ALL TRAILS LEAD TO ICE CREAM

I'll admit that I've spent a lot of the winter window shopping at the bike shop.  Fortunately for me (and my wallet) there really isn't anything major that I need to purchase this year for mountain biking.   Currently, I'm three years into a four to five year commitment with my bike (which I still love).  Likewise, no new helmet this year...I can't yet seem to part ways with the florescent green helmet I purchased in 2017.  I'm at the point where a new pair of mountain biking shoes wouldn't be unreasonable...but besides the typical small stuff that needs to be replenished (CO2 cartridges, orange energy chews, and a few extra tubes) I think that I'm pretty much set for Spring riding. The snowy hillside and low sun angle make for a cool background in this pic.  My Stumpjumper on the trails behind the Hershey Medical Center.  No need to replace it yet!  -- February 16, 2019 It's February in Pennsylvania...statistically, the coldest and sno...

 January and February tend to provide a lot of sleet, rain, snow, ice, and bone chilling weather here in York County, Pennsylvania. For sure, not ideal conditions for biking...but, I made a commitment to opt outside as much as possible in 2019...and I'm sticking with it. Conditions and time have kept me from heading to the local county parks to mountain bike.  Likewise, gravel and rock salt have kept me (for the most part) off of my road bike.  Still, as I came to realize last winter, I have plenty of  OPTIONS  to get out and do what I love to do. I took advantage of  the extra couple hours of daylight and rode my mountain bike along and around the train tracks in Manchester, PA after school let out early in anticipation of a pending snow storm. -- January 19, 2019 An Arctic blast hit the northeast late last month.  The first "snow day" I had this school year wasn't for snow...it was for the downright frigid temperatures.  Temps so cold...

I first heard of REI's  #OptOutside initiative back in November.  GUNG HO BIKES , the bike shop at which I work, followed  REI 's lead and decided to close its doors on Black Friday to host a series of rides.  What a great idea...encouraging more and more people to take a break from the stress of everyday life, disconnect from screen time, and enjoy time outdoors...reconnecting with nature and spending time with family and friends!   The three inches of snow that fell overnight might keep me off my road bike...but it won't stop me from opting to be outside! -- January 13, 2019 The new year is a time for new resolutions.  Typically, I don't make them...but this year, at the suggestion of my wonderful wife, Robin, the two of us have one.  We are going to try to commit to doing 52 hikes in 2019.  That's at least one a week for the next year...and, as of right now, we are three for three:  three weeks in and three hikes in ...

There wasn't anything normal about 2018. It's been a year of extreme humidity, single digit temperatures, and more rainy days than I can remember in my lifetime.  Even on the "dry" days riding conditions were challenging,  at best.   Mud and water and more mud seemed to be the recurring theme of the the past year.  With the exception of a ride I took in Mesa, Arizona, I don't recall a single time this year when the trails were dry and dusty.   Regardless, the conditions didn't stop me (or my riding partners) opting outside to turn some pedals.  As a matter of fact, I rode (and cleaned my drive train) quite regularly and quite often. My Stumpjumper nestled in low hanging clouds and resting on the sign in Michaux State Forest marking the border of Cumberland and Adams Counties. -- July 31, 2018 Throughout the course of 2018, I rode my mountain bike in, at least, sixteen different places...making my normal trips to places like Mich...