February 2005 Ride Report Page            
Here you will find the reports of our exploits for the month February 2005 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.

Tuesday 2/1: I received several reports that the snowmobile trails are now rideable, so with that info I arranged for our group to ride on the plains. I left the shop at 6:00 and headed over to the Bookmill parking lot where I was met by Mike S., Norm, Curt, Liam and Harold. It was a pretty cold night with the temperatures in the lower twenties and no wind. The fact that there was no clouds and the deep snow cover meant that the trails should be frozen pretty firmly. After everyone got their gear on we left the parking lot and headed for Old Northfield Road where we were met by Mark C. After we turned off the roadway and onto the trails some of the riders had a pretty tough time getting going on the snow. I followed Liam for a little ways, but passed him just before the fire pit. I waited at the fire pit for the group to arrive and then I took a couple of photos, which I have put on this link 2/1/05. After a brief rest we then headed out for the Second First Left on the snowmobile trails. I thought that the trails were in perfect condition for riding and I had no troubles ripping right along. I was following MAC and Liam for a while, but I passed them both and rode out to Old Northfield Road where I stopped to wait.  It was a few minutes before Curt showed up and several minutes more before Mike S. arrived. Mike told us that Norm had quit shortly after we left the fire pit and had gone home. Mike said that he was really having a hard time on the trails and wondered if he should head home too. I told him that the trails would not get much better than what we had already ridden and he decided to head for home. I gave Mike directions to the trail out to the road and then headed off to catch the group that had headed out while I was talking to Mike. I caught up with the group on the trail and quickly passed everyone (Curt was lying on the snow after falling off his bike, so that doesn't count.). I rode on ahead thinking that the group was just behind me. I was having a grand time on the trails. I pedaled along without any troubles. There were tire and foot prints on the trail that were left there by Michelle, who had ridden here during the daylight hours. It was clear that she had broken through the snow quite a bit and had to walk on several sections of trail. I rode the whole way out to the Banked Trail where I stopped to wait for the group to arrive. It seemed to take forever for Harold and Liam to catch up and when they did they were about to cash in as well. It seems that their studded tires we sinking into the snow and they were not having a good time. At this point I suggested that they take some (most) air out of their tires and that might help. We lowered the air pressure from the 40-50 psi that they had to about 10-15 psi before heading off. What a difference!! Liam and Hammerhead were now at the front of the pack, pushing the pace. We kept a steady pace down the Banked Trail and then we headed out to Willis Hill. I rode at the back of the pack as we made our way on the flatter sections of trail. We pedaled out to Willis Hill Road where we stopped to discuss the possibilities. After a brief discussion we decided to ride up Willis Hill. I pretty much knew that we could ride up most of it, but that there were two sections of drop off's that would get everyone off the bike. Liam led the charge up the hill and I stayed at the back. As we began the climb I was behind Curt and we pushed up the hill, passing everyone except Liam. At about the half way mark, Curt spun out and I tried to pass him but got into some soft snow and I was done. At this point everyone, including Liam, was walking up the hill. When we got to the top of the climb I led the pack over to the bottom of the steep section of the hill. I vainly tried to ride up the hill but only managed to make it a few yards before my rear tire sunk into the snowmobile track. Everyone else who tried it suffered the same fate so we decided to take the Swamp Road. We followed the Swamp Road over to Middle Road and did a nice rip down the hill to Red Rock Road. This was probably the most fun of the whole ride. Everyone ripped down the hill on the smooth trail and when we got to the bottom, some of the guys wanted to go back up and do it again. At this point I noted that it was getting late and we should get going back. We headed down Red Rock Road towards the BPT Trail and then we took Plains Road back to the power lines. On the way down to Plains Road I wasn't paying attention and dropped my new Rock Shox Reba front fork into a large hole. I was amazed that it took it up and although I was surprised by the hit, I did not lose control. Woo-hoo!! After getting to the power lines we headed off to the Banked Trail and took that back to Bernardo Drive, where Mark headed for home and we headed back to the parking lot. It was an excellent ride, even though it was a little shaky at first.

