Boy Power

Master Masons - Third Degree

The Bash

Of the many options available this weekend in September, the Bash is always a fine choice.

This weekend mt biking event is hosted by the Rattling Creek Singletackers Club at Camp Muckleratz in the beautiful Weiser State Forest near Harrisburg, PA. This year I drove up with my friend Tony, from DC. Yes, that Tony - the one who had his bike stolen and then bought it back. We were meeting up with friends from PA, Baltimore, and Frederick - including a bunch of Singlespeed Outlaws.

Check in for us was Friday evening - light rain and a fair amount of mud. We set up camp, met the whole Baltimore contingent, and settled comfortably into chairs and cold beverages. We kept hearing cheers, louds music, and seeing weird lights from across the field - so I went to investigate. The Lehigh Valley gang had built a disco nightclub complete with dancefloor, disco ball, strobes, smoke machine, sound system, and a live DJ. Who do I see in there ripping it up but a bunch of folks from LHORBA - including the Muckers. I think most of the Lehigh Valley folks were passed out by then as they had started much earlier. I went back to camp and got the whole gang to come down. This photo won't do justice to their spread, but suffice it to say it was the most impressive mobile party I have ever seen.We ran into Train Wreck from OH, Shawn from PA, and all partied like rock stars. The next morning we were a little slow in getting things rolling. Coffee, bagels, pancakes, water, Advil - repeat a few times, then sit in a chair. We missed the rollouts for all the group rides and were finally prodded into action when Shawn Withers rolled into camp. "You guys planning on riding?" I saw the opportunity here and helped to finally get things rolling. The opportunity was Shawn is a local, knows the trails, he's fast, and easy to get along with.
Turns out our group of almost twenty got pared down to six when the majority opted for taking shuttles up to the top. So our smaller group began the long doubletrack climb right out of camp that takes you up to the singletrack. Once up on top there is very little climbing. The rocks were still a little slick, it was really humid, and when the sun hit you it was actually damn hot. Joe had the first mechanical of the day, but by no means the worst one.

The singletrack looks like this and is great fun to ride. or, if your crankarm happens to look like this - to walk.

Tony's XT crankarm fell off as we were approaching the point furthest away from Camp. One mile into a five mile sweeping singletrack masterpiece, Rattling Creek Trail. It was an installation error and not field reparable without an external bb tool. So we waited at the bottom and arranged a shuttle to run him back to camp. Once back at camp we did some of this:
And later that evening some of this:
Sure am glad that photo turned out blurry because I thought it might have been my eyesight. They had four taps running Troegs, three bands, a chicken dinner, and a swag lottery (Griz's mugs were the first to go).
An old friend from the Thorpe area, Robin, aka Birdman - he welds the awards for the Rock's Ridge contest. Also spotted: Craig, Cathy, Mike, Brenda, Joe, Brett, Dona, Kristian, Don, Emory, Don, Pontzer, Jeff, Train Wreck, Mike S., and Keith.
Tony tending to his sheep.

The whole event was extremely well run - without feeling pressured things just unfolded as if they were unplanned but not unintended. Credit to the RCST gang (Rick, Jill, Keith, et al) for pulling off another great weekend.

As things wrapped up on Sunday, we reflected back on seeing many old friends, making many new friends, miles and miles of high-quality singletrack, no major medicals, and few mechanicals - we grabbed some fine local pizza and parted ways.

Until next year.

Epilogue: Tony's bike was repaired by the onsight wrenching provided by Spokes, the same shop that helped him recover his lost Sheep in DC, and in the Saturday night swag lottery he got a Spokes work shirt - Karma?

