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WE ARE!!!!!!!

photophotophotoPurple Lizard Mapsphotoband_TIPS Well maybe not me, but this is the cheer of my wife’s alma mater, Penn State University. If you look it up on You Tube under “Origins of We are Penn State Cheer”, you will see a heart warming story. On any home game, you will hear one side of the stadium cheer, “We Are” and the other side cheer ” Penn State.” Now for a guy who went to a small little school up in Northwest Pa, this brings chills to the spine. It is inspiring and is the mantra for all of those like my wife and her wonderful friends who all went to school together at a fabulous university in a fabulous little town -State College,Pa. Happy Valley.

I would like to speak in this post of the idea of friendship which is embodied in the relationship that has developed over 30 years with my wife Janet and her PSU friends. Let’s start with Mark and Kathy Ritchey who so generously open their home to all of us during the annual rite of the fall-Homecoming weekend. We kill their house but the smiles and the hospitality of the Ritcheys is unmatched. They are generous to a fault and their home is our home. Their daughter Megan plays for the Women’s Soccer Team and Kathy and Mark are like second parents to all of those girls and coaches.

A big motor home rolls in for every home game and especially on Homecoming weekend. It is driven by a little spitfire of a gal named Judy Smith who was a cheerleader for the Lions back in the day. She and her husband Mike drive into the Valley and bring the most amazing food for the tailgates. Nothing beats Judy’s Yum Yum bars and her exquisite turkey served with home made cole slaw on fresh challah rolls. Mike Smith is one of three non-PSU persons like myself and fortunatly for me,he is a mountain biker. For the last 25 years, we have ridden together before the game up on the great trails of the Rothrock State Forest. Our route can be found on the Purple Lizard Maps available at all the bike shops in town. We hit the Longberger Path to the John Wert Path( a rocky hell of a trail), up Heckendorn Gap via Treaster Kettle Road, and then rocketing back down the Longberger to the finish. We have ridden a lot of the trails over the last number of years in all kinds of weather. I will never forget Doc Smith sliding on the ice over this wooden bridge right near the start of the ride. A tough start for Michael but he is a tough guy and the rest of the ride was uneventful and enjoyable. Mike is our medical guy. With all the pub crawling and the scavenger hunts designed by the diabolical Kathy Ritchey, we need a medical man on staff.

Valerie and Bob Reading are another wonderful couple and Val was one of the original(roomies). Bob is an amazing athlete. Mike and I took him for one of his first mountain bike rides and his road riding prowess showed up hard in the climb up the Gap on Treaster Kettle. He left the mountain bike guys in the dust on the climb and Mike and I looked at each other in wonder. Bob still looks like he could play college football. Valerie is one of the friendliest persons I have ever met and her culinary skills along with her sister Diane and her husband Billy, make the tailgate the envy of the alumni crowd. These three can cook up a storm along with Judy’s grub and my wife Janet’s “to die for” chile. Beth O’Donnell another roomie from the day, also prepares a feast for the tailgate and her husband Mike, a former PSU player, enjoys the feast with all of us. Mike is a friendly, capable financial guy who is a dedicated volunteer and generous supporter of all that is Penn State.

Then there is the incomparable Mike Procopio. Copes is a labor attorney from the West Coast via Sharpsburg, Pa and PSU. When he applied to Law School, he looked up the next school in the “P” section of the college manual and found Pepperdine. He was accepted and the next thing you know, Mike is looking at the bikini clad co-eds on the beach from the library window. He is a capable guy and the group has no better friend than Copers. He would give you the shirt off his back and then some. Mike Dunlay(aka the Dunz) is the ringleader of this group. A successful restauranteur from Chicago, he is shown above holding Joe Paterno on his shoulders in the famous Sports Illustrtated cover commemorating the teams National Championship. Dunz is also the guy that I refer to in my earlier ski post on “Characters.” Dunz was the guy I took to Killington to ski with my friend Eric and his national class ski racing son, Travis. Dunz shows up in wrap around Clint Eastwood sunglasses and Cincinnati Bengals billowing cotton pants. We all skied fast that day as usual and the Dunz rocketed down the trails of Killington hollering and laughing all the way down much to the amusement of my friend and his son. People kept asking me if he was an NFL player and I said politely “No- that is ……..the Dunz” He is another guy who would take a bullet for the girls. Another generous guy to a fault who would do anything for his Penn State crowd.

Now you might ask yourself, why am I spending such detail on this group? I am trying to portray the archtypal description of friendship embodied here. As an outsider, I have had the opportunity to observe this crowd for a long time and they are truly a tight group. They have been friends for over 30 years and make the effort to see each other not only at Homecoming but at other times of the year, all over the country. They make the time for each other. They call each other. They value their friendships. I am pleased that they consider me a friend as well and they have always welcomed me into the their midst as an honorary Lion. Pretty nice for a guy who didn’t really make the most of his college experience. Janet is a good friend to all of them. My mother used to say that to have a friend is to be a friend. I see Jan calling her friends from PSU, getting together with them, laughing with them, crying with them, and it is really heartwarming to see how much she enjoys her friends for all these many years. So as inspiring as this is to me, it should be to you as well. Cherish your friends. Make plans and take the time to get together with them. We are getting older. Our kids are growing and will soon have their own path and friends in life. But I expect this group to be rock solid for many years to come. I want to tag along and when the crowd screams,” WE ARE” I will shout back ……”Penn State.” Thanks for reading.

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Take back the night!!

photoNiteRider2McCandless-20130303-00102 “Oh its a long long way, from May to December. But the days grow short…..when you reach September.” ” When the autumn weather…..turns the leaves to flame. One hasn’t got time …..for the waiting game.” This Kurt Weil lyric rings in my head as this time of year rolls along. Tonight I brought out the lights for my mountain bike and used them to finish the ride. In not too long a time, we will need the lights for the entire ride but for now, it is rather enjoyable to ride in the evening with just a jersey and shorts.

