January 2006

January 2006 Ride Report Page
Here you will find the reports of our exploits for the month January 2006 more or less as they happened. Please note that the ride reports are the results experienced by the writer and not necessarily a reflection of all the rides that went out on that particular day. We have rides for all abilities but I only publish the reports that I receive. This means that if no one from the beginner rides send me a report, then you will not see that ride listed here. I will publish any ride reports or digital photos that I receive. Editors notes are in pink. 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.

Sunday Jan 1, 2006:
Bob didn't post a ride for today, but - being New Years Day - Matthew and I felt compelled to get in something for a ride to start the year off right.

Hatfield was blessed with about 3 inches of soft dry powder covering a mixed bag of mud, frozen granular snow, hard pack, and ice both thick and thin. We left the house at about 3:00 in the afternoon not really knowing how far we would get, but packing lights in case the riding was good. I had studded tires front and rear on the NRS and Matthew was running a studded front and a big squishy rear on the Lithium. We followed what we could of the snow machine trails across the School Properties and farm access roads to the woods between North Hatfield and Plain Rd. The trail lead around a few more fields and into the woods. Wherever the farm vehicles had left ruts (think lumpy glass) I was glad to have the studded tires. In the woods we hit a lot of puddles skimmed with ½" or so of ice. After trying to avoid a few of these, we concluded it was dryer and safer to crash right through, rather than trying to ride/walk around the icy perimeter, we might have made a different decision if we had rim brakes!

We then headed down Plain Rd to Circle Drive and across 91 and up Rocks Rd. Rocks Rd is a steep un-maintained road that had been traversed by a few trucks since the big snow in December. Most of the hill was glare rutted ice under the powder. Once we lost traction climbing it was walk CAREFULLY to the top. On the less steep portions of the road it wasn't too bad and we were able to get through with only a few precarious sections of ice. Matthew was starting to regret not putting a studded tire on his rear, as he couldn't maintain traction at all on the climbs. At the junction of Mountain Road we got out the lights and started to follow the path into the woods to the south. There had been some walkers and snow-shoers before the thaw and the surface was reasonably hard and really fun for the next couple of miles, again we met a few places of concealed ice, both of us connecting with the ground pretty hard a few times in spite of the studs. This path comes out at the top of Old Stage Rd, which we followed back to 5 and 10 and finally back home via Elm St. Total ride was about 13 miles and we covered it in about 2 1/2 hours.

A great start to the Year.

Hammerhead

Below is a report that I got from Catrina Nuite (Amber's mom) about her first ride on her new bike. She bought the Marin Fairfax bike on January 2nd and has wasted no time getting out on the roads. She equipped her bike with studded tires so she could ride all winter.

Hi,

Amber and I had a great ride on Wednesday afternoon starting at 3:25 and ending around 4:30. The temp was somewhere in the 20's but we were warm. Well, my little fingers were cold when I started because I wasn't wearing my gloves when we were getting ready to ride. Amber arrived before me so she took a little spin and complained about the wind. I found an extra sock in the back of my car and put it around the front of her neck, tucking it under her jacket. We started on RT. 30 under the I 91 bridge and went a little past the Dummerston town line. I actually beat her across the line and then we rode back to the Brattleboro Retreat meadows. And yes we went out on the ice, we stayed on the four wheeler tracks. It was hard peddling at first, but that improved when I figured how to shift into the right gear. I also practiced getting my feet into the foot straps. After we left the ice we had a nice ride back to our cars. The studded tires made me feel safer because there was some snow and ice in places on RT. 30. I do think I want to try the other handle bars; I found myself wanting to get lower a few times and the current bars still seem too wide.

Today (Thursday) I could only ride from my kitchen to the dining room. I can not ride in the living room because I don't want the studded tires on the hardwood floor.

