Close call for one of the riders

My partner, Jeff Strittmatter (aka Stritty) is joining me for the ride. He has had a really rough week. Last Sunday we did a nice ride of about 45 miles. During the ride we went by the house Jeff has under agreement. It's in a wooded lot in one of Pittsburgh's most desirable neighborhoods. They really need a bigger house. Their old house is really small, and their 1 year old, Hayden, is getting bigger. The plan was for them to list the old house the next day, but about 12 hours after we finished our ride Mother Nature changed Jeff's plans. It also put the Strittmatters on the National news.

Late at night there was a big storm in the area. A bolt of lightning hit a huge oak tree in their back yard. The tree came crashing through their roof and came to rest inches from the baby's crib. It was a miracle, but Hayden was uninjured and wasn't even crying as they took the insulation from the ceiling off of them. Here is a link to one of the many news videos of the event: http://kdka.com/video/?id=26996@kdka.dayport.com. We were told there were reports on CNN and the Weather Channel. They were getting calls from people all over the country, and TV crews were camped out at the house.

Needless to say it was rough week for them and I was biking alone this weekend. Ultimately things worked out okay. They were able to rent their new house and move in early. The old house is being repaired. Jeff has had some tense moments with his insurance carrier, and now has a little more sympathy for some of those bad faith plaintiffs.

Since lightning doesn't strike twice, I feel fortunate to have Jeff biking right by me this June, as summer storms are likely. We have booked our rooms. The first day we will go 100 miles to Meyersdale, the second and third days we changed our plans a little. Instead of going to Hancock, we are staying in a place called Little Orleans. It's not a town, but a place with a campground, a tavern run by 85 year old "Old Bill" and the converted one room school house Inn where we will stay. As a result we will do 75 miles both the second and third days (Instead of 90 and 60). The third guy who claims to be going with us hasn't been on his bike yet, so we aren't holding our breath on him.

The Dates are Set: June 14 - 17

I have set the dates for the bike trip. We will be leaving Pittsburgh on Thursday June 14th. The plan is to leave early in the morning, as we will be doing about 100 miles the first day to Meyersdale, Pa. Meyersdale is a small town best known for it's Maple Festival. This is supposed to be one of the most scenic areas of the trail, with a view of an historic railroad viaduct.

The second day we will travel about 90 miles to Hancock, Maryland. Hancock is another small town located close to the Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland borders. They do have a couple of motels that look very much like the Bates Motel. To get to Hancock we need to go through Cumberland on the C&O Canal Trail. Apparently in this area there is a break in the trail. I've been told that we may have to hop a train in the area of the detour.

Saturday we are planning on riding about 65 miles to Harper's Ferry, WVa. This is the home of the National Park and battlefield. Harper's Ferry is actually across the river from the trail. Our plan is to stay in an historic hotel called the Hilltop Hotel in the old part of the town. The last day we will have about 60 miles into DC. We haven't firmed up the plans on how we will get back; either a loving spouse or a rental car.

Stritty and I have recruited a third rider. Our partner, Sam Foreman will join us. Sam has biked across Ireland several times, so he is experienced with these types of trips. He is also a native of West Virginia, so he should be able to communicate with the natives for us.

Spring Training

The deep freeze finally lifted. From mid-January until this past weekend the weather was miserable. My bike riding was limited to using an indoor trainer. This weekend I finally was able to ride outside. Saturday I was having a good ride until I ran over some glass and sliced my tire. At least I was near the end of the ride.

Sunday I met up with Jeff Strittmatter aka Stritty. Stritty is doing the DC ride with me. He bought a new bike which arrived at the same time as the bad weather. So Sunday was his first ride on his new bike. We rode for a couple of hours, riding all the city. Stritty saw the famous attack turkey, whose partner in crime was hit by a car over the winter. These two turkeys chased me and attacked bike riders all season last year. Here is a link to an article about my experiences with these turkeys:

http://www.wglaw.com/publication_files/112ATTPUB_ppg.pdf.

