I took my nephew on the annual Christmas Lights bike ride – and man oh man was it cold. Literally freezing. Thankfully my dad agreed to drop us off because I still don’t have a hitch on my new car. My nephew wanted green lights on his bike so I ordered a set for his wheels and he helped me install them. When we arrived there were so many people with decorated bikes. My dad looked at me and said, “Well – what are you waiting for?” “It’s cold!!” I answered, “5 more minutes.” I decided I was going to try to stay in the car as long as possible – It was 30* outside!
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Bike Train: Jim Thorpe – White Haven PA
I was undecided what I wanted to do for my birthday weekend this year. The weather hasn’t been the greatest lately so that took out camping. I really wanted to go see some waterfalls, but a lot of places I looked up were either closed for the season or the trails were washed out due to all the rain we have been having. Then something made me think about the bike train in Jim Thorpe. After a quick search, I found out it was the last weekend for the year. I gave Pocono Biking a call with serious doubts I would get any tickets. They are a company we have used NUMEROUS times before for the shuttle, but never had a chance to take the train. Either way, you park in Jim Thorpe and take the train (which runs about once a month spring – fall) or take a shuttle (which runs daily May – Oct and weekends only in April & November) to White Haven, PA. Then you hop on your bike and cycle about 25 miles along the Lehigh Gorge Trail back to Jim Thorpe.
To my surprise there were a fed tickets available for the train! I claimed tickets for as many family members as I could put in a car. Bikes, trains, and waterfalls – what better way to spend a day?!
Tour De Donut 2018
I’m not quite sure how I stumbled upon the Tour De Donut bike ride that is held in Troy, Ohio, but I knew I wanted to participate. Although I am not a huge donut fan, I AM a fan of riding bikes in quirky and fun group rides. For the Tour De Donut you pick the distance you want to ride from 3 choices. The longer the ride, the more donut stops where you attempt to eat as many donuts as possible before continuing the ride. Each donut you manage to eat takes 5 minutes off your final ride time. Then there is the bonus stop for a special Glazer donut which takes 10 minutes off your ride time per donut.
Weirdest Bike Ride EVER
A few weeks ago I drove to visit my family – and my new nephew who decided to surprise everyone and come early (about 2 months). After meeting my new adventure buddy in training in the NICU, I asked my other sister and mom if they wanted to go for a bike ride. We went to pick up their bikes and they decided to ride around the driveway a bit – because it had been awhile since they took their bikes out for a ride. Unfortunately that’s where the ride started to go downhill.
Stony Valley Rail Trail
It has been a long time since I have hiked or cycled the Stony Valley Rail Trail. My friend, Laura, was the one who first showed me this trail and we explored various sections – especially the abandoned town of Rausch Gap. The Appalachian Trail also goes through this area so there are miles of hiking and cycling that can be done. I have been looking for new places to take my nephew bike camping so Kevin and I grabbed our bikes one sunny day and headed out to see if there were any campsites near the trail that we could get to with our bikes.
I was a guest on The Joyride Podcast
EXCITING NEWS FRIENDS!!!
One of my favorite podcasts is The Joyride Podcast which focuses on women cyclists – and it is awesome. I have been an avid fan of the show since close to the start of the podcast when I binge listed to all the episodes.
I was delighted to be a guest on the show on the first episode of season 3! If you want to listen to me talk about bikes with Cat, the host, check out Episode 31 of The Joyrode Podcast here – or wherever you listen to your podcasts!
ENJOY!
Snowy Bike Ride
The day after the Merry Little Bike Ride, it snowed all day long and well into the night in PA. I have seen that people cycle when it snows and have been curious how my bike would handle it. Also, I have all those lights strung on my bike and thought it would look pretty awesome in the snow, but do I need studded tires for my bike like I have read about? Would I be slipping all over the road? Do I need a fat tire bike? I decided to see what would happen if I took my hybrid out for a spin.
First Annual Merry Little Bike Ride
When I saw the event on facebook for the first annual Merry Little Bike Ride – I knew I HAD to go. The free slow ride was organized by Lititz Bikeworks and the Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Department – they just asked that if you rode, you donated a gift to a child in need. A good cause where I can ride my bike and string lights all over it?!? DONE!
Mackinac Island
I can’t quite remember when I first heard about Mackinac Island in Michigan, but from the moment I did I knew it would be a cool place to visit. On a recent road trip with my dad we decided to visit since we were in the area snagging a few highpoints anyway! What makes the island so special? You have to take a ferry to get to it and NO CARS are allowed – only bikes and horses. Sounds pretty perfect, right?
MS City To Shore 2017
Another year, another City to Shore ride. I have to say, this year was extremely hot – I believe the 2nd hottest year that I have done this ride. My dad dropped Kevin and I off at the start at around 5:30 AM (despite the fact Kevin said years ago that he would never do the ride again – that was the hottest year I ever did it) he decided he wanted to go with me again this year. We both recently got road bikes so we figured we would have a good chance of it not taking all day.
blisters and bug bites 