December 2004 Ride Report Page            
Here you will find the reports of our exploits for the month December 2004 more or less as they happened. I will publish any ride reports or digital photos that I receive.  Please send them to  bikebob@crocker.com and you too can get yourself published on the web!
Go to the Ride Schedule link; You will find information about ride schedules and how the rides are run.

Thursday December 2, 2004: It seems like every year about this time the group heads out for a ride that ends up as an adventure in mud. Well, tonight was the night for us this year. The trip up and over the shoulder of Mt Toby was a classic slog fest. I was pretty sure we would encounter a fair amount of water due to the rain in the past few days and Toby's reputation for being pretty damp, but I was not prepared for running water on probably 40% of the ride. I'm not sure we would have been much wetter had Bob chosen to lead a ride up the Deerfield River from Stillwater to Bardwells Ferry.
On to the details: 7 of us, Chris's K & W, Michelle, Curt, Steve, Bob and I started from the pond at about 6:30 after much discussion of preferred # of layers etc. It was about 35 degrees so most opted for jackets in addition to a jersey or two and tights. I led the pack through (around wasn't really possible most of the time) the puddles up the first leg of the trip until we paused to regroup at the power lines. Just a bit further down the trail a bunch of hunters were camped where I should have taken a left turn. They had all their gear in the road and were it not for the amazing trail knowledge of our fearless leader RG Perry, I would probably have led the group up the dead-end climb. Bob led us through their campsite and onward to where it began to get truly wet. I thought the puddles on the approach road were bad, but here, and pretty much all the way to the top of this section, we had constant running water, standing water or mud as choices between left lane, right lane and center. There were a couple of near misses on spills where several of us barely avoided plunging headfirst into the mud; Mr. Koh wouldn't be so lucky later in the ride. We all successfully picked our own line down the steep descent to the Toby Rd where the real climbing began.
I was again in the lead picking the line up the road until I paused for the group to coalesce just past the intersection with the Upper Link trail. It felt odd, recently I had only done this climb with El Presidente, and he always burns me on this climb, but here I was leading the group by a pretty wide margin. We had decided, in deference to Steve, still pretty new to nighttime Mountain Biking, to follow the road around the back of the mountain, rather than taking the usual Upper Link to Telephone Trail route. Telephone Trail is a damn sketchy downhill even in good visibility and weather. Bob led us the rest of the way to the split in the road where we paused to cool down before continuing around and down the Mountain.
The backside road is much rougher than any of the other trails we had encountered tonight. Chris K led the group down the rocky trail, I followed him with Curt and the rest close behind. Curt kept an eye on my back tire - when it jumped he knew to go around something. At about the bottom of the steep I hit one too many 'something's' and pinch flatted. Fortunately things went very smoothly and Bob was only Fat for a very short time. By the time everyone was aware I had been left behind, the repair was nearly complete, Bob made it back to me just in time to help me put the wheel back on. I had just converted to discs and hadn't had the wheel off yet. (Due to the conditions tonight, that conversion couldn't have been better timed since the mud and crud would surely have combined to trash both rims and pads).
We continued on down the trail with Chris K in the lead once again. It was now time for one of Lemony Snickets' unfortunate events. While in the lead, Chris hit a nice wheelie drop rock and landed in a mud pit that could almost qualify as quicksand. He ended up face first in the mud. Not to be outdone Curt followed him taking what looked to be a safer line only to find his front wheel deep in the mud as well. Chris never did manage to get his glasses clean and finished the ride blind. The rest of us made it back to the cars without further incident. All in all it was a pretty good ride in pretty lousy conditions. Not sure any of us really wants to repeat the wetness for another year or so. Until next time.

Harold

Sunday 12/5: It was a fairly warm day for December and there was a small group that showed up for the road ride at 1:00. Jeff was the only "A" team rider to show up so he rode with Laurie while Lizz Bartlett, Lauren, Walters, Gary Fenton, and Jamie. The riders left the shop and headed off to do their ride and I will publish any reports of the ride that I get. The shop was open so I had to wait for the 5:20 ride. I left the shop with Curt and we went over to Montague where we were met by Jack, Michelle, Rich Flye, and Steve Power. With the recent rains, the meadow was flooded so we headed off on the hardtop road. We rode at a steady pace with Jack and Curt leading the way. We paused briefly at the firepit before heading off to the Toilet Bowl Trail. The trails were somewhat wet but nothing like last Thursday so we stayed pretty dry for the ride out to the power lines. We stopped at the end of the Toilet Bowl Trail so that the riders could take off jackets or gloves. I was dressed just about right for the conditions but I did need to put on lighter weight gloves. I was a little chilly on the way out but as soon as we hit the dirt I warmed right up. From the power lines I led the group over to the Pine Forest Trail. This is a fairly tricky route to follow and even I have to be careful not to miss the turns with the leaves covering the trail. I led the group down the trail and then took up the rear. I followed Steve up the Ice Flow section to the steep part of the climb. At this point I passed everyone except for Curt and Jack who were up the trail a ways. I waited at the bottom of the next hill for the group to pass and again took the sweep. At some point Jack's battery failed and he stopped to check out the wires. I came along and he rode on ahead of me in the beam of my lights. We rode over the hill on the I-H Trail to the Kiabuckus Trail where the group was waiting for us. Jack took out his spare battery and soon he was seeing the light. We rode down the Kiabuckus where everyone made a right turn instead of a left. I yelled to the riders who quickly turned to follow me through the swamp, onto Willis Hill Road and then over to the water tank. At this point it was getting colder so we did not stay too long at the water tank. We rode down the hill and across the new bridge (that Mark and Harold built) then we followed the trail back to the Big Pine Tree Trail. I followed the group down the BPT to Red Rock Road where the group was already heading up the trail as I touched the tree. I continued down the road to where the group was stymied at a pond of water blocking the road. Most of the riders had taken a left to ride through the woods whilst I (smart goat thinker that I am) remembered that there was a road hidden in the high weeds to the right. Sure enough! I rode right around the pond and soon was on my way over Red Rock. When I got to the bottom of the hill I soft pedaled until Curt came by me. The group was shortly behind him and soon we were all heading down the power lines to Brushy Way. At the end of Brushy way I took the lead after Jack missed the turn. I led the riders down the Toilet Bowl and back to the Telephone Pole Trail. At some point, Jack got dropped off the back of the group so when everyone else was heading down the trail to the hardtop, I went back to get Jack. Jack came along and we then rode back to the center of town together. I left right after getting my gear into the van to head back home for my son's birthday party.

