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Dirt Rag Article Archive 2002 World Tour: Mountain Bike Weekend By Jeff Guerrero Considering Dirt Rag is based in Pennsylvania, it seems odd that I have never mountain biked in the eastern part of the state. That is not to say I haven't gazed upon the state's glorious mountains while driving the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Countless times I've imagined what it would be like to ride along the ridges high above the towns and farms that dot the wooded landscape. Last year my car broke down en-route to Mountain Bike Weekend, but thankfully this year Karl and I set off from Dirt Rag HQ in Maurice's trusty red van, a much more dependable ride than my old white sedan with a limping transmission. For those who don't know, Mountain Bike Weekend takes place in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains in a town called Jim Thorpe (originally called Mauch Chunk, it was later renamed for the famous Native-American athlete, click here for more information on the man). Jim Thorpe is also the old stomping ground of our infamous webmaster, Jeff Lockwood, who joined Karl and myself for a weekend of selling swag and subscriptions (thanks to Accelerade for providing 30 cans of their sports drink to give away with subscriptions), and of course, riding bikes. Mountain Bike Weekend serves as a great opportunity for people to meet and re-unite each year. For me, it was an opportunity to meet a number of Dirt Rag friends and contributors (Doug "Snake" Pippel, Jason Schwinabart, Bob Viet, Keith Whitcomb, and Michael Wendell to name a few), as well as people who I have been dealing with in the past year such as Mike Pfaltzgraff, the new resident artist/sales-puke at Vicious Cycles. We shared a campsite and drank "road sodas" with the super cool folks from New Sun and Christini, who were allowing the public to test ride their new all wheel drive full suspension bikes. If I had to pick one highlight of my weekend, however, I would have to say it was getting to meet and ride with long time friend of Dirt Rag, Griz. Robert "Griz" Ginieczki is the author of Falcon Guides Mountain Biking Pennsylvania as well as his newest self-published guidebook of the Bald Eagle State Forest, which I'm sure you are all familiar with from Karl Rosengarth's article in Dirt Rag #93. Kenda's Jim Wannamaker deserves a great deal of respect. While almost every other vendor has at least two people operating their booth at any given event, "Kenda Jim" is almost always busting his butt solo and going the extra mile for not just his company, but for the riders he encounters. I know of at least two people whose weekend was saved by Jim's preparedness, not to mention the countless riders who benefited from buying fresh, grippy, new tires at a discount price. Once again, go Jim! Although it seemed to rain steadily from Thursday night until sometime on Sunday, I managed to get a good ride in each day. For a vivid description of the rides I did, pick up a copy of the aforementioned Mountain Biking Pennsylvania and check out rides #77, #78 and #81. Most of the involved few climbs, but the trail was addled with rocks of various shapes and sizes. I hope to return to Jim Thorpe and test my meddle against #80, the fabled American Standard before the State Game Lands are closed to mountain bike access next year. Finally, Mountain Bike Weekend promoter Dave Bucher has reported that an agreement has been reached with the powers that be to ensure that the event will continue at least until 2005. I intend on coming back to Jim Thorpe next year, and if you're interested in attending MBWXVIII or even just taking a trip to experience some of eastern Pennsylvania's finest riding, then you can visit www.bikejimthorpe.com online for more information. SUBSCRIBE TO DIRT RAG! |