Thanks for your help,

Catrina

Sunday 1/8/06; Last night I sent out an email about a ride today at 1:00, but when I got up this morning the roads were covered in snow. It was snowing lightly at 10:00 when I went out to breakfast so I decided to call off the ride. I sent out an email to cancel the ride before I left. Well, at 11:30 the sun came out and the roads started to clear up, so I called Curt and Steve and they said that they wanted to ride. At that point I decided to do the ride. I went over to the shop at 12:45 to get ready and soon I was joined by Curt, Steve, Michelle, Doug Dale and Paul Voiland. I was going to do the ride as a "kill me or cure me" ride because I have been sick all week. I came down with a cold on Monday night and I have been nursing myself back to health all week. After everyone was ready Steve led the group out of the parking lot and down to Main Street. As we rode down Main Street I noticed that the temperature was 43 degrees and there was no wind to speak of. We took the Hope Street route down to Russell Street where we had to stop so Doug could clean the snow out of his cleats. After Doug was able to click into his pedals, we headed down to Old Deerfield. I led the group down RT. 5&10 to Old Main Street where I pulled off to get a rest at the back of the group. My lungs were pretty congested and I was hacking and wheezing for a while, but I was able to clear the passages and I actually felt pretty good as the ride progressed. The group motored through town and out to Mill Village Road, I was a little concerned about how I would do on the little climb, so I stayed at the back of the pack. When we got to the hill, I shifted to my little ring and started to spin up the hill. I actually felt pretty good riding along with Paul and Curt. The three of us got dropped by about 10 yards on the hill but we quickly got back on and the whole group headed off to RT. 5&10. We made a right turn onto 5&10 and headed south. I took a couple of pulls as we peddled through Whatley and into Hatfield. When we got to Hatfield I decided to take a slightly shorter route, mainly because I did not want to push my luck by doing too much. I told the group that I would be turning onto North Hatfield Street. At that point Paul said he was getting a little cold and tired so he wanted to join me. When Paul pulled off, Curt decided to join us as well. We rode across the railroad tracks and when we got to Jamie's house we saw him out in his yard with a chainsaw, clearing brush. We yelled to him and he waved as we rode past his house. After passing Jamie we rode down to Chestnut Street and took a left. We rode down to Main Street in Hatfield where we took another left. At this point Curt was in the front with me and Paul behind him. Curt set a 20 mph pace, which was good for me but Paul had fallen off the pace. I told Curt to slow up and we waited for Paul. Paul said his feet were cold (he had on summer shoes and no booties) and he was also getting tired. Curt and I slowed the pace a bit and Paul was able to stay with us for a while. As the miles ticked off, Paul was slowing down and he kept coming off the back. Curt and I decided to keep Paul between us and trade off from the front to the back. We plugged along all the way back to Greenfield with Curt and I doing equal work on the front. We cruised back into to town and took the Hope Street route back to the shop. We did 37 miles at an 18.7 mph pace. It was a good ride and I was glad to have Paul and Curt ride with me. After we got back to the shop, Michelle, Steve and Doug rode in with a 40 mile ride under their belts.

January 8; Distance - 36
Average - 18.7 Temp - ~40° Ending Mileage - 36

This ride almost didn't happen. Bob sent out an email early Sunday morning that the ride had been cancelled, but then after talking to a few people who really wanted to get out changed his mind and decided that it was on again.

I showed up at the shop a bit before 1:00 and was joined by Bob, Michelle, Doug, Steve and rider named Paul that I don't remember if I've ever ridden with before. Snow had fallen overnight and Bob's parking lot was still covered with ice and a 1/4 inch of the white stuff. We headed South toward Old Deerfield on mostly wet roads. The pace stayed nice and slow, which was just what I was looking for. The only excitement for me on the ride was when I touched Michelle's wheel really hard and was surprised I didn't go down.

We kept the ride nice and flat, mostly sticking to Rte 5 until we got to the turn by Jamie's house. Bob and Paul were up for turning back here while the rest wanted to go on for a few more miles. I knew that after Bob and Paul left the group things would speed up and I was happy with the pace we had so far, so decided to turn with them. The three of us cut over to River Rd by then headed North. Paul was starting to tire, so Bob and I took long pulls with him tucked in the middle of our small group. Even then, the pace slipped more and more until we could only manage 17-18 before losing him out the back. We finished up the ride wet but happy just minutes before the rest of the group, who had only done about 4 miles more than we had, pulled in to the lot.