December 8th.
Big Mac and I planned to ride the Hills O' Terror this morning, until he cancelled late last night. I knew I wasn't going to get many other chances to ride this week, so decided to go it alone. It was clear and 33 degrees this morning at 5:15, not bad considering the snow and rain of yesterday.
We need to trim some of the low branches on the Clapps Pond Trail, it was nearly blocked in several places by ice laden hemlocks. Same is true of the other trails, but to a lesser extent.
The brook crossing had a lot of water flowing, I just barely managed to keep my feet dry. Was glad that Liam and I placed some additional rocks in there last month, otherwise it would have been un-crossable. As it was the water was an inch or more deep over most of the rocks. Only a couple were barely above the surface.
There is a lot of standing water on the trail between Clapps Pond and the Stairmaster Gate. It was 3-4 inches deep through much of that hollow. Not sure if the ground was frozen, and therefore able to hold the water or what, but if that is the case, when it gets warm it will probably be very muddy. If anyone else goes down that way, be prepared for some nastiness until it freezes solid.
Stair Master was very slippery, an ATV had gone up it sometime yesterday so the crust was broken, but it was still very slick. I couldn't get any traction to speak of, probably too much air in the rear tire, and consequently walked quite a bit. The trails in the woods were much less slick.
A small stand of fallen trees are blocking the Ridge trail. Looks like they came down in the ice yesterday, they are pretty good size and there is a bunch of them. Probably a chain saw or at least bow saw project to clear them out of the way.
I passed on riding up Sugarloaf North, because I took a spill on a downed sapling just above the gate coming down the hill back to Ridge Rd. I ended up pretty wet after sliding about 20' in the snow and leaves. Harold

Thursday 12/9: Ride at Walters (AKA: The two wheeled art of facial rearrangement)
We haven't been to Walter's house in quite a while so I promised Walter that we would get up there before it snowed. Walter has been busy making the massage tool and doing the QVC TV show so today was his first opportunity to host a ride. The plan was to ride for a couple of hours and then head back to Walters for dinner. I arrived at in Walters driveway at 6:30 with several cars that had followed me here from the shop. There were several riders getting ready when I pulled in, so I quickly got my gear together for the ride. It was a somewhat warm evening with temps in the upper thirties and no wind so I layered with just my riding jerseys on top and tights for my legs. The riders tonight included Peter Crisci, Walters, Curt, MPM, Rich Flye, Michelle, Steve Power, Jack, myself and Jim Williams. When everyone was ready we left the house and followed Walters onto the trails. The trail goes upward right from the start and we climbed a moderate slope for a little way before the slope tapered off. The group got pretty strung out on the climb and Peter and Walter were well out of sight of the main group. We rode along at an easy pace until we came upon Walter and Peter, who had stopped at an intersection. Walter told us a story of the neighbors who had built a house this land and maintained these trails. (Even though the trails are nicely groomed there was a lot of tree limbs and saplings on the trails from recent wind storms.) We only stopped briefly before we headed out on a trail that leads to the big climb. The trail goes mostly down hill for a half a mile and then we take a right turn onto a very muddy road that would eventually lead to Gary Fenton's house. We rode down the hill and began the climb. There was a large tree across the road that MPM was able to ride over but the rest of us ended up walking over. (Actually, Jack tried to ride over it but fell and that gave the rest of us an excuse not to try.) I walked a little way past the tree and then re-mounted my bike and rode up the hill to the left turn. After the turn the trail gets pretty steep in places and there is a muddy stream to cross as well. I managed to ride to the stream, which is at the base of a very steep pitch, and found several riders walking. I usually can ride up this hill, but tonight I was just plain out of gas, so I joined the hikers. We hauled our bikes up the hill to the top where the lead riders were waiting. Up to this point the pace was a little brisker than was comfortable for some of the riders, so we rested for a minute. At this point, Jack's headlamp bulb blew out, so I gave him mine. Peter had ridden off ahead of the group and returned just as we were getting ready to leave. Walter said that we would go to the curve in the road and take the left to go down to the reservoir. As we left I admonished the riders to be careful on the next section as it is somewhat dangerous and you can get going faster than you should. I no sooner had spoken when Peter and Walter headed off. Some of the riders were not ready but I wanted to stay with the front so that no one would miss the turn. I was barely clipped into my pedals when I looked up to see Walter and Peter going out of sight. I pedaled hard and closed the gap and to my amazement they both sailed right past the turn. What happened next will stay with me for a long time. I saw the lead rider go over a ledge and it seemed like he was doing a nose wheelie. It looked like he landed it and then I saw them stop. At this point I was a hundred yards away and I had no idea what they were doing. I waited a minute and I saw a light coming so I headed down to where Peter and Walter had stopped. When I approached them I was greeted by a horrific sight. There was Walters lying on the ground in a pool of blood with Peter trying to talk to him. I immediately went into my survival mode. Walter was not moving much and was curled up in a fetal position with his leg still entangled in the bike. Peter and I got his leg out and then we started to triage his injuries. His head was covered in blood and he was beginning to moan. I could see that his helmet had a rock imbedded in it and there was scraping on his right side. From this I determined that he hit hard and slid on his face. The next task was to get him out of there. I sent the group down the hill to see if they could get someone to call for an ambulance and Katherine since the cell phones were not working where we were. I had Curt and Chris Williams with me and we tried to talk to Walter but he was really out of it. He wanted to know where he was and who we were and from that we concluded that he might have a concussion. Walter was now getting somewhat uncomfortable and wanted to get up. We decided to get him walking and let the rescue folks pick him up wherever he got to. At this point I left to walk down the hill with Walters bike. I was met by some of the other riders who were coming back up the hill. I managed to get a call into Katherine and she said that she would call 911. I then headed off to wait for the EMT's to arrive. Peter had gotten Susan Fenton to come down in her car to pick up Walter and take him out to the main road. When the EMT's arrived we all left to head back to the house. It had started to rain and so I led the group down Roaring Brook Road to RT. 116 and then back to Walters. It was a long night so we all decided to head for home. Here is a photo that I took a couple of days after the accident.