A few posts ago, I spoke about riding at night in the 24 Hours of Canaan. This 24 hour team mountain bike relay has become an extremely popular competition since Laird Knight first started Granny Gear Productions in Davis, West Virginia over 20 years ago. For those of you who remember, the bowels of West Virginia can become pretty desolate at 4 o’clock in the morning. As the race progresses, the field spreads out and oftentimes you are riding by yourself and hearing and seeing things in the woods. I remember coming up on the section called the “Moon Rocks” and seeing a marshall who was decked out in a long poncho with a staff by his side. He looked just like the Grim Reaper as I rode by his campsite and fire. He didn’t say anything to me and it seemed a bit spooky as I rode up on to the rocks and continued a night lap in Wild, Wonderful, West Virginia. I had similar experiences in the 24 Hour races at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in the Champion Challenge. Backwoods Westmoreland County can be pretty remote as well as the race spreads out and those familiar trails can become challenging and unfamiliar with only the bright beam of the light to guide your way. You are pedaling along following your beam and all of a sudden someone comes up behind you and freaks you out. I suppose I did the same thing to others as I came up on them. But being the guilt ridden hell guy that I am, I always gave them polite notice and slipped by them in a most proper way. ” On your left, thank you, have a nice ride.”

Competition using your lights was a lot of fun and the adrenaline rush of a race together with dark woods and single beams of light became the hallmark of very enjoyable and challenging race experiences in the mountains of West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania. But the most fun riding with lights is just what I did tonight. Riding with friends on trails that look totally different at night illuminated by a single beam of light. I have always been a proponent of riding with a light mounted on my handlebars but a lot of guys use a helmet mounted light as well. Personal preference, I suppose, but the dual beams seem to be more efficient. I can remember first riding with lights in 1987 at our local park where I still ride today. If you refer to my post on North Park, you will be reminded that we have 42 miles of trails in a park that is 10 minutes from my house. But these trails at night look different and it is always a new challenge riding them with the lights. In 1987, we were persona non grata with the County Police and the horse riders. I can remember hiding with the lights turned off while we were chastised on the bull horns coming from the police cars and thinking to myself,” Hey- just go get a coffee and another jelly donut and leave us alone.” The horse people were polite for the most part but I did get into some conversations with some of them about how these were horse trails and not to be used by bikes. I politely responded that I pay my taxes too and the conversations went south after that. Today, it is a whole different story with lots of folks riding mountain bikes on the trails and in the fall and winter, you can see streams of riders with their lights illuminating the trails in a chain of lights that seem miles long.

In the picture above you can see two guys. John Staab is my friend who you might recognize from my post on snowshoeing. John is a fun guy who loves to be outdoors and on his mountain bike. Last year was the first year that he rode at night and he became an instant expert on Chinese lights that you can order from Amazon. He is a real fan of night riding and has marveled at how it has extended his riding season. He even said to me tonight that he likes riding at night even more than he likes riding in the day. Amazing!! The other guy is none other than the Lord of Lumens himself…Bob Bannon. Robanco@verizon.net. If you ever want expert advice on riding in the winter with lights, Bob is your man. He knows all about lights, lumens, batteries, and can fix almost any lighting system. Besides that, he leads rides all over our region all year long. No matter what the weather is brewing. Bob is the smiling gent with the chin warmer.

The night is another world. You are riding behind a beam of light and you hear all kinds of wildlife that you can’t see. Sometimes you see eyes and you wonder what is looking at you. I have turned corners and looked straight into the face of a rather large buck. When it is real cold and you are by yourself on the trail at night, you start to hear and see things. It can be a little un-nerving but exciting at the same time. Remember, I was in two horror films- right? But other nights that are drenched in moonlight can be some of the most memorable riding nights that you can have. The night air smells different, the trails look different, and the comraderie of riding with a group or the peace of riding by yourself in the moonlight or the solitary beam of your own light is a great experience. Why let the summer fun end? Get some lights and take back the night!!! Thanks for reading.

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Summer Time in Ski Town

photophotophotoEllicottville-20130208-00088photo One of the more interesting things that happens to a ski town is the metamorphasis that occurs after mud season. Mud season is traditionally when spring rolls along and the snow melts and the locals in a ski town head for vacation before they begin the summer festivities that define the area in the “off season.” Large ski areas are great in this transition but there are also smaller towns like Ellicottvile, New York that have lots to offer in the non-ski times of the year. I like to ski at Holimont and Holiday Valley during the winter because they get that great Lake Erie Fluff. Nice snow and maybe not the vertical drop of the west but nonetheless enjoyable. But when the summer comes, the mountain bike trails come alive in the Allegheny National Forest and the endless singletrack under the eastern canopy of a national forest can compete with riding anywhere in the country.

If you go to “EVL” in the summer, you can set up your base of operations at the Inn at Holiday Valley. It is right on the ski slopes of Holiday Valley Resort and the room prices are very reasonable in the summer. If you are a mountain biker like me, you can ride right from the Inn and utilize a very well constructed map of the trails created by the Western New York Mountain Bike Association. http://www.wnymba.com This map is available at all the ski/bike shops in town as well as at the Inn. My favorite loop is to ride from the Inn to the Race Course loop, to the Big Merlin trail, to the Dead Dog Loop(a personal favorite for a number of reasons), to the Sidewinder trail back to the Big Merlin and returning to the Inn via the Race Course loop again. These trails are maintained by the ski area as well as the State of New York and are really well constructed. You can get a lot of riding in this area which encompasses the forest as well as Holiday Valley and Holimont Ski Area trails. It is fabulous eastern singletrack at it’s best and not to be missed by anyone who lives within easy driving distance from EVL.

