thorpe -> lgp -> thorpe

There is no shortage of beauty in Northeastern Pennsylvania!

spank the monkey!

Yet another action packed, fun filled weekend of mountain bike racing and hanging with great folks in the books. This time I hooked up with the infamous DCCOD, I think it stands for Delaware Cyclists Confused Organized Departure, and headed down to the Quantico Marine Corp Base for the 12hrs of the Cranky Monkey. We had a big enough crew to almost cover a rider or team in every class. I, along with my trusty side kick Amy, comprised the Sooper Dooper Duo in the Coed Duo catergory. After arriving at Quantico man, we took off on a pre-ride of the course. Swoopy, climby, fast, and fun. I could not wait to rip it up! Unfortunately, one of our group members went down and ended up hurting his finger pretty bad and could not partake in the race itself the next day. After setting up our station, we all headed to the hotel for some food, beverage, and rest. At dinner, Rotten Rob, inducted the group into the newly dubbed Frank Zappa Kappa with fancy pink t-shirts. The Sooper Dooper Duo's race strategy was simple. Double up on the laps for a few rounds, then kick it back to singles for the rest of the day. We stuck to the plan and managed to pull out top honors in the Coed Duo class. Great job Wonder Woman! As for the rest of the FZK: Chris and Ethan pulled off 1st in SS Duo, followed by Bob and Buddy the Keg Breaker in 2nd in SS Duo. Rotten Rob, Fatmarc, and Diane got 2nd in the 3-person Open. Jan and Blair pulled out 2nd in the Masters Male Duo. Wes and Matt rolled out 1st for the Male Duo, with Wes having the fastest lap time. Levi bested the Solo class with Andrew not far behind in 5th and Fitzy hung with 5th in the Solo SS class. A big thanks goes out to Tom and Meghan for being the support for the entire day. With pink t's littering the podium I would say that the FZK spanked the monkey!

tonights forecast...dark!

In lew of lou, some must needed rest is required. It is tuff to do, but good for you. Future endevours! Nice stuff! Gettin' results! Dutch treats! See ya there! Return of the Jedi!

ERC

So you want to ride some singletrack?

slightly stoopid 50

State college riding is burley! Almost 50 miles of it, mostly singletrack, is dashingly strenuous. The good old 4-H camp was the hostess with the mostess once again for some epic riding/racing in the Penn Roosevelt/Rothrock Forests. The usual suspects were out in full force to lay it down on some of the most technical, shall I say rocky, terrain there was to offer. The mood was set on Saturday night, which it was almost too hard to stop drinking beer in order to rest up for the next days adventure. I guess that is part of the mistique of the 4-H camp. Needless to say, the race was going to be fun. Figuring on some aide stations, I rolled out with two bottles on the horse and one in the pocket. Quickly, on the first downhill, I realized why I should have put new bottle cages on my bike. After spending some time in the woods looking for the magical elixir, I got on my way. Perhaps another downhill or two could solidify the stronghold or lack there of, of my bottle cages. I pressed on moving through the woods on familiar trail and just staying hydrated the best I could bewteen water stops. After the second water station, on the third half of the race, I started to amp it up a little. Rolling through the final section of singletrack I was relieved to give my plush rigid fork a break from smoothing out the bumps all day, and was on my way to the coldest warm beer I was imagining for most of the ride. Rolling through the finish I had a time of 5hrs 9min. My traveling mate, Amy, rolled in with 6hrs 40min. Pretty sweet indeed! On terrain like that, anybody who stuck it out to the end is a true victor! Props go out to the jackass that didn't race and led his girlfriend in after she spent 9hrs out in the woods. He looked fresher than a peach!

WUWH

Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams, Telling myself it's not as hard as it seems...

realtime

For more words and visuals on The Griz-viz, "X" marks the spot. Memo weekend was a blast!

mother nature's son

spring buds

Every spring, a gathering of off-road mountain cycling enthusiasts rendevous at the beloved 4-H camp in the Penn Roosevelt Forest. Pure and simple, this is the soul of our sport. Thanks Griz.

