My Pennsylvania Ride

It's been one week since my toe trauma and it feels fine. Today I taped my little toe to the one next to it and put a real shoe on it. I dropped Brian off at Hilltop Ski Area so he could ride up to Powerline Pass and back down and figured I would try an easy hike.

I walked for an hour around the hillside trails and I felt nothing in my toe. It just feels different because it's taped up, but I have no pain. I am now feeling confident that I didn't ruin my summer. It sucks that I have had 8 days off the bike right in the middle of when I was supposed to be doing hard training, but I still have 7 weeks until the Soggy Bottom. I think with the miles I logged pre-injury and if I work my ass of over the next 7 weeks, I can do it.

I even got in about 60 miles on dirt while I was visiting in Pennsylvania. It's really hard to find a rental bike in Allentown, where I grew up, but I did find one shop in Hellertown that was willing to whip something together for me to ride for the week.

The shop is called Saucon Valley Bikes and the owner Steve is super cool. He hooked me up with a 29r that he said I could buy from him for $3700. Well I probably won't be taking him up on that offer anytime soon, but it was an awesome ride for the week.


Photo from ewrbikes.com

The frame is made in PA by a company called EWR. I rode the EWR OWB29r, which is hands down the nicest bike I've ever ridden. I told Steve when I dropped it off at the end of the week that my riding skills seemed to jump up a few levels with this bike.

Just like I suspected with a 29r, I could roll over everything. For a year I've been following Brian and his 29r and watching him go over stuff that I never dreamed I would be able to clear. I understand why now. With a 29r you get to cheat. You don't have to do anything, the bike does it for you. Yeah, that's right, I said it. You 29r riders out there are cheating. But that's okay, I understand.

I love the riser bars on this bike, I think I will get some for my bike.



My sister Angie and her fiance Eric took off work most days last week to ride with me all over the trails of the Lehigh Valley.



I still can't get over how green it is there right now.



More pictures from PA to come!