Tully Lake, Royalston, Mass: A weekend in heaven

A couple of weekends ago, Emily and I loaded up the Corolla, threw a couple mountain bikes on the rack and headed out to Tully Lake Campground, in Royalston, Massachusetts.

Michigan and Niagara Falls: A Midwestern Outdoors Tour

The beginning of August brought a long-awaited road trip to Michigan, a place of mythical outdoor opportunities. My wife’s family has had a large cottage on a beautiful lake there since the beginning of time—an old-school lake house with hand-built bunkbeds, raw pressboard walls, and the mellow waft of 50 years of damp swimsuits. The ideal place for a mid-summer escape.

Five Ten Guide Tennies as Mountain Bike Shoes: First impressions

First, a disclaimer: Though the Five Ten Guide Tennie was built by a venerable climbing company as an approach shoe for pure rock-heads, I'm going to review it as a mountain bike shoe and day hiker, because those are my jams. I haven't climbed in nearly 20 years, and, though I hope to flail around on some local boulders with these, it'll be rare.

Your mid-season training plan

Here is your training plan for August:

If you feel like riding your bike, take it out of your garage/living room/shed and get on. Start riding.

The Year of the Upgrade: Ride whatcha got

I swore to myself this would be the year of the upgrade—that I would dance with the one who brung me and not buy any new bikes.

So far, so good.