Ride Report 12/14:
Good Amish Morning to ya-
Amish Ride 12/14
Well today Hammerhead and Myself decided to give the Greenfield Ridge a go from Bob's shop. We met a little after 5am and got our gear together, hopped on our bikes and headed up the first climb to the ridge. After getting to the top of the ridge I looked back, realizing that Hammer had vanished into thin air, come to find out his battery let go while clearing a log and had to search for it in the dark-not cool-but he found it and was soon on his way. Once we regrouped Hammer took the lead up to the tower as I haven't been on my bike much lately so I have only small bursts of energy that unfortunately do not last me very long. After reaching the tower we took the switchbacks down to the white trail and out to the parking area where we crossed the street and continued up the ridge to our normal turn point where we headed down towards Bears Den Road, where I took a wonderful crash that made a purple softball suddenly appear on my hip, anyway we header over to Joes Rock, up and over and then backtracked our way back to the shop. Nice ride, just nice to be out again until next time.
Live2ride

Tuesday 12/14: It was a bitter cold night and only Mike S., and Michelle showed up for the ride. We got our gear together and headed over to Gill Road. I was dressed in my heavy coat and gloves and that kept the cold at bay on the ride over to the trails. We rode took Lillian Street over to the Swamp where I led the group to the Cellar Hole Trail. I had Michelle take the lead over to Five Points while I stayed with Mike. We rode from Five Points to the Secret Trail and up to top of the hill. We decided to take the Crossover Trail to the Chute. After Michelle moved a log in the trail I led the way down the Chute and then over to the Hill of Doom. I rode to the top of the hill and when Mike and Michelle got up to where I was, I led them over to Red Rock Road. We started the hill together and I led them up the hill to the Streambed Trail. Mike said that he was getting tired so I headed down the hill to Deer Run where we took a right to ride over to Stinger. I rode up Stinger and waited for Mike and Michelle to arrive before I headed down the hill to the Red Dot Trail. We rode over to the brook where I rode up the plank bridge to the Coke Plant. It was pretty cold so we headed back across the highway and then to the shop. It was a short but very nice ride.

Ride Report Early Morning December 15th

It was clear and cold this morning as I parked at the side of Keets Rd. about 5 past 5, but Mac and I had decided that we both needed the time on the trails as we make room in our schedules for the commitments of families at the Holidays. Mac pulled up just after I did and we prepared to attack the 10-degree cold. This was not a very good morning for a road ride, the cold really stung as we headed up to the trail, both of us were glad to slow down and head across the planks and into the woods. Neither of us cleared both the climbs up the Crystal Cave trail, but on the slippery frozen leaves that was pretty much expected. We spun easily the rest of the way out to the jeep road.
This is the time of year that those of us with disc brakes have a real advantage over the rim brake crowd. The first patch of water we encountered reminded Mac of that advantage. For pretty much the rest of the ride, his brakes were noisy and ineffectual. The cold of this morning had firmed up the trails where they had obviously been very muddy, but the puddles were not rideable. The ice that had formed wasn't thick enough to hold us, and there are still many places where puddles, or running water, covered the entire width of the trail. We ended up dismounting and bushwhacking around several areas in order to keep our feet warm and dry. I can't ride through deep water when it is this cold since my derailleur cables run under the bottom bracket and invariably freeze up if splashed, probably time to put on full length casings. We eventually reached the road and headed up to the gate at the old ski trail.
At that point we paused to discuss the prudence of heading up to the lookout, due to the ice on Mac's rims and some freezing of his brake cable. The ice appeared to have freed up some, so we opted to continue on. I took the lead, hoping to repeat the clean ride up this section from a couple weeks ago, but the permafrost wouldn't allow success, I lost traction on the first steep. I remounted and rode the rest without incident until just before the little dip at the top past the big tree we cleared out; I heard a little tick, followed by sudden release of air pressure. Sure enough I had flatted. I started unpacking my stuff, and discovered that after the Toby flat last week; I hadn't put the patched tube back into my pack, dumb, dumb, dumb. Mac arrived and offered his tube, so we popped the tire off - man I hate wire beads, and put in his tube. I was some concerned that it didn't seem very hard after I blew some air into it, but mounted it up anyhow. I should have been more concerned - 2 CO2 cartridges and then Mac's pump confirmed the fact. The tube was no good; I was going to have to hoof it out. Mac took off to get his van, and I started off jogging down to Eaglebrook, where we met up and he brought me back to Keets Rd. Once back in the warm office I investigated the evidence. Flat # 1 - the valve stem had broken clean off half way up the barrel - that explained the tick sound, I thought I hit some wire or something. Flat #2 - Mac's tube, had apparently been getting chafed in his seat pouch for too long. It had a hole worn at one of the places where it had been folded. Two lessons learned. 1. Make sure you have at least one good tube when riding in 10-degree weather. 2. Don't take that spare tube for granted. Check it every once in a while, and keep it wrapped in a soft cloth. Till next time. Harold

