Nuts and Bolts

The trails have not been in good shape but, the miles are adding up. Less then two months until my first race in a long time. I am looking forward to see where I will fit in to the current crop of talent in the mid-atlantic. Time will tell!

Not Good

These pictures are of a tree that fell on our high ropes course at school. It is hard to tell from the pictures but, a large section of the tree broke off and is laying on top of a belay cable for our multi-vine activity. With budgets tight this is not a good problem to have!

Early Sleep

Sorry for the lack of posts! I have been falling asleep early in the evenings. Since my time to get on the computer is after the kids go to bed I am usually tired. Lately, I have not been able to make it. Anyway, last weekend was great! I have been getting some much needed road miles in and had quality time with the family.

They had so much fun hiking in the snow covered trails. No he did not hit her with the stick!

"Luke, what did you find"?

We walked for a total of 1 hour and 20 minutes. All the way from the Secret trail down to the Red Bridge and back. With temps in the high 40's the snow was melting and soft enough to make great snowballs. As we made our way back to the car we practiced our pitching by throwing snowballs at the trees.

Saddle Time

I have been getting on the bike when ever possible. The miles are starting to pile up and the legs feel good on most days. Last weekend the family made the trip out to Dillsburg witch meant the road bike for me. The pictures are from a nice three hour ride on Sunday. The weather was super with temps in the low 50's. The gloves came off and the jersey was unzipped. The snowy pictures are from Tuesday night. We got around 5 inches of snow and I was out in the thick of it on Forbidden Drive. Valley Green was just beautiful! The snow was sticking to the trees and rock walls.

Happy Birthday Meg

Meg is now 3! No more terrible 2's!

slush

I got out for a 2 hour ride in the snow and rain today. When I started the ride there was no rain coming down. Just the water off the trees and some mist. An hour into it the rain came in and soaked me to the bone. Riding on Forbidden Drive in Valley Green is usually an easy spin. Not today. The snow and water made for slower speeds and a harder workout. Basically, there was no coasting of any kind. As soon as I stopped pedaling the speed would go way down. Only one other cyclist was brave or stupid enough to be out. She gave me a nice friendly "Hello". I think the pictures will sum up the ride and the weather we have been having. Slushy! Did I mention I love my job! No school today!

Last Pocono Snow Photos

What a great weekend!

More Snow Photos

Snow in the Poconos

The family went to the Poconos for the MLK extented weekend. We arrived on friday evening to 6 inches of white stuff on the ground and below freezing temps. As you can see in the pictures the kids did not mind the temps. The kids played around the house in the snow, went sleding, built snow forts, and snowboarded. It is amazing how the snow makes the cold not feel so cold. I brought the bike up to do some riding although that never happened. Why you ask? How about a knee to rock hidden under the snow while trying to slow down my inner tube sled! Five minutes after the accident my knee had grown to four times its normal size. As I write this on Wedsnesday the swelling is almost gone and I plan on commuting by bike tomorrow! I hope the knee feels good! I wish I were in shorts like the guys and girls in Colorado!

Missing You

Sorry for the lack of posts. I have been busy watching 24! Jack Bauer RULES! If anyone out there is into the show let me know. This season could not have started any better. Tony and Jack looking for the bad guys.

I have also been riding through the cold. No not as cold as the mid-west, but still cold. Last weekend I spent many hours on the bike. Sunday was 4 hours of single speed happiness. I started from the house, rode the 12 minutes to Valley Green. Then it was on to the gravel of Forbidden Drive all the way down to the Belmont. I did about 45 minutes of twisty turny singletrack then headed back to Valley Green. After that it was all up and down singletrack back towards home. Finally, hit the road for the short ride to the house. Many different surfaces, much fun!

Time was also spent at Vally green on a hike with the kids. With the temps at about 27 degrees it was a test for the kids. How long would they stay out in these temps before I heard "I'm cold". No I did not tell them it was a test! When we got out of the car we started hiking up the new trail that Ben built. (NC pump track guru) After more then an hour of hiking and throwing rocks I still had not heard "I'm cold". These kids are strong. The pictures will show how warmly they were dressed. A great time in the woods.

Belmont

With no riding for the past two days I got on the mountain bike ready to go. I have been dealing with a touch of a cold so I just wanted to ride at an easy pace. I rode the Rig through Valley Green on the gravel road with the exception of a few pieces of select singletrack. Spinning along with the bright sun shining was so nice. Nice enough to keep the feet warm despite the chilly temps. Getting deeper into the park I thought about making the short connection on paved bike path over to the Belmont Plateau. This is a section of Fairmont Park that is close to downtown Philadelphia and loaded with singletrack. The Belmont has been the site of some great races over the years. First, in the late 90's there was the Bike Line Classic Mt. bike race. I remember racing against Kirk Molday who was a big name racer at the time. Where is Molday now? I beat him up the start hill! Second, was the Cyclocross Super Cup in the mid to late 90's. The Saturn team was so powerful. Lastly, was the Wissihickon Cyclocross setting up the course and then racing in the mud! Good times. Today when I got there I rode some of the tight and twisty singletrack. One part of the trail is right next to rt.76 a major road into downtown. The picture shows just how close. Beautiful singletrack is everywhere! It was nice to get back to the Belmont!

5 Days Straight

The winter holiday from school has been great! The weather has even been good. For the past five days I have been putting in the time on the bike to get ready for 09. Each day has been 2 to 3 hours and 4 of the 5 days were on the mountain bike. With the good trail conditions I could not bring myself to ride on the road. I only took pictures on one ride because of not wanting to stop all the time. Hope you enjoy the shots.

Have a Happy New Year! Be safe. Ride your bike!