Somewhere along

July 23, 2014 / Craig / Moutain Biking / No Comments

Here’s the thing: When I am living “my” life and I have internet access I write stuff. Yesterday I got my life back but no internet.

So, some catching up. Time frame might be jumpy as I recall experiences and add them.

Wed in State College I caught up w/ Herm and Purple Lizard Maps. Actually it was Tuesday in town then spent the night in Herm’s driveway. Tuesday i drove into State College and visited Freeze Thaw bike shop in downtown, just off Penn State campus. Justin and Chuck own the store, they remembered me and I them after a 4 year absence. rain fell that negated a ride. I joined several riders @ Justin’s house that is a bicycle treasure trove of collectible bike items. Drank some beers and ate some pizza then followed Herm to his place east of town up against the Rothrock State forest. Justine and he are living in an old log cabin that has been modernized. really cool that they are growing several square foot gardens, the first I have ever seen actually growing.

Herm networked to join a group ride in Bald Eagle ST further east. Rocks and trees. Group ride, largest ever 17 riders spread out, a bunch of flat tires, some riding tubeless, me never even riding 22 psi. I met a look alike:

Mischa converted a Sprinter.

Group ride. Afterwards during the ride debrief Mike volunteered to come back tomorrow and treat me to his favorite trails. I spent the night up @ Black gap.

We agreed on 10AM meet and he arrived on the button. What followed was a ball bust tour. He races multiday races. New trails to me. We rode several creek drainages that were old logging railroads used way back when. Hemlocks shelter the clear flowing streams for a few more years before they die due tto the aldelgids.

Mike left me sweaty. I drove to Huntington, PA for the Allegripis trails on Rayestown lake. I id my wash then ate dinner @ Boxers in town. I asked the bar tender what affect mtn bikers have had and he said it was noticeable.

I drove out to ACE campground for the night which was crowded but it had a shower. 3 shower stalls but only 1 toilet.

Friday I got after it early as I was going to ride the trails, take a shower afterwards then drive to Ohio.

The trails were machine made several years ago by Long Cane ( Todd and Bill). Let a trail age and the hidden treasures emerge

Gotta go: ran out of battery and charging equipment.

Presently I am outside Wilmington, OH and headed to Versailles, IN.

Sunday I rode Mohican for the 10th time. Killer ride of 23+ miles and 3154′ of climbing, all short punchy climbs, never settled into a grunt climb.

Yesterday was John Bryant SP in Ohio. tight twisty trails w/ no elevation gain.

Rained this AM causing me to skip Caesar Creek trails.

Running out of Mountains

July 15, 2014 / Craig / Moutain Biking / No Comments

Yesterday I rode part of rattling Creek IMBA epic by navigating from several digital mapping sources. Not satisfying. The track I loaded to my edge worked which is a race course. The MTBProject used another route and descriptions that I didn’t figure how to load. I am following a track and trying to make sense of the route description from Project. The main trails were brushed back and the tread showed visible traffic. The trail bordered on a timber cut on private property that the cut boundary seemed to use the trail which was cool as the trail was still rideable even as it traveled across several skidder roads. Over cast and high humidity. A short lived shower made sure that my clothes were really wet. All by myself. Parking lot empty. Crossed this stream

How clear is that water?

Typical scenery

I encountered this guy then helped him to one side of the road, may that side be where it wanted to go

Back @ deserted TH I took a comfortably cool solar shower then headed west. My plan was to drive into a state forest east of State College for the night then SC today. I drove to Millersburg. I noticed on the map the word “Ferry” which crossed the Sesquehanna. This crossing would better suit my route. I drove to the landing, which loosely is a landing, something like you would beach a kayak on. Out in the river i saw a flat bottomed scow propelled by a paddle wheel and a white SUV was onboard. That was the ferry. The boat approached the shower against the river current. The captain and crew pivoted around stern into landing.

There has been a continually running ferry from this location since 1804. The river is shallow, the route was buoyed by their markers denoting high, medium, low water levels. Most of the ride we were just upstream from white water ripples. What fun.

While driving a heavy high speed wiper downpour deluge dumped. I found a parking lot to hang in waiting out nature’s bladder. Other rigs continued driving. I had no time constraint which allowed me safety as a choice.

Once across the river I picked a road into a forest. Went up Cherry Run looking for a camp spot. Every turnout was a drive way into private property. The first likely spot I negotiated a level parking spot right on the creek bank. Solitary night with full water feature soothing sound to sleep by.

Today I continued into State College on rt 45. Many farms along the road, quite a few are Amish as noted by the road safety signs showing a horse and buggy.

On into town. I drove to Freeze Thaw Bicycles in downtown. I scored a parking space right across the street. I was greeted by Justin and Chuck, owners, who remembered me from my visit 4 years ago. Their shop made top 100 shops by Bike mag and a final group of top 10 shops in the country right up there w/ Bike and Bean, and the Hub in Brevard.

