ALL TRAILS LEAD TO ICE CREAM

Something incredible happened in Michaux State Forest during 2015 and 2016.  It wasn't the amazing new trails that we found and explored...and it wasn't the revisiting of trails that we haven't ridden for many years.  These two things alone would have made the last couple of years of mountain biking in Michaux some of the best.  However, 2015 & 2016 stand out because they saw the  return of so many friends (as well as one new friend) to our riding group...and we all know that mountain biking just isn't mountain biking without friends. Dave Raymond (and Tim Sindlinger) riding in Michaux State Forest -- May 30, 2015 Glenn, Mikey, Bill, and Kristian all returned over the past months ride with Mark, Tim, and I.  Matt Linnane began riding with us in 2015 after Tim and I made easy friends with him while crossing paths in Swatara State Park .  Together we laughed, talked, joked, and just rode.  It's greatest feeling in the world to have everyon...

Ever since we began mountain biking Michaux State Forest in 2006 every single ride began the same way.  From the parking lot near the furnace at Pine Grove Furnace State Park we would take Benderville Road up the mountain and turn onto the ATV trails that began at the yellow gate just past the campgrounds.  The double wide trail that took us to the top of Piney Ridge forever became known to us as "the easy button"...a 500 foot climb, spread out over 3.3 miles, to the top of the ridge.  The perfect warm up for any ride.  From there we would assess our riding options.  All that changed in 2013 when Mark Lentz and I returned to the forest to do what we do best when it's just the two of us...explore. Our mission...to explore parts of the forest that need exploring.  Dave Raymond & Mark Lentz on Woodrow Road -- June 1, 2013 Mark Lentz and Dave Raymond exploring Michaux State Forest -- June 1, 2013 The trails that Mark and I have mapped out...

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...

On Memorial Day of 2006 Mark Lentz took Tim and I mountain biking in Michaux State Forest for the first time.  It was my first taste of a place that would become magical to me and, quite possibly, my favorite place on Earth.  Over the past ten years, Michaux has become much more to me than just a place to mountain bike.  It became a place where  friendships would be forged and tested...where lessons would be learned...where skills would be honed...and adventures would be shared.  I've already written about the history of the forest named for the French botanist Andre Michaux , but now, with 2016 rapidly coming to an end...and with plenty of time on my hands while my body is slowly healing ...I want to share the memories I have of OUR history exploring Michaux over the past decade.* Michaux State Forest consists of 85,500 acres of forest located in the South Mountain area west of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania I remember the summer of 2006 as the "seemingly ...