We will be closed from this afternoon (Dec. 23) and returning to office ready to rock and roll on January 5th. When we get back, I am sure there will be some stories to tell… so for now, sleep well and dream of lights.

 See ya’ on the flip side.

Recently, young aspiring adventurer Trevor Frost returned from a research caving expedition with a group of savvy pros. The team of archeologists, scientists and students were sponsored by the National Geographic Society and explored caves in the African country of Gabon. To help the team find their way in the depths of these dark crevices under the Earth, we sponsored Trevor and his cronies with a bunch of headlamps to help them reach their goals. Here’s a list of what they accomplished:



(1) Discovered the longest cave in Gabon (Grotte Mbenaltembe) at 2.4 kilometers long (1 km longer than the previous record).

(2) Explored 15 caves, 11 of which were newly discovered by the team with the help of locals.

3) Measured and Mapped 13 caves. A total of 5.5 km of cave passage were mapped! A huge geographical addition to Central Africa.

(4) Discovered a beautiful 1 km long river cave, perfect for possible eco-tourism ventures.

(5) Found and photographed five distinct species of frogs inside the caves (a rare phenomenon). One of which is potentially new to science.

(6) Amassed 10,000 photographs including photos of most of the fauna we encountered inside and around the caves (included frogs, a poisonous snake (Blanding’s tree snake), amazing Geckos, and pseudo scorpions).

(7) Working with WCS to form a report that will be used to further lobby UNESCO into protecting the caves as a world heritage site. The caves are currently candidates.

(8) Performed Africa’s first recorded cave rescue. The team had a two-thousand pound slab of rock fall onto one of their team members legs. They were able to rescue him but he severely traumatized the nerves in his legs. Doctors say over the course of a year his leg should recover!

(9) Have sparked interest in future karst/cave research in Gabon and more importantly in Central Africa. The Democratic Republic of Congo is the next target. Bigger and more beautiful caves are out there!

Ben Stiller on Leno recalling riding at night on mountain bikes - who knew that happened? An oldie but a goodie:

These are things you can come to expect when taking a long weekend road trip out to Pittsburg to visit our friends at Dirt Rag.

This weekend was no ordinary visit of course, but rather the 19th annual Punk Bike Enduro, so even more craziness was to be expected.
 The trans-keystone-state journey began after work Thursday evening through the rain, sleet, and snow allowing a Friday trip to Rays Indoor Mountain Bike Park. This was my first trip to Ray’s and the 100,000+ square feet of indoor riding was even better than expected. A couple hours on the log rides, pump track, and loops on the XC course was the perfect way to warm up for the weekend festivities.


 Saturday brought more riding in the form of marking the semi-frozen, snow covered course. The picturesque winter scenery was certainly a far cry from what was to ensue the next day when 200+ costumed riders took to the newly thawed & rutted ATV trails.


 Sundays punk bike was a special treat this year with bearable temperatures and being able to complete all the stages as a group. Some great costumes were put together, delicious post ride food & beer consumed, and of course plenty of memorable moments in between. Now I’m just waiting for an action shot to surface of me slamming into a tree on the treacherous church downhill…

 A special thanks goes out to circulation extraordinaire, Justin Steiner, for his unbeatable hospitality & ethnic cuisine….Thanks buddy! 

There is no shortage of bicycle action lately here in the Mid Atlantic region, but these next two weekends are offering even more excitement. This weekend we are heading west for Dirt Rag’s Punk Bike Enduro

Next weekend, If you find yourself in the vicinity of State College be sure to check out this, put on by our buddies at Freeze Thaw Cycles. If your in the Philly area then you can probably catch us at - this.

See you out there!

When is it not beneficial to have an extra light when it’s dark? Especially when you’re logging long miles on you mountain bike during multi-day trips, stage races or 24-hour battles. The folks at Mountain Flyer magazine know this. In a recent issue of the Boulder, Colorado-based bike rag, pro skier and talented mountain biker Alison Gannett wrote how she loves the Apex and is sure never to forget it on long rides. And she rides. Bright, light and small enough to throw in your bag as an extra light, Alison isn’t only smart, she’s cute too! CLICK HERE to read her story.�

Damn, this makes me feel funny:

Thanks Geraci… you always make me feel funny.

For this weekend.

The snow and ice are here and begging to be enjoyed… at least three hours north of here in the Catskills anyway. This weekend was the scene of some great winter hiking and early season ice climbing. Let’s pray for more of the white stuff to play in this winter.

Our good buddy Adam wrote in and asked if we could help spread the word, and we are glad to do so, so here:

I was hoping you could spread the word a bit about my efforts. My donation page can be found at:

http://austin09.livestrong.org/grizzlyadam

Click and help out if you can.