For those of you who have a significant other who does not ski or ride, the town of Ellicottville offers great shopping at boutique shops and well appointed bike and ski shops. I always say that EVL is like someone dropped a little New England ski town right in the middle of Western New York State. If you refer to my earlier blog post about sibling skiing at Holimont, you can revisit the virtues of this private ski club in the winter. But the trails there are also spectacular in the summer and Holimont comes alive in this season as well. I would also recommend the Elicottville Brewing Company for a cold beer and a meal after a ride. http://www.ellicottvillebrewing.com and an alternate selection with many beers on tap is the John Harvard Brew Pub at the Tamarack Club at the Holiday Valley Ski area. Don’t miss the chicken pot pie. It is the bomb!!!

Most of the time I am visiting EVL on my way to or from Rochester,NY. I do some work up there and I always make it a point to stay in EVL instead of a hotel off the interstate near Rochester. Western New York has a lot to offer and is relatively close to Canada for some alternate visits to Niagra on the Lake. A personal favorite of my wife and me. Lake Chautauqua is close by as well as Lake Erie( the source of all that great snow in the winter.) So, in these times when it may be challenging for us easterners to go out west several times per year, the lively alternative is Ellicottville. The mountain bike riding and hiking is spectacular not only in the summer but in the fall. Those fall colors rival New England and the shopping and dining are worth the trip alone. Hey, hit it now with the upcoming fall upon us, before it is too late to enjoy the “off-season.” Thanks for reading

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The Gentile Moab, Utah

Slideshow_img08slickrock_e-700x466 Moab,Utah has traditionally been the Mecca of mountain biking over the last 20 years. From it’s resurgence as a uranium boom town that went bust, the outdoor sports world has embraced the region and contributed greatly to its current economical success as a tourist destination town. Now some pundits would say that Moab is now cliche’ and that the hard core mountain bike community has moved on to the North Shore of British Columbia, Fruita, Colorado, Sedona, Arizona and other “rad” places. But Moab remains constant in that it continually services the mountain bike community year after year with reliable weather, great trails, and excellent lodging, eating and drinking establishments. So, at the risk of being “cliche'”, I will tell you about my experience in the town of Moab and its surrounding desert trails.

Several years ago, I was in Salt Lake for a week and I got a hall pass from the bride to go to Moab for the weekend before my week in SLC. I get the rental car and pack my bike and my duds, and head out of Salt Lake for the 3+1/2 hour drive. When you go west, as many of you know, it is BIG COUNTRY! I respect the mountains out there because I have skied them many times. But this was the first time I had ventured into the desert and I was amazed that I was looking at the same mesa to my left for what seemed like 3 hours. My first stop was to check out Arches National Monument and National Park. I put on the hiking boots and headed to Delicate Arch which is seen on the Utah license plates. It was pretty cool to see these arch formations and I would say that anyone venturing into this part of Utah should definitely check out Arches and Canyonlands. It is special to Easterners because of the expanse and the beauty of the desert.

After this wondrous experience of a hike, I made my way into the town of Moab. My destination was the Sunflower Hill Inn. http://www.sunflowerhill.com. Now most people who have had the Moab experience have camped, slept in pickup trucks or have taken advantage of a Rim Tours( http://www.rimtours.com) or a Western Spirit( http://www.westernspirit.com) week long excursion with camping and great food. These tours are guided and are an excellent way to experience Moab. But yours truly had only the weekend and I found the Sunflower Hill Inn on line. What a find!!! This place is a wonderful bed and breakfast with nicely appointed rooms and a fabulous breakfast. It has a great garden terrace and is right at the trailhead to the famous Slickrock Trail. The proprietors are friendly and are more than willing to accomodate your schedule and give you suggestions on rides and places to eat dinner in town. If you want to experience Moab and have a great breakfast, sleep like a baby and take a nice hot shower after your ride and relax in the garden patio area, this is the place for you. It is truly the gentile way to experience Moab. These accomdations have nothing to do with the challenge that lays ahead on the trails, but at least it is a nice oasis after you beat youself up on the slickrock of the Moab trails.

The riding here is challenging. I started out early in the morning around 5:45 at first light because when I was there in June it gets HOT fast!!! Did I say it was hot? Wow!! You can begin on the warm up trail of the Slickrock Trail to get used to riding on this most unusual surface. Slickrock is a misnomer. It should be called sticky rock or grabby rock because you can’t believe the traction you can get riding this stuff. The actual Slickrock Trail is a marked trail on this massive rock formation. Steep ups and downs highlight the riding and you can get all you can handle riding this stuff in the exposed outdoor sunny and extremely hot conditions. Holy hell was it hot!! I thought to myself that if I had not loaded up on water and brought some extra bottles besides what was in my pack bladder, I would be in trouble. I thought,” no wonder people have died out here!” No trees, no cover, 100 degrees plus. You could fry an egg on this rock. I thought of Walter Brennan(young people- ignore this, you don’t know Walter Brennan). But for those of you who do,” 30 days on the prarie, no water, indians all around!!!) I thought about all of those old prospectors and pioneers. How did they deal with this? But the surrounding rock formations are gorgeous and the Green River below is impressive.

During my stay I also made use of the other iconic trails in the region which were the Poison Spider and Porcupine Rim trails. There are many, many trails in the region, but these two along with the Slickrock Trail are the most famous. When you see a sign to dismount and walk your bike, they are not kidding. The trails can be tight and the penalty for being careless can be a 1000 foot fall into the canyon with the Green River staring at you. Trust me- I read and obeyed the signs. Being the acrophobic that I am, I was glad to dismount. After killing myself in the heat and draining all of my water each ride, I was happy to make my way back to the air conditioning of the rental vehicle. I was red as a beet and the beer at the Slickrock Cafe http://www.slickrockcafe.com was a welcome relief. It is a nice lunch and dinner spot and the T-shirts are cool as well. Live music too.

