ALL TRAILS LEAD TO ICE CREAM

Glenn showed up to ride Michaux with Tim and I this past June with a button down short sleeve "hiking" shirt.  It was a new look for Glenn.  Gone were the bibs and super cool cycling jerseys.  He said he was going for comfort.  (Personally, I'm convinced his new mountain biking gear is doubling as his "teacher" gear!)  Let me be clear...I'm definitely not making fun of Glenn.  I have absolutely NO room to talk when it comes to mountain biking fashion (if you go back and read THOSE FIRST TRAILS  you'll know exactly what I mean).  Glenn wasn't the only one who was sporting a new look last summer.  With the purchase of my "highlighter orange" Stumpjumper, I completely updated my mountain biking look and decided to move away from the red and black color scheme I'd been sporting the last few years.  Showing off my green Brevard, NC t-shirt while riding Patapsco Valley State Park , Maryland -- October 15, 2016 Last summer marked t...

It's no secret that I love mountain biking.  It's also not a secret that like to ride in Michaux State Forest and that ultimately, no matter where I ride, all trails will lead me to ice cream.  Not just me though.   SOLO RIDES are few and far between...I love riding with friends. They are the ones that make every ride special...and over the years, their friendship, their personalities, their love of the outdoors, and their love for mountain biking have helped turned a hobby into a passion.  I'm so fortunate and privileged to have them in my life and out on the trails with me. All the links of the chain:  Mark Lentz, Kristian Hains, Glenn Medice, Timmy  Sindlinger, Mikey Nardelli, Kevin Hardy, Bill Graves, Mike Alicea, Matt Linnane, Brent Shirk, & Chris Keller Without my friends I'm not sure I would mountain bike nearly as much as I do...I'd be just one link of the chain. All of us, together, keep this thing moving.  I love Michaux, I l...

The moment you get on your bicycle it becomes an extension of your body.  It becomes a natural part of you...and you a part of it.  A connection and a bond is formed.  Your bike personifies your personality and becomes part of your identity.  Heck, most of us even  name our bikes.  Which is why it feels so incredibly weird, awkward, and foreign when you, for one reason or another, ride someone else's bike.  I accidentally rode Mark's bike once.  We had matching 2006 Stumpjumpers.  His was a small frame and mine a large.  We didn't make it more than ten feet down the trail before realizing the switch...and sharing a laugh. Dave Raymond, Mark Lentz, and our matching Stumpjumpers after the Terror At Teaberry Race -- September 2006 There have been times when I've been "between bikes" and needed to borrow someone else's bike for an event (thank you, Billy & Kevin!).  Once I even rode my son's bike in an adventure race becau...

It's been exactly two months since I've been on either of my bicycles.  That's quite the cycling hiatus for me.  I'll always remember 2016 as the year of my two back surgeries...the first in March and the second in November . I am, however; pretty amazed at all I've been able to do and see and experience in 2016 considering the amount of time I've been relegated to my couch the last nine months.  In between two significant recovery periods I purchased a new mountain bike, made almost a dozen trips to Michaux State Forest, hiked (and biked) some pretty amazing stuff in Arizona, made a couple trips to Patapsco Valley State Park, returned to Rattling Creek for the first time in five years, toured the Gettysburg National Military Park, hiked in the mountains of North Carolina and western Maryland with my wife, made numerous trips to Rocky Ridge County Park, and played on the Allegrippis Trail System at Raystown Lake. One of my favorite pics of the past ...