Ray, Jim and Wendy did a hike at the Holden Arboretum in January.

The Arboretum was created in 1934 by Albert Fairchild Holden. He wanted a memorial for his oldest daughter who died  of scarlet fever at the age of 12. His sister  convinced him to create an arboretum for Cleveland as a place where students and adults could learn the basics of horticulture. To read more about the history click here.

The weather was warm in the 40′s. Their was a little bit of snow. So far this winter has been very mild. We seen a few people Cross- County skiing. Their was not much snow to ski on, as you could see gravel on the trail.

The Arboretum is a pretty place to visit. Their was many ponds and bogs at the Arboretum. Many of the trees and bushes were labeled with their species.

They have many miles of trail to explore. It was a very easy and relaxing way to spend time with nature and enjoy the outdoors.

THE PENNSYLVANIA EQUINE COUNCIL
PRESENTS A
1-DAY TRAIL STEWARDSHIP WORKSHOP
Saturday, January 21, 2012 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Edinboro University of PA- The Porreco Center Erie, PA
WHY: Pennsylvania State land management agencies have contacted the PA Equine Council requesting
assistance in maintaining non-motorized shared-use trails. These agencies are reluctant to accept
volunteers who have not had training. Without our assistance, trails and access will be severely restricted.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND: All outdoor enthusiasts (particularly hikers, mountain-bikers and
equestrians) concerned about the future of recreational access to public lands.
WHERE: The Porreco Center 2951West 38th Street Erie, PA 16506
Classroom #7 in the main barn
WHEN: 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM
WORKSHOP CONTENT: Trail layout, construction, and maintenance; tool selection and use;
introduction to Leave No Trace skills & the Ride Smart concept; “Who’s Who” in state land management.
COST: FREE! Coffee, donuts, snacks and a light lunch will be provided. Donations for food gratefully
accepted!
REGISTRATION: Please pre-register by 1/15/12! For more information or to register:
Sarah Dolecki-Taylor 814-734-8799 djnsetaylor@bluefrog.com or
Mary Ellen Longnecker 814-838-4739 mernl@aol.com
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Jim and Ray of the Erie Outing Club did a ride on the Allegheny River Trail and the Samuel Justus Trail. I have a ICE tadpole trike and he  has a  Bacchetta Giro 20.

My brother and  I decided to take a vacation day from work since the weather for Tuesday was forecast to be warm and sunny.

We started at the Samuel Justus trailhead located in Oil City. The Samuel Justus Trail is a five mile trail  which goes to Franklin. At Franklin its connect into the Allegheny River Trail. We stopped their to have lunch.  There are some picnic tables their by the river.

We continue on to the Belmar Bridge. The Belmar Bridge is 1385 feet long with a wooden deck and railings and a great view of the river. The Sandy Creek Trail runs  goes across the bridge and goes east and west.

We then proceeded on to Indian God Rock. On the way I notice a stairway going down to the river. So we stopped to investigate it. It was a wooden platform with two chairs on it. It look like a nice place to meditate or read a book , and have a great view of the river.

We then continued on to the Indian God Rock. The rock has carvings created by Indians dating back to 1200 A.D.

I haven’t been on the trail in a little while. I glad we went because there might not be to many nice days left this year. I will have to try to make it down here more often. It was a  very nice Indian Summer Day on the trail in November.

Jim

The Pumpkin ride started many years ago.  It’s started  when the Lakeside Bicycle Association did bicycle tours.  A member (Bill) had a cousin who had a Pumpkin Farm south of Edinboro started the ride back in the early 90′s.

I did it for a number of years with the Erie Outing club; but then Finneys Pumpkinville decided to shut down because they couldn’t compete with Wal-Mart. So I quit doing the ride too.

But Paul W decided to keep it going and put it into the Calendar. We met at the County Y near Edinboro at 10:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Paul, Ray and I met their. We took some low traffic country roads to the Edinboro University. Then we follow the Quad course to Finney’s.

Now that Finney’s Pumpkinville is shutdown; the only part of it is left is a Deli & Bulk food Store.  In the store you will find many varieties of bulk foods and bake goods. I bought some chocolate covered peanuts, Paul bought a scone and Ray had a chocolate Cookie.

We then went south on Route 99 toward Tobin Pumpkin Farm. Tobin Pumpkin Farm is own by the cousin of Bill’s from the Lakeside Bicycling Association.  You have to ride down a rough road to get to the farm. But once you get there, you see that it was worth the  effort. They have many varieties of fruits and vegetables for sale. In front of the house you can see all the pumpkins they have for sale. They told me “they don’t  worry about competing Walmat because people who go to Wal-Mart for pumpkin don’t go to farms for their pumpkins.”

A short distant from Tobin’s Pumpkin Farm is the Cider Mill. The Cider Mill doesn’t make cider anymore. It is more of a variety gift Store, and they also sell cider and jams. Penny is the owner, who is also a dairy Farmer. She runs the Cider Mill, milk cows , and she also is a teacher at a local Christian school.

Then we took Fry Road to the Buffalo Farm. Fry road  has three nice hills to climb, but the view of the farmland ‘s make it worth it. The Buffalo Farm was busy. Many people were there because of the Corn Maze. A Mercyhurst Laker’s bus pulled up while we were there.

