40 Years ago, my grandfather received this for his work on the Apollo Lunar Module.
I’ve always said Tiger was so good because of his focus. He’s always been able to forget about a bad shot and turn a bad looking round into a great one. Are those days over??
A couple times a year, Carrie takes the girls to see her parents, and gives me a couple days to get out on the bike. For this I am very grateful! Today I had the opportunity of riding the new Allegrippis Trail system at Lake Raystown. This turned out to be one of the most fun rides I’ve had. The trails were cut by the Army Corps of Engineers, IMBA, and a bunch of volunteers. They did an amazing job. Here’s what we did:
The trails were in unbelievable condition. There were maybe 3 or 4 muddy spots all day, and it was raining lightly. From the moment we started, we saw that the trails were nicely packed, super fast and full of little rollers that made it look like a pump track. There were so many bumps and jumps coupled with quick turns that I’ll admit… I found myself off the trail (and my bike) on more than one occasion.
We started out on Buck. Quick, flat, and fun. Turned onto Doe, which was more of the same. Then we started some climbing on Sleek Dog. Right off the bat we got into the bumps and dips. This is fun stuff. You get a lot of momentum going and even though you’re climbing, you have so much momentum that it carries you up a bunch of it. The first ‘Most Difficult’ trail was the Hydro Loop, which dipped down to the lake with more dips and rollers. Then it got interesting. From there we turned onto Osprey, Sidewinder and Ray’s Revenge. This had some tough climbing, but it was well worth it. Generally speaking, you can’t always go down, sooner or later you have to go up.
After a quick snack at the top of Ray’s (terrific view of the lake from there), we finished up with a really fast roller coaster ride down Ridge, Grippis, and Allie. Then back down Buck to the car.
All in all, these are great trails. Not too technical. Very few rocks or logs, not like we are used to here in State College. But don’t let this deter you. What these trails lack in technicality, they more than make up for in fun factor. This is mountain biking at it’s best. Fast, fun, beautiful trails. This may be my new favorite ride. If you’re interested, you can check out more details here.
Consider these trails to be highly recommended… Enjoy!!
Make no mistake, this wasn’t the NCAA tourney, it was the NIT.
And I couldn’t be prouder.
