bikebob@crocker.com

Tuesday 1/4: I am still a little gimpy today after several days of not riding. I cannot put full weight on my leg yet but I'm going to give it a try. Tonight is probably the coldest night yet, about 10 degrees at 6:00 when John Friends, Alex, Matt C., Pat Heider and myself left for a trip to the Coke Plant. I stayed at the back as I was unsure about putting any sudden weight on my leg. We were surprised to find that we could ride on top of the frozen slush that fell over the weekend. As we made our way down Gill Road I found that the traction was a lot better than I had thought it would be. We rode over Rt. 2  to the trails and I found that the snow was hard enough to support my weight most of the time. I followed the kids as they are much lighter and it is easier to follow their tracks since they don't fall through the crust. We made it to the streambed climb and all of a sudden the crust was not as thick as it was on the flatter ground.  John and I were falling through the crust every few feet and I ended up walking up the steeper hills. I found that just walking was starting to make my leg sore, so I sent the kids and John to ride the Hill of Doom, while I rode the long way around to the top to wait for them. After a few minutes everyone came walking up the hill. No one could make it. I suggested that we stick to the flatter sections and make our way back to the shop. There were no arguments as everyone was getting tired. The temperatures did not affect us as much as the condition of the snow. If there had been more foot traffic or snowmobiles on the trails to pack things down I would have been able to ride for quite a bit longer. Everyone seemed to be warm enough; it was just too tough to keep slogging through the crusty snow. We made it back to the shop at a little after 8:00. Two hours of winter fun.

Thursday 12/7: Tonight's ride was a trip to the Montague Plains. It was very cold when we left (9 degrees) and the group was cautioned to dress for the extreme conditions. Along for the ride was Joe, Matt S., Alex, Pat, and me. I was a little leery about the conditions, since I wasn't able to scout out the area and our last ride was as much a hike as a ride. We headed out from the Book Mill parking lot and rode over to the Telephone Pole trail. The trail was in great condition, the snowmobiles had been out on the trail and the surface was hard and smooth. We rode at a pretty fast clip, and although I wasn't cold, Joe and Alex had to slow down as their hands were getting cold. This is the lesson about riding in the cold that most people do not understand. You have to ride at a slower speed in a bigger gear in order to keep the wind chill down and your "heat factory" working at high output. One other consideration is the area you ride in. You should look for areas that have sheltered trails and not much open areas that the cold and wind can cause you to loose heat. I did all of the above and I was really comfortable. We rode  the trails that lead over to Willis Hill and found that in the woods the crust on the snow wasn't as thick as on the open trails and we started to fall through in the places where the snowmobiles hadn't gone. When we got to the base of the hill we found that the trail was pretty chewed up by trucks and heavy vehicles. I found the trail marginally rideable and walked the steepest parts. After we got to the last and steepest hill I had second thoughts about trying it, until I saw that Matt had ridden right up it. Not to be outdone, I followed him right up the hill and I was amazed at how easy it was to climb on the snow. After everyone got to the top we rode down the other side of the hill an did the loop back to the I-H wreck. The trails were about the same as the climb we just did, some really nice hard sections and some places where we broke through the crust. After we all got there we headed back down the hill on the steep trail that parallels Willis Hill. The snow was too weak to hold us up and we returned to the main trail and then headed to Knarley Hill and back out to the power lines. Most of the rest of the way back was on beautifully smooth and hard trails that was more like riding on hardtop. We got back to the van at about 8:30 after two hours of great riding.

Sunday 1/10: Today was the first "Bikecapade" of the year. No, Nancy Kerrigan and Scott Hamilton weren't doing a demo on ice, it was just us riding on the Montague Plains. Along for the (sl)ride was Ken and Pat Heider, Jesse, Alex, Bjoern and myself. We parked up on the Northfield Rd. because there wasn't enough parking at the Book Mill. Our trip went into the trails on recently used snowmobile tracks which were very nice, but as soon as we turned to head over to the power lines we were on our own. That meant crunching through the snow and making our way down the trail to the road that leads to the power lines. It was not that hard to ride through the crust, but the ruts underneath would sometimes cause your wheel to slip. We got over to the power lines and found that the four wheelers had destroyed the path with their trucks. We had to hike-a-bike over to a snowmobile path that parallels the larger road, but that path was too slippery to ride on so we mostly walked out to the main road. Once there, the track was very packed down and we rode all the way out to the "secret trail". We rode down the trail to where the big tree was cut down across it, and then out to the "main" power lines. After a few falls and some basic bicycle ballet we all got back to the vans without injury. We soon, however, found ourselves pushing Ken's van out of the snowbank, but even that went well and we were soon on our way back home. I hope that the conditions improve for this coming week's rides, if not I will have to put the Nokian's on.

