Here is a ride report that I got from Karen Dowd about the ride on Saturday 2/4.
Is this February? What a beautiful day for a ride, I went out from the shop with Paul, Tom, Mike Stzeliga.  We had decided to ride to Bernardston to Streeter’s Store and then back to the shop, but Tom suggested a longer ride so instead of turning at Streeter’s Store, he and I continued on.  We followed Rt.10 to Rt. 63, we went up and down some hills and went by the Northfield Mountain Recreation Area, and then headed to Millers Falls. The hill heading to Turners, that was tough for me, I barely got up, but I did it.  Guess I need to work on my hills!  We went by the Turners Airport, down to 3^rd street and yes, you guessed it, up the Esleeck Hill and back to the shop.  Whew!  It was about 27 miles for Tom and I, we had a nice ride, nice conversation and viewed some nice scenery. Tom thanks for all the encouragement.   Hope we get to do this again before “winter” sets in.  J

Sunday 2/5: It was a pretty windy day and although I was not feeling 100 percent I decided to got out for a road ride. I went over to the shop at 2:30 and got my F1C ready. It was 43 degrees out with the sun just coming out to dry the roads. I left the shop and headed down High Street to Main Street. The wind was really howling when I got to the hospital and I knew that the average speed would not be all that high. After I got out onto Deerfield Street I got hit with a stiff headwind which lasted all the way to River Road. I headed down River Road and the wind was mostly at my back as I rode past the train yards but when I got to the bottom of the cemetery hill I got hit with a strong headwind again. It was brutal and I struggled against the wind to get a 14 mph pace. When I got to the hills I was able to go a little faster but that only lasted until I got to the Pine Nook Cemetery. As soon as I got into the open area near the river, the winds hammered me backwards for most of the way to RT. 116. I rode up the hill to Sugarloaf Street where I got hit with a vicious cross wind after I made the turn. I struggled against the wind from Sugarloaf Street all the way to the turn onto RT. 5&10. When I got out on 5&10 I got a tailwind which lasted for most of the way back to Greenfield. I took the Washington Street route back to High Street and then I rode easily back to the shop. I ended the ride with an 18.3 mph average for the 25 miles.

Monday 2/6: I got up this morning feeling a little under the weather but I thought that I would be able to shake it off as the day wore on. Well that did not work. I got progressively sicker as the hours past and by 2:00 in the afternoon I was out of it. MaryEllen called for the ambulance and I went for a ride in the red and white taxi. I ended up staying in ICU overnight and by the end of the day on Tuesday I was feeling much better (amazing what IV antibiotics and morphine will do for you). I went home on Tuesday afternoon and rested for the rest of the day.