Paul , Ray and I enjoy some Bison Burgers; but it took a little while to get waited on because it was so Busy.

After we ate,Paul had to leave to work on his sail Boat, But Ray and I stayed and went through the Corn Maze.  It was muddy in spots, but was interesting to walk through. You had to find different mail boxes in the maze, and you had to take a sticker out of the boxes and put them on your map. We only found two mailboxes while we were there.

The day started out cold, but got warmer as the day went on. It was a nice way to spend the day  out in the county, and get away from city life.

I took our recumbent’s to the Pine Creek bike trail. Click here for a map of the trail. The trail is located near Wellsboro, PA.

Joe has a long wheelbase recumbent and Ray and I have short wheelbase recumbents. We ride recumbents because of our bad backs and their more comfortable to ride then a upright bike.

We went to the Darling Run Trail head on the first day. We went north to Wellsboro Junction. The trail was very scenic. We stopped at a ice creme shop at the end of the trail. We then rode back to the trail head.

The next day we went south on the trail to Blackwell. The trail went
along Pine Creek. The gorge was very deep. The cyclist riding on the
trail were very friendly. We met five young Mennonites riding from
Lancaster.

It was a perfect day for riding. The leaves were very colorful. You
could hear Pine Creek rapids flowing. You could see the rock cliffs
from deep in the canyon on the bike path

On the last day we hiked to the Leonard Harrison State park. Their was a nice overlook of the canyon. On the other side of Pine Creek is the Colton Point State Park. We did a short hike at the park and viewed the overlook. You could see the
bike trail from the overlook. We left the park and headed home.

On the way home we stopped at the Kinzua Viaduct. The viaduct was
recently rebuilt after being hit by a tornado in 2003.Only about half the bridge is left. There is a glass floor. You can see the valley below by looking at your feet.

It was cold in the morning, but it warm up during the day. With the leave starting to change, the Pine Creek Flowing along the bike path, it made for a very scenic ride on the Pine Creek Trail. Their was many things to see and do. But we only their for three days did not give us enough time to see it all. I will have to go back next year and spend more time their.

Ray and I did the Recumbent Rally in State College.
 We met Travis P while we were their.
Travis P does the web site for Recumbent Bike Rider's
State College.

 He also does a Blog called Recumbent Journal.
He also does a  web site called Recumbent.TV.
The first episode came out in February. The second episode has
just been released.

The episode is about the Cat Trike Rally that is held in February
every year. This episode is about the Rally tour; 
 the making of a Cat trike inside the factory;  
and he talks about the new Trail and Village trikes

Saturday, July 30^th 2011
9:00am – 5K Race

10am – 1-Mile Fun Walk/Run

 The 5K Run and 1-Mile Fun Walk/Run will take place at Brown’s Farm, located at 5774 Sterrettania Road. Runners and walkers will enjoy our scenic unpaved course which loops through a grassy meadow and along a wooded trail. Runners will be timed and placed by age levels. The non-competitive 1-mile Fun Walk/Run is untimed. Parking will be available at the Asbury Elementary School parking lot (just across Sterrettania Road).  Water and light snacks provided for all participants.

Those who register by July 23, 2011 will receive a discount and T-shirt!  Register today by returning our Registration Form and Waiver (located on the back of our enclosed program registration form) with check made payable to the “Asbury Woods Partnership, Inc.”. For more information, to volunteer, or to learn about sponsorship opportunities, please call (814) 835-5356 or visit www.asburywoods.org.   Registration and signed waiver/release required for all participants.

Registration Fees:
            Pre-register by July 23, 2011- $20 (all ages)

            Day of event fee – $25 (all ages)

Click here for a map of the course

This year GeoWoodstock is being held in Northwest Pennsylvania at the Warren County Fair Grounds, They will be
just five miles from the western boundary of the Allegheny National Forest
If you missed the registration deadline, you can still come to GeoWoodstock! The won’t have a badge for you and you might want to make your own meal arrangements, but, hey, the would love to see you!

Click here for more information

We started from my house on Friday at 8:00 a.m. The day was overcast with a 60 percent chance of rain. And rain it did. It rained on and off all day. When you thought it might be clearing up, it started to rain again.
We arrived at pymantuning Camp ground it was still raining..

The next day was a bit better. It was overcast with just on and off mist all day. We rode from  Pymantuning to Mosquito Lake State Park. The roads were mostly flat. The route was on low traffic  country roads. In the evening we went to Cortland, Ohio and watch a Parade, and walk thought a Street Fair.

The third day we rode to the southern end of the Ashtabula/Trumbell County Greenway Trail. We rode the entire length of the trail from Cortland to Ashtabula Ohio. It was a nice trail, flat and no traffic may for a relaxing ride.

The last day we rode from Ashtabula back to Erie. We rode through the Smolen- Gulf Covered Bridge.  The longest Covered Bridge in the United States. After the bridge we had a hill to climb. But then we had a nice low traffic country road back to West Springfield. After that we took Route 5 to Avonia Tavern for lunch.

It was a fun trip. It was a nice way to get away from home without going to far from home.