One of the must do stops is the Poison Spider Bicycle Shop http://www.poisonspiderbicycles.com . This shop is complete with all the eye candy bicycles that you could ever want. They rent high performance bikes, sell lots of technical clothing and accessories, give great advice, have really good mechanics and even have a shower area for those who want to ride to and from the shop. Don’t miss it.

As I made my way back to Salt Lake, I rode the rest of the week in the mountains around Park City after my work day. A different mountain trails experience but pretty nice all the same. But the desert in the “cliche'” Moab is pretty special and it is still pretty unique today. If you have gone, you know what I am talking about and there is not much more than I can add than all the magazines have printed in the last mumber of years. But for those of you thinking about a western adventure, put the Utah desert on your bucket list. You will be glad you made the trip. Cliche’-I don’t think so. Lots to do for non-riders too!!! Thanks for reading.

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“When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.”

dotd+elevator215px-Dawn_of_the_deadromero-3 How about this for a title for a blog post? This should get a few clicks tonight. This is actually the trailer from George Romero’s classic horror film “The Dawn of the Dead” which was produced in 1978. I am straying from my usual topics for my blog posts and telling you a little story about my experiences as an actor in two of George’s films. Yes, I did have a speaking part in two films but before I get to the gory details of that, I need to tell you of my original association with George Romero. George dated and subsequently married my backyard neighbor Christine Forrest. Early in his film career, he used our neighborhood and lots of the folks who were neighbors and friends as extras in his early movies. I was a young teenager and the kids in the neighborhood all thought that Hollywood had come to the North Hills. It did!!! Every night we watched as the cameras were positioned, lights were set up and we all were told to be very quiet as the action began. George was great with all the neighborhood kids and he introduced me to Stephen King whose movies George directed and produced for many years subesquent to his stint in the old neighborhood. Stephen was a friend of George’s and when he introduced him to me, I was really unaware of his notoriety and I said, ” Hey Steve, nice to meet you.” I then bolted to the food table and scooped some of the cast’s free dinner. Typical teenage rube, but we all were the same, soaking up Hollywood and scamming what we could.

Several years later, George asked me to be in his film “Dawn of the Dead” and he said that I would have a speaking part as a police officer escaping from the zombies. Yee haa! I was very psyched as I was two years out of college and this was a pretty cool gig for a young guy. I had to appear for makeup at the Southside Police docks on the river in Pittsburgh and I was addressed as the “talent” by the production assistants as they asked me if I wanted anything to eat or drink. Me? The schlub from the North Hills addressed as the “talent.” Now that was comical, but I tried to be professional and the assistant director gave me my script and showed me my famous lines. It read,” Hey man, I ain’t going nowhere in nothing I can’t drive myself.” I was to pilot a helicopter as a police officer to escape the impending onslaught of the walking dead. My other line was identifying a police cruiser and I said,”Hey- there’s a black and white!!!” My partner, who was a professional actor, kept blowing his lines but I was proud to say that I remembered my cue and my two lines and was a fairly believble cop. I was amazed at the time it takes to film one scene in a movie and I can respect the costs associated with movie production. The makeup for the zombies was amazing and all of it was choreographed by the highly acclaimed makeup artist, Tom Savini. Tom is a regular guy from Braddock,Pa who has done all the award winning makeup for films like “Halloween” “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and many others. Tom likes the ‘burg, and even though he has spent a lot of time in L.A, he still calls Pittsburgh home. We wrapped up my scene and years later I saw my police partner on an airplane to New York with his Burbury trenchcoat and matching scarf draped nattily over his shoulders looking quite the actor part. I introduced myself and he gave me a rather disgruntled look as to why I was bothering him. I wanted to remind him that I always remembered my cue and lines and he blew his lines ten times much to the chagrin of the crew on the police set. But I didn’t go there and wished him luck. Actors!!!

My second movie was “Monkeyshines”. Now by this time, George had many actors of notoriety on his sets. Ed Harris, Adrienne Barbeau, Hal Holbrook, to name a few. George always was gracious and introduced us to the stars and we appreciated his kindness and his ability to remain humble despite raging success in Hollywood. Now “Monkeyshines” needed some runners and cyclists in a scene filmed in Schenley Park and George once again called on me because he knew I was an avid cyclist and road racer at the time. I was once again to be at makeup and the scene filming and I rode from my townhouse down to the park adorned in my best racing duds. My line was,” Hi- How are ya doing?” Simple. Ride by the lead actor, say hello right before he gets hit by a truck and becomes a paraplegic. If you ever rent the movie, don’t go get a beer, go to the bathroom or blink in the beginning because you will miss me. I asked George how my inflection should be on my line and he laughed and said,” Pat- just say the line.” I was thinking,” HIIIIIIIIi………..how ya doing?” Or ” Hi, how are youuuuuuuuuuuudoing?” Or perhaps something else but the one production assistant reminded me to just say the damn line and move on. Turns out he hated cyclists and did not know I was a FOG(friend of George). When he finally did find out, he fell over himself trying to be nice, but I was thinking about my former horror film experience and wanted to take a chunk out of his neck like the old zombies that I met and loved. But I kept my angry carniverous tendency in check and remained a person of the living and not the “un-dead.” George thanked me and gave me a check as a speaking actor and I rode off into the sunset on my 3 Rensho bicycle never to act again.

George went on to great success but I am sure he looks back with fondness at his early days in the neighborhood with my parents as extras, my sister as an actress in several of those movies( she is a Carnegie Mellon Music Theatre Grad), and many neighbors as goulish zombies wandering the malls and neighborhoods seen in the early movies. Yes, the 58 year old kid has had many funny and memorable experiences but to be in horror films was a special treat and to see a glimpse of Hollywood was indeed a revealing and “ghoulish” experience. I still don’t go in anything I can’t drive myself- except for airplanes I suppose? Thanks for reading and remember to sleep with one eye open.