The bad boy didn't go after us this time. Today was the best day yet, with the temperature topping 70. So, for the first time this year I rode to work. When the weather is good I try to commute by bike a couple of times a week. I get a little work out before work and can work off the stress of a day in the office on the way home. It also kind of fun to pedal by all the cars stuck in rush hour gridlock. Now it really feels like Spring is right around the corner. Before we know it Pirate pitchers will be serving up homers again.

Winter Training

Winter training in Pittsburgh is a problem. For most of January and February it has been impossible to ride outside. My training has been limited to putting my bike on a trainer and riding in my basement. The normal routine is to start riding at the beginning of a college basketball game, ride for the first half, spinning extra hard during commercials and timeouts. It actually works out to be a very good 45 minute workout. Plus, I will have the added benefit of having scouted lots of college teams for our annual firm March Madness Pool.

Family circumstances made it impossible for me to attend the IADC Meeting at Pebble Beach, but those same circumstances allowed me to ride outdoors in the one of the most amazing mountain biking venues in the world. The weekend of the meeting, my son's school scheduled their Parent's Weekend at the school in northern Utah. So we had to go to Utah. Two days before we left we got the tragic news that my father-in-law was hospitalized in Denver with a terminal condition. We immediately changed our plans and flew to Denver. We were able to have quality visits with him for three days before heading to Utah. Since we flew into Denver instead of Salt Lake City, we decided to rent a car and drive. This took us through Moab, where we stayed to break up our trip. The winding drive through the red rock canyon along the Colorado River is breathtaking. We were fortunate to stay at a ranch right on the river about 20 miles south of Moab. This allowed me to fulfill one of those dreams of tackling mountain biking on slick rock in Moab.

At a younger age, I might have just rented a bike and headed out on my own. Age and fear encouraged me to hire a guide. I'm glad this time I listened to my instincts. I hired Fred of Rim Tours, who is an expert mountain bike racer. Not only did he leaded me on the amazing Klondike Bluffs Trail, he pointed out sites that I would otherwise have missed. Above is a picture of a dinosaur footprint that we rode by. Fred also saved me from a possible disaster. As we were climbing the slick rock my bike flipped throwing me off, but virtually uninjured. The same could not be said for the bike. The brake lever was sheered off, meaning I did not have a rear brake. We were miles from the trail head, and probably 30 miles from the bike shop. Fred took a brake lever off of his bike and put it on mine. He made the repairs on the slick rock using just the tools in his pack. He did it in about 5 minutes. Now, this left Fred with only a front brake and the prospect of coming down a mountain on rock with no rear brake. We continued to climb. At the end of the trail we were at the border of Arches National Park. We dismounted and hiked into the park for an awe inspiring view of one of our country's most amazing natural wonders. Although mountain biking is very different than the type of trip I have planned this summer, it did prove to be an inspiration for tackling biking adventures. It also provided me with enough of a treat to be satisfied with spinning to hoops in my basement until the weather breaks.

January Training

You would expect that in Pittsburgh in January the only bike training you would be doing would be inside on a trainer. Winter weather has been unseasonably warm, so I was able to ride outside both days over the weekend. I guess it's one benefit of global warming.



This gave me a good opportunity to try out the new cyclocross bike that I plan on using on the trip. I rode mostly on trails along the rivers in Pittsburgh. The trails are a mix of crushed limestone, pavement, dirt, rocks and rail bed. Some of the trails had partially buried railroad ties across them. Having rained over night on Friday and Saturday, there were uneven areas, mud and puddles. These conditions should be similar to what I will see on the trip to DC. The bike handled everything great. It would very difficult, if not impossible to tackle some of these areas on my road bike. As advertised, the new bike is as fast as a road bike, but able to handle hazards like a mountain bike.

