A member of the Tyrone community, Rob Sharer, is associated with three biking and ski clubs of the area, which include: the Laurel Highland Off Road Biking Association, Allegheny Ski & Sports Club and the Nittany Mountain Biking Association.
These organizations are designed for the outdoors type of person who enjoys skiing, biking, rock climbing, hiking, volleyball, golfing and getting togethers with friends who enjoy the same type of activities.
The Laurel Highland Off Road Biking Association is based out of Johnstown and has a spin-off of about 15 people from this area who get together to ride trails. The president of LHORBA is Mike Mucker.
“The great thing about a club is that everyone has trails they know about, so when you combine everybody’s it makes a great number of trails to ride,” said Sharer.
Tomorrow at 10 a.m. LHORBA is hosting a Second Annual Multi-Club Ride at Blue Knob State Park. The group is scheduled to meet at the Pavia Run Pavilion.
There will be rides for advanced, intermediate, casual intermediate and beginners. After the bike rides, LHORBA will provide everyone with cook-out food, and anyone who wishes to bring a side dish is encouraged to do so. Participants will need to provide their own drinks, and alcoholic beverages are prohibited from the State Park.
Another club that Sharer is associated with is the Allegheny Ski and Sports Club. This club is based out of the Altoona area and has about 250 members. Some of the activities of the club include: Alpine and cross country skiing, mountain and road biking, rock climbing and repelling, hiking, volleyball, golfing and get togethers with members of the group. The president of ASSC is Steve Carpenter.
Last winter Sharer accompanied ASSC to Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine on a skiing trip. Many members of the group also attended the trip. Sharer said one of the benefits of the group is that a person always has somebody to ski with.
Another club that Sharer is associated with is the Nittany Mountain Biking Association, which was founded by his son Michael Sharer. The club is based out of State College, and Kevin Bergman is the president. NMBA offers three levels of riding: beginner, intermediate and advanced.
“All these clubs work closely with national, state and local park and forest managers to upkeep and build new trails,” added Sharer.
He also said one of the highlights of riding bikes is all of the wildlife that he gets to see along the trails, such as turkey, deer, bear, raccoons and porcupines.
For more information on the organizations, contact Sharer at 684-4721 or e-mail him at papasharer@adelphia.net; LHORBA president Mike Mucker at 487-5593 or e-mail him at eyebike@floodcity.net; ASSC president Steve Carpenter at 941-3972 or e-mail him at cornsnow@winbeam.com or NMBA president Kevin Bergman at 692-7654 or e-mail him at mtbiker@juno.com.
