On Tuesday morning, I ventured out to recon the route for an Action Bikes and Outdoor group ride on March 11th. The Delaware State Forest is the venue for a ride that I wrote about in 2022, the Filthy 50. This time, we’re going to shake things up a bit by altering the route to add more technical trail and eliminating the long paved climb on Silver Lake Road. I could not have asked for a more beautiful spring day to recon this route. At 10am, I departed the parking lot on Rt. 739 and immediately began to climb up Five Mile Meadow Road. I turned right on Ben Bush Road and a left on Standing Sto ..read more

On Saturday, I was registered for the Covered Bridges 200K, leaving from the Chamounix Carriage House in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. The weather report for Saturday called for 2-3 inches of rain with high winds and cold temperatures. The event was postponed 24 hours until Sunday at 6:30am. First, let me start by saying that this event was wonderfully organized by the PA Randonneurs. It is not an easy thing to change the date of an event on such short notice, but they pulled it off and shined in the process. From the start, it was cold, the wind was whipping and more than a few roads still ..read more

For the last 7-8 years, I have used a Bontrager Flare RT tail light when riding on the road. In my opinion, it is a fantastic piece of safety equipment. It has now become my backup, as I have found what I believe to be the number 1 safety device on the market. Last fall, my brother, on his way to my house, saw me riding on Rt. 739. He could not believe that I was riding on a road that had no shoulder. I told him that if I wanted to ride on the road at all, my choices were limited to roads with no shoulder or start, stop and pedal every mile on Rt. 6. Then, For Christmas, he surprised me with ..read more

In the past 7 days, I have been lucky enough to ride in the Delaware State Forest twice. Not bad for late January, early February. That being said, I would like to update the surface conditions for anyone that is thinking of riding there, this time of year. First, let me start with Five Mile Meadow Road and Flat Ridge Road. These roads are in very good shape for mid winter. Because of these roads getting the most vehicle traffic in the forest, they usually have quite a few pot holes. There does not appear to be an increase in pot holes from last fall until now. However, because of the melting ..read more

With snow in the forecast for this weekend (3-5, 5-8 or 10 inches), whatever the total accumulation ends up being, it usually means that the roads and trails in the Delaware State Forest will be iced over until about late March. I have stayed away from the forest during hunting season and the holidays and did not want to wait another 10 weeks. This morning, I decided to layer up and venture out. It was 28 degrees at 9:30am. That meant full balaclava, lobster claw gloves, 2 pairs of wool socks and thermal shoe covers. Although, I usually ride as much as I can throughout the winter, I really ha ..read more

This past year, I have become hooked on restoring 80’s and 90’s steel mountain bikes. What make these machines so desirable? Why steel? How expensive is it to do and how many hours will it take? All that and more lies ahead. In January and February, I immersed myself in You Tube, searching for as many mtb restoration and frame painting videos as I could find. I also scoured the internet for build ideas. It seems that many people love the simplicity of the old, mechanical 7, 8 and 9 speed drivetrains as well as a gorgeous steel frame with those iconic 80’s and 90’s paint schemes. 1991 Rockhoppe ..read more

If you read everything on the internet and listen to what the bicycle industry tells you, you’d be rolling around on the largest tires that you could get your hands on. Don’t get me wrong, in some applications, larger tires are just what the doctor ordered. Let’s talk about gravel tires. All the rage is about wider tires and lower air pressure. Wider gravel tires range from 40mm to 50mm and wider. The industry will have you believe that wider tires and lower air pressure will not slow you down. That is absolutely not true. Wider tires require less air pressure, they are more comfortable than ..read more

Just as summer had kicked off, My wife, Liz and I took a much anticipated trip to Spain’s Basque region. This was a Trek Travel trip that toured the La Rioja wine country while climbing numerous peaks in the Cantabrian mountain range. La Rioja consists of 524 bodegas (wine cellars). It’s only one of the many grape regions in Spain. We flew into Bilbao, via Madrid on the morning of July 1st. We did not have to meet our group until the next day. As luck would have it, We were able to catch the Grand Depart of the Tour de France (stage 1), as it kicked off in Bilbao this year and made its way to ..read more

Keeping with my goal to increase mileage and my time in the saddle, this winter, I registered for a 200k Brevet. Largely European, Brevet, Audax or Rando are terms for a discipline of cycling, where you ride a predetermined route of 200, 300, 400, 600 or 1200 kilometers. There are numerous controls along the course, where you get your Brevet card stamped or you take a photo of the location. Last Sunday, the Pennsylvania Randonneurs put on the Tscheschter Kaundi (Dutch for Chester County) 200K, with a start and finish in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. The loop went through Chester County and ..read more

Usually, in the winter, I ride up above the tree line on Skyline Drive and Foster Hill, overlooking Milford and the surrounding area. But, I wanted to go higher. So, this morning, I hooked up with Bodhi at Action Bikes and Outdoor on Broad Street on what was a chilly but beautiful start to the day. We pedaled out of town and up Rt. 6.. We made a right hand turn on Schocopee Road and continued upwards. The first 4.5 miles resulted in over 1,000 feet of elevation. Schocopee is a narrow and winding hill that turns to gravel mid way up and becomes Fire Tower Road, leading to the Buckhorn Fire Tow ..read more