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Showing posts from May, 2016

RETURN TO ROCKY GAP

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In the early 1980s my mom and dad began taking my brother, Jake, and I camping at Rocky Gap State Park near Cumberland, Maryland .  During the summer months we seemingly went every weekend.  I loved it there.   Rocky Gap was just a short drive from our home in Bedford, Pennsylvania.  We spent our days playing on the beach and fishing in the lake.  My mother made incredible meals for us at the campground and each evening my dad would make a campfire.  The campfire was my favorite part.  My dad made mountain pies, my mom would make popcorn over the fire, and my brother and I would roast marshmallows and hot dogs.  Our camping trips ended in the late 80s when both my brother and I reached high school.   Our schedules were just too hectic.  That was the last I would see of Rocky Gap for 25 years.   Rocky Gap State Park and campgrounds sits at the base of Evitts Mountain in western Maryland -- May 30, 2016 When I began dating m...

BACK IN THE SADDLE -- May 15, 2016

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This past week, I ventured out on my first bike rides since my back surgery in mid-March.  As road rides go...they weren't long rides...but they were fun!  I'll admit that I was just as nervous as I was excited.   I've tried hard to be a good patient so that I would heal as quickly as possible and I definitely didn't want to undo any progress...but, a few rides in now, I feel good.  The rides I've done so far have been about 10-ish miles (I don't want to over do it) and I've stayed relatively close to home...but yesterday I rode 13 miles .   I've got to tell you....it just feels good to be out in the fresh air doing what I love to do.  No mountain bike rides yet.  I'm going to give myself another week or two before I try some off road riding. My bike rides, both yesterday and today , took me down near the Conewago Inn .  It was great to be out on my bike -- May 15, 2016 I seriously have to thank my family for helping me (and putting up...

MOMENTARY LAPSE IN GRACE -- May 12, 2016

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Mountain biking is a beautiful thing...but inevitably someone will fall off of their bike.  Then it can get ugly.  Glenn once said of me, "Davy doesn't crash much, but when he does the ground shakes."  Apparently, I hit the ground like a sand bag!  That being said, I, and the guys I ride with, are fortunate that none of us have ever been seriously hurt.   I don't wreck often, but when I do I hit the ground like a sand bag.  Thanks for watching over me, Tim, while I gain my senses back! -- The Lakes , October 14, 2014 Not that we haven't had scary moments.  We've all wrecked...except Tim, that is.  How is that?  I've never seen the man wreck!  Now that I think about it...I don't think I've ever seen Timmy fall off his bike.*  The rest of us have, though.  I've witnessed Mark wipe out really hard at Blue Marsh Lake .  I've remember Glenn going down hard in a ditch underneath the power lines at Rocky Ridge .  M...

KEEPING THINGS MOVING -- May 6, 2016

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There was a time, when I first started mountain biking, that a flat tire would end my ride.  Not only was I not wise enough to carry what I needed to fix my bike...I wouldn't have known what to do if I did have what I needed with me.  Over the years, I've learned to deal with a whole lot more than just flat tires.  I have to credit any ability I have to fix my bike mid ride to Mark Lentz and Jay Zech.  Mark has given me a whole lot of "on the trail" experience and Jay was kind enough to teach me a thing or two while at the bike shop .   Doing a little maintenance on my bike -- July 2015 Flat tires suck...but when riding in places like Michaux State Forest (or even locally at Rocky Ridge)...they are bound to happen.  Generally, the rule of the ride is, each person carries what is needed to fix their own flat at least once...a tube, a pump or CO2, and the tools needed to get your wheel moving forward again.  The only times I had to push my bike...