Thursday 2/3: Since we had a good time riding on the plains on Tuesday night, I decided to try it again tonight. I drove over to the Bookmill parking lot and was met there by Walters, Curt, Jamie, Michelle, Hammerhead and Matthew Green and Jack. It was much warmer tonight than on Tuesday and I had some apprehension about the trails being soft, but what the heck, we were here so we got our gear ready. Everyone had adjusted their air pressure according to my suggestions and after a couple of minutes we were on our way. I led the group down to Old Northfield Road where I took a left onto the Banked Trail. The first few feet of the trail were pretty soft, but soon I was on the harder packed snowmobile tracks and I was flying along. At first I could see lights behind me, but as I went further down the trail, I noticed that I was alone. I rode down to the power lines and stopped to wait for the group. Doing the ride this way lets the group sort itself out early in the ride, so when the riders arrived, I took note as to who arrived when and that helps me set the order of riders when we head out again. Curt was our "official" photographer since Snakeboy suggested a better camera for him than the one he made me buy. After the photo shoot we headed out to ride down the Banked Trail with Michelle and Walter at the front and myself and Harold bringing up the rear. I followed Matthew and Curt for a little ways until Matthew skidded and I went right by him and got in behind Curt. We rode the rest of the way to the Ramblers and at the road crossing we paused for people to rest. At this point Walter said he was feeling a little off his game and that he would be heading back to the Bookmill. After Walter left the rest of the group headed off to ride out to Willis Hill. The trails were mostly in great shape and we all rode along at a pretty brisk pace along the roads all the way to the four way at Willis Hill Road. We decided to try the hill again and everyone headed off to try the left side of the hill. When I got the bottom of the hill I decided to try the right side of the trail, just to see if it might be better. Not!! I got about a quarter of the way up the hill and I found that the snow had been ridden off by the snowmobiles and there was a lot of slush and mud, which made it impossible to ride. I short cut across to the other side and I had to really hump it to catch up with the group. When I got to the bottom of the steep climb the group was waiting and Curt got my photo as I arrived. After I arrived we discussed the route and it was decided to do the ride down Middle Road. I was again the last rider to start but I managed to pass some people and was able to ride down the hill to Red Rock Road. When everyone got to the bottom of the hill we then took the same trail we used on Tuesday to get back to the power lines. After a brief stop at the power lines we headed down the left side of the trail. The surface was as hard a concrete and smooth as a highway. We were able to ride all the way to the Telephone Pole trail at a pretty good clip. We took the Telephone Pole Trail to the Money Trail and then we headed back to the Bookmill. It was a good ride and probably will be the last one for a little while because it is supposed to get pretty warm over the next few days. I will keep going as long as possible, but it may be a week or so before we hit the trails again.

Sunday 2/6: It has been unusually warm the last few days and riding is limited to the wet and muddy road, so I decided to try a snowshoe hike today. We left the shop at 12:30 and headed down to Eaglebrook. Joining me today was Jeff and Laurie VonDauber, Sarah, Mary, Jenn and Hershey the dog. We parked the cars at Schwab Pool parking and got our gear on. From the parking lot we headed down Pool Road to the Mud Mile. The trails were packed by snowmobiles and ATV's so we hiked right along until we got to the field at the bottom of Mud Mile where we rested. Hershey the dog had a great time running up and down the trail, next time I will bring Eddie. I took some photo's at the road before we headed off to bushwhack our way over to the blue dot trail. (I have posted the photos on the web at 2-6-05.) I led the group through the woods and then across a beaver dam to the bottom of the cliff. We paused briefly before beginning the climb up to the Crystal Cave Trail. This is a fairly steep hill and we had to take a serpentine route through the woods, but we were all able to hike up without any difficulty, The Crystal Cave Trail has been lightly traveled and there were only a few sets of foot prints on the snow covered trail. After stopping at the lookout for some photos we headed down the other side of the hill to continue the trail back over to the Pool Road. At this point Mary and Sarah decided to head back so we said goodbye to them before we headed down the Pool Road to the Over the River Trail. The route we took today is the same one we do our MTB rides on and it has had not much traffic since we last rode here. We hiked along the level section of this trail for a short way and then the trail becomes and uphill climb all the way to Pine Nook Road. As we made our way along the trail I was behind Jeff and was kind enough to pull the branches out of the way for Laurie and Jenn. After crossing Pine Nook Road we got back onto the Blue Dot Trail, where I took over the lead. This left Jeff behind me and in charge of removing the shrubbery off the trail for the girls. Hershey the dog and I headed up the hill to the Ski Area. Hershey the dog wanted to play with the skiers as they whizzed down the slopes, but Jeff wisely put the leash on him. We hiked up the edge of the ski slope and passed behind the lift tower to finish the climb up the hill to the Red Rock Lookout. After a few photos at the top we began the short trip back down the ski slope to the parking lot. It was a really nice day for a hike and we all had a good time on the trip.