Harold

Thursday 12/16: It was a milder day today than the last few days and I had planned a ride to Montague for 6:00. It was 25 degrees when I left the shop for Montague Center. I was met over there by Steve, Ed Ralicki, Michelle, and Jack. As I got my gear together Chris Williams pulled up in his police cruiser and chatted for a moment before heading back to work. We decided to forgo the meadow crossing due to the potential for lots of water and ice. It has been so wet lately that the ground is not soaking up the water and with the cold temps there will be ice on the bridges and rocks over there. We rode up to the Telephone Pole Trail on the hard top road and took the Toilet Bowl Trail out to the power lines. We did continued on the power lines over to Plains Road where we stopped to discuss the route and I made a glove change. We decided to take the Pine Forest Trail up to Willis Hill so I took the lead on the trip over to the trails. The trailhead is tough to find in the daytime for most people but I had no trouble finding it. Once on the trail things get a little challenging since the path is pretty obscure, but again I was able to find the route and get the troops on the Pine Forest Trail.  I led the riders up the hill and over the large tree that had blown down during the last wind storm. I managed to ride over the tree and all the way to the turn, where I stopped to wait for everyone. I waved the riders through as they approached me and fell in behind the group. I followed them all the way to the brook crossing where I passed Steve and Ed both of whom had dismounted. I ended up following Jack all the way up the hill at a moderate pace and we soft pedaled to allow the group to catch back on. We continued up Willis Hill and then down the parallel trail that leads to the swamp. Unlike last Sunday, I managed to ride through the swamp with out getting wet. There was enough ice on the shallow puddles to ride on and I was able to negotiate around the big ones. I led the group over to the water tank and then I followed Jack down the hill and across the new bridge. Jack and I then rode up the hill behind the Hillside Plastics factory and then down the other side to Willis Hill Road where I took over the lead. At this point the group was all together and I led them over to the Big Pine Tree Trail. We rode to the end of the trail and took the Red Rock Road which still has the big pond of water all the way across it. After my experience of last Sunday I decided to  stop and walk around the water. The group followed me from the pond, up and over Red Rock, to the sand pit where Curt and Jack took the lead. I dropped to the back to follow the group all the way to the Telephone Pole Trail. I rode down the hill and out to Turners Falls Road. The group rode at a moderate pace back to the center of town. It was a nice ride and it really is a bonus to be able to keep the rides up this late into the season.

Sunday December 19th:
Back in late August, the early morning riding trio, El Presidente' (then known only as Slim), Big MAC and I, embarked on a mission to trace the Robert Frost Trail from Bull Hill Rd. to Mt. Toby. Though we had a good ride that morning, we didn't get anywhere near Mt Toby, due to a poorly blazed trail, early morning darkness, a maze of wood roads, a less then stellar sense of direction, and what we didn't know then, not nearly enough time. The RFT consists of a combination of single track which is laid out as a hiking trail, often straight up and down the hills with very little mind for erosion control, and double track, which tends to follow a much nicer line - it seems farm vehicles tend to follow lines through the woods much more like those we mountain bikers choose.
Today, Matthew and I fulfilled the mission and completed the circuit to Toby and back. We left Bull Hill Rd and started out with the first of 5 or 6 major climbs on the ride. Matthew cleanly rode up the first couple of climbs while I had an inkling of what was to come and didn't push myself. After the third climb, to the 937' summit of Bull Hill, we descended through a pretty poorly maintained section of the trail - scattered downed trees and brush - and then joined up with the double track that wound and crisscrossed through the woods for the next 3-4 miles through the flatter portion of the ride.
During this section we had to be extremely alert for trail blazes, often having to go a hundred yards each way in search of blazes at the many intersections. I think the blazes of the RFT exist only to remind those who know the trail, but they certain succeed in confusing the uninitiated. Several times over the 6 ½ mile trail to Toby you will come to an intersection, see the prescribed double vertical blaze indicating a turn, and not see another blaze anywhere, must be a worldwide shortage of orange paint! We crossed some brooks, with both of us managing to keep our feet dry, and then began the final mile or so climb to the summit of what I presume is Roaring Mountain. This summit offers a nice view of Toby nearby. From this summit there is a nice steep descent, much nicer for Matthew and his big bike than for me and the hard tail, and then the climb up to the Toby Rd. You have all probably seen the RFT intersection on the left just below the Upper Link Trail. We left the RFT at the Upper Link and proceeded from there down the Telephone Pole trail and back onto the Frost on the other side. Rather than taking the usual Hemlock Trail, we opted to follow the Bridle Path, which is much shorter, and avoids the climb from the bottom of the mountain. The trails on this side of the mountain hadn't dried out much since the swamp ride earlier this month, but had frozen in many places. We managed not to wipe out on the ice and made it down to the Park St. entrance a bit slower than we normally would. From there, in the interest of time and general exhaustion, we took the roads and Rt. 116 back to Bull Hill Rd, winding up at the car just about 3 hours after we started. It was a great last Sunday ride of the fall season.
Let the winter riding begin.