Thursday 2/9: Tonight was a great night to ride. It was cold to be sure but there was no wind and the moon was nearly full. I was joined by Mike Szteliga and Matt Ballard. We were delayed leaving the shop because I had to care for a little doggie that got hit by a car in front of the shop. The dog was not seriously hurt so I made a few phone calls to see if a vet could see the dog. But in the end I just decided to wait until we got back from the ride to see how he was doing. We left the shop and headed for the trailhead with me leading the trio. There was some ice on the steep hill near the start, but we were able to get around it and soon we were up at the chimney. I decided to take the road over to the Blue Dot Trail instead of the steep climb near the beginning of the Blue Dot Trail. That trail was sure to have ice on it and I was not up for hiking up that hill. We rode the Blue Dot Trail all the way to Poet's Seat. Mike was having a hard time on the hills so Matt and I waited for him at several spots along the way. When Mike got to the parking lot at the tower, he said that he was OK on the flatter sections but he was getting pretty whipped on the hills. We left the parking lot and headed down the Yellow Dot Trail. When we got to the turn to the White Dot Trail, we decided to walk around the big tree as there was some ice on the trail. Once we got onto the White Dot Trail we were able to ride at a pretty brisk pace on perfect trail conditions. We rode the White Dot Trail to the entrance of Poet's Seat Tower. We crossed Mountain Road and entered Temple Woods and rode up the trail a little way before we took a left onto the Red Dot Trail. We rode down the Red Dot Trail (which parallels Mountain Road) to the turn onto the Yellow Dot Trail. We took the Yellow Dot Trail over to Bears Den Road but when Matt and I got to the road Mike was a little way behind. Mike said that he was really starting to fade and that he might want to head back to the shop via the hardtop road. I said OK and we headed off to ride over towards Highland Pond. As we rode along Mike said that he was feeling a little more energetic and if the trails were flat like this he might make it a little longer. I told him to hang on and we would do the loop over past MPM house, which is mostly downhill. We rode down the Green Dot Trail and over the NEMBA bridges to where there was a large tree laying across the trail. We tried to move it but it was frozen into the mud, so that will have to be a MPM chainsaw job. After climbing over the tree we had a short climb up to Five Points. Matt and I rode up the hill but by the time we got to the turn, Mike was not in sight. Matt and I rode up to Five Points where we waited for Mike who was walking his bike. At this point Mike said he was done, so I gave him directions for getting back to High Street. Matt and I then headed off towards the power lines near Joe's Rock. Matt and I took the shorter trail off to the left and headed back to Bears Den Road. We encountered a bit of ice on the trail and Matt crashed on the ice just before we got to Bears Den Road. As I rode over the crest of the hill I could see a headlight coming towards me. It was Mike! He somehow missed the turn and was now heading for Mountain Road. I gave Mike instructions for getting out to the road and then Matt and I rode off. We took the first left and tried to ride up the Yellow Dot Trail, but in the end we both walked up the hill. From the top of the climb we got back on our bikes and then road up to the Blue Dot Trail. We took that trail all the way back to the entrance to Poet's Seat. We rode around the gate and took a right onto the Red Dot Trail, This is a really nice trail to finish a ride on because it has enough challenge to make it interesting but not so challenging that it is too much after a long ride. When we got back to the Blue Dot Trail we headed out to the hardtop driveway that leads to the short trail back to High Street. I took this trail so that we could avoid the ice on the other trail. Matt and I got back to the shop just as Mike was leaving. Mike told me that MaryEllen had taken the dog over to the vet's office. I stowed my gear and got into the van to go see how my little buddy was doing.
When I got over to the vet's office the doctor was working on the dog and she said that she though that he was doing pretty good considering that he got hit by a car. She said that we could take him home and watch him overnight. I thought that being at my house would be more comfortable for him, instead of being alone at the kennel. We brought the dog home and he did fine over night. On Monday I took the dog back to the vet and he got X-Rays and IV's. The vet said that he was doing good and that he would go home with the dog officer from Greenfield.

Sunday 2/12: It was a good ride at Walters'. You know how the trails are there.... up up up, down down, up up, down, up, down, up... repeat. Lots of that with some logging mixed in so the trails were chewed up, some patches of ice. We rode on the 'regular' trails for a while before Dusty got a flat, but the problem was really his wheel so he walked back to the house to borrow one of Walters'. Then we rode back there to use a shock pump. The 2nd half of the ride was on the North side of 116, where I had never ridden before. It started off well, but the last part of it was repeats of short sharp drops followed anaerobic short climbs. I was pretty drained by the time we finished.

We came back to 116 where we almost went IN the night Jamie was with us then took the road back to the house. The other new factor was we went through some farm field then right through the barnyard to get back to the road... which was unremarkable except that it got our bikes covered with cow shit which then got thrown up onto our clothes

I was seriously close to bonking by the end and was afraid I was going to make some stupid mistake and crash just because I didn't have the energy left to control my bike anymore. There were 9 riders to start. One guy Al Koenig bailed after the first half. Dusty got his flat and never rejoined us, and a few people went down on patches of ice, including Steve Powers who took a nice fall on a downhill ice patch. It was a fun ride (about 2 hours total), but I'm sure my HR averaged in the 180s somewhere!  Submitted by Curt

