January 2003 Ride Report Page

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

Sunday 01/05: The first few days of this month were just about as cold as it can get around here and coupled with that was the deep snow that left us unable to ride the trails. Mark Coutermanche and I decided to give it a try today so we went out for a ride on the Plains. It was a sunny day and fairly cold (28 degrees) with a light wind. We left Mark's house and headed up the hill to Bernardo Drive and headed into the woods. We rode along the trail for a short way and soon we found ourselves bogged down in the snow. We walked a short distance to where the trail firmed up and then we got back on the bikes and rode along the trail until we came to an open area where the snow was softer and we bogged down again. This was to be the case for most of the way out to the power lines. We would ride for a while and then walk for a while. We did this for about an hour and a half before we got back out to the power lines again. At that point we decided that we had enough of that, so we headed down the power lines. As it turns out, the power lines were the best trails and we were able to ride all the way back to Old Northfield Road. We took the road back to Mark's house. It was nice to be out on the trails even though the conditions we pretty poor.
 

Thursday 01/16: Tonight we went out for a snowshoe trek at the Camp Lion Knoll course. We had a big group that left the shop and followed me out to the camp. I have not used snowshoes in many years so I was a little skeptical about going out for a long run, but since Jorge was coming with us, I figured I would be OK. After everyone got their shoes on, we headed out to do the loop. I followed Jorge, John Parrott, Kate and a few others as we headed for the trails. I quickly got back my old skills and soon I was shoeing along with the group without any difficulty. When the group got to the trailhead I took the lead as I was the only one who knew the way. This was fortuitous as I was then able to set the pace and not get dropped by Jon Parrott and Wayne Holden. I led the group out to the Ridge Trail and then around to the filter plant. We made our way up the hill to the plant and then we hiked up to the pond. We made our way across the pond and as we neared the other side I took a trip over to the fountain to see if the ice was safe. The ice was safe and after a couple minutes of cavorting around the fountain, I headed back to the group. We headed out from the pond to finish the loop and after crossing a large open field we headed out to the road and back to our cars.

Below is a report submitted by Curt.
Thursday, January 16th
I've been keeping up on the rollers so far, doing 1/2 hour at least every other day. Tonight, Betsy and I went on a night snowshoeing adventure with about 10 people out of the Greenfield shop. It was my first time on the new shoes, and we all had a blast. It was only in the teens, but we were all warm enough after we got going. I figure we must have covered about 3 miles in just under an hour and a half.

Sunday, January 19th
Still too cold for biking, and too snowy for MTB bikes on the trails so we went snowshoeing again. This time we went around lake Pleasant in Montague (Starting from John & Kate's house on the edge of the lake). There were five of us on the trip, Myself, John & Kate, Bob & Mary Ellen and Dave. Betsy was feeling a little under the weather so ended up staying home. I had the GPS with me today, and it reported 3 miles at a walking pace of 2.2mph.


Monday 1/20/03: Below is the report that Mark Coutermanche sent in.
Hey Bob,
well, here is the scoop, after getting off the phone with you I headed out from my house, up old Northfield road and took the first right across from Bernardo drive into the woods out to the telephone trail then left into pine grove road out to old Northfield road where I crossed to into the woods at the circle past the toilet-bowl trail and out to the power lines straight across to the old trolley line and out to the banked trails behind the biker club. Once out to the power lines I headed the usual route straight up and right on to the main drag and took the next left al the way out to the power lines onto the sand road to the base of the hill past the big pine tree trail-(which is also packed very well), and decided to go up and over to Willis hill, again totally ridable left at the bottom of Willis where I took five mile mud road all the way out to red rock, next lower road to the sand pit is packed well butt, I went up and over red rock down the right side left also good) for a knarlly downhill, from there did a quick circle around jakes fire pit and back out to the main power lines where I then decided to do something a little different took a right all the way to the end of the power lines out to Turners Falls RD right on the road left at the fire station all the way down past Judd Wire all the way to the end of the road, and dumped left onto the old railroad tracks followed them out to Greenfield road by the water treatment plant and then up to and past the fish hatchery across Turners Falls Road straight up the hill to the power lines right on the power lines and took the regular route home.

It was a killer ride, the first really rideable one.  everything out in the Plains were rideable should be no problem for anybody to have a enjoyable ride.   

Mark C.

Saturday 1/25: I arrived in Phoenix yesterday and although I had planned to go out for a ride but my plane was 2 hours late taking off in Hartford and by the time I arrived in Phoenix I had no time to ride. I am staying at the apartment of Matt Putnam, Neal Lawrence, and Brad in Tempe. After I got settled at the apartment Mat and I took a trip over to South Mountain Cycles and meet the crew that Matt works with. (Matt Putnam used to work for me at the shop and he moved out to AZ last year.)
    Today I went over to the airport to pick up Vince Harrington and Matt went over to the shop and picked up the rental bikes. After we all arrived back at Matt's we loaded up the bikes and then we headed off to do a ride in Sedona. We did not get going until 12:30 and we arrived in Sedona around 2:45 and quickly got ready to ride. Joining us in Sedona was Darrin who is a former owner of SMC and he was to be our trail guide. The trip started off on a sour note when Neal broke off his derailleur in the first 100 yards of the ride and headed back to the Bike 'n Bean shop to get a repair. I continued on and caught up with the rest of the guys a short time later. It took me quite a while to get used to the rapid rise shifting but I managed to do OK with it. We rode at a pretty steady clip out to Submarine Rock and then out to Chicken Point. The ride went pretty well and although I was tired from dragging around a 40 pound bike for three hours, I really enjoyed the scenery.