Michaux to Gambrill

Photo of second half (Blue Ridge to Frederick)

My friend Joe has been itching to do this ride for over a year and convinced Jay and I to tag along with him. Normally, this would be a fantastic road route; however, we were going to do it on mt bikes and incorporate as much quality singletrack as possible. Starting at the Totem Pole in Caledonia with some Michaux friends (Brett, Donna, Zach, and Larry) we climbed Secret, Raccoon Run, Snowy Mt., double track up to the Fire Tower, then Blue Blaze past the shelters down into Old Forge. Larry had stashed some beer here and we were joined by Travis. After a quick nip, we climbed up Sucker Punch, a new way to upper Rattlesnake Road. It was soft, but much better than the alternatives - that is unless you are continuing on to Frederick. We then rode Mackey Run, a nice technical piece of singletrack recently added to the Michaux portfolio. This dropped us out near Blue Ridge Summit where after a little road cruising, we tanked up on water and took a brief rest. This middle section featured some paved road cruising, steep climbs, a fire road jaunt near Camp David where we saw the fake pine tree bristling with electronic devices. Finally, we entered the Shed via Tower Road and a hike a bike. We had a beer to celebrate and then started on our way to Hamburg and beyond. Salamander, Sand Flats, Blue and we were back at Hamburg Road where I got some more water from a guy who was finishing his ride. He asked: "where did you guys start from - Gambrill?" I replied: "Caledonia State Park in Michaux." "Oh", he replied "is there trail the whole way?" Joe led us back to Gambrill State Park via Blue, Sheldon's Trail, Dave's Trail, Yellow. There was no Iceberg and no descent into the Valley this time - perhaps next time. We hit 44mph on the paved descent back into Frederick even on our Kenda Nevegals. Great ride, great company - see you next year.

I ate 4 cliff bars, two mini Milky Ways, six electrolyte capsules.

I drank 300 oz of water, one Dale's Pale Ale, and one Ten-Fidy & peed alot.

50 miles, 8 hours, around 6k of climbing (still working on that stat)

I forgot my phone/camera, but there are some photos here.

Thomas' Pit Bike

My friend Phil, former owner of two bike shops, "sold" me a pit bike for Thomas' school commute. Thomas has outgrown his old bike and is riding pretty consistently back a forth to first grade so an upgrade was in order. This Haro bmx bike is a fully rigid steel single-speed with a rear brake - no coaster brake, smooth tires and is built like a tank. Phil, an adult, raced this thing a couple of times -so it is totally bombproof.

Tuesday and Thursday mornings I run with Thomas to school (he rides his bike). The first day on the new machine we were late because he wasn't used to stopping with his hands, but it was a blast. Thanks to Phil for the great deal and to Thomas' principal for understanding.

First Day at Parkway

Yesterday was Thomas' first day of school. He is entering the first grade and recently changed schools from a suburban mega elementary to a very old, very small, neighborhood school in downtown Frederick - what a change! He used to have a 40 minute bus ride each way and now we can walk or he can ride his bike in a about 15 mintues.

Day one there was a welcoming committee complete with Starbucks coffee, pastries, teachers, parents, and administrators interacting with the newbie and veteran parents. The Parkway mascot is a Panda - which I thought was really cool. They have a climbing wall in the gym and the facility was spotless.

Mostly - it was the caliber of the people that impressed us. The parents were friendly, outgoing, confident, and involved. Michele and I met too many people to remember all the names, but had much in common with many of them. One woman, Amy, has a cabin in the woods near Kettle Creek in Northern PA, several Penn State Alumni, other local businessmen and women, several moms are travelling together to Dewey Beach, DE to compete in a triathlon.

Thomas' desk was ready for him and he was ready for it.
They are having a picnic Wednesday afternoon after school. When Michele picked up Thomas in the afternoon on her bike pulling a trailer with Henry and Alex she said it was like a PTA meeting in Boulder, CO - lots of bikes, jog-strollers, sandals, fit people milling around with kids. Oh yeah and Baker park is directly across the street.

Thomas wore a tie (his idea) and still had it on when I got home from a two-hour road bike ride after work. His memorable comment was that his teacher is really nice and when they were waiting to get dismissed after a full day - she let them put their feet up on their desks to relax a bit. That would not have happened in last year's suburban nightmare industrial education complex.

