February 2003 Ride Report Page    

Here you will find the reports of our exploits for the month February 2003 more or less as they happened. I will publish any ride reports that I receive. Please send them to  bikebob@crocker.com and you too can get yourself published on the web!

Wednesday 2/05: Here is the report from Penny about her ride tonight.
holy cow. that was a great ride!! there was some ice at the bottom of the telephone trail, but it wasn't a problem. we went all the way to the power lines and took the second first left to the bank trail and around to the bottom of red rock. we didn't do any hills, we took the left before going up red rock and then headed out. we were out there for almost 1 1/2 hrs. I have to stop in tomorrow and get insulation for my hydration pack. half way thru the ride, my bite valve froze.

Thursday 2/06: Tonight we had a ride over to the Montague Plains. Along for the trip was Mark C., MPM, Steve Daby, Homer, Jack, Penny, Ben, and me. We left the parking lot and headed over to the Telephone Pole Trail. The trail was a hard packed snowmobile trail with a light covering of snow. It was fairly cold out so I had my full compliment of warm clothing on. It was fortunate that I did as the temperatures kept dropping all evening. We rode at a pretty good pace out to the power lines where we waited at the road crossing for everyone to re-group. I was having some trouble with tire traction and when we got to the road I stopped and let some air out of my tires. Steve was running about 18 psi so I tried to guess what his tire felt like and let some air out of mine until they were nice and squishy. After the adjustment we took off for Parrott's Trail. I followed MPM, Steve and Mark as we made our way out to the Banked trails. As we neared the end of the trail I heard a twig snap and saw the riders ahead stop suddenly. As I got up to where they were standing, I saw MPM lying in the snow clutching his chamois. I thought that he had "Birdseyed" (frozen) the boys and was thawing them out. Well as it turns out, things were worse than I had thought. It seems that MPM had speared himself on a fallen tree branch that was pointed across the trail. After a minute or two to check the "bag of dust", MPM was up and moving around. As the rest of the group arrived, he was in good enough shape to hop back on the bike and continue. I rode along behind the lead trio as we got to the Banked Trail, where MPM did another spectacular spill. This time it was the snowmobile ski track that had caught his wheel and deposited him on the snow. The group arrived just as MPM was re-mounting his bike and we soon were on our way. We did a loop out to Willis Hill where the group decided to skip the hill in favor of the BPT Trail. We followed the trail out to the power lines where we took the Red Rock Trail. We rode up the hill to Red Rock. I found the hill to be somewhat difficult to do because of all the ruts from the snowmobiles made keeping a steady pace hard to do. Penny made the climb and she was really stoked at having done it. At the top of the hill we split up for the trip down the other side. I along with most of the group took the left side while Steve, MPM and Mark rode down the steeper right side. At this point we decided to head back, so we rode out to the power lines and took the Toilet Bowl Trail. Big Mistake!! The trail was hard packed, but because so many people had walked on it when the snow was soft, the trail was what we call "post holed". That means that the snow had lots of holes where the boots of the walkers had pushed through and this made for a very bumpy ride. Eventually we all made it back out to the smoother trail and from there we headed back to the Telephone Pole Trail which we followed back to the road. Although it was pretty chilly out, we had a great ride. The trails were in great shape and I look forward to some more rides out here.