Sunday, I rode out along trails bordering the Allegheny River. As I went out for several miles I was close to my friend and partner, Jeff Strittmatter's house. Jeff had also been looking for a new cyclocross or touring bike, so I stopped by to show him my new ride. Jeff lives up a long steep hill. The bike climbed well. The gearing was fine, perhaps not as quick as the road bike that has 9 more gears, but fine none the less. I got a chance to visit with Jeff and his wife Heather. Heather said that Jeff had her blessing to join me on the DC ride. It will be great to have company. Jeff has done a lot of biking over the years and is a bit of a shade tree bike mechanic.

I'm sure as soon as Jeff gets his new bike he will join me on weekend training rides. I'm bad at fixing flats. That's going to be his job.

New Bike

In starting to get ready for the trip I realized my old bike with the skinny tires wasn't going to be appropriate. The trip is going to take place on rail trails. In Pennsylvania the surface will be mostly crushed limestone. Once I cross the state border to the C&O Canal Trail the surface will become dirt. In parts it hasn't been finished and is unimproved. If it rains the trail becomes rutted and muddy. If there is one thing you can count on in Western Pennsylvania in the Spring and Summer, it's rain on the weekends.

This new bike is perfect for this kind of trip and has several advantages over a traditional road bike or mountain bike. Unlike a road bike, which is designed to go fast on paved surfaces, the new bike, which is a Motobecane Fantom Cross Cyclocross Bike, is designed to go fast on any surfaces. It's light like a road bike, about 20 lbs, but it has knobby, gripping tires like a mountain bike, the frame is a little beefier to take more pounding, while still being very light. The handle bars are drop handle bars like a road bike, but there is also a second set of brake levers that are like those on a mountain bike. The second set lets the rider be in an upright, heads up position. The bike also allows the option to attach racks on the front or back, so you can take bags with you.

For January the weather has been unseasonably warm. Hopefully I will be able to take the new bike out for a few training rides before spring. It seems to have the feel of a racing bike, with the flexability of a hybrid or mountain bike.

The Cause - The Gary Walker Memorial Scholarship Fund

Gary Walker Memorial Scholarship

The Gary Walker Memorial Scholarship is designed to advance the future of the defense and corporate bar by providing tuition reimbursement to a deserving IADC Trial Academy student. The scholarship is named for a long-time IADC member who was the 2001 Trial Academy Director, but died shortly before the Academy was to begin. Gary T. Walker was a trial lawyer with more than 30 years experience in a broad range of litigation. He graduated from Stanford University in 1964 and took his J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1969.

Mr. Walker was a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and was elected to the American Board of Trial Advocates. He served IADC as chair of the Toxic and Hazardous Substances Litigation Committee and served the Defense Research Institute as chair of its Products Liability Committee and Law Institute and on its Board of Directors. He was a sustaining member of the Products Liability Advisory Council and a former member of the Senior Advisory Panel to the Association for California Tort Reform. He was past president of the San Francisco Defense Seminar Association and was included in The International Who's Who of Products Liability Attorneys. Mr. Walker lectured before professional and industry groups and taught on the faculties of the IADC Trial Academy, the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, the Hastings College of Advocacy, and the Northern California Federal Practice Institute. Mr. Walker wrote numerous articles and chapters on trial practice, products liability, and insurance coverage.

Beyond his professional accolades, Mr. Walker set extraordinarily high standards for professionalism, leadership and personal values.

Attorneys wishing to apply for this scholarship must meet the following criteria:

• Have some level of actual trial experience
• Been in trial practice for between 2 and 10 years
• Demonstrate a commitment to the advancement of the defense trial bar

The Gary Walker Fund is primarily intended to provide assistance to minority and women students, as well as those demonstrating financial need. The scholarship includes the registration fee of $3,100 to attend the Trial Academy in July. The winner is responsible for airfare and the $1,300 housing and meal expense at Stanford Law School.

To learn more about the Trial Academy please visit; http://www.iadclaw.org/trialacademy.cfm