Beyond the Backyard
BUFFALO TWP — Summer is the best time of year to enjoy a cookout with friends and family. It's also a good time to work off the calories that come along with delicious food on the grill.
Mountain biking provides the kind of needed exercise to shed a few pounds, and it also showcases the outdoors beyond the backyard.
It doesn't get much better than hitting the bike trails for Mark Dempster, an eighth-grade teacher at Freeport Junior High School for the past 20 years, who is an avid mountain biker.
“It keeps me fit, but more importantly, it's fun,” Dempster said. “I don't even consider it a workout.”
Dempster has been riding frequently since racing BMX bikes when he was 12 years old. Eventually, he progressed to racing road and mountain bikes, but the competition isn't what motivates him to keep pedaling.
“Having a race coming up does inspire me,” said Dempster, “but for the most part, I just enjoy the camaraderie and being out with friends.”
One of his friends, Jarve Lindsay, agrees.
“Most mountain bikers, they do it because they like to be out,” he said. “It's riding for the sake of riding, not for the sake of racing.”
Racing can still be a good time, though.
Lindsay helps organize an annual race called “Dash for Cash” on the first Saturday in June. This month was its 15th year and it had 102 bikers. The race also is a fundraiser for the South Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Department.
“We have some great trails out here and they're all on private property,” Lindsay said. “The race consists of a 14-mile loop that's in both Armstrong County and Butler County. We do that every year.
“There's a lot of camaraderie in it. It's fun.”
The Dash for Cash is the first in a series of five races in Western Pennsylvania in the summer and fall called “Bike The Wilds.”
Like Dempster, Lindsay also finds mountain biking a perfect way to stay in shape and soak in the scenery of Pennsylvania.
“Typically, you're somewhere not everybody can go,” he said of riding out on a trail. “It's peaceful.“I'm not young anymore. That's the one form of exercise where I've been doing it for 25 years and I still enjoy it,” he added. “It helps you to stay in shape and it's fun. It's not like running on the treadmill for 45 minutes. It's actually enjoyable.”Both Dempster and Lindsay pointed to Moraine State Park as the top destination for mountain biking trails in Butler County.“Some of them are more expert level, but there are fantastic trails at Moraine State Park,” Dempster said. “They're well maintained. That's a great place to ride.”“They have enough loops and trails there that you can get half a day in if you want to,” said Lindsay. “There's also a paved bike trail. If you go over to Moraine as a novice, and think, 'Ah, man, I'm way over my head,' you don't necessarily ruin the day because you can always go riding on that.”Of course, no matter where the riding takes place, it's imperative to take proper safety precautions.“Helmet, for sure,” said Dempster.“You are going to fall. It's going to happen,” agreed Lindsay. “Even on a road bike, I would never ride my bike without a helmet. That's the most important part of safety equipment you can have.”Gloves and padded shorts also help a biker pedal through the day a bit more comfortably.Organizations such as PTAG (Pittsburgh Trail Advocacy Group) and PORC (Pittsburgh Off-Road Cyclists) supply aspiring and veteran bikers with places to ride and special events at their websites, http://ptagtrails.org and http://porcmtbclub.org, respectively.“We're blessed in the Greater Pittsburgh area that there's phenomenal places to ride,” said Lindsay. “It's a super place to have a mountain bike.”
