Riding Rothrock

I'm a relative newcomer to mountain biking with a mere 10 years under my belt and believe it or not, I'm only recently really discovering what Pennsylvania has to offer -- as recently as this past SUNDAY! Brett, on the other hand, even though he's about 15 years younger than me, has been at it since I think 1996? At least that's the year he mentioned he rode the infamous Tussey Mountain Trail and many others when he went to school at State College. I can't believe I live only 1 3/4 hours from this magnificent trail network in Rothrock State forest and Sunday was my first experience at mountain biking there. Thanks to entering the Transylvania Epic 7-day Stage Race next year and having dear friends that like to ride as much as me (Weisers!), I'm finally now discovering this little mountain biking mecca of Pennsylvania. Wow. Words can't quite describe how beautiful it is up there. I used to think we had to travel to Whitegrass in West Virginia to experience the views and ridge lines of the Appalachia mountains. Not. We have it right in our backyard in Central PA. I really, really gotta get out more and certainly plan to do so over the next 6 months -- winter or not! Can't thank the Weisers enough for going along and guiding. We climbed, then went down, then climbed, then went down, then climbed just a little and went across, then down, then climbed again, and finally went down. Yup -- that's what Rothrock is all about. Climbing and screaming back down. It's a climbers heaven. My brother-in-law's girlfriend, Mary, would be in heaven 'cause they road ride in Florida and love to climb; but, yup, that's right, there ain't nuttin' to climb in Florida! They live in Orlando and have to drive north to the "hills" of Florida to climb. They also like to do the annual 6-Gap Century in Georgia which is a mere 11,000 feet of climbing. Nice. Sounds like what the TSE will be -- or is it going to be more than 11,000 feet? Can't wait to find out - and ride some more!