Sunday 2/9: It was cold and sunny when I arrived at the Book Mill parking lot. I was greeted by several riders who were getting ready for the trip up to the plains. Joining me today were Jack, Kip, Rich Flye, Norman Flye, Ben L., Mark C., Steve D., and Homer. It was 25 degrees out and so I had all my heavy clothing on when I led the group out of the parking lot. I rode at a brisk pace for a short while, when Jack passed me and motored up the road. I followed Jack at about a hundred yards behind until we made the turn onto the Telephone Pole Trail. Mark C. had stated that the trail was not very rideable when he checked it out earlier, but I wanted to give it a try anyway. After I got on the trail I passed Jack, who was stuck on the snowbank, and I continued on up the trail. I had put only 25 psi of air in my tires and I was able to ride right up the hill. I did find that it took a great deal more effort to ride with soft tires than with harder tires and by the time I got to the firepit I was sweating bullets. Although the traction was much better with soft tires the heat that I generated was enough to cause a greenhouse effect. I got up to the firepit and quickly removed my heavy jacket while I waited for the rest of the group to arrive. At this point several of the riders adjusted their air pressure, having learned that traction is better than speed. After everyone was set we headed off to do the south end of the Banked Trail. I rode near the front of the group and we cruised on out across the power lines and continued all the way out to the Rambler's Trail where we re-grouped. The group was fairly compact and we waited only a minute or so for everyone to arrive. After we got going again we took the Banked Trail out to the power lines and then we rode over to Willis Hill. After a short discussion we decided to take a run up the hill. I went up on the left side while several people took the right side trail. I made it up about 1/3 of the way before I bogged down in the soft snow. It was possible to ride up the whole hill but you would have to be Lance to do it. All the riders had to walk up a portion of the hill. After we got to the top we rode over to the Swamp Trail which we took to Red Rock. The trail from Red Rock splits at the top and I took the right trail which did not have any snowmobile traffic, while Jack, Steve, Rich and Mark took the left trail. I had lots of fun riding down the hill to the brook where I waited for the rest of the group to arrive. After everyone got to the bottom of the hill I led the troops on a loop out to the cement barriers and then I took a right onto the Plains Road Trail. I rode at a pretty good clip out to the sandbank where I waited for everyone to catch up. After a brief discussion we all agreed to start to head back to the cars. I led the group along the right side of the power lines all the way back to the Telephone Pole Trail. The snow conditions were perfect and we sped along the trails as if it were summer. I rode all the way back to the road without stopping, and once I got to the hardtop, I rode at an fairly slow pace back to the van. It was a perfect day for a ride and I would have to say that the conditions were as good as we have seen all winter long. 

Sunday 2/16: It was cold today! I not talking about a little chilly, I talking freezing you whatever's off. I had scheduled a ride for 1:00 and I assumed that it would be the warmest time of the day. It was. The temperature got all the way to 8 degrees at the time we left from the Book Mill. There was three of us, myself, Homer and Norman Flye. We rode over to the Telephone Pole Trail which was not as rideable as it was on Thursday night. Because it was so cold we set a reasonable pace up the hill but even with that we found that we had to walk up some of it. After we got to the top of the hill the trails were much firmer and we were able to ride out to the power lines on smooth, hard trails. When we got to Old Northfield Road I suggested that we take the power lines over to the Banked Trail since there was likely to be more snowmobile traffic on that trail. I led the group all the way out to the other side of the plains where Norm and I waited for Homer. After she caught up to us we started to ride up the power lines, but the snow was so soft we were forced to walk/run for most of the way out to the Plains Road. After getting to the road we took a loop out to Willis Hill. The trails were perfect; nice and hard and not much loose snow. I rode out to the bottom of the hill and then I took the BPT Trail over to the Red Rock Trail. When we got to the Red Rock Trail the snow was really soft in spots so we had to hoof it for a little way before we got back onto Plains Road Trail. Plains Road was in perfect condition and we flew down the trail all the way back to the power lines. At this point we all getting a little cold so we decided to ride back on the power lines to the road. Once we got to Old Northfield Road we decided to take that back to the hardtop rather than trying to do the Telephone Pole Trail. My ears were getting a little cold so I took it easy going back to the van, and as soon as I arrived, I fired up the buggy and headed for home. It was really cold but except for the last mile or so on the road, I was plenty warm. It looks like this will be the last ride for a while as we are supposed to get hit with a big snowstorm tomorrow. We'll see what happens!!