Thursday 1/14: Since the usual crew was scared off by the weather I had to round up some different riding partners for the evening.  At about 10:00 PM Phillip Davies, Teleski and myself (Juan Amigos) started off on the trail that climbs up Mt. Pocumtuck.   Phillip and I tried some new winter treads (the Tubbs 32" models) while Teleski went w/ the old school skins.  With some slipping & sliding we were relatively successful @ climbing but decided to stop before reaching the top of the ridge.   We shifted into downhill gear and since we couldn't find our handle bars, rather than twiddling our thumbs, we attached our bike lights to them .  Phillip took his Custom 156 CM w/ him while I went w/ my Fat Bob 159.  Teleski had no light and opted for the double plank decent. We floated down the "New Trail" quite gracefully jumping several stumps, and wandering into the woods here and there.  Before we knew it we were at the bottom looking back up the mountain.  On the second decent I shot the liftline while Phillip and Teleski took a wooded trail and we met up somewhere in the air above the knoll at the bottom.  After the fourth time around this loop we were pretty beat, and it was after midnight. Phillip and I made our way to the top of the 15 M jump/ski trail.  It was a short fast ride (real adrenaline pumper) and on the last steep section of the trail I had that  distinct feeling that I was flying through air well above the actual trail.  Definately one of the more unusual night flights ...... I mean rides I've been on.
(The above was submitted by John Friends)

Sunday 1/17: Yesterday I traveled to Joel's house in anticipation of a ride on the Vietnam Trail in Medway Ma. today. I had been anxious to get in a ride after two weekends of rather nasty New England winter weather that left me unable to ride my local trails. But, once again I have been thwarted by the weather.  The snow that had fallen on Thursday and Friday had not washed away with the rain that followed, but rather had frozen into a thick crust. When Joel and I walked on it we were supported well, but when we rode on it we crashed through every few hundred feet. It was not much fun and we soon retired to his living room to drink beer and curse the weather. I hope that we can get this winter over with soon.

Thursday 1/21: I almost canceled tonight's ride because of the rain that had started to fall at 6:00, but I thought that if anyone else wanted to ride I would accommodate them. Shortly after six o'clock Bjoern, Alex, Jesse, Matt, Pat H., and I left the shop in the van for a trip to the Plains. As we were leaving I asked if everyone had all their stuff. (Last week Jesse had left his helmet and watercarrier out in front of the shop after a ride, so I was just checking.) I got a resounding "all set" from the back, and so off we went. It is a fifteen minute drive to the parking lot at the Book Mill and I wanted to get there as soon as possible so we could get something of a ride in before it really started to pour. As soon as I stopped the van I jumped out and started getting ready. As is the custom, I have the kids unload the bikes as I get myself geared up, when I heard an anguished cry from behind the van.  I seems that Jesse hadn't loaded his bike into the van. Well, this was cause for some pretty good ribbing for Jesse. Things like, "you can always run along the trails" to "if you can sprint, you can run back to the shop, get your bike and catch up". All of which seemed to do little to improve Jesse's spirits, so I gave him a hand full of quarters and sent him to the pay phone to try to find someone who would retrieve his missing bike. With that done we all set out onto the trails with great hope. (I was more hopeful than the rest, having just installed a set of Nokian studded tires.) We hit the first trail and I was amazed at how firm the snow was. The crust was thick enough to hold us up and yet it had enough of a texture to give everyone excellent grip. We rode up the Telephone Pole trail to the power lines, encountering a few sections of ice along the way. The ice was more prevalent on the power lines themselves but the snowmobiles ground the ice some what so that most of the riders had no trouble riding on it. We made our way into the woods and there we found the trails in great shape. We were able to fly along on the snow and only occasionally did some of the riders have to slow for ice. Matt and Bjoern were awesome on the ice. They had no special equipment at all and yet they were able to keep right up with me and seemed not to have any difficulty. We regrouped at the bottom of Willis Hill and decided that we would make a try at it. Beggar went first and he chose the right side trail for a change. We all we able to ride up the first two climbs without any trouble but Pat and Alex fell off on the steepest climb and in so doing they blocked the trail. I fell on my left side again as I tried to squeeze between them and spent an anxious  moment or two lying on the ground. All was OK, just a bruise, and soon we were at the top deciding which way to go down. We went out past the wrecked I-H on the crusty snow, but by this time the rain was falling more heavily and the snow was not supporting our (my) weight as well as before. Everyone went flying over the handlebars at least a few times as we worked our way down the hill. I was taking no chances, so I rode very slooowly down to the power lines, where we re-grouped. Now it was really raining and we decided to head straight back to the van. The trail was mostly a series of ice ponds connected  by a few feet of wet hard packed snow. We rode at a good clip back to parking lot where we found a somewhat cold Jesse sitting in the van. After packing our bikes in back we loaded up and headed back to the shop. Jesse was worried that his bike wouldn't be there when we got there and the kids did their best to goad him as much as they could. He imagined what he would have to do to retrieve it from whomever had it and it was much fun listening to the plots and scenario's that the kids came up with. I on the other hand knew that there was little danger of anyone taking it since John at the car wash was working late and he keeps a good eye out for things that go on after I leave the shop. Sure enough, as we pulled into the parking lot I could see Jesse's bike leaning up against the dumpster, just where he left it.