norwegian wood

Someday I will actually have a camera to accompany me on my exciting journeys. I could have a photo collage insted of tons of words and explanations. I could take some pictures of the nice woods coming alive in the spring. Mammals gathering, birds singing, rattlesnakes shakin' their tails. Some things that did strike me this time around was the badass loop that Elk and I rode in Thorpe on Saturday. It's hard to get bored with the network of trails here. So many ways to ride everything. I was truly grateful for the 9:30 pilsner break at the top of Pisgah. Thanks bro. Shortly after the ride ended I was about to throw in the towel, but upon further investigation, I gathered the essentials, and headed to French Creek for the MASS ride on Sunday. Meeting the gals, Val and Linda, and the Bean's for some pre-ride carb loading. The cabins were rustic, but better than the back of my truck, and the beer was tastey. So tastey the next morn was a bit ruff. Rolling to the start I was wondering how I was going to feel. After the start I was just glad to be sucking the wheel of the infamous "litterbug." Man that cat is strong! Trying to reel him in the whole day left me with a second place. Huber-1, litterbug-1. Oh well, at least I didn't spare on the fun the previous night or after the ride, but it was mother's day so I couldn't hang too long. Sorry! The ride home left me with a more efficient way home, no reception and a newly found car problem. Hmmmmm

maximus

I got to say it was a good day. The weather was beautiful, the course was epic indeed, and I was feeling very good. I settled into a nice pace to the top of "dead woman hollow." Cruising up the climb with Buck, he assured that we were at least in the top 4. I stopped to refuel and drop a liter, and got back on the horse. Rolling through the roads, duel tracks, and woods I caught back up with the Buck, with the leaders in sight to the entrance of the "three mile trail." I stopped to refuel, quickly, for the last time, chugged some High-Life, and we hit the singletrack. Making some turns we caught up with Timmy D, but unfortunately he was fixing a flat. Making a few more turns we caught up with the leader. Some burley dude, that according to Buck, was seen litering on the trail. We both agreed that the liter bug should not win, but this guy could rip it up on the duel tracks. The three of us rode to "rattlesnake ridge," were Buck and I both blew by the burley guy on the downhill. Realizing that there was probably some duel track before the end of the race, we started pushing hard on the singletrack. Making a few turns, the race started to come together with riders from the shorter loops, but there was no real traffic. At this point, I was feeling strong enough to crank it up to the finish. Fully rigid, fatty smile, first place finish. Some people did not have such good fortune, which I always hate to hear, when mother nature comes through with such a nice day to ride. Results from the race can be checked out here. On another note, it's time to dig in and help out some people that really need support. Team Bury the Dragon is sponsoring a "bike gear" raffle to raise money for the HERA Women's Cancer Foundation. 100% of the proceeds of the raffle are being donated. Show some support for a great cause by clicking here to make a donation.

mellow velo

Thankin' the southerners for hitting the JT trails on sunday. Check it out here and there. Now it's time to get busy.

2-day

extra donuts?

I could not wait till friday. A sweet three day weekend, and a roadie to Virginia for the first race of the year, for me, and the Baker's Dozen Endurance Event. I was stoked on the fact that I had never raced an endurance race before, and was also getting out of town for the weekend. I threw a bone out with some flesh left on it and the Dutch Eagle swooped down to join me on my trip. We packed the Blazin' Blazer, hit the grocery store, and "blazed" on down to VA on a beautiful April the 20th. Got there early enough to hit the register and get a lap in before it was time to hunker down. The race was on an old farm with huge mounds of cow shit lurking about. Waking the next day, there was definitily more people showing up and the weather was crystal. Rolling around I ran into some friendly faces and new it was going to be a good day on the bike. The start of the race was interesting. People blasting off the front. Me being a good sport, I joined in for a little to warm my legs up, but indeed it was going to be a long day in the saddle for me. I settled into a good pace and rode strong. I kept a good flow, only taking quick breaks to refuel. Being such a nice weekend the folks rolled down to hangout and do some antique shopping in the area. My mom never saw me race and was really excited. She was urging me to keep eating, cause my body needed it. She was right. As the night fell, I conitnued riding with great form and was hoping I wouldn't slide out on some bigass pile of cow shit that seemed to be harder to see at night. Also, the Jaeger swillin' Dutch Eagle was keeping me on my toes with his Col. Angus anticks. I rode my ass off and ended up just out of the loot, 4th place, in the solo singlespeeder class, but did walk away with a sweet raffle prize. Some badass 07 XTR shifters that will look better for sale on ebay than they would on my bike. In traditional fashion, a bunch of fellow racers and event organizers drank by a huge bonfire till the wee hours of the night to recover from the long ride. Looking at the sky, a nice falling star sealed the fact that I did ride strong for my first race and am looking forward to more rides in the coming months. They might be called races, but its all about riding your bike.