Harold
 

Sunday 12/19: I closed the shop at 5:00 and headed over to Montague Center for tonight's ride. It had already started to snow when I arrived at the common. It was a brisk evening with the temperatures in the 20's and a slight wind blowing. When I parked the van there was a group of riders getting ready to roll. Joining me tonight was Mike S., Michelle, Jack, Frank and Curt. We all got our gear on and soon we were ready to ride. Curt has been recovering from and illness and this was his first ride in a week or so. Curt led the group from the common to the Telephone Pole Trail and then up to the fire pit. I stayed near the back of the bunch, content to take it easy on the warm up. We got to the fire pit where we paused before heading out to ride to the Second First Left. I rode with Mike and we kept the group just in front of us for most of the way out to the Banked Trails. At the end of the Banked Trail the group stop to wait for me and Mike. We decided to ride out to the water tank so Curt took the lead and we headed out on the now snow covered trail. The snow covered the ice so the riders had to take care not to inadvertently ride out on thin ice or else you would fall through. We rode over to the water tank without anyone slipping on the ice but at some point Mike's light fell off and he had to stop. When I got to the water tank, I could see that Mike and Frank were behind so I waited at the turn for them. When I got up to where the group was waiting, the snow had picked up quite a bit in intensity, so we decided to head out for the Un-Named Trail. I rode near the back to make sure that Mike did not have any problems with his light. Mike was right behind me as we entered the swamp and I told him to be careful on the ice as the snow would make it pretty slippery. Mike got only a few feet before he tried to turn and was promptly deposited onto the ice. He was pretty shook up, but he soon was back on his bike and he said he was fine. I then followed Mike and the group over to the Un-Named Trail where I rode to the top of the hill behind Curt. We paused briefly at the top before we headed out to ride down through the Pine Forest. We rode over to the end of the Pine Forest Trail and took a left to ride up the hill. The snow made the steep climb pretty tough and I ended up walking up the first pitch. I did manage to ride the rest of the way up the hill to the Kiabuckus trailhead where I waited with Curt and Ed for the rest of the group to arrive. When everyone had made it to the top, we then rode down the hill and headed for the Swamp Trail. I got to the turn after Jack, Ed and Curt had already passed it and I rode straight up the icy trial while the rest of the group tried to ride around the ice. I rode all the way to Red Rock and stopped to give directions to the riders as they approached. After everyone had passed me I rode down the hill and then followed the group over to Brushy Way. Curt led us over to the Toilet Bowl Trail and then down the Banked Trail to the Fire Pit Road. We encountered quite a bit of ice on the large puddles on the road and a couple of riders slipped on the glaze, but no one got hurt and we continued on right back to the center of town without difficulty. It was the second snowy ride of the year and it was quite nice.

Tuesday 12/21: It was another bitter cold night with temps in the single digits and three to four inches of snow on the ground. I had scheduled a ride to the Coke Plant because it is close and if the riding was too tough we could easily turn around and get back to the warmth of the shop. Joining me tonight was Curt, Jim W., Gary Hale, Hammerhead Harold, and Michelle. After everyone was set we headed off towards Gill Road. I led the group down the sidewalk to Gill Road and I found that the three to four inches of snow was no impediment to traction as we rode down the hill to RT. 2. I made the turn onto the trail that leads to the highway and I thought that this was cake. Well as soon as I left the woods and rode onto the grass, I made a sharp turn and I was deposited onto the snowy carpet, pronto! It was a pretty soft landing and I soon got up and joined the group on the other side of the road. The Stinkhole was frozen over and the bridge was under the ice so we rode across the ice to the trails. It was here that Curt fell for the first time. It was the first of many falls, but he was a trooper and continued on without complaint. When it is this cold out we do not stop as much and we try to keep the pace such that everyone can keep up, so when we got to the truck turnout we did a circle once or twice before heading out to the trails. I led the riders over to the swamp trail where I began a cautious descent down the steep embankment. I was worried that the snow would make the hill slippery, but quite the contrary, I was able to brake and turn without difficulty. I made it to the swamp but when I tried to cross the brook, I fell through the ice and got my leg dunked up to the knee. I had my neoprene socks and wool tights on so I did not get wet through to the skin and was able to ride on. I led the group up the Cellar Hole Trail and waited at the top of the hill for the group to come by me before falling in behind Curt to ride to the Ridge Trail. Gary led the way up the Ridge Trail as the only rider who was able to pedal his bike up the hill. Most of us had to walk at least a portion of the hill due to very slippery leaves underneath the snow. Gary was the only rider with studded tires and this proved to be very valuable here. Gary led us over to Luke where I took the lead and was able to ride all the way to the spring where we all got bogged down in the muddy leaves. I walked a few feet before re-mounting and riding the rest of the way to the top of the hill. We waited for quite a while for Michelle to ride up the hill and when she got up to the top, she told us that there was something wrong with her front brake. I took a look and sure enough, her disc brake pads we hanging out the back of the caliper. I tried to make a quick repair but to no avail so she had to tough it out with only a rear brake. After the repair attempt, I led the group past the water tank and out to the power lines. We forgo the trip up to the top of the hill, opting instead to cut across the hill and then down Red Rock Road to Red Rock. I led the group the rest of the way down the hill on the road because the Chute was not an option for most of us. We got to Jack's Pond and made a right to head up the Streambed Trail. Gary led us up Deer Run and when we got to the Water Tank Road I took the lead and the group followed me to Ankle Breaker and then down to Mud Road. We re-grouped at Five Points before we headed off to ride back to the Coke Plant. We rode from the plant back down the hill we came in on and then we crossed the highway to Gill Road. We rode easy down Gill Road and then back to the shop where we all got warmed in the shop before heading for home.

