Rippers have to learn to be flexible when weather conditions interfere with plans.  So when monsoon rains prevented me from teeing off one morning with my friends, I headed for the pond, rod in hand. One of my goals has been to catch a fish with a fly.  Ever since I saw the film, A River Runs Through It, I have longed to recreate the river scenes with me as the leading actor. Luckily, I have access to prime trout streams both in Utah and the Pocono Mountains.  A while back, pre-Covid, I took advantage of a three-day clinic for women given by the High Country Fly Fishers, a chapter of Trout Unlimited. Patient…

My dad, Sid Rose, turned 100 on June 15! Need I say more? Probably not, but I will anyway. Especially since this is Father’s Day! First, an update. Some of you may have noticed we have been missing in action for the past few weeks. In fact, it’s been over a month since we last posted Mountain Biking My Way. We haven’t lost interest, but we have been busy! Gail was wrapping up her stranger-than-fiction school year, and we were getting ready to head east for almost 2 months. We drove from Park City, camping for 2 nights, until we arrived at our cottage in Buck Hill Falls, PA, where…

This post is dedicated to one of our favorite Senior Rippers, Charlie Dixon, from Buck Hill Falls, PA, who passed away this week from complications due to Covid-19. Charlie always lived life to its fullest, with a smile on his face, and an encouraging word. We will miss him dearly. Good fortune blew a small group of “Rippers” to the base of Powder Mountain Ski Area on a warm Sunday afternoon.  Our intention was to mountain bike, but the parking lot was deserted. Two loose dogs led us to an open door where fortunately their owner knew enough to point us up a newly paved road. We landed on top…

Almost exactly one year ago today, on May 5, 2019 (my, how times have changed!), I rode in the Belgian Waffle Wafer Ride, in San Marcos, California, just northeast of San Diego. Belgian Waffle (BWR) is a mixed terrain race with two editions: the full length Waffle Ride of approximately 140 miles, and the shorter, Ripper friendlier, Wafer edition, of approximately 75 miles. In BWR’s own words, “IS THE WAFER REALLY ONLY HALF AS FILLING? The Wafer is much harder than doing half of the Waffle. Its dirt-to-road ratio is much higher, and the course is slightly longer. 75(ish) miles with plenty of climbing and sand incorporate to form this…