23, 2015 "Just about 15 minutes from...

 The Battle of Gettysburg was fought on July 1, 2, & 3, 1863.   Just recently, we, as a nation, commemorated the 150th anniversary of the battle .    I've been to the battlefield many times both for my own personal education and with the students in my American History classes.   Today I learned something about the battle that I did not know.    I passed this farm on the Hanover Pike today headed out of Hanover, PA.  A beautiful autumn picture. -- October 18, 2015 My son, Alex, had a fall baseball game in Hanover, Pennsylvania today.  I had some time to kill before his first game started...so naturally I brought my bicycle with me.   My ride today took me from Hanover to Littlestown.   I rode in a straight line out and back on the Hanover Pike taking in some really beautiful York & Adams County scenery.   The cold front that was passing over south central Pennsylvania today provided a brilliant autumn sk...

Most of the people who mountain bike in York County head to one of two places... Rocky Ridge County Park or the Lakes .   If time permits, I will always choose to go somewhere other than these two places.  I sometimes take both of these parks for granted...but it is so nice to have two amazing trail systems so close to home.    Lake Redman on a beautiful October morning -- October 17, 2015 The Lakes provide water to York County.   The first of the lakes, Lake Williams, was constructed in 1913 using mule-drawn wagons to haul dirt away.   By 1968, Lake Williams was no longer big enough to supply water to the growing population of York.   It was then that the York Water Company began construction on Lake Redman.   Combined, the two lakes hold 3.1 billion gallons of water.   In 2004, a pipeline connecting the lakes to the Susquehanna River was completed.    It is capable of drawing millions of gallons of water from the great...

Each year, on Columbus Day , Mark Lentz and I try to go mountain biking.   This year, in the spirit of the day, Mark and I decided to head to  Caledonia State Park  and explore the southern end of  Michaux State Forest .   A fantastic fall day planned mountain biking in southern Michaux State Forest with Mark Lentz  -- October 12, 2015 Exploratory rides are so fun...but one of two things can happen.   Number one:  You can ride all day and keep back tracking out of trails because you find out that you have wondered onto land that you are NOT suppose to be on .  Or...Number two:  you have what happened today.   We found fantastic fire road, miles of old logging roads, fun single track, fast downhills, and...one or two hike-a-bikes.   Yeah...today was 26 miles of mountain biking fun ! Mark Lentz climbing up our first single track of the day.  You can see the blue blazes marked on the tree in the middle of the pict...