adventure daily.
You don’t think it’s cancer, do you? I asked my brand new primary care doctor after she’d examined the swollen lymph node I'd come in about. No, she answered, but we need to do all the tests just to make sure. I felt a little silly calling a doctor about the small lump that had …
That was the theme for most of February. See-sawing temps and storms that dropped more sleet and ice than powder kept convincing me that conditions would be terrible for skiing, fat biking or just about any other activity in the woods, but every time I was (delightedly) proven wrong. February 14: Single digits sunrise at …
There is a sense of urgency that comes with having good snow for skiing and fat biking that I don't feel at any other time of the year. I love a gorgeous 65-degree, sunny, low-humidity day as much as the next person, but the fleeting nature of snow is different. It isn't guaranteed to last, …
Continue reading "Fat on the Front: Prince Gallitzin to Black Mo Snowmobile Trail."
Zwift, for those unaware, is a cycling app that allows users to interact and compete with others and ride through a variety of virtual landscapes with a bike on a trainer. It's basically like a video game, and it's taken the cycling world by storm. These days, as we're deep into January, my Strava feed …
This year, I decided I wanted to get back into paddling more regularly after spending the past several years not doing it much at all. It used to be my go-to sport before I got into running and then biking, but more recently I had become a lot more anxious about swimming (the boat going …
It's been so long since I've written on this platform regularly. I think about making writing a regular part of my life again just about every day, but an endless list of excuses get in the way. I don't have time. It's not productive. I sit front of the computer for work and don't want …
In the month of February, I spent almost twice as much time skiing as I did riding my bike. I absolutely love fat biking and I certainly enjoyed plenty of that as well, but this year I also discovered a new winter sport in backcountry skiing. A constant stream of snow and more consistent winter …
Continue reading "Altai Hok skis in the Pennsylvania backcountry."
I didn't feel like riding when I rolled out of bed. I'd stayed up a little too late the night before watching a movie. Too late these days is 10 pm --- ideally I am in bed at 8:30, listening to a podcast until I fall asleep, which usually happens quickly. Over the past few …
Back in mid-December, we got a snowstorm that dumped about a foot of snow and was amazingly not followed by an inch of freezing rain as seems to be the norm the last few years. This meant that we actually had some time to enjoy pristine, fluffy powder before the inevitable melting or ice crust …
I was approximately 4 miles into a planned 40-ish-mile ride when the headwind reared its ugly head. I found myself needing to pedal hard to keep moving forward --- on a downhill. 40 miles of this would get old fast, and somehow it always seems like no matter what direction you're going, the wind is …
helena kotala 