Saturday 12/25: Christmas Day 2004; It was a cold and blustery day today and I decided to call on my buddies Curt and Snakeboy to see if they could shake loose from the festivities and join me for a road bike ride. Both of them agreed to join me and we met at the shop at 1:00 and left for the ride. All of us were bundled up to protect us from the cold. I wore two base layers under my jersey and the NRM jacket and my companions were similarly suited up. We all had on tights and winter shoes or booties and were ready to go at 1:30 or so. We left the shop and I led the boys down to Federal Street (which was devoid of cars due to the holiday) and we had green lights a every intersection all the way down to Mill Street. Our plan today was to get a good 35 mile ride in. Curt needed the 35 to crack the 3000 mile threshold for the year and I was determined to get him to his goal. After the turn on Mill we headed for Wisdom Way which is a fairly steep hill. We rode up at an easy pace and then breezed down to Upper Road in Deerfield. Curt mentioned that this was his first time on this particular road and wondered why we did not use it more often. I told him that the road had been in pretty bad shape and only this fall did it get resurfaced. Now it is a perfectly smooth road and we will use it more often. We rode down to Stillwater Road where we took a right after crossing the bridge. I rode up Stillwater Hill ahead of the boys and then soft peddled until they caught back on. We then rode the usual route over to Whatley center where Curt took the town line sprint. After the sprint we discovered that the roadway has been completely rebuilt. We found the newly paved road to be graded much more favorably and we rode up the hill to the Glen Road easily. We made good progress from there down to Jamie's house where we rousted the dear boy from the holiday party he was having. After a brief stop we headed down North Hatfield Road to Prospect Street. At this point the boys were getting cold and tired and Snake boy wanted me to take Straights Road back to South Deerfield. I told him that the route was planned and he should buck up. He then said that there would be a headwind and we should take the sheltered route. I told him that he would find plenty of shelter behind me and then I headed for River Road. I rode at the front for most of the way to South Deerfield where we decided to take the flatter route back. By the time we got to Sugarloaf Street, Snakeboy was pretty cooked so Curt and I hauled his dead butt back to Greenfield via RT. 5&10. Curt tried to take me at the Greenfield town line but I had enough to pip him at the line. We stayed on Deerfield Street all the way to Bank Row where we climbed the hill to Federal Street. We then took it easy all the way back to the shop. After the ride we thawed ourselves in the shop before heading off. Curt and I went back to my house to shower before he, Betsey, MaryEllen and I headed down to Aunt Helen's house for a Christmas Dinner.

Bob called around 11:00 to see if I was up for a road ride to burn off some of the Christmas goodies I'd been snacking on all morning (how did he know?). He assured me that it was quite a bit warmer down South than the 26 degrees showing on my thermometer. We agreed to meet at the shop at 1:00. By the time I got there, he had convinced Chris Koh to join us. Were all bundled up and ready to roll by 1:20 or so.

While trying to figure out a good route before heading out, I mentioned that if the ride was over 35 miles it would put me over the 3,000 mile mark for the year (not counting Mtn bike miles).

We headed through Greenfield and up past the fairgrounds under grey skies and temps in the low 20's (Bob's promised warmer temperatures nowhere to be seen). At one short stop we decided to tuck our 2nd water bottles under our jackets to keep them from freezing. Bob led us South toward Stillwater. I tried to set a steady pace, but couldn't match him on the small rolling hills. For most of this stretch of road, Bob pulled on ahead a bit while Chris and I lagged behind. We slowed even more to crawl up Stillwater. Even in the middle of Summer, this hill is a test for me. Today I dropped right into an easy gear to spin up it instead of burning up all of my energy trying to speed up it.

Once over the top, we set up more of a paceline. We crossed 116 and headed South toward Whately. I was feeling energetic enough to go out for the Deerfield/Whately town line, mostly because I knew that nobody was going to challenge me for it. The next section of road, where it turns to follow the hillside, was a pleasant surprise. Until recently, this road has been a broken up jumble of uneven pavement and potholes on a narrow road. Now it has been completely rebuilt. They've even knocked down a few of the small hills and rounded off the blind corner at the start of the section.

Just North of Whately, Bob started wishing the cows 'Merry Christmas'. When he went from that to singing them Christmas carols, Chris and I backed off to give him more room. I think people still knew we were together, though.