Tuesday 2/25: Well the snowstorm of last week dumped 2 feet of snow on the trails and made riding impossible. Then the rain on the weekend canceled the Sunday ride. After the rain it got really cold so I decided to try a ride for tonight. Robert met me at the shop and after I loaded my bike into the back of Jezebel (Penny's car), we headed out to the Book Mill parking lot. It was really cold. The temperature was 10 degrees and we had a pretty stiff wind  to contend with. We arrived at the parking lot, which was empty, and got ready to ride. Robert and I took off from the parking lot and headed off towards the Telephone Pole Trail. When we got to the turn I could see that there had been no snowmobile traffic out to the road, but we tried to ride in anyway to see if there was any trail to ride. We only made it a short way before we had to dismount and walk. I got over to the trailhead and I could see that there hadn't been any use since the snowstorm so we turned around and headed back to the road. We rode over to Old Northfield Road and took the trail off Bernardo Drive. The trail was in perfect condition. It was smooth and well packed which made for easy pedaling. I ripped along for a short way but I had to stop when Robert yelled to me. This was Robert's first night ride and he was using a helmet light. As he passed under a low branch, Robert forgot to include the height of the light in his "duck factor" and the light caught on the branch and immediately deposited him onto the trail. He was OK, and he now knows that he has to keep his head lower when passing underneath branches. (My light is attached with Velcro, so if I hit a branch, the light pops off easily.) After we got going again I set a pretty good pace and we flew out across the power lines and onto the Banked Trails. Robert had not been on these trails in quite a while and I made sure that I did not get too far ahead. After we got through most of the banked sections of trail, Robert hollered for me to hold up. It seems that the pace was a little too much and he was really getting winded. We paused for a moment and then I led on at a slower pace. We rode all the way out to the Plains Road and took a right. I then took the next left that leads over to Willis Hill. As I made the turn I could see that Robert had fallen behind somewhat so I stopped and waited. Robert caught up to me and he was really steaming. I mean literally!! He looked like he had a small cloud of steam surrounding him. He took off his helmet and balaclava to let the heat out as well as opening up his jacket. As we stood on the trail we took the time to admire the beautiful, crystal  clear skies. It was really awesome to see! After Robert cooled down I told him that we should get going as soon as possible so that he wouldn't cool down too much. After he got himself back together we rode along the trail at a pretty good clip all the way out to Willis Hill Road. Robert was right behind me so we kept on riding over to the BPT trail. I really wanted to ride up Willis Hill, but Robert said that he was starting to get tired and so we headed down BPT. At the end of BPT we found that the Red Rock Trail was not rideable and so we headed over to Plains Road. I kept the pace moderate and we followed the trail all the way back out to the power lines. We turned onto the power lines and we rode back down to the Banked Trail where we took a left and headed back to Bernardo Drive. Robert was really stoked as we flew down the trail. He and I were yahooing and generally having a great time as we made our way out to the trailhead. After we got out to the hard top we headed down Old Northfield Road at a pretty good clip. As we got about half way down I got onto a section of ice and did a ballet at 20 mph. I managed to keep the bike upright, but that sure was a quick way to get the heartrate up. We rode back to the parking lot and fired up the cars and soon we were heading back home. It was a great ride even though it was really cold.

Thursday 2/27: Today was another sunny, cold day although not as cold as Tuesday and we had a ride scheduled for 6:00 at the Book Mill. I arrived at the parking lot and I was soon joined there by PJW and Jack. We got our bikes ready and soon we were heading down the road towards Old Northfield Road. We began rode a short way up the hill where we were met by Mark C., who had ridden from his house. It was a clear, cloudless night and that meant the temperatures were falling pretty quickly and we could feel the chill. It was not however as cold as Tuesday night and I for one was thankful for that. When we got up to Bernardo Drive we took the Banked Trail and headed off towards Willis Hill. Mark led the group and soon he was out of sight. We were all flying down the trail at speeds usually found on road rides. I pulled ahead of PJW and Jack and soon I was out at the second power lines with Mark and we waited for the other two to join us. After a couple of minutes rest we headed off to Willis Hill Road. We rode at a fairly fast pace all the way out to the bottom of the hill and after a brief discussion we decided to ride up the hill. I followed Jack and Mark and made it a little more than way up the hill before I lost traction and had to dismount. I quickly got back on and continued all the way up to the top where the three of us waited for PJW to arrive. I then led the troops off on the Swamp and I was planning to ride over to Red Rock. But when I got to where the Middle Road joins Swamp Road, I tried to ride over to the trial  and I soon discovered that the trail hasn't been used since the big storm, and so we couldn't ride it. In the mean time the group had ridden off and I set off to try to catch up with them. I could see their lights up ahead and I managed to hook back onto the group just when they got to the bottom of the hill. We then took the Brook Trail over to the sandpit and then we rode out to the power lines. The trail out to the power lines was a little rough and we all ended up walking a short way before we got out onto the smooth trail. After we got onto the power lines we flew down the trail back to the Banked Trail which led us out to Bernardo Drive. It was a really nice ride and the trails were just about perfect. I hope to get out again a few more times before the snow melts. It is going to be a long spring with lots of mud and the rides are going to be interesting.