Thursday 2-16: Montague Plains There are all kinds of rides: Day long Epics, technical rock and hop fests, gut buster climbing sessions-and they are all good. Then there is the Montague Plains--Tell the truth, I usually don't get to excited to ride the plains-after all, it's pretty flat, lots of sandy, soft power line roads, triple track ATV trails, swampy, not very picturesque, very little single track--In fact, it's hard to find anything particularly appealing about the plains when describing it to others. And yet, I must also admit, every time I ride here I have a great time. One of the reasons for this is that it's Bob's home trails-he's got every nook and cranny, every rock, bog, and leaf catalogued and registered in his riding mind's eye and he mastered reading the terrain any time of year to make the most out of this ride for any level of mountain rider (true novice to true expert)--it's a real pleasure and privilege to ride the plains with Bob--something you just can't get everywhere. Last night's ride was no exception--in spite of incredibly adverse trail conditions-under Bob's Magellan-like stewardship we had a dynamite ride.

At around the usual 6:20 start time, we all met at the Bookmill Parking area-Joining Bob tonight were myself (Liam), Curt, Todd, Mike, Steve Powers (Activate!), and Matt Ballard-a real nice group. After some jimmy-rigging of Curt's break pads in the parking lot we set off on the road towards the Telephone pole trail--What a February Night!--Temperatures in the high forties to start the ride and the sky was clear and full of brilliant stars--usually my hands and feet are frozen by the time we get to the Telephone Pole trail--but not tonight--very comfortable riding temperatures. We set off up the hill only to encounter what I must admit were initially discouraging trail conditions--a mix of deep-quicksand like sandy mud, mushy-momentum robbing snow, and semi-frozen ice-slush puddles--the latter--if the temperatures were 5 degrees cooler would have been damn near impassable without studs--but as they were, with some deep-down solid pedal digging were negotiable. We reached the top of the trail in fairly good order--but the realization that tonight's ride would require a real anaerobic exertion just to ride flat-as well as extreme gyroscopic balance just to remain upright was already weighing heavily on the group's psyche. Not to be deterred we pushed on towards the second next left trail (or something like that--as most of you know, I never know where the hell I am in the plains--I just follow Bob and Kurt's orders). Finding the right line in the deep mud and slush-puddle Ice was critical but about of the third of the way through the ride we all were getting a real good feel for the trails-our confidence and our speed rose steadily throughout the ride-soon, most of us were careening gaily (not in a male figure skating sense) across the icy/ muddy terrain. Soon we were at the foot of Willis Hill--we steeled our resolves and began the hard push up the uber-muddy, rutted, eroded incline-no one made it up with out stopping-be we all did really well considering the conditions. On the descent, Bob-thankfully-took the lead and steered us clear of potentially very dangerous Ice-Pothole booby traps--we worked our way over to the Pine Tree Forest trail--Kurt Lead Mike around some other way (I have no idea) the rest of us plugged along up the leaf-strewn, muddy climb and then followed Bob over to some other challenging descent (which we all loved) and then up the really strenuous leafy climb to where we met up with Kurt
and Mike again-after poking our way around a small pond on the trail.
Next Bob lead us down a real nice, yet leafy and slick descent. After which we began the return trip-working our way steadily to the rather nice Toilet Bowl Trail (under Curt's Guidance)-the final stretch on the connector to the telephone trail and then down the telephone trail was pretty challenging-the temperature had drop 5-7 degrees and the slushy ice was now just ice and we all slip-slided and skidded through pot holes and puddles--arriving at the cars fairly damp but not worse for wear. All in all-a great, and challenging ride. These sort of rides are real levelers-in these conditions no bike, suspension, technology makes a difference--it's all about the rider and the riders resolve to slug it out with the trails and keep plugging--Everyone did this with aplomb and distinction and had a great ride--Bob and Curt's knowledge of the trails paid big dividends as well for the whole group. Oh-if you are going to ride in the near future--I'd put the studs back on!

