ALL TRAILS LEAD TO ICE CREAM

Something incredible happened in Michaux State Forest during 2015 and 2016.  It wasn't the amazing new trails that we found and explored...and it wasn't the revisiting of trails that we haven't ridden for many years.  These two things alone would have made the last couple of years of mountain biking in Michaux some of the best.  However, 2015 & 2016 stand out because they saw the  return of so many friends (as well as one new friend) to our riding group...and we all know that mountain biking just isn't mountain biking without friends. Dave Raymond (and Tim Sindlinger) riding in Michaux State Forest -- May 30, 2015 Glenn, Mikey, Bill, and Kristian all returned over the past months ride with Mark, Tim, and I.  Matt Linnane began riding with us in 2015 after Tim and I made easy friends with him while crossing paths in Swatara State Park .  Together we laughed, talked, joked, and just rode.  It's greatest feeling in the world to have everyon...

"Here eat this..."  With that, I devoured the mashed up marshmallow and peanut butter sandwich that Mark had pulled out of his Camelbak.  It was, to the best of my recollection, the only time that I have ever truly "bonked."  Halfway up a seemingly endless fire road on a mountain near State College, Pennsylvania I got off of my bike and laid down.  No mas!  I had nothing left and I needed something to eat...now.  In those early years of what would become our "big rides" I really didn't have much of an idea of how to properly eat before a ride and what to pack for the ride.  Hence...there I was lying wasted on a dusty fire road eating my friend's peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich! Like bears in the woods, we all have different ways of finding sustenance on the trail.  Pictured from top left to right (top row first): Glenn Medice, Tim Sindlinger, Mark Lentz, Kristian Hains, Dave Raymond, Mike Nardelli, Bill Graves, Matt Linnane, & Kevi...

Sometimes the ride gets tough...and often virtually impossible.  Mark often says that it's not a ride unless there's at least one "hike-a-bike."  Yeah...that part of the trail that just can't be ridden (well...at least by me!)  That part of the trail that requires you to get out of the saddle and push.  Over the years, as my skill level has improved, the trails have to be more steep and more difficult to coax me off of my bike...but, sometimes it just can't be avoided.   On our annual Columbus Day " exploration ride,"  Mark and I rode some pretty awesome stuff.  We also hiked quite a few hills...like the one behind me! -- October 10, 2016 Often, the hike-a-bike isn't caused by some obnoxious hill...but instead, it's the result of the unexpected obstacles thrown into our path.  It could be debris from a storm, a rock garden that just CANNOT be navigated, or mud pits that sink your bike "bottom bracket deep."  It's obst...