adventure daily.
It's becoming more apparent that fall is on its way. The katydids are calling. A few leaves have fallen. Days are noticeably shortening, to the point where last night I was surprised to be ending our ride in darkness. But we soak up the last of the summer, the beginning of the end of evening rides …
Greenwood Furnace State Park is 7 miles from our house. The park offers a network of trails which were originally designed for cross-country skiing (though most of them seem terrible for that activity), but have more lately fallen victim to neglect, as skiers are few and far between and there was never much of a push …
Why ride a bike when you can carry it? Sometimes while exploring we find trails we can't ride. But we keep going, because that's what exploration is about. I'm becoming a lot more adept at carrying my bike. I figured out a new technique today---grab the chainstay instead of the top tube. My arm is …
Fall is just about here. My favorite season, for so many reasons---the crisp air and clear skies, warm days and cool nights, the turning of the leaves, and, probably most importantly, the end of the busiest season for those of us in the business of outdoor recreation. Fall means I get to go on adventures …
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."
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. …
I have a certain love for exploring abandoned man-made things. I think they are fascinating---rusty metal, crumbling concrete, smashed windows. The ruin, the decay, and most importantly, nature once again taking over. One of the coolest "abandoned stuff" experiences I've had occurred yesterday, when my friend Jeff and I rode our bikes along a section …
Continue reading "Pike 2 Bike — Riding the Abandoned PA Turnpike."
We were supposed to be on vacation this week. We were supposed to load up bikes with touring gear and hit the road, going somewhere we'd never been, exploring unfamiliar territory. First the plan was somewhere in West Virginia, then northern Pennsylvania's Elk Country, then the burning ghost-town of Centralia, a place we have both …
helena kotala 