Bike Ride w/ The Steel Wheels in AR

We're driving across the country to play Fayetteville Roots Festival today in that sweet Ozark town. If you find yourself there and you want to join us, we'll be riding our bikes Saturday morning. See the details below...

Bike Ride with the Steel Wheels
Time: 8 a.m.
Info: The Steel Wheels guide a bike ride through Fayetteville and the Ozarks. Presented by Bicycle Coalition of the Ozarks
Location: Start at Lewis & Clark in Fayetteville, AR

See you then.

Recreational Riding Social Media

This spring and summer The Steel Wheels have started logging our rides on Strava.com to keep track of the miles and places we've been riding.  The free app for iPhone or Android allows users some friendly competition (keep it friendly Brian!) by enabling anyone to create segments and logging the fastest times by any rider on those segments.  It also gives you your ride information including elevation gain, average speed, calories burned, etc.  If running is your thing, you can use it for that as well.  If you're interested in seeing exactly what The Steel Wheels' wheels have been up to, you can follow Trent, Brian, Eric, and Jay on Strava.  

A summer morning on top of Massanutten.

Trent with his dad, Howard Wagler, on a bike ride in Goshen, IN

It's all fun and games until someone breaks a rib...

Whenever we find our way close to Reading, PA we meet up with our good buddy Patrick Leaman and his family.  They have become quick friends to the band and if we can we try to sneak in a ride with Patrick when we come through.  This time, things ended abruptly and unexpectedly.

Here is the five of us after a good long grinder of a hill on Sportsmans Road...

Shortly before this photo we were talking a big talk about how freeing cycling is.

 

 

Next, we started to descend.  Patrick and I got into a nice conversation about life and the pursuit of happiness, I'd suspect, when all of a sudden he says, "Trent, there's a hill ahead that's very fast and possibly dangerous.  Use caution.  Go back and tell Eric, I'll catch up to Jay and Brian and tell them. 

Well, just as Patrick made it to Jay and Brian, they were flying down the hill.  Within minutes, this was the scene...

Brian looking on with new friend (if by friend, you mean, glad I didn't hit your car with my bike at 40 mph)

Brian contemplating his next move, not on that rear wheel presumably

So, Brian and Jay, feeling young and spry, flew around the dangerous corner, nearly hitting a car, but definitely hitting the ground in one way or another.  Brian's bike was beat up more than Jay's, but Jay got the brunt of the body damage.  While Brian had some notable road rash on his hand and hip, Jay broke a rib and jammed his finger pretty heftily.  It didn't look good for him playing that mandolin that evening...

Jay, after the wreck. 

But you can't keep a good man down.  We made it to gig that night and Jay ripped off his splint and played a great show in front of the famous Steel Stacks in Bethlehem, PA. 

So, Jay is currently in rehab and we all are taking our downhills a little more cautiously.  It's fun to go fast, but not that fun.

July 6th Charity Ride in Pilot Mountain, NC

All right, so the summer is flying by and here I am way behind on blog posting again!  We've been riding bikes a lot as a band and here's one of the best stops we've had in awhile!  Harry Wilson from Pilot Mountain, NC, and his faithful cycling buddies, helped us organize a Friday morning charity ride for kids to receive scholarships for the services of the Armfield Civic Center on July 6th.  It was a great ride up Sauratown Mountain on the humid, hot day.  About 50 riders pedaled up or around the mountain for a 30-36 mile ride.  The cyclists in that community are no stranger to this ride since every June many of them ride the 3 Mountain Madness ride (http://www.3mountainmadness.com/).

It felt early for the band, but the other cyclists were ready at 9AM.

It was official because we all had numbers.

Dave Moore hosts bike ride in VT

Here are the Wheels with Dave at Moore's Inn in Saxton River, VT. We had a nice group ride before Roots on the River Festival in some really beautiful country.

June 9th, cycling in Saxton River, VT

The cycling crew in Chicago last summer.  Come join us in Vermont June 9th.

This Saturday, June 9th, we'll be on a 26-mile ride with David Moore at Moore's Inn in Saxton River, VT before our performance at Roots on the River in Bellows Falls.  Come join us if you're feeling like a ride.  Meet up on Main Street in the village at 7:30AM.  Early, but we'll be off the bikes in time to hit the festival and enjoy it all together.  Check out the festival lineup at http://www.rootsontheriver.com/

See you there.

Bike Tour? It's All Around You

Upcoming Bike Events

May 19 - Norton, MA, Wheels Up for Corey benefit ride
June 9 - Saxton River, VT, Pre-Roots on the River Festival ride starting from Main Street in Saxton River and park in the middle of the Village 7:30 AM.
June 16, 17 - Green Bank, WV, Space Race Rumpus, lots of great rides both days
July 6 - Pilot Mountain, NC, Charity Ride For Kids
August 24 - Fayetteville, AR, Fayetteville Roots Festival, details coming soon
September 9 - Saluda, NC, Purple Onion Sunday Evening Music (POSEM) Series, Sunday Ride 
October 7 - Roseland, VA, Festy Experience, details coming soon
November 9th - Brooksville, FL, Riverhawk Festival, details soming soon


In 2011, we had our biggest cycling adventure to date with the full band on bicycles for 600 miles in 11 days across three states.  In 2012, we wanted to explore a little more in a different way.  We have scheduled 8 cycling events in different parts of the country and we'd love you to come along.  The rides are different in length and difficulty, but take a look and come along.  Some rides will raise money for a local charity.  Some will just be for fun.  As each ride gets closer, we'll update you with more details.  Feel free to contact us at manager@thesteelwheels.com with questions.