Sunday, February 6, 2005.  Just wanted to give a big “hello” to everyone…so HELLO…and give you an idea of what I’ve been up to down here in the Valley of the Sun.  The weather has been very nice for riding recently, with temps in the mid-60s and little rain or clouds.  I’ve been participating in the MBAA (Mountain Bike association of Arizona) State Series, doing cross-country races in various places around Phoenix (and soon to be, around the state).  Race #1 was at McDowell Mt. Regional Park, and Race #2 was at Estrella (I couldn’t do Estrella because I have to prove to another state that I am actually capable of teaching and take a 4-hour long exam on that day!)  The third race is coming up this weekend at White Tanks Regional Park.  Future venues include Gardner, Payson, and Flagstaff.  This weekend, three of us from our team (plus one wife who came along for a fun ride) headed up to White Tanks to pre-ride the course.  Sport is doing three 6.5 mile laps (same for men and women) with terrain ranging from rock gardens to deep washes to long, steady climbing and steep switchbacks, it is rumored to be the best venue of the series.  The first practice lap was choppy and slow, as we stopped to inspect sections, re-try places where we didn’t get a good line, etc.  The second lap, I was mostly on my own, as the guys took off to go at their own speed, and I felt comfortable with the effort I was exerting.  Then, some old dude with something to prove crept up behind me at the end of the climbing and passed me as we entered the technical section.  I backed off and gave him some room, but quickly caught up to him on the choppy downhill.  So, I gave him twice as much room, but caught him again.  At that point, his ego was too busy trying to keep itself inflated, so he wouldn’t let me pass.  Finally, at the end of the technical section, he pulled over and let me go by, and I passed without so much as a peep.   On the next substantial climb, he barreled past me and smirked, “you’ve got to work on your climbing”!  No one ever said the MT.. bikers here were very nice…many of them are very rude.  Anyways, that gave me the fire to really push the second loop and I finished at a decent pace, not far behind my teammates.  We’ll have to see what happens this weekend!  We’ve been doing two or three night rides a week, and riding on the weekend if there are no races.  In two weeks, we have the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo race outside of Tucson…stay tuned for that, too.

All the roadies will be pleased to know that I have once again re-committed to road riding, and went out and did a 20 mile ride on Saturday.  Okay, okay…it’s not much, but for not having done a road ride since late August, it was enough.  I did a pretty popular loop out here (Bob…it was the Bush Highway/Usery Pass loop), and found out that I was only about 5 minutes off the pace of the decent riders at the shop.  Not bad, I guess.  My single speed bike has also been getting a lot of use…I try not to multi-speed as much now, because I sometimes mess around with my gears too much instead of focusing on pedaling.  Everyone needs to try it at least once…you’ll be hooked!  The simplicity of it all is just a thing of beauty…just you and one gear…plus, it has really helped my riding in general.  I am much stronger and very rarely put my multi-speed in the little ring any more.  For me, that is a big improvement.

