ALL TRAILS LEAD TO ICE CREAM

People love Hershey, Pennsylvania.  It is, after all, designated as the "Sweetest Place on Earth."  Twice, within the past two weeks, I've made the thirty-ish mile trip from York to Hershey, to ride the area's sweetest new attraction...a brand new, super cool mountain bike trail system located directly behind the Penn State Hershey Medical Center. My Stumpjumper resting near trail W3 on the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Trail System. -- November 3, 2018 Thanks to SAMBA (Susquehanna Area Mountain Bike Association)...the same group that put together the Parkway Trails in Harrisburg, PA...I now have another place to add to my list of local spots to mountain bike.  Tim and I made our first visit to the HMC Trail System two weeks ago.  Neither one of us knew exactly what to expect...but we  knew that this would be something special from the moment we left the parking lot.  The first thing we came across was an outdoor "lounge" equipped with chair...

2.1 miles into our Friday afternoon ride at Rocky Ridge, Tim and Adam found me dazed and sitting on a bench  located on Trail #2 at Rocky Ridge County Park with a look of exasperation on my face.  2.1 miles into our ride...and I had twice already ended up sandwiched between my bike and the rock gardens that make up trails #8 and #9 in the lower sections of the park.  No ride is a bad ride...but some are, as we all know, rougher than others.  2.1 miles into this particular ride I seemed to be doing everything wrong...the lines I chose to ride were questionable and any level of mountain biking skill I've acquired through the years mysteriously seemed to have taken the afternoon off. My Stumpjumper resting on one of the hundreds of boulders that make up the landscape around trails #8 and #9 at Rocky Ridge County Park. -- October 19, 2018 I'm really not sure what I expected.  I had been on those very trails a few weeks ago and I knew the condition they w...

Today was an uncharacteristically bad day.  I really do live a charmed life....I have an amazing wife, awesome family, good friends, two great jobs, and plenty of time to ride my bike...but today was unusually rough.  As much as possible, I try to start my weekend off with a ride (road or mountain...doesn't matter) but today, when I got home, opened the garage door, and walked passed my bike I wasn't finding my typical motivation.  For half an hour, I putzed around the house before I had the motivation to even walk back into the garage.  The ironic thing is that I KNOW that a bike ride ALWAYS makes me feel better...but I was having a such hard time getting out for my usually Friday afternoon ride.  Then, a thought flashed through my head..."You know, that bike isn't going to ride itself."  So, with that, I slowly gathered my stuff and headed over to Rocky Ridge. I was having a hard time getting motivated to do anything today.  Walking into the hou...

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...

Late last week I got the news I'd been waiting (and hoping) for.  With the blessing of my surgeon and family doctor I was given permission to get back on my bicycle!  I'll admit that I've been just as nervous as I've been excited.  I was told that I could "ease back into it" by my surgeon, Dr. Salotto.  My wife, who is pretty convinced that I'm incapable of easing into anything, held her breath as I clipped in for the first time in six months. A little pre-ride celebration!  My first ride since October...and I wouldn't have done it with anyone else!  Thanks for coming with me, Sweetheart! -- April 9, 2017 I think she was surprised when I suggested a short 3 mile ride home from the middle school where I teach after we dropped my truck off for my son.  As far as I'm concerned...that's "easing into it."  What a feeling it was getting back on my bike.  I really missed this...the sense of freedom...the wind in my face...the simpl...

It's a word that Mikey loves to use...SIMPLICITY.  Mountain biking stripped down to it's basic form. For four years, I'd had been riding a full suspension bike...and dealing with the mechanical problems that come with full suspension bikes. Early in 2011, I sold my 26 inch, full suspension Stumpjumper and purchased my first 29 inch mountain bike. Gone were the small wheels and rear suspension...replaced with a bike that I would ride the heck out of for next five years.  I was the last 26 inch hold out in our group...but simply stated...making the switch was one of the best mountain biking decisions I've made.  My first ride in Michaux State Forest with my brand new 2011 Stumpjumper 29er.  An incredible ride which ended with an amazing view from the top of Pole Steeple -- July 4, 2011 My time in Michaux during 2011 and 2012 was spent mostly with Kevin Hardy, Tim Sindlinger and Chris Keller. Chris and I had met a few years before (my son and his daughte...

Hitting rocky trails on a mountain bike is expected (especially when riding in Michaux State Forest ).  You could say that Michaux is an 85,000 acre rock garden...literally a mountain biker's playground.  It's a place where grown men can ride their bikes, cast away worries, and become kids again.  Most of 2009 & 2010 was spent riding familiar trails and roads that our group had pieced together the previous three years.  One notable exception was a trail that led to a rock outcropping southwest of Forest Road .  This proved to be an extremely cool, although accidental, find.  In searching for an alternate route to the top of Tumbling Run , I stumbled upon a system of rocks that provided an amazing view of the valley below.  For the next few years this became my " standard ride " at Michaux.  Riding "Gargamel's Trail" in Michaux State Forest.  Mark Lentz, Dave Raymond, Mikey Nardelli, & Kristian Hains -- February 2009 Our gr...