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“I’m not going to let a girl beat me!”

2011-04-30 06.33.2317786_10151858587474203_1524945910_nphoto These famous words were uttered by a good friend of mine as we closed in on the last two miles of Pittsburgh’s Great Race 10K a number of years ago. My friend, who shall remain nameless for fear of embarrassment, is an ex-Marine and was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. Tough guy, good guy, tough runner. But not quite good enough to catch Eileen Petrone. Eileen is pictured above in the zebra shorts and the Allegheny Nike singlet. Eileen was an elite runner for many years with women’s victories to her name in the Great Race as well as many other 10 Ks in the region. She was also a top finisher in the Pittsburgh Marathon for many years and is still a very good runner to this day. My friend, who was a top 200 seeded runner in the Great Race was ruined when he crossed the finish line behind her. I was happy to keep her in sight. A long way down the road!!!

The second picture is of my friend Eric Durfee’s daughter Kress. Kress is shown here skiing down one of the steepest backcountry chutes in the Tahoe region. Her father tells me that on that particular day, the snow conditions were so sketchy and the terrain so steep that she did not want to make a turn and staight lined the chute to where she could finally make some turns to slow down. Kress was the National Collegiate Free Skiing Champion and a terror in the terrain parks with her twin tipped skis. I have known Kress all of her life and whenever I get a chance to ski with her, she is a pleasure to watch skiing warp speed with fluid turns and all the confidence in the world over some pretty steep and nasty terrain. Her father raced for Cornell back in the day and her older brother Travis was top ten west of the Mississippi for Downhill and Super G for many years as a member of the Far West Team. Travis was a national class ski racer and to this day, he says that Kress is the best skier in the family. That is saying something seeing that her other brother is a fantastic skier in the parks and her mother skis flawlessly down any run, at any area in Lake Tahoe. Kress is a vision on skis regardless of gender.

The last picture is of Sue Haywood at this years Breck Epic Mountain Bike Race in Breckenridge,Colorado. She is shown here leading the GC for women and is also very well placed overall. Sue hails from West Virginia and currently resides in Harrisonburg, Virginia, a mecca for off road cycling. Sue was a member of the Trek Professional Cycling Team for many years and currently races for the Stan’s No Tubes Mountain Bike Team. I first saw Sue race in the NORBA races in West Virginia and Vermont and also at some of the West Virginia series races. She is one strong rider that is for sure, and she has several national championships to her name as well as many top finishes on the domestic and international stage. I got to see her talent first hand when in some of the regional races the women started behind the men. She came riding by me like I was standing still and I have followed her career with interest ever since. I don’t think anyone in the mountain bike community would have the audacity to make a statement like my friend did above, because Sue is a great rider……..period. She, Eileen, and Kress are to be respected as great athletes in their own right regardless of gender.

I have never had any preconceived notions about being competitive with women. I learned a long time ago that there is no place for chauvanism in the sporting world. I hear a lot of garbage from some guys like,” I could be the leading money winner on the women’s golf tour.” Yea right!!! Some of these over the hill golfers who still have a pretty good game can never compete with today’s women who are the consummate professionals. There is a big difference between tournament golf, tennis, ski racing, and the weekend warrior sporting events. These statements crack me up and I have witnessed many guys get their butts handed to them by some amazingly talented and fit women. Just the other night, I ran into a young friend named Beth who rides mountain bikes regularly with her husband Carmine and several other real strong guys. Beth and I rode together and caught up with the small talk but when the first major hill came, she was gone and I told her to keep riding and don’t worry about me. Like Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry) always says, ” A man has got to know his limitations.” Especially the 58 year old kid. I pull out all the tricks in the book to ride with the younger set but sometimes you just have to let nature take its course. Beth is strong and I have no issue with that at all. She is a mountain bike rider. I don’t see her as a female mountain bike rider.

Bottom line is that there are sports where strength plays a factor in the performance of a man versus a woman. Women could not compete as an interior lineman in the NFL. But on a running race course, a trail, or a ski slope there is a lot of equity that comes about especially with the recreational set of folks who are not professional athletes. A lot of us take our sporting achievements and training seriously and many times our avocation can climb to some pretty lofty heights. But we are all athletes to one degree or another and with the current training methods, nutrition, and strength training available, the gender gap is narrowing to say the least. One last thought which I am compelled to share came from Sue Haywood where she says,” Pat, just remember to mention that there would be more women in cycling if guys weren’t raging with testosterone all the time.” I am sure Sue has had her challenges from time to time and believe me, I would bet on Sue. But her flip side point here is that this notion that a guy can’t be beaten by a girl can be taken to the other extreme. How sad it is to see a guy riding ahead of his significant other on a mountain bike or a road ride with the poor woman trying to keep up. Talk about a turn off and how to instantly discourage a fellow rider. Same thing with the guy who takes his gal down some steep ski slope that intimidates her and she never comes back to ski. Come on guys, encourage your lady! If she has the courage to try a sport with you, don’t beat her into the ground to show her what a tough guy you are. Help her!!! Teach her. Be patient with her. If you do that, you will add to Sue’s friends on the trails and you will also have a friend for life to share the sport you love. Eileen, Kress and Sue will take it easy on you. Thanks for reading.

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Technology- Good, Bad, or it Depends?