verbage

I'll piece it back together after the weekend. It's looking like a nice one, so enjoy it!

cony-bloom-cony

There is always a calm before a storm. So they say. Yesterday proved to be somewhat calm compared to the weather in NEPA as of late and the weather on the way. The plan is to leave Werner's in Conyingham, ride to Bloomsburg, and stake out some different terrain on the return trip. The group was small with myslef, Werner, and Dean. We headed out around 11. The day could not have been any sweeter. Rolling smoothe we hit Bloom about 40 or so miles in. We decided to skirt around the town and head back east. On the return trip we hit the town of Nuremburg. Sounding like the name of a Nazi concentration camp, we agreed that the ovens were probably broken at the pizza joint, and headed down the mountain to have one of the greatest hoagies in NEPA. At least the wrapper said so. After refueling we headed towards some more beasts and psuedo-beasts. Climbs. When road riding in NEPA most of the ride is climbing of some sort. Cruising back up tower road on the backside, safety breaks insuede, and we descended towards the valley. We rolled the valley for some time heading towards the final climb of the day, Nescopek Mtn. At about 65-70 miles in this climb was going to be fun. Reaching the base of the climb is a climb in itself. After hitting the top we rolled back to Conyingham with just shy of 80. Seizing the day was achieved. Now, time for some rain. Happy Spring!

today is the big 29!

the cut

Just throwin' some vibes out to my bro Van Dine, who is ripping it up in South America on the DH scene. Check out his blog for stories, pictures and other things two wheeled.

sat-er-dai

After sorting it out with the Eagle of Deutschland over an extended phone call on friday night, we surmised a trail epic for the next morning. Nesquehoning loop would be first, refuel somewhere, and then ride the strip mines and hookup onto the Pisgah ridge. I left my house at 9:30 and grinded the rail grade to meet Scott, Werner and Griz at Redner's Market in Nesque. As we rolled out from there it was sleeting and pretty cold. We climbed to the top of the ridge to meet Dean at the fabbled "box fan" trail intersection. The air was smokey and he was, of course, fixing a flat. We rolled at a brisk pace out past the water tank on the lower, oh so sweet single, aand climbed to the top of the ridge and rolled back towards Nesque. The trails on that ridge are my favorite. People who have sampled will probably agree. Almost at the end of the ridge, Dean rolls up and said he thinks he broke his fork. Looking at it for one second, we agreed it was totally blown. Dean bailed to his house, grabbed his other bike and met us with the water and food at the link between the Nesque ridge and Pisgah. Only Dean would bail on a ride to grab his spare bike to finish the ride. A true lover of the two wheels. While everyone is slaving at work, Dean is maintaining the local trails and riding everyday. He is a true endurance rider to say the least. He might not be on the front with a fast pace, but he can outlast most riders any day of the week. With a refuel, the weather starting to shape up, and Dean rollin' we headed towards the Pisgah ridge. Turning our way through the strip mines, Dean and I were trying to hookup to what Dean calls "the critical link." A point in the strip mines that is a hike-a-bike right to the singletrack. Sure as shit, it was right where we thought, and we proceeded to ride the Pisgah ridge back to Thorpe. The Pisgah ridge is some super technical riding. I feel lucky having it as my home turf. After exhausting all of the singletrack on Pisgah at a decent pace we were back at my place in Thorpe around 5:00. Not a bad day in the saddle for a spring fling.

got rocks?

Got on some of the vulupchous baby heads. Mmmm felt good. Too much road could kill a man. I like the predictable unpredictability of the rocky-as-shit singletracks. They are abundant, and they are tastey. The stuff I have been coughing up all week would be a great chain lube. Quit fussing with your sag bag and come join in the fun! Races are on the way!

kills

Recently, I've been putting a lot of hard solo miles in on the local terrain. This weekend I figured I would probably be riding alone as well, so I decided to join my roommate and his friends for a weekend in the Catskills of New York. Most of the group was going up to unwind from marriages, girlfriends or the grind, I was also going for some R&R and some road biking adventure. We all met at Joe's cabin, right outside Woodstock, on Friday. Beers were flowing and good vibes were in the air. Just a bunch of involved dudes trying to get interesting stories out of the bachelor types. The next morning was frosty and sunny. I couldn't wait to get rollin'. I stuffed my pockets with food and maps and off I was. The riding up there is sweet. Just rolling around mountain with some topos, hooking together roads, talking to farm boys in the middle of nowhere. Some were like, "What the hell you doing all the way out here?" After about 6hrs and a pretty big ride, it started raining. Luckily I was on my way back to the cabin where the crazy brew was fresh. It rained all night and the next morning, so I headed back to JT where I could get in another beautiful day. Most bands are the originators of great songs, but sometimes it takes someone else to come along and make that song come alive. As I ride along the Richies Havens version of The Beatles "Here Comes the Sun" comes on my ipod. Just a fitting song for the season. Here comes the sun, and I say, it's alright!