Thursday 1/12: Today I got a call from Jamie at 10.00 this morning to see if there would be a ride. I thought for a moment and then I said sure and headed off to put out an email. I got my butt in high gear and did a bunch of work and when 1:30 arrived I headed over to the shop. When I pulled into the parking lot Jamie and Steve were already there waiting for me. I have not been feeling all that well these last few days so I was a little apprehensive about this ride. I was hoping that we would get a few beginners and I would be able to do a more leisurely pace. After getting my gear on I got my 'cross bike and headed out to the parking lot where Jamie and Steve were ready to roll. We left the shop just before 2:00 and headed down High Street. I led the boys to Main Street at a 17mph pace which was about the speed I wanted. When we got to Main Street I noticed that the temperature on the bank clock was 62 degrees. I was wearing my heavy blue jacket, with a long sleeve shirt underneath, and my thermal tights. I began to wonder if I was going to be overdressed, even though I felt comfortable. The roads were pretty wet on our route down to Deerfield and there were lots of potholes to dodge as well. I managed to stay in the front of the group so that I could set a reasonable pace, but when we got to Old Deerfield I had to pull off, and then the fun began. Steve and Jamie took turns at the front whilst the "old wheezer" sat at the back hacking up unimaginable goop from my lungs. We headed down to the hill on Mill Village where Steve got a gap on Jamie. Steve and I soft pedaled up the hill on Lee Road and Jamie was only a few yards behind us. Jamie followed us up the hill on Mill Village and when we got to Stillwater Road we all stopped to fix Steve's bike computer. After we got going again, I led us down RT. 116 and onto Steam Mill River Road. After the turn I tucked in behind Jamie and Steve and I hung on as we pedaled over to Whatley. We stayed together until the hills, where Jamie came off the back. Jamie quickly got back on when we hit the flatter section of North Street and we all rode over to Christian Lane together. After making the left turn onto Christian Lane we headed down the hill to River Road. I took the lead on River Road and held on to the front for most of the way to South Deerfield. We held a steady 19 mph pace up Sugarloaf Street into town (BTW, the temp on the bank clock was 58 degrees) and then we took North Main Street. Steve pulled us up to Hillside Road where I took over the reigns. I held a steady pace all the way to RT. 5&10 where I made a right turn. I then pedaled north on 5&10 at a 22 mph pace. When we got to the down hill near the butterfly museum, the pace went up to 30mph and I kept a pretty torrid pace all the way to Greenfield Road. At that point Steve took over and he led us to Pine Nook Road. I took a pull down to Old Main Street where Jamie took the lead. Jamie pulled us to Woolman Hill and then I took over again. At some point Jamie fell off the pace and when I got across the bridge into Greenfield, he was a few yards behind us again. Steve and I rode easy over to Washington Street and Jamie was back with us. We took the usual route back to the shop and we finished the 28 mile ride with a 19mph average. Although I was not feeling great, I managed to keep a good pace and I did not get too pooped out.

