ALL TRAILS LEAD TO ICE CREAM

It's impossible for me to forget my first camping trip.  I mean, it's literally impossible...I still have the scar on my left ankle where I embedded my father's hatchet when I was 8 years old!  Yeah...irresponsible, eight-year-old, me missed the log my dad told I could practice on and gave my ankle a pretty good whack.  I waited almost two hours until my mother went up the the bathhouse to tell my dad out of concern that both he, and I, would get in trouble!  As much as I like to tease my dad about that incident...I have a lot of memories of those first camping trips to Rocky Gap State Park, which include a lot of firsts:  my first time sleeping in a tent, my first mountain pie, my first canoe ride, my first evening campfires...and yes, my first "hatchet incident." One of our first camping trips to Rocky Gap State Park.  My father enjoying some dinner with my brother, Jacob, and I in the background. -- 1981 Taking a canoe ride on Lake Habeeb with ...

Spring is, believe it or not, is the most difficult time of the year for me to get out and mountain bike and hike.  A lot of factors...the inevitable rainy weather, muddy trail conditions (which end up closing the trails at the local county parks), and the end of the school year activities and field trips that all happen in April and May...are in play here and, especially last year, put a damper on the amount of time I'm able to enjoy the outdoors the way that I would like to.  I'm almost embarrassed to say that (for all the reasons previously listed) I didn't ride my mountain bike even once in May of 2018.  This Spring, thankfully, has proven to be much more "trail" friendly than last. Yes...I took a pic of my bike surrounded by wildflowers (Dame's Rockets) at Lake Kain County Park. -- May 18, 2019  My wife, Robin, and I have continued our commitment to at least one hike a week.  Rocky Ridge County Park is our default location to hike if we are pr...

In 1985, my brother and I entered a bicycle race in our home town of Bedford, Pennsylvania.  I'd bet the only reason I entered the race in the first place was because Jake did....back then he was significantly more into these types of events than I was.  Honestly, I have no memory of the race (let alone the outcome). It wasn't until I found an old pic of me (dressed in very 1980s sweats) standing on my tip toes over my Huffy Omni 10-speed bike that the vaguest memories of even being there came back to me.   12 year old me prior to my first bike race.  It looks like the staging area was the old Bedford Primary School on  South Juliana Street -- October 1985 My younger brother, Jacob Raymond -- October 1985 Fast forward more than twenty five years...to 2007, 2008, and 2009...a three year period in which I was really into mountain bike racing.  It seemed like Mark, Glenn, Mikey, and I had a race almost each week during the Spring and Summer ...

I almost titled this post TRAIL ADVICE but decided against it.  Far be it from me to consider myself some sort of expert who ought to offer cycling advice to anyone.  As far as I'm concerned, there is no right or wrong to anything when it comes to mountain biking.  Everybody has their own preferences and opinions in style and gear. So whatever works best for you..and feels best to you...is what you should do.   I will, every once in a while, offer some basic tips to people who are interested in biking (especially mountain biking) for the first time.  I think that, after 25 plus years of riding, I can at least do that.  These tips have nothing to do with what kind of bike to ride, how wide your handle bars should be, or how high your saddle should be.   The tips I sometimes offer tend to be more generic and grounded in the overall experience as opposed to the technical side of riding.  So...if you are interested in mountain biking for th...