ALL TRAILS LEAD TO ICE CREAM

In 1985, my brother and I entered a bicycle race in our home town of Bedford, Pennsylvania.  I'd bet the only reason I entered the race in the first place was because Jake did....back then he was significantly more into these types of events than I was.  Honestly, I have no memory of the race (let alone the outcome). It wasn't until I found an old pic of me (dressed in very 1980s sweats) standing on my tip toes over my Huffy Omni 10-speed bike that the vaguest memories of even being there came back to me.   12 year old me prior to my first bike race.  It looks like the staging area was the old Bedford Primary School on  South Juliana Street -- October 1985 My younger brother, Jacob Raymond -- October 1985 Fast forward more than twenty five years...to 2007, 2008, and 2009...a three year period in which I was really into mountain bike racing.  It seemed like Mark, Glenn, Mikey, and I had a race almost each week during the Spring and Summer ...

I almost titled this post TRAIL ADVICE but decided against it.  Far be it from me to consider myself some sort of expert who ought to offer cycling advice to anyone.  As far as I'm concerned, there is no right or wrong to anything when it comes to mountain biking.  Everybody has their own preferences and opinions in style and gear. So whatever works best for you..and feels best to you...is what you should do.   I will, every once in a while, offer some basic tips to people who are interested in biking (especially mountain biking) for the first time.  I think that, after 25 plus years of riding, I can at least do that.  These tips have nothing to do with what kind of bike to ride, how wide your handle bars should be, or how high your saddle should be.   The tips I sometimes offer tend to be more generic and grounded in the overall experience as opposed to the technical side of riding.  So...if you are interested in mountain biking for th...

Hanging out at the bike shop is always fun.  A shared love a cycling gives any bike shop a unique sense of community....bringing all types of people, from all ages and backgrounds, together.  It's a place where you feel welcome and accepted.  I've always felt that sense of "community" and "belonging" at Gung Ho Bikes...which is one of the reasons why I was so excited to be welcomed as a part of the staff there this year.  Working at the shop feels as if I'm giving back the the community...whether it's in the form of building a new bike a child's birthday present, tuning up someone's bike for a summer of riding, or teaching a customer how to fix a flat tire.  I basically just feel good about sharing my love for cycling and the outdoors with people.  But, last week, this sense of giving back to the local communty was taken to a whole new level for me.   The staff of Gung Ho Bikes:  Ryan, Penny, Jay, Jim, Clark, Ben, Dave, and Joel. -- D...

I could hear Ben's voice behind me as I was navigating down one of my favorite trails in Michaux State Forest .  Tim had a flat and we needed to stop.  Of all the places in the forest where Tim could possibly had flatted...he chose one of the most beautiful.  The trail isn't identified on the official map of the forest and I'm not sure if it has an official name...but it's an absolute jewel of a trail to ride.  It's been nearly two years (and one back surgery) ago since I'd last been on it...and I was loving every second of it!  After hearing Ben call out, I walked my bike back to the sight of Tim and Ben on top of a huge boulder...Tim's bike turned upside-down...working to fix Tim's flat.  I had never paused here...and why would I?  The trail, in this particular section of the forest skirts the boundary of Tumbling Run Game Preserve , weaves in and out of tall pines, flows past an endless sea of green ferns, and rolls over...and around...boulders the...

"Bike Envy" isn't something that I get.  Sure...I might do a double take at the latest bikes on the floor of Gung Ho Bikes ...but it's not like I ever get that "I need to have that and I need to have it now" feeling.  If you are that person (Glenn, I'm speaking to you) then March and April, when all the new bikes are on the floor of the shop, have the potential to be better than Christmas.  Last March (2016), for the first time in five years, I purchased a new mountain bike...and I love it: 29 inch wheels, hard tail, carbon fiber, and orange.  No sir...I don't think I'll be experiencing any bike envy this year.  My 2016 Stumpjumper on it's maiden ride in Swatara State Park -- March 5, 2016 That's not to say that I haven't had my fair share of mountain bikes over the past 22+ years.  They haven't all been Specialized ...but they ALL have been purchased at GUNG HO BIKES ...the BEST BIKE SHOP AROUND .  Over the years, my b...