Thursday 2/16: It was an incredibly warm day for the middle of February. We had temps in the 60's and a gentle breeze all day. I had scheduled a ride for the plains tonight and I was pretty much set to go by 5:30. A little after I had my gear stowed in the van, Curt came into the shop saying that there was a clicking sound coming from his brakes. I took a look at his brake pads and discovered that he had none. I went to work and changed both sets of disc brake pads and then we headed out the door to go over to Montague. I rode over to the start with Tod Pleasant and we arrived to find several riders waiting for us. Joining Tod, Curt and myself was Matt Ballard, Mike Szteliga, Steve Power and Liam. While I was getting ready, Curt came over to me and said that his rear brake was not working well so I took a look. It seems that while he was warming up, one of the rear brake pads fell out. I spent a few seconds looking for it and found it a couple of feet away. After getting the pad back in we soon were on the way. It was a very mild night and I had on a light jacket and tights and most of the rest of the crew were in gear the we usually use in the fall. I led the riders over to the Telephone Pole trail and I was really surprised to find that it was snow and ice covered. I got into some heavy snow cover and I bogged down pretty quickly. I got going again and soon we were at the fire pit. We discussed the route and I suggested that we continue on the Telephone Pole Trail. (It turns out that this was a very good choice.) Although there was snow and ice on the trail, we were able to ride at a pretty good clip. After we got out onto the power line trail we found that the ice was replaced by mud in many places. After getting  out to Old Northfield Road we took the Second First Left out to the Banked Trails. It was pretty much snow and ice on these trails as well and some of the riders took a few falls before getting the hang of ice riding. We made our way out to Willis Hill where things improved considerably. We found the trails at this point to be free of ice and snow. I was able to ride up the hill to the ledge outcropping where I got stuck in the mud. I walked to the top of the ledge and got back on the bike. At the top of the hill I took the lead and headed the group over to the trail next to Willis Hill. I rode up to the half way point where I slipped on some leaves and had to dismount. I got back on and rode to the top of the hill. When Mike got to the top of the hill he was getting tired so I gave him directions over to the I-H trail. Curt said that he would join him and they headed off. I led Liam and the rest of the group down the Pine Forest Trail and then back up the Ice Flow Trail to where Curt and Mike were waiting. I did very well on these trails and I made it up the climb without even a dab. When the group was back together I led them over to the New Trail which I also rode point down. When we got to the bottom of the hill, we decided to head back because it was getting late. I rode with Liam for a little way before I got bogged down in the sand and most of the riders rode past me on firmer ground. When I got out to the power lines I was near the back with Tod and Mike. I told the rest of the group to head on back and the I would ride with Mike and Tod. We rode over to Brushy Way  and then we took the Toilet Bowl Trail. As we neared the end of the trail, Mike took a nasty fall on the ice. Mike was OK but we decided to take the hardtop road back to the start. We arrived shortly after Liam and the rest of the crew and we all commented on how well the ride turned out. Although it was pretty tough at the start it got much better towards the end (except for Mike's fall of course).

 Thursday, February 16th: 'The Plains'

Tonight's ride proves that you don't have to have perfect trails and perfect weather to have a great ride. All you need is a good group of riders who want to have fun and are willing to make the best of whatever conditions they find.

We didn't really know what to expect when we met at the Bookmill parking lot to start our ride. We'd had some snow recently but from what we could see from the road it was mostly melted. It had also been rather warm for February, so we were certainly expecting mud and generally wet conditions. Well, we got all that and more. I'd say we hit just about every trail condition imaginable with the exception of 'dry sand' on tonight's ride. We started off with granular corn snow and some icy patches as soon as we hit the telephone pole trail. As it leveled off, we got into the sucking mud, quicksand and deep puddles of standing water. There was also quite a bit of the most slippery surface I can imagine... slick ice patches covered by a few inches of standing water.

Every time I came upon the ice, I carefully picked my way across wishing I had left my studs on while every time I hit the sucking quicksand I was glad I had my Panaracers on so I didn't get sucked into it even deeper.

As you can imagine, the ride was a real mixed bag, but we all managed to have a great time. It was probably a really good 'skills building' ride since even though most of the ride was flat we were struggling through something almost ever moment.

