ALL TRAILS LEAD TO ICE CREAM

 I was five years old in 1978 when my mom and dad took my brother and I to see the movie SUPERMAN .  Two years later, in 1980, our family drove to Altoona, PA to see THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK .   Both of these pieces of pop-culture, one made me believe a man could fly and the other made me want to be a lightsaber wielding Jedi Knight, grabbed a hold of my  imagination and defined my childhood.  To this day, my favorite scenes in both of those movies involve icy, frozen landscapes.  As a kid I was mesmerized by Superman's "Fortress of Solitude"....and ice covered structure that often served as the Man of Steel's headquarters.  Then,  in the opening minutes of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, I sat on the edge of my seat as Luke Skywalker, on the frozen planet of Hoth, rode on the back of a beast called a Tauntaun, battled snow creatures, and fought Imperial AT-ATs.    The view of the valley in Michaux State Forest .  The cold air set...

The last day of 2020 is, currently, cold and dreary...but that didn't stop Matt an I from wrapping up the year on a high note with a super fun New Year's Eve ride in Michaux.  I've spent a lot of time on my bikes this past year.  Three hundred forty eight hours...to be exact...were dedicated to riding my bike in 2020.  Translated to mileage...I pedaled over 3,500 miles in the last 365 days.  Although I got to ride a lot with my friends...the Pandemic forced me to ride more solo miles than I had for quite some time. 2020 also saw a new bike added to my fleet...a 2021 Specialized Diverge.  Yeah...now I own a gravel bike, too.  As crappy as 2020 has been for so many people, I have been blessed with the time and ability to safely get out and enjoy nature on my bike.  Looking back over the past year it was hard to pick my favorite rides.  I was able to narrow it down to the following twelve rides.  I want to thank my wife, Robin (who is part of th...