Republican Senators propose PA State Park closures

Yeah, I included "Republican" for a reason.

Story is on this page.

DCNR Press Release.

This blows. Yeah, the economy's bad. But cutting the natural heritage of our state is right up there with closing libraries. Keep the people in their living rooms watching TV where it's easier to control them.

Go HERE to find out who your PA Senator and Rep is. Send them emails. Let's nip this stupidity in the bud. Reference Senate Bill 850 in the email.

Note Colonel Denning is on the list. And Swatara. And RB Winter. And Ole Bull. And Penn Roosevelt. And Greenwood Furnace. And Fowlers Hollow. And Blue Knob.

Here's the whole list.

The hit list
Pennsylvania State Parks identified for possible closure
Parks '08 attendance
Bendigo 35,669
Elk 20,958
Kinzua Bridge 44,433
Blue Knob 431,738
Clear Creek 136,702
Colonel Denning 61,864
Fowlers Hollow 30,325
Big Spring Delaware Canal
(Black Eddy ONLY) 521,080
Ralph Stover 200,077
Evansburg 661,143
Greenwood Furnace 199,607
Penn Roosevelt 37,637
Whipple Dam 102,528
Kettle Creek 97,179
Ole Bull 82,444
Linn Run 195,950
Laurel Summit 23,223
Laurel Mountain 43,229
Little Pine 107,680
Hyner Run 63,350
Hyner View 36,070
Upper Pine Bottom 1,085
Memorial Lake 155,599
Swatara 64,639
M K Goddard 209,570
Mt Pisgah 64,076
Oil Creek 124,364
RB Winter 138,103
McCalls Dam 2,446
Sand Bridge 17,513
Ravensburg 30,413
Reeds Gap 64,450
Poe Paddy 38,135
Poe Valley 1,523
Ryerson Station 44,230
Sizerville 103,677
Tobyhanna 203,611
Gouldsboro 89,289
Big Pocono 112,591
Yellow Creek 203,053
White Clay 68,040
Norristown
Warriors Path 38,017
Trough Creek 61,252
Prompton 13,750
Salt Spring 30,682
Archbald Pothole 38,205
Sam Lewis 117,357
Erie Bluffs Central & Regional Offices

Projekts

In no particular order...stuff that's been taking up my time...

Relaxing...at the 2009 TTT

Troegs Scratch 19--Imperial Double Espresso Oatmeal Stout

Donna's next bike build.


Building wheels.




Turning what was old into something new and different.

Coefficient of Friction

i read my report. and thought about. and realized it really didn't say what i wanted to say. just a rehash of what i did, who i saw, etc. it said nothing about what the ride meant to me.

so i deleted most of it.

this meant something. these 40 miles in the mud in my backyard. last year, rocktober was my second and last race of the season. i dnf'ed. i was in pt on and off the rest of the summer, dealing with the second bulged disc i've had in my back, this time between l4 and l5. it started the winter before, i was in pt then as well. felt stronger through the spring and then bit off too much, too soon, too hard. lodi was first on a three person team and i worked my ass off to help keep us in the mix. two weeks later, i blew it up at rocktober, about 40 miles in. done. for the season.

it's not the first time. the first time was 2003. wilderness 101. 12 hours of ole bull solo. 24 hours of 7 springs, solo. bam. bam. bam. in constant pain afterwards. couldn't finish the seagull century. finally got diagnosed correctly. bulged disk between l5 and s1. pt for 2 months. ease back into the bike. time time and more time.

so last year i thought i could get back into long stuff again. there's more to the story in between all those years. whatever. when rocktober happened, it was hard. hard to deal with. wondering if i would be able to get back into the long stuff again. the stuff that makes me want to ride. the all day stuff. the rides that make you know why you're alive. soulful. deep.

i was full of doubts about this race/ride/whatever. a friend knew it. he kept after me to enter it. i was afraid. i was afraid of another rocktober and another season of pt, recovery and frustration. he kept after me anyway. but only up to a point. and then he just left me alone with my thoughts. and didn't ask about it again. it was up to me.

i entered it.

i rode it.

i didn't race it.

i needed this ride.

i needed this ride to prove to myself that i can still do this.

this type of ride is why i get on a bike.

this ride helps me be who i want to be.

i was happy all day.

i don't give a shit where i finished.

i don't give a shit i was in front of tomi.

it made me glad to see him in the woods on a bike on the same ride.

"just a ride in the yard."
"i like our yard."

it made me glad to see the people i know at the aid stations.
withers
bender
jake
steve
larry
don
tom
i'm sorry if i forgot to list anyone.

i had a great ride. i had a great day.

thanks.

pic from Bender

pic from Bender

Where’s a mud puddle to take a bath in? pic courtesy of Kegley

It was a heck of a day and a heck of a ride. Thanks to Rich and crew for putting on a good race. And major props to Tomi for being the Mastermind Behind the Crime for course design.

Raystown Grand Opening

Cross-posting notice for the grand opening of the trail system at Lake Raystown. Wander over to the MBM Blog for details. I wrote them once over there and don't feel like writing them again. Close to 30-35 miles of trail, constructed specifically for mountain biking by mountain bikers. Riding! Camping! Food! Beer! Music! Seems like it'll be a true gathering of the clan.

See you out there.

Where the Heck is Spring?

Thursday we wore knee warmers and vests. Sunday it was 90.

I rode yesterday with Kristian. We started behind the MBM crew and never really hooked up with them. No pics, no mileage, no clue. Just almost 4 hours of pretty damn steady riding; very little stopping. Tried to follow MBM into Spoogerific, found the first arrow, flaked on the second, bushwhacked and backwoods'ed it out Staley, up again to the top, into the deerfence, through and out to Swift Run, back to the tippy top and down and around and back up again and then around some more and through and a wrong turn and back tracking and finding the trail and then down and around some more, and up again and across and down and then slightly up and then down and again along the creek to the cars. I ran out of water somewhere in there. We saw the MBM crew on the road below us whilst we were on trail in the woods above at another point. Hollered to and fro and then kept going. Lots of time spent on fireroads in the blazing sun and glaring heat. Building character. But also lots of time spent on trails I hadn't been on. Building knowledge.

I needed that ride.

Maximus Meanderings

Hit up a quasi-modified, half-assed, most but not all, kinda pre-ride attempt on the Maximus course on Saturday with a small crew. Planned to hit the first and third thirds while skipping the second third. Got that? Started from King Boyles's tiny empire in the valley, rolled up B-ville and almost at the top, I realized I left the GPS on the hood of the truck. So, Z and I went back to bottom to fetch electronic gizmo number 3 and reclimb B-ville to rejoin the crew at the top.

Too much electronics on the ride. Had the HR-hooey, the digicam and the GPS. I think my mental limit is two gizmos. Might have to ditch the HR-hooey. However it was funny to read that it properly miscalculated my calorie expenditure at about 5000+ for the ride. That shit can't be right.

Trails were fun, route was fun, climbing was mucho. Returned to the cars for a water reload then into the second part. Started to run short on time and had to cut it with a railtrail spin back.

This will be a fun race...

Pics, dammit!

Facebook, again, as well as blogs

I'm not on Facebook. I won't be. Don't wait for me.

Here's an interesting take by someone who quit Facebook.

As for the irony of me posting this on my own blog? I realize it. The jury's still out.

Interact with other people, for real, not for virtual.