IMGP1925IMGP0205 I am reading a real interesting autobiography called,” The Outsider” by Jimmy Connors. Now, Connors was a contemporary of mine and I loved to watch him play in the 70s against Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe. Classic matches and lots of vitriol between Connors and Mac but Borg was the consumate quiet competitor who left the game before his time.He amassed 5 straight Wimbledon titles among other victories. But I really loved to see Connors at the end of a victory, facing the crowd, hunched down, both fists pumped at his sides, and screaming ” Yeah!!!” to the adoring fans. He was a real competitor and honed his game around the fabled Wilson T-2000 racquet. From personal experience, this was a very stiff racquet and it was very hard to control the ball. But Connors used the racquet in his hey day to perfection. It was his weapon of choice and his game was formed around the performance of this particular make from Wilson. As Connors aged, he had to move on to newer technology because Wilson was headed in the direction of all the other racquet makers. That being oversize and composite materials. This led to the statement by Connors in his book which reads: ” A word about technological advances in tennis:I think the racquets players use today make a lot of them look and play better than they actually are. Add to that all the other advantages available now,like the high tech machines to build strength and fitness, scientifically tested diets to increase stamina, slow grass, fast clay, trainers allowed on the court when the players have an itch, permission to disappear to the locker room for a comfort break as many times as they want-man they have everything they need.” Is Connors correct that technology has made better players out of current competitors who perhaps are less than world class in talent? What do you think?

Lets bring it down to us mortals shall we? I have always embraced new technology. When the first Prince oversized racquet came out, I bought it and loved it. I played better, until all the other guys bought new oversized racquets and then we all were on a level playing field. I moved on to other pursuits. When the first shaped skis came out, I embraced that technology and still do to this day. I noticed that improvement right away wth a shorter, more high performance ski that allowed me to turn easier and be less fatigued during a day of hard skiing. There is no doubt that shaped skis make intermediate skiers out of beginners, advanced skiers out of intermediates, and experts out of advanced skiers. These advancing technologies I still embrace and the equipment has definitely made me a better skier. Most people share the same sentiment on the slopes.

When the oversized 29er wheels came out on a mountain bike, I jumped on that technology. The frames were lighter, the wheels rolled better and the oversize allowed me to ride up and over some things that I would never have attempted with a smaller 26 inch wheel. Tubeless rims are lighter and without a tube in the tire, the weight is reduced even further allowing better rolling performance than standard wheels. Again, technology improved my riding. Another good improvement for the 58 year old kid which allows me to “stay in the game.” Am I cheating? I don’t think so. I had a conversation with the 3 time Tour De France champion Greg LeMond about his use of the aero bars in the 87 Tour which he won by 8 seconds. His arch rival Laurent Fignon chose not to use the bars and lost in the final time trial to LeMond who was an innovator in cycling equipment. Lemond stated that Fignon had the opportunity to use the same equipment but chose not to use it. He lost. By 8 seconds. Did LeMond cheat? What do you think?

Golf courses are becoming more tame because of the over sized heads on drivers and the hollowed out irons which allow greater club head speed to send the ball greater distances. The only way, any more, for a quality course to tame the pros in an event like the U.S.Open is to speed up the greens and grow the rough. But for most tournaments, the winner is well below par due to his or talent, for sure, but the technological advantage of the new clubs and golf balls is key. Are they cheating? How far do you take technological advantages until they ruin the game? It is a great debate. But one thing is for sure, for the common weekend warrior, the tech advantage in better turns on the ski slopes and less fatigue is welcomed by most skiers. Over sized racquets on the tennis courts allow longer rallies thus making the weekend tennis match more fun. The average hacker can maybe shoot some better scores allowing him to enjoy the game of golf instead of getting mad and taking it out on his clubs as he hurls them into the closest lake and goes home in defeat.

I think there is some debate as to how far technological advantages can be taken in a game played by professionals. Most often you really cannot go back as in the case of the buoyant swim suits that were allowed in the Olympics 6 years ago but not allowed in the most recent Olympics. Will those records never be broken by not allowing the speed suits to be used again? The sporting world’s governing bodies need to really sort this out because technology is not going away. But it must be a level playing field expecially when it comes to records and money in sport. But again, for us mortals, bring it on. Check out the picture above of my buddy Hutch with our shaped cheater skis- yea baby, I love them. And how about Heff and I with our 29ers in West Virginia on the roots, rocks, and mud? Sure is a lot easier than the old bikes we used to ride. So, weekend warrior, get the best stuff. When you are a 58 year old kid like me, you take every advantage you can. Thanks for reading.

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Mountain Biking can be……..accelerated Hiking.

photo Our friend Lisa asked me the other night what I thought about when I was riding my mountain bike. She knows I ride a lot and wondered what I was thinking as I bounced over the rocks and roots in the woods. I flippantly answered,” Nothing!” This is somewhat true in that if I am riding with friends or a fast group, I usually only can think about what is ahead of me, the person ahead of me, and the person behind me. More concentration than thought. With faster groups, I am trying to keep up as the 58 year old kid so there is not much going on in the gray matter other than concentrating to stay upright and not getting dropped. Racing was kind of like that too in that you were trying to hold your position or move up as well as maneuvering through obstacles. You really don’t think about much you just concentrate on your line.

I usually ride with a group of guys on Saturday morning and we do think a little bit more in that we try to solve the world’s problems on our rides. We have some interesting conversations but when the pace picks up, the conversation ceases and we just ride. But during the week, I mostly ride alone. It is here that I do think a lot more. Riding in the woods by yourself can be an enjoyable time and not necessarily a strenuous workout. I like to hike and mountain biking is a lot like hiking in these situations only you can cover a lot more ground. Whether I am traveling with my bike and seeing new places or riding on my standard trails at North Park or Seven Springs, I try to take the time to see things that I would not ordinarily see if I were riding with a group. In the spring for instance, I can see the new growth in the woods- wildflowers, ferns, etc. You can spot fawns trying to make their way in the world. All kinds of wildlife is visible if you just take the time to look- like hiking, only seeing more trail. The summer is fun in that you can run into friends. Like tonight. I ran into my friend Art walking his dogs. I stopped and chatted and we caught up after his winter teaching skiing in Vail. The fall is really great in that the leaves are starting to turn and the woods come alive with color. The weather is a little cooler and it is really enjoyable to just take your time and enjoy the spectacle of seasonal change in the mountains or your local forest. This is also the time to start to take your lights out and put them on your bike for the winter. Usually in the fall, you have to use your lights to finish your weekly rides afer work and when the time change comes, you definitely need them. Again, if you take your time on these weekly rides and don’t kill yourself on each ride, you can really enjoy the trails as they are illuminated. Riding at night is different but it is very enjoyable and can be done at slightly higher speeds than hiking.