Friday 1/13: I had planned a ride today for 1:30 mainly because Jamie wanted me to but also because I could lure Parrott out of his basement. I have been feeling a little better these last few days so I felt a short ride would be good for me. It was 40 degrees out and I got my 'cross bike ready for the ride since my road bike was in Florida. Parrott arrived first and he was followed by Steve Power, Tod Pleasant, Paul Voiland and of course our hero Jamie. We got our gear ready and we were on the road by 1:45. We left the shop and I led the boys over to Bernardston Road. The roads were mostly dry and I set a modest pace up the hill on Bernardston Road. About half way up the hill I pulled off and Steve took over the lead. I went to the back of the group and stayed with Tod, who had come off the back a bit. Tod was a little uneasy riding in the draft of other riders so I stayed with him and kept him in contact. Today we gave out the first "Socks Award" of the year to Parrott for his un-challenged charge to the town line in Bernardston. It was an all out effort that left the dear boy in oxygen debt for five miles. After that foolishness we rode into town where I took over at the front. At this point the group was split in half so we rode easily up to the center of Bernardston where we took a left onto RT. 10. After the turn Jamie & Co. rejoined us and we all stayed together for the trip over to Northfield. We all rode down the hill to the Bennett Meadow Bridge, but after we crossed the river, the group came apart on the hill up to RT. 63. We re-grouped on RT. 63 and we stayed together until we got to the hills at Northfield Farms. As we climbed the first hill, three of us pulled away from Jamie, Tod and Paul. Steve. Parrott and I decided to continue on at a 20 mph pace, rather than wait for the others at the top of each hill. We rode past the Northfield Mountain Recreation Center and when we got near the Erving town line, Parrott made a feeble attempt to sprint. I passed the wheezing old fart about 10 yards before the line and then coasted across for an easy win. Steve, Parrott and I then rode easily up the next few hills and then waited for the rest of the crew at the Erving Elementary School parking lot. After the group was back together, we headed for Millers Falls. We rode through town and up the steep hill to Millers Falls Road, but when we got to the top we had lost Jamie and Paul. At this point we were only 6 miles from the shop so the four of us continued on. We rode at a 24 mph pace most of the way back to Turners Falls. After getting through the traffic light in the center of town we headed across the river to Greenfield. We rode up Esleeck Hill and back to the shop, where I beat Parrott in the sprint to the parking lot (easy enough to do at this time of the year). It was a nice ride on a mild winter day. After we got back, we waited for a few minutes and then we started to wonder what happened to Jamie and Paul. We sent Parrott over to Turners to see if they were OK. We got a call from Parrott and he said they were on their way. Well, as it turns out, Paul got a flat tire soon after we left him and Jamie. It took them quite a while to get it fixed, but they managed, and they got back to the shop a few minutes after Parrott's call.

January 22: Distance - 32 Average speed= 17; Temp - ~32°

Michelle messaged me to see if I was available to go for a ride. I was looking for something to do and couldn't get motivated to do anything on my own, so I drove down to her place in Northfield and we did the Tri-state loop (clockwise).

Even with the chilly weather, it felt great. We were both dressed right for the weather so stayed nice and warm through the ride with the exception of some cold toes toward the end. The roads were dry (except for a few ice patches) but significantly broken up by frost. There are a lot of potholes on 142 that will have to be fixed in the Spring or we're going to lose a few riders and even more wheels.

