Farm Show 08

Great fun at the Dillsburg Farm Show. Check out the old guy on the tractor! He is a proud man!

Randa Rides

Randa did a great job at the pump track!

FUN!

First, I would like to thank a few people! Camps for going through all the red tape to get a pump track built in Chambersburg with the help of the town. You really did something special for your community! MBM for their hard work. Ben who really does dig good! Great job on the design and making it fun for all ages and ability levels. Finally, to the guys and gals in suits that said yes to Camps idea!

I had been following the project though the blog world always hoping to visit when it was complete. Sorry, I was not around to help I live 3 1/2 hours away. The in-laws live in Dillsburg and I knew that Luke and I would visit on Farmers Fair weekend. More on the fair in a future post. On Sat. morning Luke and I drove the 45 min. from the Dill to Chambersburg. When we pulled up I will never forget the excitment in Luke's voice as he looked out his window at the pump track. For those readers who do not know what a pump track is it is a small version of a motocross or BMX track that a rider uses their momentum to create and keep speed. We unloaded the bikes and helmets from the car and took our first runs. It was just really FUN! I was riding a pump track with my 4 year old and we both were having a blast. We did as many laps as we could in 3 hours. Yes, Luke rode it for 3 hours and did not want to leave.

Sunday morning at 7:30am I wake up to Luke in my face saying "lets go to the pump track". Yes we made the drive from the Dill again on Sunday. Another three hours of smiles. On both days we also meet some really cool people. It was nice to talk to like minded people. Rob were ever you are I love the Patterson Racing BMX bike from the 80's, and thanks for the ride on your pro stock 24 in. Schwinn.

I hope you enjoy the pictures and I look forward to a visit in the near future! This has also made the decision for me to build my own pump track to go along with the singletrack at school.

Fall

I love Mt. biking in the fall. I have had some great rides lately. I look forward to more!

Bridge Build

The school trail has a new bridge! Thanks to Charlie and Luke for the help. The wood was donated by a neighbor and was just enough! The bridge makes that section of trail much safer and fun! Charlie you need to bring your bike next time. Did I mention I love my job!

Purple Rain

What a great movie/song that was! Andy I told you on Sunday about purple coming back in the biking world. Nothing beats the Answer Taperlite bar in your Stumpjumper. These wheels are from Interbike the big trade show in Vegas at the end of Sept. Let it rain!

Charlie this is for you!

Call Me! I thought this might help you get in the mood to ride!

Want/Need

Thanks to speedgoat.com for the pic. I like these I9 Wheels from Interbike. NEED!

Ye Old With AJW

Andy and I went to ye old for beef and beer last Friday. When we walked up to the door there was a sign that Said "no smoking". We got inside and the air was clear and easy to breathe. All you could smell was the BEEF. The usual crowd on a Friday night at the ye old is a smoking crowd. A cloud of smoke is common in the bar area. With the state of Pa. stepping up and banning smoking I will save many minutes of my life, and a smoker may realize how stupid it is and STOP. Did anyone ever tell people that smoking is known to cause cancer. Read the box dummy!
I really enjoy going out with Andy in a casual setting. We can talk, laugh, and realize how much we are really like our parents. Andy told a good story about getting angry and smashing a trash can. I wounder if that trash can felt like the kid on the Maryland Terps hockey team he steam rolled while playing ice hockey for the Rams?
Another topic of conversation was the economy. We both feel like it could get worse before it gets better! Lets hope not! The people in the large corpoations need to be held accountable for their actions in this situation. They are smart people that know what they are doing and knew this was going to happen! GREED!
Andy thanks for driving down, it was fun!

White Clay Picture #6

This will be the final pic from Sunday's ride.

White Clay Picture #5

White Clay Picture #4

This is my favorite of the bunch I took on Sunday.

White Clay Picture #3

White Clay Picture #2

White Clay Picture #1

#8

Lance appears to be going for tour win #8. Although it will be good to see him race again I sure hope he can win if he is going to post his blood tests online. If he does not win people (the french) will question the other seven wins. I will say now that I would much rather see Lance race mountain bikes full time. Mountain bike racing could use the "Lance Effect" and the circus that will follow him. Check out the picture of Lance mt. bike racing at Mt. Snow in 1999. I was there to see that. It was great to see him on the dirt that weekend!

Univest #2

Overall a great day of being a bike racing fan with Luke. One thing I have realized recently with Luke is how we learn to complain about things that don't really matter when we become "adults". Example number one is when Luke and I were on a mountain bike ride in some singletrack a few days ago he was aiming for the roots and the rocks. I thought "what is he doing"? Then it dawned on me, those roots and rocks he was hitting make the ride fun. I think at times as an "adult" mountain biker we are so focused on avoiding this debris you forget they are part of the reason you started riding in the first place.
Example nuber two was this weekend at the Univest race when the rain started to come down hard, the "adult in me was saying stay dry! Luke was wearing his rain coat but did not want to stay under his umbrella. He soon became soaked and loved every minute of it. To him the rain was fun! Amazing what you can learn from your 4 year old! Get out and be a kid. Hits some of the rocks on the trail.

Univest 08 Chapter 1

The Univest Grand Prix road race is always a fun day to watch bike racing. You get to see the riders race the roads you have trained on and had some of the best road rides of your life on. Eichle Rd. is a SUPER steep hill on the back side of Green Lane Park and it is also included in the race route. It is a hill that would test anyone. It is a hill that you only ride a couple of times a year because it is just that hard. Thats why I love it. When the race comes up Eichle everyone pays the price. Motorcycles, cars, and bike racers all are put to shame. You can smell the burning transmissions after the team cars go through. The racers are reduced to zig-zagging, walking, or being pushed!
This years addition had an unwanted visitor, Hanna. She brought with her wet roads early on and floods later in the day. Enough that Luke built a leaf dam in the water flowing down the street in Souderton. More to come!

Skinner

"You are cooking"! We love the movie about The Rats!

Sign

I found this on a fellow mt. bikers blog. The sign is located in Hurricane Utah. Very fitting for my Luke