Posts

Showing posts with the label Parkway Trail System

ADVICE FROM A BICYCLE

Image
The earliest picture I have of me on a bicycle was taken when I was one year old.  It's of my father holding me steady on a ten speed bike.  I think it's safe to say that neither my mom, nor my dad, would have ever thought I would one day grow up to be an adult who would derive so much joy and inspiration from riding a bike. As always...thank you to YOUR TRUE NATURE for the super cool bookmarks and magnets.  Your gifts and work continue to inspire me. Hanging on the refrigerator in my kitchen is a magnet that the good people at  Your True Nature  sent me a few months ago.  It reads:  ADVICE FROM A BICYCLE.  Just one of a few gifts that they sent me after reading my post,  OBSERVATIONS FROM OHIOPYLE .  The folks at YOUR TRUE NATURE also inspired me to write ADVICE FROM A SQUIRREL and, one of my favorite posts, ADVICE FROM A MOUNTAIN .  Decades of bike riding have taught me a lot of lessons. Some of those lessons were t...

WINTER MOUNTAIN BIKING

Image
Winter is a fact of life if you if you live in Pennsylvania.  The coldest and snowiest months tend to be January and February...but I've seen snow on the trails as late as mid-April.  I'm not a skier...and I'm not a fan of snow or cold...but I do like winter mountain biking. Without the foliage on the trees, it's possible see much more of the landscape, making the forests seem much more immense.  The frozen trails make the riding fast, fun, and downright exhilarating! Riding the Parkway Trails in single digit wind chills. -- December 28, 2017 Mark Lentz and I riding Gifford Pinchot State Park in full winter gear.  -- December 27, 2017 Years ago...when I first started riding...mountain biking was seasonal for me.  I rarely (if ever) hit the trails during the winter months.  As my passion for mountain biking grew...so did my desire to keep turning the pedals no matter what time of year it is.  I've always had limits to what I would rid...

THREE COOL RIDES

Image
It's cold outside right now.  Really cold.  The kind of cold that, regardless of whatever "cold weather" gear I put on, pretty much limits any ride to just about an hour...which is about how long it takes my toes to freeze.  Once my toes freeze...I'm done riding.  I usually go riding once or twice during the week between Christmas and New Year's Day.  This week I managed to ride three days in a row.  Three extremely cold days...and three very cool rides!   Wrapping up a super cool urban mountain bike ride in the city of York, PA. -- December 26, 2017 On Tuesday morning I sent Mark a text to see if he wanted to take a cold ride.  He suggested that I meet him at his house in York City for an "urban" ride.  What I was treated to was a ten mile ride zipping in and out of the city of York...which was split evenly between pavement and off road.  I've lived in York County since 1995, but I've never seen the city from this perspect...

URBAN MOUNTAIN BIKING

Image
When one thinks of mountain biking...Harrisburg, Pennsylvania is not the first thing that comes to mind.  About a year ago, when Mark told me that there was single track along the Capital Area Green Belt , I was more than a little skeptical.  Over the last two years, SAMBA (Susquehanna Area Mountain Biking Association) has converted the wooded areas around the Green Belt into the Parkway Trails Network...some of the most surprisingly cool mountain bike single track in the area!  There's definately an urban feel to it...nearly 10 miles of trail, which enter and exit from the Green Belt, ranging from intermediate level to expert.  The Parkway Trails blend the natural, wooded areas along Spring Creek with the urban setting of Pennsylvania's capital city, Harrisburg.  After adding the rail trail section of the Green Belt (which connect the trail network) you can easily pedal for more than 15 miles!   My 2016 Specialized Stumpjumer resting on the wall nex...