Wilderness Lodge Wattsburg, PA

This past weekend Amy and I headed east to Wattsburg, PA for a weekend of cross country skiing with Terry Smith, Glenn Beachy and a nice sized group of other COP'ers at Wilderness Lodge This year I believe we had about 34 folks in our group which made for a fun weekend.

Some of the group out on the trails

We were on the road early Friday morning and had smooth travels until we crossed into Pennsylvania and neared Erie. As the snow began falling and the road grime started to cover the windshield we realized the windshield washer on the drivers side was not working. A few extra stops along the way to clean off the windshield resulted in only a short delay and we arrived at Wilderness Lodge early Friday afternoon in plenty of time to get out on the trails for a few hours.

I've made the trek to Wilderness Lodge many times over the past 10 years or so and this year's snow conditions were among the very best I have ever seen. All the trails were groomed and there was tons of fresh, white powder. This year my friend Mike Rebuck and Cheryl, his fiancee also joined us on the trip. Mike is an old KA team mate of mine who now lives in Harrisburg. We had a great time and it was really great to catch up.

Mary Maloney & Mike Rebuck showing how it's done

On Saturday we spent most of the day out on the trails, including an early morning ski through the woods in time to watch the sun rise - very nice! After we finished up skiing on Saturday we joined all the COP'ers for a big spaghetti dinner. After dinner the group played cards, sat by the fire, listened to the music provided by two musicians in our group, or listened to Nancy (the original inn proprietor) share her stories and the history of the lodge in her Welsh accent.

Terry Smith, Glenn Beachy and Nancy pose by the fire

We enjoyed great music on Saturday evening

On Sunday morning Amy and I took snow shoes and hiked through some wooded trails that were freshly covered with the snow fall from the night before. We then had breakfast (pancakes and french toast with real maple syrup) before packing up and hitting the road that afternoon. On the way home we stopped and I was able to unclog the windshield washer using a sewing needle Amy had in her glove box. This made for a much easier drive home.

Snowshoeing on fresh powder

Good times and good friends made for an excellent weekend. I can't wait to go back next year!

Cyclocross Dudes

These xtranormal videos always make me smile:

Nice Weekend!

This past weekend was a bit too cold for me to get out and ride. However, I’m sure a few a few of my friends braved the elements on Sunday since the roads were dry and sun was shining. On Saturday I put in a few trainer hours and then took Sweetie out that evening to see a movie and then have dinner at J.Gilberts. Both the movie and dinner were great and the company, as usual, was terrific (at least for me).

On Sunday we decided to hike around Highbanks for a few hours so we could get outside and enjoy the sunny day. While hiking along the trails we saw a few folks cross country skiing and we were a bit envious since we left our skis at home.

A nice view along the river during our Highbanks hike

Speaking of cross country skiing, some friends of ours went out to Colorado over the holidays to enjoy the trails and made it into the Dispatch:

It’s nice to have famous friends!

I noted in an earlier post that I have taken the 30 day Face Book-free challenge (a challenge of my own making). About halfway there and so far so good! No shakes or physical withdrawals of any sort. There have been a few Face Book stories in the news this past week that caught my eye regarding violations of people’s privacy. One odd story is about someone who hacked e-mail accounts to gather compromising photos that were then posted as the victim's person’s profile picture.

Tour Down Under

Normally by this time in January I’ve had my fill of winter (even though much more of it is usually headed our way). I begin to wonder if spring and the start of the outdoor cycling season will ever arrive. Last night at the Levydrome Tom gave my spirits a lift when he mentioned to our group that the Tour Down Under begins this weekend with coverage starting Sunday afternoon on Versus at 5:00 pm. When bike racing begins on Versus I start to feel like spring can’t be too far away. The actual stage race begins next week but there is a race event on Sunday that will raise money for victims of the recent flooding in Queensland.

This year’s Tour Down Under is expected to be the last Protour event for Lance Armstrong. Although I discarded my membership card to the Lance Armstrong fan club a number of years ago, I must admit it will interesting to see him ride in the final major road race of his career.