Lastly, I’ve now really committed to down hilling…I’ve bought my own bike (Specialized Demo 8), and have been out with my No Brakes team a few times recently.  We had a race in Boulder City, NV a few weekends ago (go to http://www.nobrakes-racing.com/2005/Photo_Gallery_2005.htm to see more pictures…I’m plate 71), and also did some dirt jumping at Papago Park near ASU in Tempe…just messing around on jumps and drops.  I did this one drop called the “Diving Board” which has a totally blind landing on the slope of a really nice hill…what a cool feeling.  Anyhow, we also recently went out to South Mountain and bombed down some trails called Geronimo, 24^th Street, and Holbert…really rocky and obstacles coming at you every second.  It was intense, but so much fun.  I feel like downhill has made every other obstacle I encounter on XC rides seem small and easy, so that has made me more confident and able to trust my bike more. 

I’ve been reading your ride and hike reports religiously, and I do miss being able to hang out with everyone and enjoy the snow.   I hope there will be much riding for you guys, and if you ever want to get away for a few days and come down to AZ, it would be great to have the company.  I’ll be updating you on my races and stuff as it happens!  Take care…I miss you guys!  (Submitted by Steph)

Wednesday 2/9:It was a really nice day today with the temps in the high forties and no wind. The weather people say that we will be getting a blizzard tomorrow so I took got some work done early and I decided to go out for a road ride. It has been a couple of days since I have been able to get any exercise outdoors so I was ready. I got my riding gear on and took out the trusty Redline and headed out of the shop parking lot. I rode down High Street and took a right to head over to Federal Street because of all the puddles on High Street caused by the melting snow. I rode down RT. 5&10 through Deerfield at a steady 20 mph and I was feeling pretty good. I rode straight through the lights at RT.116 and continued south until I got to Christian Lane. I made a left turn at the Whatley Ballet and headed for River Road. There was a slight crosswind from the north as I cruised east on Christian Lane which brought my speed down a bit and my effort went way up. When I turned north on River Road the wind was blowing right at me and this slowed my speed to about 17mph for the ride up to South Deerfield. When I got to RT. 116, I took a right turn and headed across the bridge into Sunderland. When I got to the traffic lights I took a left and headed north to Falls Road. At times I was hit with a headwind as I rode along while at other times the wind was calm. The rest of the ride was pretty much the fighting the wind and a couple of hills, but in the end I was able to keep a 19mph average for the 30 miles.

Sunday 2/13: Today we went on a snowshoe hike out to Hawley State Forest. It was a perfect day to be outside. The temps were in the 20's and we had clear skies and beautiful sunshine. I, along with team leader Jamie, headed out from the shop with Sue O'Connor following us in her car. Jamie and I drove up to the firehouse while Sue stopped at Jeannie's house to pick her up. When we got to the firehouse we were met there by Jack, Norm and Samantha. In all we had 10 people, including me, for the hike. We headed out from the parking lot as soon as everyone had their gear on. I took some Photo's of the trip and they are at 2/13 . We hiked out past the Kiln and beaver pond to the snowshoe trail (which is also our MTB trail). Jack led the group down the Blue Dot Trail which was in perfect condition, considering all the rain we have had. The trail was pretty well traveled but not too hard or icy. We made a loop down across the road and then we headed back up the hill to the start. All in all we hiked for 1 1/2 hours at a pretty steady pace and everyone really enjoyed the nice day.