Saturday 1/14: After a very early start (4:00 am) we arrived in Florida at 10:30 in the morning. The flight was very bumpy and the landing was pretty exciting as well, but we made it safely and in good time. Joannie and Paul (MaryEllen's sister and her husband.) were waiting for us and soon we were on our way to their house in The Villages. The wind was really howling (which is why we had such a rough landing) and the palm trees we bending over to nearly touching the ground. The trip to The Villages only took an hour or so and soon after we arrived we were getting settled in at the house. I took a short rest before I headed out to the garage to put my bike together. I figured that the winds would die down later in the day and I would go out for a ride at 4:00 or so. After resting for an hour or so, I got some lunch and headed out to put my bike together. It was fairly warm (65 degrees) but still pretty windy as I finished up and got ready to go out for a ride. Well, long story; short, I did not get to ride much. The winds had actually increased and I found that it was pretty nearly impossible to keep the bike upright in the crosswinds. I did a short loop around the block and headed back to the house. After I got back to the house I received a call from Bud Stout (one of the guys I ride with down here) and he said that they had tried to ride as well, but most of the group only got 5 miles before turning back. He said that he went a little further, but that it was simply too dangerous to continue so he and a couple of others headed back home.
Sunday 1/15: It was pretty chilly when I got up for the ride today. The temperature was 34 degrees when I got up at 7:00. I ate some breakfast and then I rode over to the El Santiago recreation center at 8:15. I was met by two riders Bob Kraus and Paul Guertin and we waited around for about 15 minutes and then decided to head out. Some of the guys who usually ride here were away at a road race an hour or so north of here, and the "regulars" do not ride much in the cooler weather. It was 45 degrees with a stiff breeze blowing from the south when we left the parking lot. We headed out of the Villages at the southern most exit and headed south towards Lake Ella. Bob K. was leading this ride and the plan was to do a 45 mile loop. After we got past Lake Ella we were out onto the farm roads where we noticed an increase in wind velocity. At this point we had a 20 mph pace but as the miles ticked off we kept slowing down. We rode on some really nice back country roads with very little traffic. We took the back roads all the way out to Wildwood and it was here that we got really hammered by the winds. We rode on a highway similar to RT. 91, with big semi trucks whizzing by us at 70 mph, as well as the local crackers in their beat up Chevy Nova's. Fortunately we only had to ride for 5 miles on this road before we turned off onto the back roads again. After turning onto the back roads we headed into an area that has lots of Live Oak trees. The trees and the Spanish Moss that hangs from them act as a nice wind break and we got a reprieve from the gales that we had to fight up to this point. We rode from Wildwood back to The Villages at a 19 mph pace and we finished the ride with an 18 mph average.
Monday 1/16: Today I decided to ride with the new bike club on the Sumter's Landing side of the Villages. I rode over to the Bridgeport recreation center and met up with the club leader and got introduced to some of the riders. These are more recreational riders than the group on the north side but they had some pretty fit riders at the start. I went out with the "faster" group and we headed out on a 30 mile ride. We had a group of 10 riders when we left the center. I had been on some of the roads that we took but most of it was new to me. We kept a 18 mph pace for the first few miles and we kept the group pretty much together. After we got out onto the open farm area, the pace went up a little and we lost 5 of the riders. The remaining five of us road at a steady 19 mph pace for the rest of the ride. We finished the ride with a coffee at Panaria's.
Tuesday 1/17: Today was my trip to the mountain bike park that the local MTB clubs have built. It was 55 degrees when I got up and there was no wind. We headed for Santos bike shop in Ocala where the trailhead is located. Santos and The Ocala Mountain Bike Association have built a large network of trails that are very similar to our Montague Plains trails. Paul Guertin picked me and my rented Giant Iguana MTB up at 7:00 and I rode with Paul up to Santos bike shop in Ocala. We got to the bike shop at 8:00 and we were met there by four other riders. got our gear together and headed for the trails. We rode on mostly smooth trails through saw palmetto and pine forests. The plan was to ride out to the "land bridge" and back, a total of 20 or so miles. The ride was pretty uneventful tempo ride for me. The group got split in two on the way out to the bridge I ended up riding with Bud Stout and Mike for most of the day. When we got to the Land Bridge I was quite impressed with the work that went into it. It is a beautiful stone bridge that is covered with same dirt that was on the trails we just rode. The bridge crosses RT. 75 (like RT. 91) and leads to a huge recreation preserve that has dozens of multi-use trails. The trails that we rode out to here on were for specific users i.e. MTB trails; horse trails; and hiking trails. The MTB trails that we used are one way; meaning that you go out on one trail and come back on another trail. The trails are well marked and I had no trouble following the route. I will put up some photos of the trails. On the way back to the shop, Mike took me on the technical trail. It was nicely done and had some challenges but were not nearly as tough as some of the Batchelor Street Trails. It was really warm out as we made our way back down the trails; we saw a bank sign that gave the temp at 82 degrees. After Mike and I got back to the shop we headed to a local restaurant for lunch. It was a really nice ride.