From the snow/ice/mud of the telephone pole trail, we transitioned to the quicksand along the power lines for a bit before turning back into ice/mud trails on the 2nd 1st left trail. We got our first look at the new logging around the banked trail, but the good news is that the trail itself was mostly untouched so we were able to ride through the new desolation easily. Even at night, it looked like the site of a heavy artillery bombardment, I'm sure that by day it will be shocking to see the difference.

After the banked trail, we followed the power lines and dirt roads to the bottom of Willis Hill. These roads alternated between mud and ice, with some of the icy puddles broken up so our wheels would drop into 8-10" puddles when we least expected it. The final approach to the hill, which is soft sand in the summer, was a real power-draining section as the wet deep sand tried to drag us to a stop.

We all gave our best to the climb... but I don't think anybody made it all the way. Willis Hill has really been hit by erosion this year and is going to be very technical on the climb AND descent this Summer. There are some new 'surprises' that are going to be waiting to catch anybody who tears down it without paying enough attention.

We sent Bob first over the icy section at the bottom of the final climb, thinking that if he made it without breaking through the rest of us would be home free :) He managed to find a few weak sections and pointed them out by dropping his bike through them.

Once we turned off the power lines, we headed up the short sharp climb to the intersection of the I.H. trail and the pine forest trail. I can sometimes clean this not too technical ascent in the Summer, but just didn't have the legs for it tonight. I made it about 2/3 of the way up before running out of steam and walking the rest.

At the top, Bob was telling Mike that he could shortcut the next section by taking the I.H. trail and waiting for the rest of the riders where they would be climbing back up to it later. Mike wasn't exactly sure were the meeting place was, so I (since I wasn't really looking forward to the climb up the ice-flow trail anyway) volunteered to take the shortcut with him. There were some new trees down across the I.H. trail that will have to be cleaned up with a saw, but other than having to dismount a few times to pass our bikes over things we had a nice ride and only had to wait a few minutes before being rejoined by the rest of the riders.

Just before the final drop, there is a sharp turn and short run-up that you can only make if you hit it hard and fast. I had a good head start built up and was ready to bull my way up it then the two riders directly in front of me both went down. I tried to shift my line over far enough to get around them, but ended up just adding myself to the pile of tangled bikes/riders. Nobody was any the worse for wear from the fall, so we all ran our bikes up the remainder of the hill before starting the final descent.

I used to get anxious about descending the trail-that-does-not-yet-have-a-name, but I think it has been getting easier now that we've been riding it more often. There are some tricky sections you have to know the good line on, but for the most part if you don't let your mind wander it is a good trail. I agree with Bob that it would be nicer if we got some rakes out there to clean it up a bit so you can SEE some of the technical bits better!

At the bottom, Bob called to order a quick meeting of the NEMBA web page building committee (what better meeting room?) before we headed out to the power lines. The group split a bit here with four of us riding off the front and Bob taking a few other riders at a slightly slower pace. We ripped down 'brushy way' then had fun on the Toilet Bowl trail which was just as much of a blast as it always is. I've never been good finding the trail head for the short little connector we have to take to get back over to the telephone pole trail and I think we overshot it a bit, but we found our way eventually. The last road section to the fire pit was the most slippery section so far. I went down a few times and got soaked to the skin, but I was generating lots of body heat so wasn't worried about getting cold, especially since we would be done with the ride in another 10-15 minutes.

The drop down the T.P. trail was fun, but a bit more technical and slow than it usually is due to the ice, snow and mud. In no time we were out to the road and rolling along pavement back to the cars.