Tuesday 2/15: It was another spring like day today and I scheduled a road ride for 1:30 in the afternoon. Joining me today was the team leader Jamie, Parrott, Steve Power, and Curt. Parrott showed up at the shop with a flat tire and Bee Boy fumbled with the repair for ten minutes before Norm and I finished it up for him. Before we left, Norm took some photos of us. After the photo shoot we headed out to ride down the valley. I led the boys down to Deerfield Street via Bank Row because of slush and ice on Russell Street. The roads were very wet and I tried to stay at the front of the group to avoid the splash off the tires when we went through the larger puddles. We rode down to Deerfield and as usual, Parrott sprinted past me at the town line. (Will he ever tire of beating up on an old man?) Anyway, after the sprint, the group got behind Parrott and we followed him down to Old Main Street in Old Deerfield. We rode down Mill Village Road to Lee Road. We hoofed it up the hill on Lee Road behind Steve and when we got to the stop sign at Stillwater Road, we took a left and rode down to RT. 116. (I just want to mention that it was Parrott's idea to take this route which was really wet and muddy. I wanted to stay on the state roads, which have more traffic, but are generally dry) Most of the riders were getting wet from the many puddles and streams of water flowing down the roadways. After crossing RT. 116 we headed down the hill to So. Mill River Road where we followed the usual route down through the back roads to Whatley center. As we rode down Christian Lane I suggested that we head back through Sunderland and Montague. Again, my suggested route was countered by Parrott, who wanted to go on River Road. Ever the gentleman, I agreed, even though I knew it would be hillier and wetter and colder and not as nice and not as sunny and no way as much fun! I led the group down River Road in Whatley and when we got to the Deerfield town line, Parrott sprinted once again past the lead-out man (me), and contested the sprint with Curt. After re-grouping I led the boys across RT. 116 and onto River Road. We had not gotten more than 100 yards down the road when the cry "Bob is Fat!!" arose from the group behind me. Sure enough, when I turned around and rode back to the group, there was Jamie stopped on the side of the road with a flat tire. I helped our leader get his tire changed and then we remounted for the ride back to Greenfield. (Not on the route I wanted, mind you!.) It was a wet, cold and hilly ride back, but I bit my lip and cheerily rode along with the group. We got to the cemetery hill and I was getting ready to sprint up the hill when the cry "Bob is Fat!!" arose from the group behind me. What? I couldn't believe it, but it was true. Curt's rear tire was going flat. Parrott made Curt ride the flat all the way to the top of the hill where we pulled off the road to make the repair. After getting the tire fixed we then remounted and headed off to finish the ride on the wet, cold roadway that Parrott picked. We rode past the train yard and headed down the hill for the last climb of the day. I tried to sprint past Parrott and Curt, but I ran out of gas about half way up the hill (exhausted from all the flat tire changes). Steve and Parrott rode past me and down the hill to RT. 5&10. I rode with Jamie and Curt and we caught up with the other two who were soft pedaling down Deerfield Street. We rode easily back to the shop with a 17.8 mph average (It would have been much higher if we did not have to stop so many times on the "flat tire" route that Parrott picked.) It was a fun ride on a really nice spring-like day. Our plan is to do some more afternoon rides for a few weeks, and then we will start the evening rides. 

 Thursday 2-17: It was yet another spring-like day today with the temperatures in the forties and a brisk wind blowing from the west. I had planned a ride for 1:15 from the shop because the weather people said that there could be a possibility of snow showers in the later afternoon and I did not want to get caught out in a storm. Joining me today was the same team members as on Tuesday. This time I had a firm route planned and no suggestions from Parrott would detour me from it. As you can see we were set to face the elements and soon after the photo was taken, Parrott got the rest of his gear ready and we were on our way. We left the shop and rode south on High Street at a modest speed, but we quickly dropped Parrott who seems to have lost some of his fitness between rides. The four of us continued on without Parrott who probably went home to work off some of the Twinkies he ate yesterday. Our group rode down to Sanderson Street and then headed up Mountain Road past Poet's Seat. We then rode down the hill to the bridge and took a left. We then turned right to ride up Greenfield Road. The roads were much drier than the roads we used on Tuesday and we were grateful for that!. We rode up the hill on Greenfield Road and then took Ferry Road to Meadow Road. We had a pretty sketchy ride down Ferry Road due to ice and sand, but everyone made it without any problems and after getting out on Meadow Road we headed for Sunderland. We all took turns at the front of the line and we kept a good pace all the way to the town line, which Curt took in a solo sprint. The ride was just about as good as you can get this time of year with clear blue skies and warm temps. At the end of Falls Road we turned right onto RT. 47 and we continued on into the town where we turned left onto North Silver Lane. (Well, sort of, Jamie and Curt missed the turn, even though I was riding in the middle of the road with my left arm out.) After a brief chase they caught up with me and Steve and then we rode down the hill to RT. 116, where I used my magic button to make the cars go away. We rode across the highway and then we headed for Plumtree Road. The wind has been blowing at us from many directions for most of the trip, but as we rode down RT. 116 we had a tailwind. This was nice because our effort was lessened while our speed went way up. We rode over to Plumtree Road where the speed remained pretty high all the way to the turn onto RT. 47. After the turn we got spanked by a brutal head/crosswind and we worked hard to keep a 17 mph average. We rode into Sunderland Center where I piped the boys at the traffic light and took the town line without much contest. (Ok, so it wasn't fair; it still was a W!!) We rode over the Sunderland Bridge and then headed through South Deerfield to RT. 5&10. We rode north into a fairly heavy headwind and we all took turns on the ride back to Greenfield. When we got to the Wok restaurant, Curt took off and I tried to catch him, but he got to the town line first. After the sprint we took our usual route back to High Street and then spun easily back to the shop. It was a fun ride and everyone seemed to do a little better than on Tuesday. Except for Parrott, of course.

