ALL TRAILS LEAD TO ICE CREAM

A few February's ago, my wife and I stepped out of Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport and into the warm dessert air.  Robin looked at me with a smile on her face.  When I inquired about the big smile she respond that she was reacting to my smile.  Six hours previous to that moment we boarded a plane at BWI and escaped the deep freeze of winter.  I couldn't help but be excited about being outside...and apparently, the expression on my face said it all. I've been doing a lot of solo mountain biking after school this year.  Last week, while riding the Lakes , I paused to  the appreciate the amazing Autumn Pennsylvania weather and take in some Vitamin N. -- October 19, 2017 I crave nature and I crave being outdoors.  I don't know the science behind it but I feel better and I'm happier when I'm outside.  There are plenty of studies out there that say that exposure to nature helps with depression, high blood pressure, anxiety, ADD, and just about a...

I can't remember the last time I spent an entire summer mountain biking in so many new places...on so many "new to me" trails...and on trails I hadn't been on in nearly a decade.  Over the past few months, I've done just that.  The biggest perk I get from my job (if you want to call it that...I get to teach history to kids) is time.  Time is the one resource that you can NEVER get back.  So, this summer...along with Mark, Glenn, Tim, Chris, and Matt...I've used my time mountain biking to explore, and re-explore, a variety of different places and trails.  I truly am blessed to have such great state and local parks and forests...populated with miles and miles of trails...just waiting to be ridden.  I'm equally blessed to have friends who share the same passion.  So (without any further rambling), here's some of the places that I, my friends, and my Stumpjumper have explored the past two and a half months.  Enjoy! STONY VALLEY RAIL TRAIL M...

When I was a child, my parents often would take my brother and I to the water slides at Raystown Lake .  It was always something I looked forward to.  As an adult, I usually make the 2+ hour drive back to Raystown...not for the water slides (I'm not even sure if they are still there)...but to ride the Allegrippis Trail system on the northwest side of the lake. Dave Raymond riding along Hydo Loop near Raystown Lake -- July 11, 2017 The most important thing I've learned on my four trips to ride Allegrippis is that...with more than thirty miles of trails, created as a series of stacked loops in a collaborative between the Army Corps of of Engineers and the International Mounain Bike Association , and designed specifically for mountain bikers...it's super easy to get carried away!  Tim found this out first hand when, while riding Ray's Revenge, his tires kicked out from underneath him shooting him a few feet down the embankment.  It's not for a lack of warni...

Glenn showed up to ride Michaux with Tim and I this past June with a button down short sleeve "hiking" shirt.  It was a new look for Glenn.  Gone were the bibs and super cool cycling jerseys.  He said he was going for comfort.  (Personally, I'm convinced his new mountain biking gear is doubling as his "teacher" gear!)  Let me be clear...I'm definitely not making fun of Glenn.  I have absolutely NO room to talk when it comes to mountain biking fashion (if you go back and read THOSE FIRST TRAILS  you'll know exactly what I mean).  Glenn wasn't the only one who was sporting a new look last summer.  With the purchase of my "highlighter orange" Stumpjumper, I completely updated my mountain biking look and decided to move away from the red and black color scheme I'd been sporting the last few years.  Showing off my green Brevard, NC t-shirt while riding Patapsco Valley State Park , Maryland -- October 15, 2016 Last summer marked t...