Bob didn't really have a solid plan of just how far we South we were going to ride before crossing to River road and heading North again, but once we got South of Whately he decided that it just wouldn't be any fun unless we could ride past Jamie's house and spread some Christmas cheer. Jamie came out to say 'hi' as we pulled into his driveway. There wasn't much doubt that he had plenty of warning that we were coming, since we started calling his name well before crossing the railroad tracks.

After a break of a few minutes, we were back on the road and soon heading North on River Road. There was a bit of a headwind here but Chris and I had it easy since Bob pulled almost the entire distance back to 116, only dropping to the back of the group once or twice for a short break. When he took his breaks, I tried to keep the pace as high as the one he had set, but could only manage 17mph against the wind compared to the 19mph pace he had set for miles.

About 2/3 of the way through the ride, I noticed that Bob's rear tire was looking a bit flat. Of course, this time of year it is impossible to know if this was caused by too little air, or too much Bob.

We almost lost Chris as we passed through S. Deerfield, as the temptation of stopping at his warm house and picking up his car at the shop later was almost too much for him. We convinced him to push on. After one last short stop to swap my now frozen water bottle for the warm one under my jacket, we finished the ride up with a long run up Rte 5 back into Greenfield. Once again, Bob did most of the work only taking a few short breaks before pulling past me to take the front again. I pulled up beside him as we crossed the bridge into Greenfield, so we took the final sprint of the year side-by-side. (OK, he may have won by 1/4 wheel...)

Do you really need a 'cool down' at the end of the ride when it is 23 degrees outside? Regardless, we ambled back to the shop at a reduced pace and finally rolled into the shop to begin the process of thawing out our toes and wind-burnt faces. The biggest benefit of this ride was that I could eat snacks virtually guilt-free for the rest of the weekend. What Christmas gift could be better than that?

Tuesday 12/28: It was another cold day today with the temperatures never getting above 25 degrees and a slight wind blowing in from the west. I was pretty busy at the shop which meant that I did not get to be outdoors much. At 5:30 Curt stopped by to get his bike outfitted with new pedals. Curt has had quite a tough time on the last few rides because he could not get out of the pedals. We showed him several different pedals and he eventually settled on a pair of the Ritchey V3's. The pedals worked fine for him and he then finished getting ready for the ride. When 6:00 arrived Curt and I were joined by Snakeboy and Steve Power. We left the shop at 6:30 and headed over to the Coke Plant. The recent snow made the street part of the ride a little dicey but when we got to the RT. 2 crossover we noticed an improvement. We rode over to the truck turnout and then continued on over to the swamp. Curt rode down the hill into the swamp and tried (like I did last week) to ride through the muck. He got to the brook and his front wheel broke through the ice and he was stuck straddling the banks of the brook. I gave him a hand getting onto the other side of the brook before I and the rest of the riders walked over. We headed over to Five Points via the Cellar Hole Trail and although the forest was blanketed in two or so inches of snow we found that the trails were in perfect condition. When we got to Five Points we decided to do Luke up to the water tank. I followed Steve up the Ridge Trail which was no problem for me this week. I rode up the hill and then passed Steve when he stopped for directions. I rode over to Luke and then headed up the trail. I did not have any trouble until I got to the marshy section where I got bogged down. Snakeboy managed to keep it going and he rode the whole way to the top without stopping. After getting back onto my bike, I rode to the top of Luke where the rest of the guys were waiting for me. We took a moment to zip up jackets before we headed over to the power lines. I led the boys on the ride down the power lines which had some pretty deep drifts of snow. I took it easy on the ice and plowed through the drifts before arriving at Red Rock. Everyone was able to ride the whole way without any difficulty. I led the group down Red Rock Road to Jack's Pond where I took a right onto Mud Road. I did not get far before being forced to dismount due to a large, unfrozen puddle across our path. I hopped onto the center of the road where it crowns and was able to walk over to where there was firm ground. I remounted and headed over to the Streambed Trail. I rode up the Streambed Trail to where Deer Run crosses it an got bogged down in the mud after falling through the ice. Snakeboy and the rest of the crew rode around me and headed up the hill to the Crossover Trail. After turning left onto the trail, none of us were able to ride up that hill due to the snow on the steep slope. After walking the short distance to the top, we remounted and rode over to the Secret Trail. We followed the Secret Trail to the bottom and then took the left to ride down the hill to Five Points. Curt took the lead and he rode the Red Dot Trail to the brook. Curt was able to ride across all of the icy sections of the trail without difficulty, whilst I cashed through the ice and into the mud. I made a comment about Curt having an unusually high pitched voice tonight, and that maybe he was using an unknown performance enhancer. (Note to self: Get one of those helium enema's before the next ride!) We took the Lillian Street Trails back to the RT. 2 crossing and then rode back to the shop where this photo was taken. It was an excellent ride and when we got back to the shop we all sampled the birthday cup cakes that Betsey gave me in celebration of the other December holiday! Thanks Betsey, they were great! Bob also had his late night snack sent in and as you can see from the photo on the right, he didn't even bother to take off his helmet before diving in.