Tuesday 1/26: This has to be the worst winter weather that I have ever seen. The temperatures are too warm to keep the snow frozen, yet too cold to melt the stuff. I planed a ride tonight thinking that today's colder temperatures would freeze the rain of this last weekend. We headed out at 6:15 from the shop to head over to Montague. Along for the trip was Alex, Matt, Bjoern, Jesse, John F., and myself. We gathered at the Book Mill parking lot to begin our trip. After we all unloaded our bikes (Jesse's bike made the trip this week) we waited for John to arrive. John had to get gas for his car and he rode over by himself. Soon after he arrived I heard an "oh no" from his direction, so I went over to see what was up. John had left his helmet at home, so I got him one that I usually bring with me. After getting everyone geared up we headed out for the Telephone Pole trail. I led the group, as I had the Nokian studded tires and could act as a lookout for ice and give the warning to the group. I went up the trail without any difficulty, but when I got to the top I noticed that I was alone. I looked back and saw that the were lights way down the hill, coming towards me. The first person to arrive was Bjoern and he was slipping everywhere. He said that everyone else was was doing even worse. I could see lights falling to the side as the riders slipped off the trail. It took a while for everyone to get up the hill and we decided to try to get out to Old Northfield Rd. I told Alex and Jesse to take their time and get to the road and take a left turn to get back to the van because they seemed to be having the worst time. It was slow going for the rest of us and I again acted as lookout for the others. After we had gotten to the road we decided to try one more trail, but it to was too icy to ride on, so we headed out to do a road ride through the Village of Lake Pleasant. We rode for about an half an hour and we headed back to the van. As we passed the the Telephone Pole trail I couldn't believe my eyes, there was Alex and Jesse making their way down the trail almost an hour after we left them. Matt stayed back and made sure that everything was OK with them and soon we were all back at the van. This was not the best of rides but anytime you can get out it is worth it.

Sunday 1/31: January's swan song was today sung by Bob and MPM, because everyone else"bailed" on our Savoy State Forest ride. I met MPM at Foxtown coffee shop in Shelburne Falls, and after a cup of coffee with Dave M., Steve and Lori, we were on our way. We stopped at the ranger station as we entered the forest and asked directions from the ranger. He was pretty amazed that we were going to ride bicycles on the trails and wished us luck after giving us a map and some general advice. It was pretty cold when we left (13 degrees) but by the time we got to the parking lot off Florida Rd. we found the temperatures to be pretty reasonable. As we pulled into the parking lot we met up with a group of riders from Pittsfield who were just finishing their ride. They said the trails were in great shape and that they didn't have any trouble finding a good loop to ride on. MPM and I headed out in the direction that was suggested and we quickly found ourselves riding on some pretty good trails. There was a two to four inch covering of snow which gave us enough traction to pedal right along. We rode up Tannery Rd. to Lewis Hill without seeing another soul and after a moment to get our bearings we headed out for the radio tower. The ride to this point was mostly uphill and I found it to be pretty difficult to ride through the snow as I am somewhat out of shape. MPM was leading this ride as he has been up here before and had a good idea of where to ride. When we got to the top of Lewis hill we saw a few signs posted on trees, but there wasn't much correlation between the signs and the map that the forest ranger gave us. We guessed at the direction that we should head and made it to the intersection of a trail that looked like it might lead to the tower, but I wasn't sure. MPM had forgotten his compass so we were just standing on the trail trying to figure out  which way was North when a skier came down the trail and quickly gave us directions. We decided to ride back to the van as we had been riding for about an hour and I was starting to fade. As we headed back we encountered several groups of snowmobilers who whizzed by on the fairly wide trails. We pulled over to the side of the trail as the machines approached and the operators seemed to appreciate our courtesy. We made it back to the van in about forty five minutes and I felt that I got a pretty good workout.