I use mountain biking as a viable form of aerobic exercise. It is also challenging with the rocks, roots, climbs and descents. After a long day at work, sometimes it is good to blow out the cobwebs and ride hard only thinking about how to execute that next turn. But on other nights or evenings, maybe slow it down a little bit and enjoy the fact that there are no cars to deal with, not a lot of people, if any, and the peace in the woods can be enjoyed. Stop for a minute and appreciate the silence. The workplace can be noisy, classic rock can be overbearing, and the general stress of everyday living can be alleviated by a hike or accelerated hiking (mountain biking.) An interesting statistic is that 90 percent of all mountain bikes are never taken off the road. They are comfortable to ride and most people don’t use them in the mountains or the woods. So if you venture out on to your local trails or if you ride on a trip on the available trails, congratulate yourself. You are in the minority in that you ventured out of your comfort zone and hit the trails with a bike. If you are a expert racer or a rider who pushes himself or herself all the time, SLOW DOWN ONCE IN A WHILE! Chances are you are not going to the World Cup or the Olympics so enjoy the trails, the mountain scenery, the wildlife. Life is too short to kill yourself looking at the guy’s shorts in front of you all the time. Do a little hiking- do a little accelerated hiking. You will be toally relaxed when you get home and the problems from the day just vanish. Try it you’ll like it. Thanks for reading

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We’re just different – and that’s ok.

photophoto My dad is gone from this earth 12 years this month and my mom 8 years in April. But the picture you see above is of them in happier times at my sister’s wedding 30 years ago. The second picture is of my dad and the one and only Honus Wagner who was the Hall of Fame shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Honus did a lot of clinics for the neighborhood kids in and around Pittsburgh after his career came to a close and this is a prized picture of mine of my dad as a youth. He is the guy in the middle with the black curly hair. You will notice the other fellows have ball uniforms on and my dad was most likely wearing his dad’s old pants and shoes. You see, my dad was the “accident” and had to live upstairs with his Uncle Charley because my grandparents did not have any more room. My dad worked hard after school and on weekends at his father’s tire shop in Bellevue,Pa and he and his folks, and my mom and her folks, were all part of that “Greatest Generation” that Tom Brokaw refers to in his best selling book of the same name. My dad put himself through Carnegie Tech on the GI Bill and eventually married my mother and became quite successful. My folks were the consumate entertainers and loved to have people around the house. My mom was a fantastic cook and my dad helped her in every way he could. The best part of their marriage was that they put each other first. My sister and I were secondary even though they gave us every opportunity. They got us into skiing, swimming, tennis and golf, all of which have gone by the wayside with the exception of skiing which is still my passion. My dad loved golf and wore yellow pants with bumble bees on them to his club and was a bit taken aback at my baggy shorts and running shoes. But I was interested in other things……and that’s ok. I can clearly remember telling my mother about the harrowing weather and conditions at Tuckerman Ravine in New Hampshire. The climbing and skiing up there is epic and when I told her about it, she remarked,” Oh that’s nice dear- would you like some more potatoes?” Talk about busting your euphoric bubble! But she really couldn’t relate and that’s ok. I would tell them about running down Commonwealth Ave in Boston at the end of the Marathon to the screams of thousands and my dad would say, ” Gee that sounds terrific, can you help me with this porch furniture now?” They were not uninterested but they just could not relate. As much as I tried to interest them in my outdoor exploits, they would be polite and certainly be supportive but their next party or their next dinner with friends was paramount to any mountain stories I had for them. But……..that’s ok.

Fast forward, I got my son Jack up and skiing when he was 2+1/2. It was probably more for me than for him but Janet and I had him out on the slopes early. We also taught him to ride a bike, a mountain bike, play baseball, swim and all the other activites that correspond to an active young life. He gravitated to basketball which was totally foreign to me but we went along. He is now out of basketball and has other interests which are foreign to me. I am getting better at remembering how it was with my folks and to let him pursue his own interests and not mine. He is the stong willed one and I can clearly remember times when I would explain how I would do things and he would say in a matter of fact confident way that ” I am not like you dad.” My ego didn’t let that sit too well and I thought to myself,” Well maybe he better be a little more like me if he expects to get along in this world.” But as the months and days have gone by in his 18th year, I am realizing that…….he is different than me……and that’s ok. I wanted him to be a competitor and a star athlete like all parents but it was not in the cards. He marches to a different tune. We are in the college search right now and it will be interesting to see where he wants to go and not where Janet and I want him to go. Jack will make his way in life and I am sure he will be just fine. We are different people but I need to respect that just like my folks did with me. I remember my mom standing on the side of the road in the first North Park Triathlon and seeing me suffer on the road bike up Pidgeon Hill. She had that look like the Blessed Mother at the crucifixion but the suffering was not nearly the same and her expression looked as if I was headed for the boneyard. She would have rather seen me on the first tee with some really swank Lily pants. But that was not to be. I wish Jack could have continued with his basketball and been the star of the show at his school and his last year in AAU. But that was not to be. We are different and ……that’s ok. Acceptance is everything and even though you try to steer your children in the direction that you think they should go, it is not always the path that they would choose.

