ALL TRAILS LEAD TO ICE CREAM

With new cycling socks in hand, and heading for the checkout at Hunters & Gatherers , I spotted a brown sign on the wall.  "ADVICE FROM A SQUIRREL." It wasn't the only sign of the kind...apparently you can get advice from just about any from any furry, four-legged creature...but, seeing that I was in Brevard, North Carolina, a mecca of mountain biking (and the home of the White Squirrel ), this sign, in particular, grabbed my attention. These seven simple sentence, provided by a squirrel, could be called "The Mountain Biker's Mantra." They reminded me of why I love mountain biking and it instantly became obvious to me how each of them are relevant to my passion.  Seven pieces of wisdom that I believe...if adhered to...could have the ability elevate an ordinary ride into something extra special.   So...without any further delay...here is some advice I accidentally learned from a squirrel.   LOOK BOTH WAYS BEFORE CROSSING THE STREET Not somet...

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...

It's a term that Mark and I use when the trails get sloppy, muddy, mucky, or just all around difficult.  It's a term I also use on the road when I have to ride straight into a head wind.  "It's like pedaling through peanut butter!"  I can remember a ride, probably back in '08 or '09, when Mark, Glenn, Mikey, and I went to Blue Marsh Lake on a January morning...a morning that was so damn cold we really had no good reason to be there.  The temps were in the low teens when we started out.  It was so cold that I couldn't talk....I mean it...my jaw was so frozen I couldn't form words!  Funny thing about that day was, by the the time we were two-thirds of our way through the 30 mile loop, the temps had risen to a balmy 40 degrees.  Those trails that were frozen solid at the beginning of our ride were now a melted muddy mess. There's no such thing as a bad mountain bike ride...but I look back on the end of that ride and all I can think of is that, f...