This past weekend, our friend Jeff hosted his annual winter party. I had planned to ride my bike there, as it's a really nice ride that usually takes about an hour or so. Perfect. Then early last week I looked at the weather forecast. The high on Saturday was supposed to be 10 degrees. By …
The sun dipped low on the horizon as we pedaled out of Huntingdon and down Rt. 22. It set as we crossed the Juniata River, tossing cotton candy hues into the sky and bathing the few puffy clouds in a pink glow. The world grew darker. The first 40 or 50 miles flew by. Through …
Wednesday's weather couldn't have been more perfect. Sunny, 70 degrees, in November? I'll take it! I couldn't have asked for a better day to ride for 8 hours. We set off on the tandem to ride 100 miles. When we mapped it at the end, apparently it was only 97 miles, but we also did …
In three weeks, Evan and I plan to ride our tandem from our house to his parents house for Thanksgiving. It's about 200 miles away. We are going to do it in one shot. It's a tradition for him, riding down for the holidays. For the past couple of years I've been envious, but this is …
Evan and I have Wednesdays off together now. This means long bike rides. We finally got another set of hubs for the Powderkeg tandem. Hopefully, the new Chris Kings will solve the issues we've been having with the rear hub getting torn apart by the amount of force that we put on that bike. We've gone through …
It was dreary and drizzly all day. Chilly, too. One of those days that reminds you that fall is not all crisp and clear and sunny. Sometimes it is wet and bone-chilling. I originally planned to ride home from work. But the day was colder than anticipated. And I didn't know it was supposed to …
I remember when it used to be a big deal. It wasn't so long ago that riding the 15 miles to work seemed like it warranted a lot of extra effort---waking up earlier, packing extra clothes, making sure to allow enough lee time in case of a flat or dead legs. Then when I got …
Though I don't do it nearly as often as I'd like, every time I leave on a bicycle with everything I'll need to spend the night packed in my panniers, I just have this good feeling of excitement and adventure and utter peace all at once. A couple weekends ago, I went on my first …
Continue reading "Bikepacking Rothrock State Forest & Big Valley."
Sunday was the first really warm day of the season, with temps souring into the 50s and barely a cloud in the sky to boot. Luckily, it was also my day off. Trails and wooded areas were still pretty well packed in with snow and ice, so it was a fitting occasion to break out …
The past couple of days have been unusually warm, with temps rising into the 50s, and sunny skies to boot. And, lucky for me, I had a rare Saturday off due to the holidays. I took full advantage of this fortuitous combination of events and broke out the Willard for some back-road and gravel exploration. …
helena kotala 