So... my only conclusion is that if you are reading this report and were NOT on the ride, you missed a great Winter ride. This ride was a real gem and is the reason we do these night rides. We all ended up back at the cars wet, muddy, perhaps a little more 'black and blue' than when we had started and very happy that we had gone out. Submitted by Curt

Sunday 2/19: It was a bitter cold day with strong winds blowing from the north when I went over to the shop. I had planned a ride to Wendell for 1:00 and when I pulled into the parking lot at noon I was greeted by Curt and Gary. We got our gear together and I made some adjustments to Curt's brakes before we headed out for Wendell. We arrived at the ranger station about 12:40 where we found several riders already warming up in the parking lot. I got dressed and pulled my bike out of the van and pretty soon we had the group together for this event. We had 12 riders in total and the plan was for all of us to ride together out to the Brook Road where those who were faster would go out on a more technical loop and the rest of us would do a longer but less challenging ride. We rode at a pretty good clip over to the singletrack and as soon as we hit the trails the group split in two with Pete, Heather, Hammerhead, Jason and Matt heading off ahead of Jack who was leading our group. When we got out to the Brook Road, the other group was waiting for us. I told anyone in my group that the faster group was heading off and if they wanted to go, they better get going or they would miss the train. Well, no one bit and Pete and company took a left onto the White Trail. I took a right onto the White Trail with my group. This is a pretty nice single track and we rode on nearly perfect trails all the way out to Dirth Road. We stopped where the trail meets Dirth Road so that people could take care of business. As we were waiting, Gary said that his hands were cold. I took my gloves off and gave them to Gary and I pulled out my spare pair. After we got going again we rode on the dirt roads over to Wickett Pond Trail. When we got to the trailhead, I had the group wait while I rode on ahead to get some action shots. The first rider to come along was Jack and as soon as he tried to jump the log on the trail, his front wheel hit the log and he fell hard. Jack was OK and I was able to get some shots of the other riders as they rode over the obstacle. After the rest of the group caught up and we made sure that Jack was going to be able to ride, I headed off to get in position to take some more photos. We rode down the Wickett Pond Trail to the parking lot and after some photos of Walter on Ice, we headed off to do the Nipmuck Trail. This trail is one of my favorites and I rode at a steady pace all the way out to Baker Road. When we got out to Baker Road we climbed the hill to the Hanna Swarton Trailhead. We were about to make the turn onto the HS when we saw Hammerhead coming up the trail. It seems that he was having some mechanical difficulties and decided to head back, and he just happened onto our group. We all then rode the HS down to Wickett Pond Road. I took some more photos at the trail head for the Maple Leaf Trail. After the photos we took the Pine Tree Trail back to the Ranger Station. It was a beautiful day, even with the cold. I think that all the riders had a good time.

Sunday 2/19: Wendell

So, can you believe that with all the riding I do in the area that I've never ridden the trails at Wendell? Well, today was my day to resolve that situation. I had no idea what to expect from the trail systems other than what I could extrapolate from the little I knew. 1) Many of the trails are new, so might be a bit on the rough side and 2) we had to drive UP several miles to get to the start, so the odds were that we would be riding down into the trails and would be finishing with a climb.

Well, both of these things turned out to be true to a degree. The trails were a mix of established older trails, fire roads and freshly cut trail. And yes, we did spend most of the first half of the ride dropping further and further into the woods to the point that I was beginning to dread the long climb back out, but as it turns out most of the climb out was on a fire road so it wasn't that tough. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

For the most part, the trail system was made up of sections of single track tied together by fire roads. This works out well, since after the concentration it takes to pick your way over rocks and weave through twisted trails, it is nice to take a break for a few minutes rip down some open gravel road. We split the group before we even left the parking lot. Some of the riders who were more familiar with the trails took off for a faster ride, while I was more than satisfied to let Bob take me and 5 other riders on a slow guided tour of some of the trails. Right away I could see that we were in for a different kind of riding than what the plains had to offer. This was less 'sweeping open trails' and more 'pick your way over boulders, bridges and rock outcroppings' type riding. While slower, it was just as fun. I'm actually surprised that I cleaned some of the sections I did and one nice thing about the trails is that every tough section usually had a 'bail out' path around it for riders who didn't want the challenge.

