ALL TRAILS LEAD TO ICE CREAM

Traditionally, Tuesdays, in the summer, are set aside for riding with Tim.  It's the only day of the week he has off work...so we maintain a standing date for a weekly ride.  Our rides, this summer, weren't very long...but what we lacked in miles we more than made up for with adventure, mud, rain, rocks, and exploration!   Posing with my bike at my favorite vista in Michaux State Forest.  Photo by Tim Sindlinger. -- August 14, 2018 Tim and I set out for six Tuesday mountain bike rides over the course of the last few months...five in Michaux State Forest and one trip to the Parkway Trail System in Harrisburg.  Unlike the summer of 2016, we weren't plagued with mechanical issues (we only experienced two flats this summer) and, unlike the summer of 2017, we saw very little wildlife (with the exception of the typical squirrels and deer).  As in years past...the more the merrier!  Tim's buddy, Adam, joined us for our ride on the Parkway Tr...

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...

The "Month of Gray" (formerly known here in south central Pennsylvania as the month of May) has finally come and gone.  The end of yet another successful school year has ushered in my unofficial start of summer, and along with it, a string of nice weather.  Actually, we've had some amazingly nice weather...low humidity, blue skies, and high temps around 80 degrees.  I couldn't have asked for conditions to be any more perfect for my first summer ride in Michaux State Forest . On our first Michaux ride of the summer, Tim and I headed to my favorite vista to catch the amazing view of the forest below. -- June 12, 2018 Tim's bike (you can also see mine leaning on the rock in the distance) resting along the trail a few feet away from the vista.  The mountain laurel, Pennsylvania's State Flower, is in full bloom on the left of the trail. -- June 12, 2018 A perfect day for a ride in Michaux State Forest. -- June 12, 2018 Enjoying the cool waters ...