Sunday 2/20: It was a pretty warm day today and Parrott stopped by my house at 12:30 and I went over to the shop with him. After we arrived Curt and Michelle pulled into the parking lot at 1:00. We all got ready and then headed out for our scheduled road ride. It was nice to be able to go out with shorts and short sleeves at this time of the year and we set a blistering pace for the first part of the ride. We rode over to Montague via Turners Falls and took Greenfield Road up to Montague Center. It was nice to see the flowers poking up through the snow as we rolled along at 22 mph. I did most of the work on the front while Parrott tried to keep up. We headed over to Cave Hill and I sprinted up the climb with the group in tow. I let Parrott take over the lead on the downhill run to RT.116. After the turn onto RT. 116 Curt took the lead but only briefly as I wanted to keep up our 23 mph average, so I passed him and brought the speed back up to 27 mph. We roared through Sunderland and crossed the bridge into Deerfield. Parrott made a valiant run for the town line but he was no match for my powerful sprint and I took it by a half a wheel. This was only the beginning of the fun. We sprinted and jousted for most of the ride up River Road and I managed to take two of the three hilltop sprints. By the time we got to the Greenfield, Parrott was whipped so we took it somewhat easier for the rest of the way back to the shop. After we got back to the shop we hung out at the picnic table and had some refreshments. It was a fairy tale ride, indeed.

Feb 20, 2005: When the snow finally arrived in early January, it put a damper on our rampant and successful spree of trail creation at Wendell SF. Truthfully, I greeted the snow with mixed emotions-I like winter and I love skiing. However, I've been getting down right giddy every time I think about trail building in Wendell-and the burst of enthusiasm of my fellow trail builders was both infectious and inspirational. Last Weekend (President's Weekend, that is) Mark Courtemanche and Myself returned to the woods of Wendell with the same excitement. Our Mission: To begin scouting out and marking off the new trail that will circumnavigate (roughly) the large tract of land north
of the Top of Baker Road, to the edge of the Forest, skirt the M & M, and head back along the brook to Saxton Bridge (at the bottom of Baker Rd). You can follow our tag lines from the top of Baker Rd (right by where we ended our last trail project, and get a feel of what we've done so far). Honestly, with about 2 miles of potential trail marked off, we're only about 1/6th of the way through this area-the last 1/4 mile of trail marking is actually just a beeline to the road (not part of the proposed trail) so we could pick up where we left off without retracing all of our steps. You never know what you are going to find stepping into untracked forest for the first time-but let me say...this trail is going to beautiful. The first 1/4 mile or so is a little bland, but soon it opens up onto a series of ridges running roughly north and south that will offer spectacular riding and views when the
trail is finally built. If you get a chance, pick a sunny early morning (the ridges are east facing) for the full effect if you want to check it out-Mark and I were blown away by the sublimity of some of the views.