Wednesday 1/18: I got up early to head over to Sumter Landing for the ride. There was a larger group at the recreation center and I got myself in with the group doing the 50 mile loop. The group left the center and we took a long loop to the south. I really did not recognize any of the roads and I just followed the directions given by the guys behind me. I ended up doing a lot of the work on the front of the group and I was really OK with that. It was windy and 65 degrees out when we left and the weather people predicted temps in the 80's again. We rode at an 18 mph average which was good given the stiff breeze we had to deal with. We kept a good pace line going at the front of the group and we had four or five guys doing the work. The ride went pretty quickly and soon we were back at Sumter Landing eating at the Veranda restaurant. It was a good ride and we averaged 19 mph for the trip.
Thursday 1/19: Today I went over to El Santiago to meet up with some of the guys who I have ridden with over the last few years. It was a warm morning (55 degrees) with a slight breeze and bright sunshine. Most of the regulars were already there when I arrived and I made the rounds to greet some of the guys that I haven't seen since last year. Some of the riders were not here because they were getting ready to run a marathon down in the Keys, while a couple of other guys were on vacation. After chatting with the boys for a while, we got down to the business at hand, which was today's ride. The plan was to do the 50 mile loop out to Wildwood via Harmony Hills. This is a ride that I have done many times and is one of the better loops that they do here. We left the recreation center and headed through the back roads of The Villages to the CR 103. This loop allow us to get around the heavy traffic to the south and east of here. We had a group of about 15 riders as we got to CR 103, but the group started to split soon after we made the turn onto this road. Up to the turn onto the 103 we had a 19mph average, but soon after the turn Bud and Bob Krause took the speed up to 23mph. This left Gunter and the rest of the group a few yards behind them. I was in the middle of the pack and decided to try to pull the group back together. I went to the front and sped up to 21 mph, but soon I was out in front of Gunter by several yards. As we neared a stop sign the pack caught up, but as soon as we got going again, Bob, Bud and I put several yards on the group. At this point I decided to go on with Bob and Bud. We soon dropped the group and we then continued out to RT. 42. We did a paceline at 24 mph over to the turn onto the back roads of Wildwood. After we got back onto the more rural roads there was a noticeable increase in the winds. I was at the front for the first few miles and I struggled to keep a 20 mph average. After I pulled off we maintained the speed but the pulls on the front got shorter and shorter. At one point we hit a series of rolling hills which slowed our pace a bit. After getting past the hills we motored back to The Villages on the flatter roads in farm country. We ended the ride at the coffee shop where we hung out in the sunshine for an hour or so. We averaged 20.2 mph for the 48 miles.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006. Greetings from San Diego…thought I’d send a note and let everyone know what I’ve been up to. I’ve been reading your road ride reports and decided it was about time that I take the K2 out and do a little spin of my own. There’s a fairly decent small loop around where I live (out in El Cajon…about 20 miles from downtown), and so I set off at about 3 in the afternoon. Even though the wind was gusting a bit, the sun was warm and the air felt good. I pedaled up a moderate hill toward the city of Santee, and then quickly remember why I dislike riding the loop…there is a very long stretch of traffic lights! Also, let’s just say that Santee is a cycling town…just not the non-motorized type…the town is more devoted to 250cc motocross than skinny tires. I had many honks, yells, and then a car full of teenagers threw a plastic bottle at me (luckily they missed). I finally turned out of town and onto more of a ‘back’ road. Before I knew it, my ride was done, and I put in a whopping 15 miles (which is pretty good considering that between October and now, I have ridden my bike about 6 times). I’d been devoting myself to strength training and running…until I started to develop a nasty pain in my inner leg from running. So, now I’m riding again…