I am 15 months from turning 60. I don’t feel that old but the 58 year old kid still has some things to learn. Parenthood is a challenge especially in the teen years. But my wife is a solid partner and maybe I need to take a page from my parent’s book and concentrate more on Janet and me than be obsessed with the boy. Their marriage and how they got to their stage in life is a great story. We all can have that great story if we put the right things in priority and live and let live. Am I on a soapbox or the old guy on the stoop again? Sorry about that. Have a nice week and thanks for reading.

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The Colorado Relay

for Patphoto

photo A couple of years ago, a group of us from work decided two years in a row to do The Colorado Relay. It is a 150 mile running race over four mountain passes in Colorado and it is traditionally done by a team of about 10 people over 24 hours. Now I have reported in previous blogs about my fun experiences in 24 hour mountain bike races but this was a little different in that it involved running at altitude on roads, paths, and trails. I have never really noticed altitude when I have been skiing. I notice it a little bit when I ride a road bike or a mountain bike out west. But running is exponentially more taxing than any of the previous activities.

The fun part of the relay is the preparation. The beneficiary of the proceeds of the race is Colorado Outward Bound. http://www.outwardbound.org. This organization takes youth, companies, and other folks on team building missions in the wilderness with the express intent of getting people to work together in a challenging environment. It is wonderful for disadvantaged youth, as well as for companies like ours who want to experience team building in an outdoor atmosphere away from the office. We had to get two vans, all of our gear, food, maps etc. and be ready at the start line early in the morning on a Saturday in September. The vans basically leapfrog with the first 5 runners in the first van letting each runner out to do his or her leg, then the runner gets in the van and the next runner is out the door. When the 5 runners have gone, the driver takes the van ahead to the next starting point which is after the legs of the second van. This leapfrogging allows some rest and refueling before any five runners start again. It goes this way all the way from Georgetown,Colorado over four passes into Carbondale, Colorado-150 miles away.

Now aside from running all summer to prepare, and getting used to the altitude, the real challenge was the logistics but it is the most fun. Team meetings in Pittsburgh concentrated on the details of who was running what legs, what we would bring in the vans, who were the volunteer drivers, and getting flights and rides to the start line to meet each other. Once this was all worked out, we all met at the pre race dinner in Golden, Colorado. Some of he funny/interesting stories are as follows:

Our captain Maureen was so nervous at the start line the first year that she threw up before the start but she was a trooper and ran a wilderness 13 mile leg.

I ran my first leg in 8 inches of snow at about 10,000 feet. Now I am used to running in the winter but I don’t mind telling you that altitude is something that definitely is a challenge when running.

Our two studs, JR and the running Rev( Reverend Andrew – a friend from Colorado Springs who filled in for us), ran the tough uphill legs and were quite impressive to all riding in the vans.

JR was also our statistician. He is from our supply chain engineering group at work and after his runs he began to feverishly work on his laptop and decifer lap times, estimated ETAs, and other data. How he did it right after a run was beyond me seeing that after some of my legs,all I wanted to do was sit at the bar and down a cold beer. Our driver Norm said to me after the leg to Breckenridge that I looked like hell. I said,” no kidding Norm, I just ran 8 miles straight up hill at altitude.” I was looking for that cold beer then.

At about 4 AM on Sunday morning Norm wakes us up while we were sleeping on the Edwards,Colorado High School lawn. It was time to start our legs and the running Rev didnt need awakened. The lawn sprinklers did that job nicely for him. Running in the wee hours in September is a bit brisk and I remember chasing these two gazelle like girls who ran for UC-Boulder. It was a metaphor for my life really. The old guy trying to chase youth. These girls just kept talking as they ran and it looked like little effort as I killed myself trying to keep up. Youth is wasted on the young I am afraid.

We had a couple of “strays” that filled in. One girl was from Colorado and got altitude sickness. She was a bit of an odd duck anyhow but being the benevolent soul that I am, I took her to an oxygen bar in Breckenridge. We pumped her full of 02 and before you knew it, she was ready to roll. Interesting establishment that oxygen bar. She also relieved herself on a bush at the side of the road in the freespirit Colorado girl way much to the surprise of the conservative eastern crowd. Colorado folks are really laid back and I like their style.

Although we did not see much wildlife, there are mountain lions in the area and don’t think for a moment that we weren’t thinking about them during the dusk and evening legs. Chances are slim but you never know in the foothills of the Rockies. But there were enough people that the chances of being attacked were slim to none. But on the dark lonely trails or paths where no one was around for a little while and all you had was your light to blaze the trail, thoughts come into your head.

You have to hand it to our volunteer drivers like Norm and Chrissy. They stayed up all night with little rest and kept each of us on our toes with start times and wake up calls. Chrissy is actually running this year with a new group from our office and has been dilligently training running long miles and stadium steps. Some of our other runners are not as dedicated and they are in for a big surprise if they don’t step up their game in this next month.

All in all, the preparation that is required by way of training and the logistics taught us all some valuable lessons and also gave us a real sense of accomplishment as we all crossed that finish line in Carbondale together. The Outward Bound spirit of collaboration and preparation teaches folks that instead of working on your own, and being only concerned for yourself in life, working together is the answer. Teamwork, getting to know people outside their comfortable environment, and pushing your limits together is something that everyone takes with them. It saves disadvantaged youth from a life of crime. It helps company employees bond together outside the workplace. And it shows individuals that you can push yourself outsde your own comfort zone. Check out our team picture above with our Steeler gear. We wore it proudly in Bronco country. Also, my good friend Julie from our Chicago office sent me the other photo which kind of says it all for those of us who want to stretch our limits and grow. No matter how old we are. Thanks for reading.