Sunday 1/26: Today Neal, Vince and I went over to South Mountain to do the National Trail loop. We left from SMC and headed for the trails along some drainage canals and through a neighborhood. The trails were mostly rolling desert trails that led us to the main entrance to the park. I was having a hard time keeping up on the flats, due to the fact that I only had the small and middle rings, while the other guys had a big rings. When we got to the park entrance the trail turned decidedly upward. I followed Neal and Vince for most of the way up the hill and although I was not fast, I did manage to ride up the hill. Riding down was a different story. The trail had lots of loose rock and gravel and I did not do well coming down. My bike felt very unstable on the descents and I had a hard time keeping on the trail. The Ridge Trail that we took has some very steep sections which would have been no trouble for me back home, but I was a little sketched out by the rocks, so I walked down most of the steepest sections. After I caught up with the boys, we headed back to the shop. All in all we rode for 2 hours.

Monday 1/27: Matt and Neal went off to work today so Vince and I were on our won. After lunch we loaded the bikes onto the rental car and headed off to McDowell Park. After we got to the park we stopped at the trailhead for the Pemberton Trail and got ready to ride. We took the Pemberton Trail out across the desert to where a new section was added. We rode up the new trail and continued out to the rock pile. I stopped several times to take some photo's and I got some great shots of the area. After we got to the rock pile, the trail is all down hill and we ripped down it. We had great fun on this long winding double track that leads back to the start. We only did a 2 hour ride today as we were planning on doing a ride tonight with Chris Rikel. After we got back to Matt's we hung out at the apartment until Neal and Matt got home from work. We cooked up some dinner and after waiting for 2 hours we finally figured that Rikel was a no show, so we watched a video and went to bed.

Tuesday 1/28: Today Vince and I went out west to do the Estralla Park ride. I have never been there and I was not sure where to go, so I ultimately stopped and asked a ranger where the MTB riders parked and rode. He directed us to the rodeo parking area and off we went. I should have taken a cue from the fact that there were no bikers in the area and we saw no tire tracks on the trail, but foolish me I just headed out on the trails anyway. Vince and I had a copy of Cosmic Ray's trail guide and we followed the trails that he had laid out. The trails near the start were typical desert fare and we rode along at a pretty good clip for about two miles when we ran into a section of wash that was listed as a short segment of the trail. Well, Vince and I rode for a long as we could and when we could no longer turn the pedals, we got off and walked. We walked for quite a while and we still had a long way to go, so when I saw a horse trail out of the wash, I took it. We got up on top of the wash and we were able to ride for most of the way to the next trail intersection. At this point we had two choices. We could ride up a steep hill for a mile or so or we could ride up an even steeper hill for two miles. Naturally we took the two mile route, since the loop back to the start would be shorter. We rode up the hill (I actually made it all the way up!!) and then we took a really nice downhill trail all the way back to the car. It was really a nice area but we would have to get better trail directions before returning. After I got back to the apartment I was talking with Neal and he told me that there is a race course out there with the initials PIR. I saw the signs as I drove out there, but I did not know what they were for.

Wednesday 1/29: It was  my last day in Phoenix (due to a flight being canceled) so I had to get one of my old favorite rides in before I left. Hawes Road is a ride I have done almost every time I have come out to Arizona. Joining me today was Matt, Vince and Matt's friend Joe. We left from the apartment at 1:30 and headed up to the Mesa parking area for Red Rock Park. (I am not making this up!) We arrived at the park and unloaded the bikes and got set to head out on the trails. I was really interested in the new trail that Joe was going to show me, as it leads to the Pig Iron Trail and gives a 2 1/2 mile warm-up for the hills that lay ahead. We left the parking area and headed off on the trails. It wasn't long before I was dropped way behind the group. I was not feeling up to par today and I rode along at a steady pace, but well below that of the rest of the riders. When we got to the Bush Highway, I told the other guys that they should go out at their own pace and that I would hook up with them later. We crossed the highway and headed up the trail to the first climb. I plugged along up the narrow trail and met up with the other guys who waited for me a couple of times. After we got to the canal, I told Joe that I knew all the trails and not to worry about me. I said that they should take the Pig Trail up the hill to the tower and that I would take the Big Saguaro Trail over to the first intersection. We split up and I rode over to the spot were we were to meet and waited for a while. I met up with a rider who was heading over to the Mine Trail, which is where I figured that the rest of the group had gone, and I asked him to tell them that I was heading back. After the rider left, I rode down the hill to where the trail intersects with the Pig Trail and from there I rode back across the highway. At this point it was 5:00 in the afternoon and there were a lot of riders out on the trails. I retraced my path back to the park where I waited for a couple of minutes for Matt, Joe and Vince to return. It was a great ride (although not that fast) for me and I was glad to see that the trail has been so well cared for. I have had just about perfect weather for this week, with temperatures in the 80's and no rain. The desert was as green as I have seen it in many years. I had a lot of fun riding the trails and enjoying the nice weather. I guess that's what a vacation is!