Is one picture truly worth a thousand words? If so, this is it.

Pain. Legs burning. Lungs burning. Elevated heart rate. Cold (40s). Windy. Great July weather! Scared of crashing. Fun!!! Just some of the words used to describe this picture.


Biking is one of my favorite activities. From a 30-60 minute quick spin when I get home at the end of my work day to four to eight hour day trips, or multi-day excursions, there is nothing like the freedom of being on two wheels and the satisfaction of realizing at the end of any ride, that you were responsible for covering the entire distance.

And I can say there is nothing like reaching the top of a steep mountain climb knowing that you made it. Of course, often there is a reward of a fast descent on the way down but the satisfaction of reaching the top is often true reward.

As a kid I had bikes for transportation. I think my first bike was a 24-inch black bike from Montgomery Ward's I used to deliver newspapers in Lockington, Ohio when I was 11-12 years old. My brother, Bernie, and I would ride our bikes to the Piqua Country Club to caddy at the golf course. Occasionally we would ride five miles into town to golf with our clubs on our back.

In my teenage years living near Ligonier, Pa. I bought a 20" spider bike with the banana seat and high handlebars. It was my first geared bike -- a 5 speed. It was really cool.

Riding near Ligonier is a treat in itself. Outside of Rector, where we lived, once can climb Darlington Road up to state route 711, a neat 10-11% grade. Or one can turn on Country Club Road -- a 12% killer. One must be brave but Laurel Mountain on Rte 30 presents a 4-mile, 8% grade.

Family, work, and other interests took precedence for many years and it wasn't until I read about a trail from D.C. to Pittsburgh that I decided I wanted a bike that would be road or trail worthy.

I bought a Giant that was later stolen although it was securely cabled. I thought. I've replaced it with a Trek Navigator (hybrid). This is the bike that I use for trail riding. I keep a Mongoose mountain bike at work (and that was almost stolen but I chased the thief, tackled him, and held him for police), but my favorite bike is my Trek Pilot 5.0 (3x10 speed carbon fiber -- sweet!). I ride the Pilot almost everywhere I go.

Today most of my riding is road. I usually ride 2,000-3,000 miles per year. I do century rides, have ridden solo from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C. and did a road race up the Mount Washington Auto Road. I occasionally ride in a pace line at Hains Point with DC Velo as well. If you enjoy riding, or reading about riding, follow some of the links on this page.