Dec 30, 2004: In spite of the rain, the cold, the mud and unusual weather-all in all, 2004 has been my favorite year of biking to date. I think back to the beginning of the year soldiering through zero and
sub zero degree temps with Stephanie in the Montague plains, to the now infamous "coldest mountain bike ride in the history of Massachusetts" at Walter's house. From that point on, nothing slowed my riding down for the whole year-not spring mud or summer rain. In fact, I came out of the winter so jazzed about the bike, that along with other crazed fools (Hammerhead and Big Mac to be exact) we co-founded the notorious Amish Mountain biking club-a crew of dedicated dads who got their butts
out of bed to make 5:00am bike riding appointments. By early summer, we we're out three mornings a week (plus a night ride and 1-2 weekend jaunts!!!). We even had company from time to time. During the mid-summer, we inaugurated the first annual Ridge ride Epic, and led a group of 20 riders from the base of Sugar Loaf South to Poet's Seat and into Bob's Shop. The fall-wet and cool though it was, saw us all at our peak (during New England's foliage peak season, to boot). Late Fall, moisture and
leaves put forth the hardest and most challenging riding of the year. Also in the fall-Mark, Harold, Bob, and I endeavored to bring trail building and organization back to Franklin county through NEMBA. And now we're back to winter-the cerebral and contemplative season. Snow softens the trails, rounds out their edges-but demands more core effort, consistent slogging spin and dedication. We're up to the task.

El Presidente, Big Mac, and Hammerhead rode Toby this morning-It was during the return trip along the Sugarhouse trail, while effortlessly bobbing and weaving down the soft snow covered trail that seemed so hard to climb up an hour earlier, that I realized how much I love this sport, and appreciate the characters who come out and enjoy it with me. So few people know it-but this is the cherry and the cream of life, my friends-eat it up!

We began promptly at 5:10am, up mountain rd-it was 32 degrees already and the trails were a little too soft (10 degrees colder would have been perfect). I began to intentionally search out the ice for
smoother, faster riding . We picked our way carefully down the sugarhouse trail-the snow hid mud holes and sudden ice traps! But we all made it fine! The climb up off the sugarhouse trail can be a
gritty grind in the best conditions (side note-ion four years I've never ridden the "best conditions" at Toby!)-but today, the soft snow, hidden trenches and iceberg lettuce (mucky, dense leaves in the snow) made this a particularly challenging climb. From here we decided to ride down to the Toby rode, but then climb UP the telephone pole trail and head back on the Robert Frost trail to the Sugarhouse trail. the Telephone pole trail proved to be more that a match for the faithful Amish three, but once on the RF we all rode well again. The Trip back to the cars was a delight-Toby is a different place with the snow.
Once back at the cars-the general élan shared by the trio was palpable-the Amish season will continue unabated, me thinks!

Side Note: I've done a couple of rides now with the Schwalbe Ice Spiker-on sale at Bob's-here are my thoughts: I like them a lot. The comfort, traction and stability they bring to icy, spotty trails is unbelievable. The studs work as reported. Period. As for snow handling-again, I like them. They're heavier (quite a bit) than my regular tires, but I haven't noticed-what they do better than any tire I've ever used before is they SHED THE SNOW!!!. Seriously, it was mucky, slushy, icy snow this morning and the wide, deep knobs never packed up with snow and delivered consistent bite for
the whole ride. Yeah, I still slide around a lot, squirm through gullies ... they don't turn winter riding into road riding (they're not magic) but they definitely make winter riding better and way safer.
Give them a try. I'll report on durability in the spring!

Rise and Shine Peoples, there's riding afoot!

Liam

Thursday 12/28: It was another seasonably cold day today and I was fairly busy at the shop with the end of the year stuff so when 6:00 rolled around, I was ready to do a ride. I left the shop with Gary Hale and headed over to Montague where I was met by Curt, Michelle, Rich Flye and Steve Power. We all got our gear together and the plan was to ride on the hardtop to the Telephone Pole Trail. Just as we all rode off  from the common, Michelle hollered that she had a problem with her bike. We all turned around and headed back to the cars, where we found that Michelle's bike was broken beyond repair. After that realizing that she was not going to be able to ride, she headed for home and we headed off to do the ride. We rode to the Telephone Pole Trail which we took all the way out to the Second First Left. We kept a good pace and the group stayed together as we continued out to the Banked Trails. At the end of the Banked Trails we stopped to catch our breath and figure a route. With no snow on the ground we knew that the trip up Willis Hill would be a challenge so we decided to ride out to the water tank. The group kept a pretty brisk pace all the way out to the tank and although there was some water on the hill, we all made it without getting soaked. From the tank the group followed me over to the swamp and we again managed to get through it dry. We stopped to take a few photos before we headed up the hill on the Swamp Trail. The swamp trail was pretty wet but I was able to lead the group around the water. I managed to put some distance on the bunch on the climb and I waited at the top of Red Rock for them to arrive. It seemed to take a while before the lights started to come down the hill towards me. When Curt got down the hill he told me that Rich had gone OTB and did a plant onto the trail. Rich was OK, largely due to the fact that he was using a full face helmet. After that incident we decided to ride down the hill to the sand pit and then ride the flatter trails back to the start. I led the group down the hill where I turned right to head for Plains Road. I rode all the way to the road only to find that it was a river. Really!! It was shoulder to shoulder water and our only route was to try to cross it and make it down the Ramblers Road to the Snowshoe Trail. After riding down the Snowshoe Trail we took the Banked Trail back over to the Telephone Pole Trail. I led the group down the hill and waited at the bottom to make sure the coast was clear for the riders to cross. Once again I found myself waiting for the riders to arrive. When they did, Curt informed me that Gary had run square into a guy wire on a telephone pole (hence the name for the trail) and fell. Gary was OK but a little sore. After we crossed the road we rode easily back to the center of town where we loaded the bikes and headed for home.