Also, I’ve taken a few weekends to get my bikes set up for the race season, as well as mapped out my schedule. I devoted a lot of time to learning how to service my own bike, and with Dan’s guidance, was able to do things like remove my own cranks and bottom bracket (had to be replaced on the DH bike because the bearings were shot), and run my own shifter cable. Now, for some of you this might seem easy, but I felt good that I was able to do almost all of it myself. I also finished building up my 4X/dual slalom bike…an Intense Tazer. I will send a picture of it soon. I will be racing for a much smaller team this year, with my friends Lisa (going pro this season), Aaron (semipro), and Hank (junior expert). We are sponsored by Intense, Oakley, Troy Lee Designs, and Kenda, among others (and I have secured Marzocchi on my own). I’m going to place a bit more focus on less races this year so I can give myself more time to train, and remain for one more year at the expert level. On the schedule is the NORBA series (I’ll be attending LA, Mt Snow, Deer Valley, Brian Head, Snowmass, and Mammoth), and doing a few other races (hopefully Downieville and maybe Sea Otter). As soon as my races begin, I’ll be sure to fill everyone in! Hope everyone is doing well and keeping warm, and if you ever want to take a trip to SoCal, you’ll have your own personal tour guide! (Submitted by Stephanie)

Thursday 1/26: I had called Parrott to ask him about doing a ride on the plains tonight. I asked Parrott to check out the trails to see if the snowmobiles had been out. Since we had some rain and warm temps earlier this week I thought that the cold of yesterday and today would firm up the trails. Parrott told me that the trials had been ridden on by lots of snowmobiles and they looked good to him. After talking with Parrott I sent out the following email: Good news everyone; Parrott just called and he said that the trails on the plains are in good shape. So with that knowledge (remember. it is Parrott's knowledge) we will be doing a MTB ride tonight from the Parrott Palace in Lake Peasant. At 6:00 I had several riders at the shop and they followed me over to Lake Pleasant. I drove over to Parrottville with Curt, and we had Mark Newton, Tod Pleasant, Scott and Craig following us in their cars. When we arrived at Parrotts house we were met there by Chris W., Hammerhead and Matt Green, Matt B., Steve Power and Marshall Givens. This was one of the largest MTB rides we have had in a while. After everyone got their gear ready, we set off from Parrott's house to head across The Bridge of Names. As soon as we got across the bridge the trouble started. Hammerhead broke his chain on the first little climb that we did. Fortunately I had a spare link and I quickly got Hammerhead back going again. We caught up with the rest of the group and we all headed off for the trails. Chris Williams was leading and he took us over to the Telephone Pole Trail. After we got onto the trail it became pretty clear that we were not going to get very far on this trail. Most of the riders were unable to ride more than a few dozen feet before having to dismount and hike. Seeing this, I called out to Chris to get him to turn around. I figured that if the open spaces were too soft, maybe we should try to ride in the woods. We plodded west on the power lines and it was quite a chore, but we were able to ride most of it. We re-grouped at the Banked Trails and when everyone arrived, we headed down the trail. We did not get too far before we had to dismount because the snow was too soft to ride on. The first few riders on the trail did pretty well, but the rest of us had quite a hard time. It seems that the first riders ground up the trail and then the following riders finished it off. By the time the last rider came along the trail was mush and there was more walking than riding. Well, to sum it up we were resigned to hike a bike for the next few miles. We eventually ended up out on Plains Road and it was there that we decided to head out of the trails and do a road ride back to Parrotts. Parrott and Chris led the group down Plains Road toward the Brushy Way Trail. I was at the back of the pack with Curt and several others and we basically hiked-a-bike all the way to the pond. When I arrived there I found Parrott and Chris standing next to the brook. I asked them what they were doing. Parrott said that he didn't know which way to go. I looked over the situation and what I saw was the trail that we normally ride on was now a running brook and all the other possible routes were not packed down. The choice seemed simple to me; ride in the water! But Parrott was horrified by the prospect. "What if you put you foot down?" he asked. You will freeze to death! I reminded him that I was not afraid of that and I jumped on my bike and headed down the brook. Several riders followed me while Parrott and a few others hiked through the woods. The ride down the brook was awesome. We had no difficulty riding in the inches deep water and with our speed under control no one got even a little wet. My bunch rode all the way out to the power lines and we waited for Parrott to arrive. He came riding down the power lines from the west and joined us at the concrete barriers. Steve Power said that the trails to the west were really packed down and they did not bog down at all. We decided to head west on the power lines and then take Turners Falls Road back to Old Northfield Road. We got going down the trail and it was in great shape. Everyone was able to ride along at a good speed, without crashing through the crust or having to walk. All went well until we got to the steep downhill section. I was near the back of the pack and I did not see what happened, but the report I got was that Steve Power's brakes locked up when the ice on the rim un-froze. Steve went right over the bars and landed pretty hard on the ground. He was just getting up when I got to the hill and as I was starting down the hill I saw Curt go over the bars as well. After everyone got going again we re-grouped out on the roadway. We rode back to Parrott's house in a group and some of us went inside to sample some of Parrott's year old beer. It was not one of the better rides that we have done but it did have it's moments, thanks to me.

