ALL TRAILS LEAD TO ICE CREAM

We all need "me time," but nothing pulls me out of a seasonal depression funk better than time with family and friends.  I think about this a lot this time of year when...as the sun sets earlier and the temps hover around the freezing point... the amount of time that I spend outdoors and the frequency that I am able to get together with friends to soak in some Vitamin N drastically decreases.  A little GROUP THERAPY can go a long way...it doesn't matter if it's a hike in the woods with my family or hitting the trails with the guys in my mountain biking circle...togetherness feels amazing.  So yeah...nothing seems better for my mind and body than doing things that I love, in places that I love, with people that I love (yes...that includes you too, Glenn).  So, here are  (in no particular order)  some pics of recent group therapy spanning the past two years.  Enjoy! Taken after we had just finished riding Grave Ridge Trail in Michaux State Forest ...

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...

As far back as I can remember, Fall has always been my favorite season of the year.  The summer time humidity has faded, the cool, crisp, Autumn air has taken a firm hold, and the leaves on the trees have begun to show their true colors.  We've had an abnormally wet and warm year around here...and, up until a week ago, most of the leaves on the trees were still green.  Finally, this past weekend, York County,  Pennsylvania landed in the sweet spot of the season...the convergence of beautiful weather and peak Fall foliage.  It was the perfect weekend to be outside and I was able to enjoy the amazing weather and soak in that all important Vitamin N with family, friends, and both of bikes. This graphic has been posted each week for the past month by Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources .  Finally, York County is in the orange!  -- November 2, 2018   Tim and I expected, after the deluge of rain that fell on Friday, ...

Last Friday's ride weighed heavily on me all week long.  Physically, it took me more than a couple of days to bounce back from bouncing off of the unforgiving ground that makes up Rocky Ridge County Park.  Mentally, I fell into that "mountain biking funk" where I knew that all I had to do was get out on my bike and have a good ride...but my body, my schedule and the weather weren't being cooperative.  Truth be told, I wasn't even planning on riding on Friday until some already established plans fell part early in the afternoon...allowing me a small window of time to get out on my bike and rebound from last week. My Stumpjumer on the ridge above Lake Williams. -- October 26, 2018 I opted for a ride around  Lake Williams over, what would have been, my fifth consecutive mountain bike ride at Rocky Ridge .  Besides, after last week, I figured a change of scenery (and terrain) would be a good thing.  Fall has finally arrived in south central Pennsylv...

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...