At any rate, the Wendell project is moving along as quickly as can be hoped.

When the snow starts to melt (again) we'll get out again and mark out mark future trail. Brian Stewart is still very eager and supportive of our trail building plans-for which we are grateful.
I'd really like to make an email list of all interested trail building volunteers. Anyone who is interested in helping out this Spring should send me their email address (send it to ginaliam@mac.com) This way I can put out quick, mass, calls to action and keep everyone updated on a day by
day basis.

Finally, a little shameless membership plug-NEMBA annual dues are going up April 1, 2005 to $25. Their only $20 a year now-so save yourself the five bucks and join now! We're part of the Pioneer Valley Chapter of NEMBA-you have to specify that when you send in your membership info. You can join online (www.nemba.org) or pick up applications at Bicycles Unlimited (Bob is a NEMBA sponsor, after all!). That's It for now, Spring is around the corner....

Liam O'Brien
ginaliam@mac.com
 

Monday 2/21: It snowed for most of the day today and I kept the shop closed so that I could rest up from yesterday. I scheduled a snowshoe hike for 6:00 and I was joined by Gina O'Brien and Jenn for the trip up to the ridge. We left the shop and hiked over to the trailhead and began the climb up the hill. I found the trail to be very icy and I had a hard time with traction on the way up to the chimney. I followed Gina and Jenn and we headed over to the Blue Dot Trail. The trail had better traction but there was still some icy spots. I decided to take a different route than what we usually do. We hiked down from the Blue Dot Trail to the Red Dot Trail. We hiked along the ridge overlooking the river and made our way to the parking lot at Poet's Seat. The girls wanted to hike the ridge so we headed up past the Poet's Seat Tower and got back onto the Blue Dot Trail. We hiked down the trail which was pretty icy in spots, but since we were going down the hill we were able to walk on the side of the trail and avoid most of the ice. We hiked down the same way we came up and ended the hike back at the shop. It was a nice night and we all had a good time.

Tuesday 2/22: Tonight was the scheduled full moon snowshoe hike, but the skies were cloudy and we decided to take the trip over to the Coke Plant. It was a fairly warm evening with the temps in the lower thirties and no wind. With that in mind I thought that the snow would be better at the Coke Plant. I also knew that there would not be as much ice as there was on the ridge. We drove over to the parking spot and got our snowshoes on. Joining me, MaryEllen and Eddie for the hike tonight, we had Helen, Sue, Jenn, Mike S., and  Ant Penny. After everyone was ready we left the parking lot and headed over to Jack's Pond with Eddie in the lead. The snow was not too deep for him to go through and was just right for us to hike on. We hiked over to the Mud Road where Ant Penny and Mike took over the lead. We ran into quite a bit of water and everyone (except for Eddie) had to hop over some logs and bushwhack through the woods to avoid going for a swim. We took a longer loop off the Mud Road to avoid the large puddles ahead. We hiked over to Five Points and took a rest there. At this point we decided to head up the ridge trail and then do Luke. MaryEllen took the lead while Eddie and I covered the sweep duties. The snow was pretty good on the climb up the hill but there were some pretty muddy sections near the top of the hill. When we all got to the top we stop for a minute and at that point, Eddie was getting cold and I had to pick him up. When we started hiking again I was able to let Eddie down. It seems that the little feller can keep warm when he is running up and down the trail, but he gets pretty cold as soon as he stops. We hiked over to the power lines and then took the Ant Penny Trail over to the Red Rock Road. Ant Penny ran down the hill with the rest of us following her. We arrived at Red Rock where we discussed the route and it was generally agreed that we were not going to do the chute. We hike down Red Rock Road past Jack's Pond and from there we all headed for the Hill of Doom. Everyone found the hill to be a chore but all made it without any trouble. The group then hiked out behind Eddie and I (Eddie was done! He did the rest of the hike in my jacket.) We all got back to the cars and were glad to have made the trip.