Saturday 1/28: The weather people said that today we would have cloudy skies and temps in the mid forties so I planned a road ride for 1:00. I was busy in the shop and did not get outside until about 12:00 or so. When I went outside I was amazed at how warm it was. The temperature on the bank downtown was 53 degrees and the sun was shinning brightly. I finished up my work and then got ready for the ride. As it neared 1:00 there was only two or three people in the parking lot and I thought that this would be a small ride. As I got ready to go however, riders started to arrive. We ended up with 11 people: Curt, Mark Newton (on his MTB), Steve Power, Flyin' Brian, Doug Dale, Michelle, Tom Graney, Walters, Dusty, Keith Streeter, and me. We left the shop and headed for Deerfield on the Hope Street route. As we passed the bank I noticed that the temperature was 55 degrees. Not too bad for the end of January! After getting over to River Road in Deerfield I pulled off the front of the group to get some rest in the middle of the pack. As we rode along we encountered some patches of ice in the shaded sections of the road, which we had to use real caution to get around. Fortunately we had no mishaps and we all made it to the hills in one group. On the first hill we ended up losing Dusty and Tom, who had fallen off the pace a little. I rolled down the other side of the hill in the middle of the pack and when I got to the top of the last hill, I sat up to wait for everyone to arrive. Curt mentioned that Dusty and Tom were off and so I decided to soft pedal to see if they would catch back on. At this point the group had split in two and I figured that Doug & Co. would just motor on without us. When my bunch (Curt, Mark, Keith, and Walters) got to the bottom of the hill we rode easily along with the front group still in sight ahead of us. As we rode along near Pine Nook Cemetery, Dusty came along from behind. He told me that Tom had decided to do his own ride. Now at this point I figured that we would just go along at our own pace, but suddenly, Dusty came from the back of the field and went to the front. Dusty put the hammer down and pulled us back up to Doug's group. By the time we got to Hillside Road, we were all back in the pack. As we pedaled along, Walters rode up beside me and said that he was done and he would head for home. I said goodbye to Walters. The group headed down to and crossed RT. 116 and then got onto River Road. After we crossed the town line into Whatley we got a nice tailwind. Doug was at the front and he picked the pace up to a steady 23 mph. We did a paceline at that speed all the way down to Depot Road in Hatfield where we turned right to head over to Mountain Road. As we rode up Depot Road we encountered a horse and buggy stuck on the ice which covered the road for a good ten yards. We managed to make our way around the horse and through the ice (there was a path on the tire tracks left by the cars) and up the hill. When we got to the railroad tracks I cautioned everyone that I would be walking across. These are the tracks that have been responsible for hundreds of flat tires due to the sharp metal edge on the edge of the tracks. As we slowed down to cross, there was a crash. Steve hit someone's tire and he fell hard. He was able to get up but had hurt his wrist in the fall. Steve shook it off and said that he would be OK. We continued on across 5&10 and onto Chestnut Plain Road. The group got split up on the hills into Whatley but Doug and the lead group waited at the Whatley Inn for everyone to get back on. We took the usual North Street route back to South Deerfield. We peddled across Rt.116 and rode over to Lee Road. From Lee Road we took the Mill Village Road into Old Deerfield. After getting through town we headed north on RT. 5&10. The route today was mostly dry, which was surprising considering how much snow there is on the side of the road and how warm it was. But all that changed when we got to The Wok Restaurant. There was a river flowing across the highway from the snow melting on the hills to the east. We got soaked! Luckily we were almost back to the shop so it was not too bad. We ended the 35 miles with a 18.6 mph average. It was a beautiful, spring like day in January and everyone had a good time out on their bikes!

Sunday 1/29: It was a nice morning and I wanted to go out for a ride so I called Curt, Walters and Jamie to see if they wanted to go out for a ride at 11:00. Jamie said that he would like to do an easy ride and we agreed to meet at the shop. Jamie arrived just before 11:00 and we got ready to go. It was mostly cloudy with temps in the forties when we left the shop. We rode over to Silver Street where we took a left and rode all the way to the end of the road. We rode the back roads over to Rugg Lumber where we rode up the hill to Munson Street. Jamie followed me over to Upper Road where he took the lead for a while. As we rode along we saw Doug Dale riding towards us. We waved and continued on down to Stillwater Bridge. It was a pretty nice day and there wasn't any water running on the roadway, so we stayed dry at least to this point. After crossing the river we headed up the hill on Stillwater Road. We rode all the way out to RT. 116 where we turned left and headed to South Deerfield. There was not any discernable wind today so we were able to keep a good pace of 18 mph without too much effort. Jamie and I rode down 116 south to Sugarloaf Street where we turned left to head back to the shop. We took 5&10 all the way back to Greenfield. When we neared the Wok Restaurant I was happy to see that the large runoff of snow melt had diminished to a trickle and we made it over the bridge without getting soaked. Jamie and I took the Washington Street route back to the shop where we finished the ride with an 18.5 mph average.