happy st. patty's

easy

From the dark hollows we rise...

action

calling all dwellers of the planet earth! we need to act now on the problem of the climate crisis. without a healthy planet we can not have healthy living. help mr. gore deliver the message to congress by signing a postcard at http://www.algore.com/, and do something to prolong the existance of the human race. we do not want to cause our own extinction!

34x18 X 18x20

Being a physics teacher is tough. It is really not my fortay. I enjoy teaching biology and environmental science better, but a little physics is interesting. Plus, the kids in the class are great. Anyway, we were talking about simple machines and then moving towards the topic of complex machines. My co-teacher suggested to maybe find an activity that invloves a bike for the students to figure out. I was thinking, right on, I already have an idea. What better way to incorporate a bicycle in the classroom than to have it sharpen your pencil. Through a little fabrication in the students technical shops, we introduce the fixed gear pencil sharpener. We had a blast timing how long it took to grind a pencil down to the eraser. The secrets of winter training are revealed to all. By sharpening ten pencils a day one will be in top form to out sprint Daisey on the Dairy Rd loop. Daisey is a huge rotweiler that chills at this farm on one of the sweetest road and moutain loops in my area. I have seen Daisey eating the carcass of a dead animal on one occasion before tearin' after my skinny ass. The Dutch Eagle and I have devised a plan to tape lunch meat to our frames to fend of the beast the next time where out there.

more winter

nice

new folks

I have a new link posted under pa pride. It is a new group of folks/fellow racer types starting an organization in the north east region of Pennsylvania to build and maintain trails, put together rides, and just bring like minded individuals together for what we love. Cycling! Give them some hits and check out what they are all about and maybe hook up and ride some new terrain. The mountain and road riding in the northeast region of PA is epic and well worth checking out. Also, for some good reads on the world of simple cycling, check out the two wheeled locust. He has some new posts on the bennies of single gear mountain cycling. Enjoy the snow!

stretch

It feels weird to ride a bike that actually shifts and has gears. Most of my riding in the past year has been strictly one speeders, mountain and cross. An occasional road bike ride on a well broken in machine. Today I got to try the new ride on for size. I have been dialing it in for a few days and today I was going to take a nice cruise. It takes to the road like a seasoned prostitute, she knows what she's doing. I felt good, except for that Stegmeire Winter Warmer I got for a buck last night, the bike felt good, and the weather was a sweet winter day. On my return trip I rolled over to the Mauch Chunk Lake for some ice fishing 101 with my roommate and his dad, and talked to some old timer about cool stuff you see when nobody else is around. It's great to see folks enjoying all kinds of different activities during the winter months. Headway is being made on the super secret team/club kits. DIY stylee were evil has no boundaries!

drool

So I paid off my gas guzzler a few back and was wondering about upgrades for my road bike. I have been rolling on the same setup for a while and things were wearing out. Road components are pricey, espescially for someone like me who isn't into the high zoot road machines, but none the less upgrades were in order for my beat componentry. Adding stuff up, I was pushing the idea of buying a new bike. Should I. Talking to my roommate, Scott, who got a brand new carbon Trek at the beginning of the summer, he said it would be worth it to get a sweet ride. I have been rolling on a half new at the time/half used at the time build that I put together with whatever I could get that was the cheapest and lightest for the cash. New bike, hell yeah. I did some researching products, talked to some folks, emailed some bros, and like bikes built buy americans. Also, getting something below retail is also in mind, I made my decision. I went with a Cannondale Synapse. In true fashion for the month of love. I have only rolled around town on it a few times so far, but hopefully tomorrow will be my first somewhat extended ride on her, and yes this is my only geared bike.

vinter

Winter rules. Been trippin' out here on one of these thingys. I usually ride somewhere and take a hike. I have also time everyday to loosen up my fingers on one of these. I love instruments. I also rage on these. Winter training at its finest.