After a bit of riding (and a short stop to deal with cold hands) we came to the pond. You could tell right away that the trail here was VERY new. The ground was barely packed leaf litter and mud with stumps of recently cut brush and small trees still sticking 3-4" out of the frozen ground. It was a GREAT ride though, and it is just going to keep getting better and better as it gets ridden in. I can't quite remember the name of the next section we did (nimrock? Numlock? Nipmuck Who comes up with these names??) but it was about as different from the pond trail as you could get. This trail was NOT built for speed. It twisted and turned its way through a patch of woods, keeping you on your toes (pedals?) by throwing patches of rock and roots at us whenever we started getting too comfortable with the sweeping firmly packed singletrack. After dropping out the bottom of this trail, we had to pay the piper for all this free riding by climbing the fire roads back to our starting altitude.

Once more into the woods for the most technical section yet. Now along with the mini rock gardens, we had stands of poplar trees barely far enough apart to squeeze our handle bars through. Trying to navigate a jumble of rocks while threading between trees 24" apart while taking a 90 degree right hand turn going downhill put my limited skills to the test and I've got to admit I dabbed a few more times than I'd like to admit. But all that means is that I'll have to head back there for more practice.

After we got out the other side of that trail, we had one more single track section before finishing it all up with a fast run along hard packed pine needle covered smooth old trail. We ended up at the beach and, with just a short climb, were soon back at the cars.

So... my first impressions of these trails? Great, and they are only going to get better with age! One or two of the trails may have challenged me today, but I'll be back to even the score.

Tuesday 2/21: It has been a good couple of weeks for mountain biking here in the valley. There is no snow on the ground and although the temperatures are a little on the cold side, there has not been too much artic cold. I scheduled a MTB ride for tonight and a group of seven riders headed out to do the Greenfield ridge. Joining me for the ride was Curt, Mike S, Hammerhead and Matt Green, Steve Power and Matt Ballard. The group left the shop to head for the singletrack at 6:00 or so. I led the crew over to the bottom of the first climb where I promptly ran out of steam on the steep pitch. I can never get warmed up enough to do this kind of a hill at the beginning of the ride. I quickly pulled off to the side of the trail and let Matt G, go by. The rest of the group was off their bikes at this point so I got back on and rode to the top of the hill. When the rest of the riders got up the hill I had Hammerhead take the lead and they went off to do the steep pitch near the cliff. After not making the first steep hill I decided to skip the next one and head out to the road to ride up to the Blue Dot Trail. Curt decided to join me and we rode up the hill together. We got onto the Blue Dot Trail and caught up with Mike who had taken the road instead of the singletrack. Soon after we caught up with Mike we were overtaken by Hammerhead & company. The group rode on ahead and I took up last place. I was not feeling all that great at this point in the ride. I did not have any zing and so I wanted to take it easy and see if I would get more energy after warming up a little longer. We rode up the hill to Poet's Seat where we regrouped on the road. We took the Yellow Dot Trail down to the White Dot Trail. The Boy (Matt Green, when there is more than one Matt.) was in the lead and he made one of his several wrong turns at the switchback. He quickly recovered and soon we were all motoring down the trail to the main entrance to the park. After crossing the road we headed into Temple Woods where Mike split off onto the Red Dot Trail and we continued on the Blue Dot Trail. All went well until we got to the turn near Sachem's Head. It seems The Boy did not hear his father yell to him to make a left and he motored on to the end of the trail. We all waited at the turn for him to return and then we headed off to ride the Yellow Dot Trail to Bears Den Road. Hammerhead was behind his son and they along with the rest of the crew missed the turn onto the Yellow Dot Trail. As soon as I got to the turn I yelled to Curt and he called on ahead to the rest of the group and they turned around. After getting onto Bears Den Road we took the right to head for the power lines. Curt, Mike and I opted to take a shortcut over to the top of the hill and I took some photos there. At this point Mike decided to take a trail over to Bears Den Road rather than do the Green Dot Trail over by MPM 's house. We headed off towards Five Points with Hammerhead at the front with Boy. I followed them down to the Green Dot Trail and when we happened onto the fallen tree we all stopped to move it off the trail. When the ride resumed I was at the back and followed the group back over to Bears Den Road where we met up with Mike again. I gave Mike directions to get back to the shop and then I led the boys over to the turn onto the Yellow Dot Trail. I was feeling a little better at this point and the ride up to the Red Dot Trail was no problem. Once I get warmed up I find getting around the trails much easier so the ride was improving as time went on. I made the climb up to the Red Dot Trail and then followed the group over to the parking lot at Poet's Seat. We continued on the Red Dot Trail (after The Boy missed the turn we had to hike back to the trail) when we crossed the road. This is a really nice way to end this ride as the trail is mostly uphill, it is a gradual uphill and you can get some speed on the smooth pathway. When we got to the end of the Red Dot Trail we retraced our path back to the shop. All in all we had a great ride on perfect trails.

