Flyers Game

This post is to say thanks to Dave for the invite to join his family at the Flyers game. Through his work we were able to see the game from a suite. All I can say is "amazing"! Meg and Luke loved it. It was the first Flyers game for both of them. The game itself was great. Flyers were down 5-1 and came back to tie it with four minutes left. The game went to overtime and still no one scored. Then the Flyers won in the shootout. Very exciting! This round of pictures is of Meg, more to come! Enjoy!

Tuesday Night Ride

Two hours of night time fun in pictures.

Dusting

An early 7:15am ride at Valley Green with a light dusting of snow. The weather forecast was calling for the winds to pick up as the day grew longer so I got out early to avoid the wind chills. This would be a test for the 34x18 on some steep hills. The gear was hard on the steeper hills but, overall more fun. I stuck to the trails that I know so I could feel the difference in the gear. On one of the longer more gradual climbs I actually like the bigger gear. I was able to get out of the saddle and put in a good acceleration. On one semi-flat section I was moving much faster. Overall, in the two hour ride I covered more distance then usual even with the snow! Coming home from the trails on the road that wind chill mentioned earlier had arrived. I was almost blown off the road. Home just in time!

Snowy Sunday Morning

34x18 on a 29 = FUN

The Rig came with a stock gear of 32x18. At first this gear was very hard for me to spin up hills and it felt as though I could mantain speed on flat trails. Lately, I had been feeling like I wanted a "bigger" gear and more speed. I guess I just wanted things to be hard again! After putting the new chain ring on I was excited to feel the difference. For my first ride with the 34x18 I would head over to the Wissihickon Watershed trail. This is a semi flat trail that follows the Wissihickon Creek. This trail is nice try out a new set up because it is not super difficult or techy, just a fun line of dirt. To get to the "shed" I had to ride on the road for a few minutes from the house. I could tell I was going to like the 34x18. When I hit the dirt it was even better. Acceleration was faster in every situation. When I would come down a small hill and the trail flattened out I was able to pedal and maintain a higher speed. Easy to moderate uphills were a blast because of more speed. Overall, I really liked the gear for the "shed" trail. The next test for the 34x18 will be Valley Green and its steep uphills.

Start Young

Style

Go Meg Go!

Although Meg can ride a bike with training wheels, she still loves her big wheel bike! She was bombing down the driveway and up the sidewalk. Check out the boots!

New Skill

Dogg, I thought this would remind you of days gone by. White is the new black. I have figured out how to put text on a picture! Fun stuff. Glenn do you see these computer skills.

Layers

Just one week earlier the temps were in the 70's, this Sunday 27 degrees at ride time. The layers title refers to the clothing that goes into a cold weather ride.
1. three pairs of socks and cycling shoes
2. two pairs of shorts and leg warmers
3. two jerseys and a jacket
4. windproof cycling cap and helmet
The clothing needed for a cold weather ride is so much more time comsuming then the warm weather. People often say "how do you ride in the cold". I always tell them "I love riding" and "if you have the correct clothes it is not bad". The first five minutes is the hardest part! Once you get past that its not so bad.
The ride was in Valley Green. As you can see in the pictures it was a great day. Two hours of single speed riding bliss.

Workin!?

We got our first snow here in PA. Friday was parent/teacher conferences at school. This means that I have a long lunch. The perfect time to ride the "work" trail. This is when all the trail building becomes worth the effort. I was able to ride 18 miles (9 laps) in just over an hour. Great work out made even more rewarding because of the snow.

These lunch time rides are also somewhat bitter sweet for me. Dave C. and I created the trail at school for two reasons. One, was for the kids we teach to learn to love riding a bike. Second, was for days like Friday. When we have time in the work day that is usually not there, we could ride singletrack. As I was riding on Friday I was missing Dave C. I know he would have loved being out riding in the snow. I would have loved seeing him come around the corner behind me. The next time you want to ride and it is to cold, wet, or muddy don't say "maybe tomorrow". Go today!

Glide

Luke and I went to Wintersport for some ice time. He did really well. I need to get him on the ice more. As I skated around the ice at "the pit" I could not help thinking about all the late night high school hockey games played in that arena. So many memories in a big blue tin building. Thanks dad for keeping me skating and allowing me to enjoy the game of hockey all those years.

Luke was skating good enough to lose the cone you see in the pictures. He just wanted to push it around. The last time we went skating was the end of May, I could tell that Luke is stonger and faster. I told him the next time we go there will be no cone. He agreed! We will be going next weekend for another round.

Shorts?!

The temp was 70 degrees on November 15! I went for a 1 1/2 hour road ride inbetween thunderstorms, showers, and tornado warnings. There was no need for knee or leg warmers, it was down right warm. It felt good to get out on the road, go fast, and see the sights. Could see snow on Tues! Here we go!

Photo

The blog has been good for me in many ways. First, I have become more computer savy. Everyone knows I needed that. Yes, Andy and Glenn I said computer Savy! Second, I have a place were I can record all of my life's adventures. Like a photo album and story book all in one. Easily recording family memories has been worth the effort. Lastly, I love taking pictures of what I see, then sharing them with friends. The pictures of the trails I love to ride are some of my favorites. This picture is of a trail in Valley Green that has changed recently. The steps you see make it harder to ride but, more beautiful to photogragh. Enjoy!

Happenings

Alot going on! Halloween was great! A trip to Green Lane! Riding! A great Princeton ice hockey game!

Fall Riding

I have been able to get in some great Mt. bike rides as of late. The weather has been perfect, the trails are in super shape, and I have been feeling good on the bike. Last weekend I rode both days in Valley Green. Sat. was in the early morning and it was nice to enjoy the park without many people. Sunday I rode in the afternoon and the park was packed! Around every turn there were people, dogs, bikes, and runners. I have never seen that many people in the trails. On one section of new trail that is only about a half mile in length I passed 16 people and 1 dog. They were in seperate groups no larger the 4! When I got to the end I saw a mt. biker and told him to be careful it was like the boardwalk in Ocean City. It is great to see so many people enjoying the trails but, I do look forward to the weather turning cold so I can have the park to myself! Selfish and true! The colors of the leaves made the ride that much better, shame I forgot the camera both days. The picture included with the post is stolen from another blog. Great Picture! Get out and ride!

Happy Halloween

Holy Pump Track

This looks like fun. This is in Lory State Park near Boulder Colorado. I would love to see Luke ride this!