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Showing posts from October, 2018

REBOUNDING

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Last Friday's ride weighed heavily on me all week long.  Physically, it took me more than a couple of days to bounce back from bouncing off of the unforgiving ground that makes up Rocky Ridge County Park.  Mentally, I fell into that "mountain biking funk" where I knew that all I had to do was get out on my bike and have a good ride...but my body, my schedule and the weather weren't being cooperative.  Truth be told, I wasn't even planning on riding on Friday until some already established plans fell part early in the afternoon...allowing me a small window of time to get out on my bike and rebound from last week. My Stumpjumer on the ridge above Lake Williams. -- October 26, 2018 I opted for a ride around  Lake Williams over, what would have been, my fifth consecutive mountain bike ride at Rocky Ridge .  Besides, after last week, I figured a change of scenery (and terrain) would be a good thing.  Fall has finally arrived in south central Pennsylv...

2.1 MILES INTO OUR RIDE...

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2.1 miles into our Friday afternoon ride at Rocky Ridge, Tim and Adam found me dazed and sitting on a bench  located on Trail #2 at Rocky Ridge County Park with a look of exasperation on my face.  2.1 miles into our ride...and I had twice already ended up sandwiched between my bike and the rock gardens that make up trails #8 and #9 in the lower sections of the park.  No ride is a bad ride...but some are, as we all know, rougher than others.  2.1 miles into this particular ride I seemed to be doing everything wrong...the lines I chose to ride were questionable and any level of mountain biking skill I've acquired through the years mysteriously seemed to have taken the afternoon off. My Stumpjumper resting on one of the hundreds of boulders that make up the landscape around trails #8 and #9 at Rocky Ridge County Park. -- October 19, 2018 I'm really not sure what I expected.  I had been on those very trails a few weeks ago and I knew the condition they w...

THAT BIKE ISN'T GOING TO RIDE ITSELF

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Today was an uncharacteristically bad day.  I really do live a charmed life....I have an amazing wife, awesome family, good friends, two great jobs, and plenty of time to ride my bike...but today was unusually rough.  As much as possible, I try to start my weekend off with a ride (road or mountain...doesn't matter) but today, when I got home, opened the garage door, and walked passed my bike I wasn't finding my typical motivation.  For half an hour, I putzed around the house before I had the motivation to even walk back into the garage.  The ironic thing is that I KNOW that a bike ride ALWAYS makes me feel better...but I was having a such hard time getting out for my usually Friday afternoon ride.  Then, a thought flashed through my head..."You know, that bike isn't going to ride itself."  So, with that, I slowly gathered my stuff and headed over to Rocky Ridge. I was having a hard time getting motivated to do anything today.  Walking into the hou...