New Team & New Friends

Here it is, the official announcement that I'm a memeber of the Trek of Pittsburgh Bicycle Stores new elite mountain bike team. Yes its out with the old and in with the new. As you noticed on the heading of my webpage the shop affiliation logo was changed a few weeks ago. Recently TJ Platt and myself have signed on with this Trek Shop. They are pretty cool so far and a new store located in Cranberry Twp just off I79 has just opened. These fellows know there stuff in fact just after signing on I recieved some clothes to wear and I must comment on the fleece lined long sleeve jerseys and knickers. Man are they great! Over this past holiday weekend I did a few early morning rides and this stuff was excellent. I've never been given gear this functional before. Well for the big news TJ and I will be the official members for this coming year and the ToP (trek of pittsburgh) Store seems excited to finally have themselves a mountian bike team.






Along with a new team I have also gotten a new friend seen here riding with me. Yes Its Elmo! I was riding thru Sesame Street, which is on the West side of Butler, when I heard Elmo shout out "take me for a ride". So what would you do? Exactly what I did, help the little fellow on to my bike and off we went. Elmo & I did several rides over the weekend. In fact he made the first trip to the new Cranberry ToP store with me which started by riding thru the Thanksgiving Day Parade where all the kids shouted out to my new riding buddy. Along the way we counted cars and practiced are ABCs. I have to tell you this is one sharp little dude! Any way look for more adventures which will include Elmo and myself and stay tuned for better information on the ToP Elite Mountain Bike Team.

stork

Turkey

Turkeys, yea we will all eat some this coming week but have you really ever seen them out in the wild? Hanging out looking for food or better yet roosting for the evening? Well in case you didn't realize turkeys sleep in the trees and I was lucky enough to be out with my dad a few sundays ago and got the chance to see a "turkey" fixing its "bed". Seen here in a rare photo, i'm standing below the "turkey". He doesn't even realize I'm taking a picture as he prepares to nest in for the evening.

Ok so its not a real turkey but its my dad acting like one! Why would i say that? because hes in his sixtys and still climbing trees to hunt whitetail deer! This particular weekend I went with him to carry some of the gear he needed in to the spot where he hunts. Now I wish I could tell you where that is but ever since I was 12 and started hunting with my dad he has kept his hunting areas top secret. To the point where my brother and I where both blindfolded before leaving the house and he would untie the blindfolds only after we had reached a parking spot. Sometimes I actually felt as if he just took us for a drive up the road and we where really only hunting behind our house but I'll never be sure of that.


So after getting blindfolded again this wekend and having the flashbacks to younger days. My dad and i hiked up over the hill to an area where he wanted to place a stand. We walked around scouting for some signs but there really wheren't any. He made the comment how there is always something around so he picked out a tree and I helped him put the stand in. Once in place he started shouting out orders to remove some brush from there and cut those limbs out of there and so on. All the while I'm thinking there isn't a dog gone sign of a deer trail anywhere he has told me to clear a shooting lane but whatever I did it. We walked down out a different way just to scout a little more before i was asked to put the blindfold back on for the return trip.



The next night i called the old "turkey" to see how he made out in the new stand and wouldn't you know he missed a small buck right thru the shooting lane we made by clearing brush. Now how in the heck did he know something would come thru there? I have no idea but thats the way hunting has always been with my dad. I remember as a kid seeing turkeys and deer when nobody else was. In fact back then turkeys where nowhere near as abundant as they are now and just seeing one in the woods was something out of the ordinary!

Anyway to this day my dad continues to fill his tags with turkey and deer both. He may be a bit slower getting up the hills or climbing the trees but his sense for finding game is still spot on! Since I started riding bikes and racing I've stopped hunting so I don't get out much with my dad but it really isn't suprising to hear of his bagging a deer as its more or less expected. It was nice to spend the short afternoon with him in the woods and it brought back many many memories. In fact one was how he would always "fly" thru the woods so silent and it was hard as a kid to keep up so we tended to more or less run which made alot of noise. My dad would always look back and tell us to "lift your feet and keep up" but on this adventure I was the one telling him that. Funny how things change! Another memory was one time my brother and I where told to walk up in on the other side of the hill from my dad to our spots. So he dropped us at a fireroad and took off. This was early and it was still dark and both my brother and I where terrified of the dark! As he and I walked up in we made a plan to sit together until daylight then split to our designated spots. This sounded good but if dad found out we where up and moving around after light we might get in trouble for spooking any deer in sight. Oh well we took the chance and never did tell dad. Funny funny stuff.

Anyway besides teaching me how to scout and hunt deer my dad has givin me many other qualities that have made me the person i am today. For instance his work ethics and commitment to family probably are the reasons I have done so well in my career and with bike racing. So I was happy to get the afternoon with him which is usually hard with my training and racing.

stork

Signs

Signs, yes signs are everywhere. They are mostly there for our safety but one must be intellegent enough to understand the message being given by the sign and realize what may happen if we don't follow that message.
For instance the sign pictured to the right with Michelle. These are found all over public gamelands in PA, but what do they mean? Well they tell people that this particular road is not open to motorized vehicles. Does a bicycle fall into that? Some would say yes some would say no! We as responsible riders shouldn't push this issue but we should simply stay off these roadways because as you will see below there are other signs in gamelands that clearly tell us that bikes are allowed.
What then you ask would happen if we ignore these signs? Well in due time the small green sign above (which gives us permission to ride in the gamelands) will be taken down and we will be told that bicycles are not welcome anywhere in the gamelands. Please realize that the game commision has the authority to take your bike if you are found riding on unauthorized trails or roadways. Next we may see signs like the one below!

Everyone out there riding feels like its no big deal to trespass across someones property or poach a hiking trail but every time they do something like this they only make it harder for everyone else. Close to my house I have miles and miles of trails that others have built (mostly quads and horses) that the owners started posting because the riders where being rude and inconsiderate. By taking the time to track down the property owners and asking for their permission I now have access to some great training trails. No one has declined me permission and I provided them with my name, number and address in case they would change their mind and request that I do not ride there.

So please be aware of your surroundings, follow the instructions or warnings provided by signs and get out there!





Stay alert!

Stork

Happy B-Day Gary

Friday Nov 3, 2006 found me driving towards Cleveland Ohio to attend the Season Opening Of Rays Mountain Bike Park. I was invited as a guest of Bob Myers for the event which had Gary Fisher making an appearance. Travis Ott (Fisher Maketing Manager) and Bob had a cake brought in for Garys Birthday which wasn't that exact day but close enough. So Happy B-day Gary Fisher!

Michelle and I got the chance to sit and talk with Gary since he currently has a broken ankle which kept him sitting by the fire. He really is quite a down to earth type guy. It was great getting to meet him.




In case you didn't know, every bike I ride and race has this guys name on it! So getting to sit and talk with him one on one about riding different places and also about designing bikes and what he likes to ride was really cool. After shooting the breeze with Gary we took a few laps on the Gary Fisher 1/2 mile indoor XC loop inside Rays Mountain bike park.



Shortly after arriving I was approached by a guy asking about TRM and Trek of Pittsburgh because of their logo on my gear. We talked for a few minutes before he introduced himself as "Ray".

I immediatly asked "Ray as in Rays Mountain Bike Park?"

He said "yep!"

So heres a shot of Me, Ray & Bob Myers











Ok How about a little shout out for the Park itself! Yea this place was cool! Michelle actually tried a bunch of stuff that she normally would never ride.