On the local scene there are rumors of groups planning to get out this weekend for a bit of cross country skiing, including some folks Mark Wilson reported may be heading out to Slate Run. Sweetie and I are making the annual pilgrimage to Wilderness Lodge with COP in the near future for what always proves to be a fun weekend of camaraderie and cross country skiing so it would be nice to get out on the trails ourselves this weekend.

The Revenge of White Death

As retribution for making fun of yesterday's panic over the snow forecast, Mother Nature gave me a payback when I traveled to Cincinnati and Southern Indiana for work this morning. From the time I left the house until I exited onto I-74 near the Ohio border the roads seemed pretty decent as long as you drove with a bit of caution. But after crossing into Indiana I-74 came to a stop in both directions due to truck accidents.

A Fed-Ex truck jackknifed on a bridge in the opposite direction I was traveling and I can only imagine how long people in those lanes ended up waiting before the accident was cleared. In the direction I was traveling there was also a truck accident that brought us to a standstill less than 5 miles from the exit for my appointment. The delay lasted about 30 minutes. The worst part for me was that I noticed after we stopped that my gas gauge was near empty (not unusual for me) and the fuel light came on. Each time we stopped I would turn off the engine and hope I had enough fumes to make it to the next exit where gas was available.

Someone even put up a sign so we would know why we were sitting still on the freeway for 30 minutes

My last Indiana appointment today was in Greensburg and on my way back towards Ohio around lunch time it was smooth sailing. Was happy to arrive back home safe and sound.

I was able to make it to the Levydrome last night so no workout is planned for this evening. Looking forward to relaxing after a long day in the car.

White Death

As I write this early morning post our first "white death" of 2011 seems imminent, although the expected total accumulation looks to be a bit less than previously predicted. 2-4 inches of snow are in the forecast right now which is lower than the 4-6 inches predicted on the news last night. On the news this morning they said the top three items people buy at the grocery store before a snowstorm are milk, bread and ketchup. Ketchup? Really?

Was originally planning to attend the weekly spin session tonight at the Levydrome, but not sure that the timing will work out if the snow falls. Normally I barely make the 6:00 start time when coming from work and I would expect the roads to be chaos if we receive any more than a dusting of snow. Might be a another evening on my home trainer.

I'm trying to get motivated a for a trainer session as I look outside to see the fresh snowfall we received last night. Probably less than an inch fell overnight but it was enough to give the outdoors a nice, wintery appearance.

I think my training partner today will be Gilbert Duclos Lasselle as he makes a run on DVD at the 1992 Paris Roubaix. Hopefully I can hold his wheel to the end of the race.

One quick item to share before I ready myself for the trainer:

Mark Wilson's cycling blog will continue to amuse, inform and entertain for 2011! I'm new to Mark's blog and for my money it is the best one going in Central Ohio. Many area cyclists look forward to his entertaining photos and group ride observations throughout the year. Earlier this week Mark issued a challenge to his readers to check in and comment or he would shut things down. Mark has a flair for writing interesting, witty and entertaining entries that my blog lacks so I was pleased to read that he received enough replies to continue posting.

It was 20 years ago today...

Well, maybe not to the day, but earlier in the week I was digging through my attic and found my old collection of cycling magazines, including an old Winning magazine from January of '91. I subscribed to Winning magazine for a number of years and it is great to look back at the time capsule of cycling memories they contain. A few years ago I posted an article about a new yound rider from Austin Texas who had a great deal of promise. I would say he reached his potential and then some.

Back in '91 Greg Lemond was just coming off two dominant years in the TdF and riders like Gianni Bugno and Miguel Indurain were coming to prominence.

Looking back to that era I don't see much in the way of cycling gear or equipment that really gets me too excited. It is hard to imagine that the Sidi mountain bike shoes shown below would have ever been a "must have" item.