Sunday 2/27: It was a fairly brisk (cold) day with a strong wind blowing from the south/southwest so I was not confident that there would be any riders for the 1:00 road ride. I drove over to the shop at 12:30 to get my gear ready and there was no one at the shop. (Oh well, I can go out by myself if it comes to that.) Soon after I arrived Brian Pierce drove in and then he was followed by several other riders. By 1:00 we had a group of nine riders and were ready to set out on our trip. Since the wind was blowing pretty hard as we preparing to leave, we decided to ride south into the wind and return with a tailwind, or at least that was the plan. I led the group over to Federal Street (Auto Mile) because the road is mostly dry as opposed to High Street, which at this time of year is mostly under water. I used my magic button to keep cars away as we turned off Lincoln Street onto Federal Street (RT. 5&10) and we all breezed through the intersection. We rode down to Main Street where the button suffered a malfunction and some of us were caught at the light. After everyone got through the lights we rolled down to Deerfield Street and headed for Deerfield. David passed me as we got near the golf course and he kept a moderate pace at the front as we pedaled across the Cheapside Bridge to continue on RT. 5&10. We held a pretty steady 19mph speed down to the butterfly museum where I noticed that Mike was no longer with us. He must have peeled off in Old Deerfield. We continued on to the traffic lights at RT. 116 where Curt and I made the cut and the rest of the crew tailed off behind us. We had a repeat of that when we got to the next light where we had to make a left turn onto RT. 116 south. After the turn we headed for Sunderland. I rode down the hill at the front of the group but got passed by everyone as the sprint heated up. Michelle and Hammerhead Harold sprinted past Curt and El Presidente and eventually Michelle passed Hammerhead to take the town line sprint. Hammerhead was way ahead of us after the sprint and he made the green light at the center, while the rest of us waited on the other side. When everyone got across the light, Harold took the lead and the pace went up to 23 mph. This left some of us sitting on the rivet and some others thinking of heading for the 7 O'S for a beer. We all managed to stay on the paceline and soon I found myself again at the front of the pack. At this point we had a tailwind and I was able to keep a 23 mph pace until we got to Amherst where I pulled off. At the traffic lights we turned right onto North Maple Street and then we took the next right onto Hadley Street. We rode right into the teeth of a fierce headwind and we struggled to keep a 14 mph pace. We did not get too far before the ubiquitous "Bob is Fat!" cry came from the group ahead of me. Sure enough Curt's rear tire was going flat and we pulled over at the next street. I began the fix and soon I had the dear boy back on his bike and we were on our way. We soft pedaled for the first quarter mile and then we headed into the wind. We all took turns pulling into the headwind that slowed our efforts to 15 mph at times but we pressed on. Dave and I did the town line sprint to a photo finish and then we sat up to wait for the rest of the group to arrive. We all then rode on towards Sunderland Center where we ran afoul of the traffic light. When the light turned green (or maybe just a little before that) I sprinted across the intersection and hammered all the way to the town line. I had no idea if anyone was behind me and I wasn't taking any chances, so I went as hard as I could and crossed the line first. (The fact that no one else even tried, does not matter!) After that effort I was ready to call a taxi for the ride back home. I got dropped on the bridge and nearly got left behind, but fortunately Harold and Jamie got dropped as well, so I had an "excuse" to ride slowly to wait for them. After the turn onto Sugarloaf Street the group ahead slowed down and waited for the three of us. This gave me enough of a rest so that I was able to keep pace as we sped up for the ride through South Deerfield. When we got to the end of North Main Street we turned right and rode back to Greenfield on RT. 5&10. We were almost back into town and I was at the front, when Curt and Harold went ripping by me and I can't tell you who won because my eyes were rolling backwards. When I came to I rode along and joined the group for the last leg back up Federal Street. Michelle left us to ride home when we turned onto Lincoln Street while the rest of us finished the ride back at the shop. Although it was cold out, none of us were particularly uncomfortable with the conditions, and no one had any trouble keeping warm. All in all, it was a really nice ride!! Check out the rest of the photos at 2/27.