Tonight I am meeting Herm and other riders @ Justin’s house.

Decided to let nature continue to wet the rocks for tomorrow’s ride.

I threw away the second pair of Giro terraduros as even the shoe goo could not keep the pieces together. Giro warrantied the shoes w/ a third pair sent to my sister’s in Mansfield, Ohio. The sole is like a layer of frosting glued to the shoe body which tears for a second issue. I will wear these until they fail. The design is wrong. Tragic that shoe companies are offering shoes that are hiking compatible but fail after less than a mile cumulative walking.

Successful Michaux ride

July 13, 2014 / Craig / Colorado / 1 Comment

Yesterday my plan was to meet Mark out near Pine Furnace SP @ 2:30. I made it happen.

Per PA regs a camper must have a valid camping permit unless developed. I stopped @ the forest office on rt 30. Only open Mon to Fri. Then an LEO opened the door. We exchanged greetings my first day there. I told him about the downed trees. I sent him my pic of a tree jam. I asked for a camping permit for last night. He said I didn’t need one and he would contact other rangers about my approval. I insisted on a permit that he wrote for the entire mtn, not a specific spot.

Filled solar shower & put 3 gals in the sink tank.

I met Mark on the dot. The Michaux is his backyard. There is something to a 29ner hardtail single speed bike. He finessed rock gardens. Single speed means more pedaling which suits rock gardens where success is spelled by forward momentum. No marked trails, not mapped, just a big green spot on the map. A local or a good gps track required for navigation. Way more network of rabbit runs than Sedona could imagine. These are old school minimal trail development tread. My 31″ handlebar presented a memorable count of not enough space between trees. Won’t cut them down for the tight tree clearance but for proper fit. Very hot humid day under tree cover was 15.99 miles in 2 hrs 36 mins climbing 1956′ (the year I started first grade), I burned 1182 cals. Of the pedaling time I spent 1 hr 39 mins above theoretical aerobic threshhold bpm of 136. I like the rockiness of these trails albeit I walk in places. Rhodendron thickets, clear flowing streams and streamlets. Tight tree cover mostly regrowth. The state bought most of the land in the 30s prolly after robber barons stripped the trees and defaulted on the taxes. Also, there were 2 operating iron furnaces that demanded incredible amounts of charcoal that came from the standing tree source.

Mark told me about an IMBA epic, Rattling Creek, nearby. I spaced the connection. Today i am parked downtown Carlisle, PA w/in internet range. I researched the ride and found a gps track of a race course & downloaded it to my Edge for tomorrow’s ride.

72 degrees @ 1400′ on Piney mtn. riding in the 80s. Humid, leaf shaded no views of even the sky. It is what it is: an enjoyable experience because I can have it. Anybody can ride here in the fall w/ a light underwear top and see things and not required to perform full body tactile examination post ride. The East is enjoyable. I travel the lesser traveled roads slowly and look. Old farms, just oldness interspersed w/ newer houses. Houses made of brick, big lots of bedrooms. What was the income source? Old cities houses were built right on the roadside back when it was all about horses and no commuting to work. Row houses sharing common walls, streets not wide enough for curb parking which butts the paved sidewalk that butts the house front wall. Usually 2 stories. Must have been a common architecture style almost universally of the time. Quaint. I will chose not to live in one hard on a street. Heritage. Way of life. Farmers displaced by productivity gains.

Off to Rattling Creek over by Lykens, PA near Tower City where I used to ride my 250 WR Husqvarna dirt bike back in the mid 70s. The land had been underground coal mined and the land was abandoned.

I raised my saddle before the Sherando ride when my knee pain started. The pain was on the front of the knee which says the saddle is too high. I raised it to get more leg extension which i thought was proper. Knee pain contra indicator. Before yesterday’s ride I lowered the saddle using the sit on the bike supported, place heel flat on pedal @ lowest point while keeping the pelvis level: no rocking. While clipped in my leg is not fully extended, slightly bent sort of like firing b4 top dead center. Yesterday’s ride was chunky pedaling, non spin. My knees were mostly happy when finished.

I drank quite a lot during the ride. Back @ the van I drank a beer them 4 mugs of EFS electrolyte iced drink. Way dehydrated. And I cramped viciously in both legs when i changed sleeping positions.

Pit racing noisy ATVs in gravel parking lot. By design the grass camping opening was separate from the gravel parking lot. As long as I am first I experience nothing but clear air and only the roar of my engine. The riders are fatter than the horse riders. Motorized wheel chairs.

Mariners are playing great baseball. I catch games on XM. I prefer the hometown announcers but XM broadcasts the local announcers. Seattle home games start @ 7PM local time. Doing the math, the game starts @ 10PM. I listen to several innings laying in bed b4 I turn it off.

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