Winning Magazine expressed optimism for the year ahead in 1991 with news that Motorola would sponser the former 7-11 team and the Dupont Company would step up to take over the former Tour de Trump. But there was also an editorial about the potential dangers of a new drug from Amgen called EPO which was beginning to be used by some endurance athletes, including cyclists.

I'll try to share more images from my cycling magazine timecapsules as time permits.

To Facebook or not to Facebook?

I shared in an earlier post that the social media phenomenon contributed to my neglect of Sprocket during the past year. After several of my friends asked “Are you on Facebook?” I succumbed to curiosity and created an FB account.

Initially FB was pretty cool. On a positive note I reconnected with several old friends and acquaintances including a few folks I have not been in touch with since high school. FB has also given me the opportunity to share photos and stories with friends I see on regular basis. So then, what’s the problem?

The older I get the more uneasy I become with big organizations that seem to become more intrusive in our lives. Each week I read about ways in which FB can allegedly gather and use personal information without the approval of its members. That bothers me a little bit. One step I took to control this potential problem is to remove as much personal information from my FB profile as possible.

I had someone “de-friend” me because I was an FB friend with someone that person didn’t like (Huh?). Someone also lifted some pics of me off my page and use them in a way that I wasn’t very pleased about. All in all these are not a big deal but they are distractions I think I can live without.

So, I have decided to keep my FB account but commit to 30 days of Face book-free living and I’ll see if I miss out on anything important between now and early February. Something tells me I’ll make it through the next 30 days just fine. In the meantime I'll try harder to keep the old blog current.

Old School Columbus Racing Pics

1972 Junior State Track Championship at the long gone Murphy Raceway in Powell.(Photo from Doug Siple's Photostream)

When I was in college in the mid 80's I briefly dabbled in racing with very unremarkable results. At that time I joined Franklin Bicycle Club (FBCI) and tried my hand at a few weekly "C" races on the old Alum Creek course near Worthington. I lived just north of Graceland Shopping Center and would pedal my Raleigh touring bike to the Dairy Queen on High Street to meet up with other racers and then ride up to the course. After typically getting dropped during my race I would hang out at the finish line to watch the "real" racers finish before riding back home.

During one race the solid rear axle on my Raleigh split in half and I became aware of the failure when I began hearing ball bearings fall onto the pavement. Fearing I was stranded I asked Mike Lane, who was a mechanic with his brother Dennis at Northland Schwinn in Clintonville, what I should do and he said I could ride the bike home as long as I didn't put too much pressure on the pedals. Somehow I made it home and Mike eventually replaced the failed axle with a chrome moly axle and quick release skewer.

I've always had really fond memories of those days and remember watching guys like Randy Dull, Tym Tyler, Glenn Groves and Dean Carson dominate the "A" races. A number of FBCI alum are still actively riding or racing and it is fun to run into them from time to time. So I was really excited to stumble across Doug Siple's Photostream album a few weeks ago and to see all the terrific old cycling pictures he has posted including a fantastic folder with FBCI images. Each time I check in to see Doug's pictures there are a few more added so I think I'll be a regular visitor from now on.

These pictures are a real treasure trove. If you remember "Team Punk", "Ten Speeds Bicycle Store" or have any interest or memories of Columbus cycling from days gone by you need to check out these great images!

Welcome New Year!!!

I guess the first day of 2011 is as good a time as any to revive the 'ole blog. This past year I became distracted with some of the social media sites out there and regular posts (well, nearly any posts at all)to Sprocket Rocket were neglected. Hopefully I can stay on track this year share comments about activities during what I feel will be a pretty fun year.

2010 was pretty exciting with the highlight being a trip Sweetie and I took to Egypt. We spent two weeks in a fascinating part of the world and I'll try to share pictures and details in the near future.

I was fortunate to meet great new cycling friends this past year while also enjoying some terrific riding adventures with good friends I have been fortunate to know for several years. Spring is only a few months away and I look forward to riding as much as time allows in the year to come.

That's all for now. Happy New Year to everyone!

More to come (I promise!!!).