Sunday 2/26: It has been bitterly cold these last few days and with the snow we got yesterday, I wasn't too sure that we could do a ride. We got about three inches of light, fluffy snow yesterday. I had taken my bike out and ridden around town and found that the snow was easy to ride on. So, armed with that information, I arranged to do a ride from Parrott's house today. I drove over to the parking spot at 1:00 and was met there by Keith and Wayne Holden. We got our gear and rode down the hill to Parrott's house. As usual, the dear boy had his panties in an bunch over a carpentry project he was working on and he wasn't read to go. Chris was helping the lad with his chores but things were not going well. Nice Kate took me aside and told me that Jon was a little touchy on the subject and that I might want to not say too much about the project. Sooooo..... a perfect time for me to launch in with my always helpful tips and suggestions.  After a couple of "eyes burning a hole through me" looks from Kate I thought I would head outside and get ready to ride. A few minutes after I went outside, the "Mennonite Master" came out and I took a few snapshots of him getting his helmet on. 2/26 We left before either he or Kate was able to get a weapon to dispatch me to the heavens. We rode across the Bridge of Names and rode over to the Plains. The first few trails we rode on were pretty icy and Keith (the only one without studded tires) hit the deck quite a few times. We rode out to the Banked Trails via our usual Second First Left Trail but the trip was pretty tough for Keith and Parrott who both took a couple of falls on the ice. I found that even with studded tires the ice underneath the snow was really hard and the studs just would not hook up like they should. When we got out to the Banked trails I suggested that we stay off the heavily traveled trails so we took a left onto the Snowshoe Trail. This trail was a little better but not a whole lot better. We rode the trail out to the Ramblers Road where we decided to head out to Lake Pleasant Road. From there we planned on taking East Mineral Road over to the iron bridge across the Millers River. We rode without difficulty in the snow the side of the road. There was no ice and we finally were able to get some traction. After pausing at the iron bridge we rode over to Northfield Farms Road. This is a section of road the follows along the Connecticut River and is not plowed in the winter. It is primarily used by skiers, bikers, hikers and snowmobiles. Keith got pretty far behind on the snow covered road. I waited for him while the other "louts" went on ahead. We had only gone a half mile or so and Keith was having a lot of trouble keeping upright, so he said that he wanted to turn around and head back. After Keith left I rode on ahead and caught up with the boys at the boat launch at the Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage facility. We turned around to head back and Chris mentioned that we could take a trail that led over to the French King restaurant. We headed back down the route we came on and made a left turn onto a steeply uphill pitched trail. The trail was not slippery at all and I was able to make it up the first hill without any difficulty. On the second hill, however I fell pretty hard just as I got to the top of the climb. I got stuck in an icy rut and I hit the deck pretty hard. It took me a couple of minutes to get up and I knew that I had cracked some ribs on my upper chest. I was able to ride the rest of the trail (which was the best trail of the day after that.) and we soon were back at the iron bridge. After we crossed the bridge we headed up the hill on East Mineral Road. Wayne dropped back a bit and as Chris, Parrott and I got near the top I told them to continue on and I would wait up for Wayne. Wayne was getting a little tired as well as cold so I stayed with him until we caught up with the other two. We rode back down Lake Pleasant Road where we spied Nice Kate running on the trails next to the road. Parrott and Chris decided to head out on the trails to ride behind her on her run. Wayne and I continued back to the van and I then gave Wayne a ride home. Although it was a bitterly cold day, I was dressed for the elements, and I other than the fall I had a good ride.