Sunday in Michaux

We had a nice one today from the Totem pole. Frank, David, Todd and Phil picked me up in Frederick and after a wheel-swap and Starbucks run we were on our way to Michaux. Phil's truck is really cool with the club cab, utility boxes, and room for 5 bikes. We were joined in Caledonia by HO from State College, Mike from Harrisburg, and Buck from Chambersburg. Starting from Caledonia State Park we headed South and up the gradual climb we call Secret Trail to Raccoon Run trail. Then we headed over to the TV Cable Line and up a short section of Lee's Rocks to get to Heaven or Hell. HorH was nice. A couple of rock afficianados cleaned The Gate on their first attempt (Frank & Phil) to join an elite group. We sessioned on Dante's Levels of Hell and Mike averted certain disaster on the overgrown lower section. We then climbed, yes climbed, the Lower Narrows to get back up. A quick snack after the hike-a-bike section and we were off on Wayne's Highway over to The Turtle. The top section of Turtle has been hammered by horses the lower section is in pretty good shape. We turned left at the bottom of Turtle and tanked up on water at the Staley Rd Spring. Todd led us up Lower Black Andes and then Buckets. Charcoal Hearth was hammered from the recent enduro event but still took us back over to Staley. Which we climbed up to Rothrock and then up Rothrock and over to the fire tower. This fire tower was originally made of wood and was the second fire tower built in the United States. Fire tower trail down to Crumble and then down Snowy Mt. Road to Raccoon Run. Raccoon run was riding really nice in this direction and David narrowly escaped turning his eyeballs into something akin to marshmallows on a stick at a Girl Scout camping trip. Secret trail just rocks in this direction and I could start all Mont Alto rides from Totem Pole just to finish on that long technical downhill. Back at the Totem Pole the place was packed for one of the last plays of the season. We changed, drank a beer, and headed out. The MD boys grabbing some BBQ on the PA/MD border. The PA boys headed homeward. HO and I crashed a MOMS Club of Chambersburg pool party to hang out with the Mark boys.

22 miles, 2600+ feet of climbing, two flats, no major medicals.

OC Weekend

Refridgerado

The top shelf is for those who are undecided; the bottom, for those who are decidedly committed.

Le Green Machine

Found this gem on the Monday night road ride from Wheel Base in Frederick. Apparently, the Green Machine now comes with a real rubber front tire for traction. We used to add duct tape "treads" to our plastic front wheel for increased speed. Today's kids don't know how good they have it.

White Stripes Redux - it's just so good!

10,000 Fun!

With no real plans for yesterday, we headed down to DC to see what was happening. Most of all we wanted to go to the National Museum of American History to see some machines. After commenting on how far back Bush has pushed the White House security perimeter during his tenure, we found that the American History museum is closed for renovations until September. The place did look a little dated last time I was there. Fonzi's jacket doesn't have the allure that it once did.
We parked in front of the National Museum of Natural History headed out on the Mall. Where the boys found the moon.
To say that there were some festivities would be a gross understatement. There were acres and acres of interactive tents, displays, food, games, educational workshops, concerts, and demos. There was the nation of Bhutan, NASA, and the state of Texas. Not sure what these three have in common, but they were the three featured. Each one had at least a dozen tents over several acres that showcased their missions, life, history, food - you name it. Henry drove a pedal-powered moon rover, we saw monks making incense, watched NASA scientists explain the projects they are working on. Actual NASA and JPL PhD's chilling with the kids. They were suprisingly funny and entertaining in addition to smart. Thomas found a carousel on the way out of the Smithsonian "castle", so we grabbed Henry and went for a spin.
We did a quick spin through the Natural History museum which is largely science-oriented. I couldn't help but wonder how the 50%+ of Americans who believe the earth was created in 7 days reconcile the strong influence of science and evolution. My guess is they don't. Fossils, petrified wood, genetics, dinosaurs, natural selection are on display. It is hard to dispute reality when it is right in front of you labeled with a sign that says: "please touch".

We grabbed an early dinner at the fabulous Thai Tanic (1326 14th St. NW). Even kids like Thai.
BTW Thomas chose the name for this post, 10,000 fun, when prompted to describe yesterday - DC is great!

Boyz in the Shed

Found this critter on one of the trails.
Tussey enjoying her day in the forest.
After hiking 4 miles, we went to a creek to cool off and found some cool waterfall climbing.
Plenty of cool pools, waterspouts, and beautiful stones.
One cool kid!

My friend Larry came to visit from PA with three boys. Thomas and Henry were psyched.

Larry going for a refreshing dip.