skoolin'

I was stoked to find this old photo. Knobbies and singlespeeds have always been in my blood. Back in jr. high, high school and a little into college, I was a nationally ranked bmx racer. I road for some teams, traveled, and had a girl friend and a mistress. Punk fuckin' rock!

the spoils

Gearing up for the weekend, finally some snow on the way, I seal the envelope. My last car payment and I own the Blazin' Blazer. What a feeling to pay something off. On the horn with DeJesus to ride Mountain Top on Saturday. It will be the first snow ride of the year. The east coast has been missing out on the white. Readying my gear for the next day, I head off with a few friends to get some brews and gas for the next day. Yes, I said gas. I am renowned for running out of gas from time to time, especially in the middle of Michaux State Forest. Hmmm, that's odd my car did get us to the gas station, right? Needless to say my paidoff car was dead at the gas pump. Fuck! Pushed'er on out of the way and started to bang around on the starter for a bit. Whipped out the AAA card for the tow to the garage. There was nothing major wrong, just needed a few bits tightened I guess, but there is always that little whatever saying, "Yeah muther fucker! Take that!" Saturdays ride was the shit. Singletrackin' in a few inches of snow made me feel better till my car got looked at on Monday. I now have my sights on a new vehicle, or at the least the chasis of a new one. Stay freeky.

nocturnal

For the past month I have been having this re-occuring dream. The dream has been progressing with each different night I dream about it. This is a compilation of a few nights. I am a science teacher and in my dream I am doing my teaching thing, but it is not at my usual facility. The school I am at resembles the high school that I graduated from. So I am teaching one day, in my dream, and an announcement projects over the speaker with the principle saying, "There is a state of emergency. It throughout the country and we must activate our lockdown procedure." I'm thinking, "Holly shit! This is crazy!" The students are the same way. I re-assure them that we will be safe where we are at and we can jam to some tunes on the computer to pass the time. With that, all of the windows get blocked out, we can not see outside. The computers get automatically shut off. Another announcment says that, "anyone who has to leave the room they are in must contact the main office for an escort." Now this shit sounds serious. I make a few calls, but nobody is answering or at least answering any questions. Another announcement, "We will distribute food to the different rooms at a decent hour for meals." Right about now, I am flipping my lid inside my head wondering what is going on. The students are doing the same, but it is out in the open and a lot to deal with. The night passes and the situation is still the same. We, the teachers and students, have now spent a night in the school. A kid gets the idea to hit up the bathroom and do some scouting out the situation. Good idea! He returns saying, "It is very weird out there. You can't see out any doors. Nobody is walking around except people I have never seen in the school before." Time passes on, maybe a day or two, and I let a kid sneek out to see what will happen. He comes back to the room with a crazy look saying, "All the doors to the outside are locked and someone tried to get out, but I don't know what happened to them." "I did hear someone say something about one of the teachers having a key to get out of the building though." I told the students that at night fall I will do some investigating myself. I snuck out of the room and into the hall. It was very weird. Weird dudes in lab coats walking around. I make my way to another classroom. Nobody. Finally, I found a room with the same type of scenenario. A teacher with students. They looked freeked! They had an idea of where this key was, but they were to afraid to do anything. I told them that it was better if we just waited this thing out. I headed back to my room. As soon as I got to the room, myself and a few students devised a plan for me to get the key. Two students would be a distraction, while I went for the key and the outside. Morning came. The two students headed out to find another teacher, so they said, to draw some attention. It worked! I made a break for it to where the key to the outside was. I've got to move fast. The key was right where the rumor said it was and the distraction worked up until now, just a little longer. I made for the doors! The key fit the lock! A voice, "Hey where are you going?" Stepping through the door my alarm clock sounded and I woke. FUCK! What happens next will have to be seen, or dreamed.

ill truth

El Nino? Global Warming? The temperatures of this winter have been all but normal, and this weekend was the warmest yet. Riding on Saturday in a short sleeve jersey and shorts for most of the day in January is unthinkable. After watching Al Gore's flick on the scientific studies of global warming, having crazy warm temperatures in the heart of winter, one has to wonder. Is this weather the effects of el nino or is the glabal warming theory actually happening faster than anticipated. Being a science teacher the conversation topic always comes up in class discussions. With all the technological advances in our society is it really more important to be at war, and have a car that parallel parks it's self, or have a cleaner society based on lower environmental impacts? One Earth, One Love.

happy new year!