November
2004 Ride Report Page
Here you will find the reports of our
exploits for the month November 2004 more or less as they happened. I will publish
any ride reports or digital photos that I receive. Please send them to
bikebob@crocker.com and you too can get yourself published on the web! There
are several links on the homepage that will give you information about ride
schedules and how the rides are run.
Thursday Morning 11/4 5:00 AM.
I pulled into the shop parking lot at just about 5 this morning. I started getting ready, connecting the lights, putting on the shoes, deciding which jacket, and gloves would be right for a 25 degree ride on the ridge. I was just about ready when I was visited by a cruiser with two of Greenfield's finest. They questioned my sanity at being out for a ride at 5:00 on the coldest morning yet this fall, I assured them I knew what I was doing (do I really?) and they went on their way. Just after they left my long lost Amish riding partners, Mark C. & Liam showed up, It has been several weeks since the three of us have hooked up for an early morning ride. I have been going it alone, since the beginning of October. Even I missed many opportunities to ride these last few weeks due to the Late Night requirements of being a Sox Fan this fall.
Mark is still without lights, but wouldn't take either Liam or I up on the offer to use our helmet lights (we both have bar lights as well). I guess he just likes being in the dark, anyway, so that he wouldn't be in the sharp shadows, and so his eyes wouldn't adjust to following our lights, he left the shop a couple minutes before Liam and I. We took off up High St to the trail up on to the ridge.
There is something about the Greenfield Ridge ride that still makes me feel like a raw rookie. Most of the other places we ride I am pretty comfortable, I know where the challenges are, which hills I won't even try to make to the top, and where the best lines for getting through the sketchy stuff are, however I haven't yet gotten that comfortable on the ridge. Some stretches I get through pretty well and then BAM I go off the trail into a tree. The loose dry leaves on the trails this morning, plus the fact we haven't ridden there since what, Labor Day, exacerbated this feeling and I ended up dabbing half way up the first climb and was unable to get clipped back in, not an auspicious start to the ride. After I got through that climb things went much better and I soon caught up with Mark, he let me pass, opting to ride in the dark, rather than in his shadow from my lights. I made pretty good time from there to the Tower and caught up to Liam as he was making a second unsuccessful attempt at the rock spine there, I am spooked by that spine, so took my usual detour to wait for the regroup.
We then took the switchback trail down off the back and out to the road crossing into Sachem's Head. Someday I need to spend an hour on those switchbacks and learn how to ride them. I've done this ride a couple dozen times and can't seem to find a halfway comfortable way to get through this section. The loose leaves sure didn't help today. From here we followed the blue trail, finally dropping down and climbing up the power lines to the top. Now riding with the lights off, we followed the second left trail back to the road, across to the white trail, past the dog walkers, and back to the shop. Nice to have a morning group ride again, because I tend to not push as hard when riding solo. Thanks for coming out today guys. Till next time.
Harold
Sunday 11/7: Today was a beautiful fall day with temperatures in the 60's and bright sunshine, which was the reason I planned a road ride. There will not be too many more of these before the cold weather sets in. I scheduled three rides to accommodate all levels of riders. I arrived at the shop at 12:15 to get Curt's wheel ready, and after finishing that task, I got my bike ready. I was surprised that there were very few rides at 12:45, as I thought that the nice weather would bring out more riders. By 1:00 there were 11 people getting ready to ride. As I got on my bike, I noticed that I was the only rider in shorts and short sleeves. Everyone else had on either tights and a jacket or long sleeves and shorts. I thought that they were overdressed but most said they would be fine. The riders were Jay Gump, Socks, Curt, Michelle, Bentley, Tom Terrific, Doug F., Will Kraham, Mike S., and me. Mike S., was hoping that there would be some more of the leisure group riding as he was not sure that he could keep the pace of my group. I told Mike to hang onto the back of the group and see if he could make a 20 mile loop. My group was headed out to do the Warwick-Wendell ride of 45 miles. This is a really nice ride but it has two pretty tough climbs which can really sap the strength of even the most seasoned rider. I led the group out of the parking lot and over to Bernardston Road. I kept the pace up the hill at a moderate 16 mph to the top, where I pulled off and got onto the back to ride down the other side. The group stayed together all the way to Bernardston where we lost Curt off the back. Curt hasn't ridden much this last month and he did not get enough of a warm-up so when the pace picked up on RT. 10 he was out of sight. I was at the front of the group and when I pulled off, Will told me about Curt. I told Will that I would go back and get Curt and I asked Will to have the group slow down so that we could catch back on. I dropped back and got Curt on my wheel and we motored back into the group just as we started up the hill at the Bennett Meadow Bridge. As we waited for the traffic at RT.63 I noticed that many of the riders were peeling off their jackets and arm warmers, a procedure that would be repeated several more times on the hills ahead. Curt stayed in the bunch all the way to Warwick Road but when the climb began he told me that he would set his own pace and that we should continue on. The climb is a long gradual pitch with no particularly steep hills, but enough of a grade to wear you down. The group got pretty strung out over the next few miles and we lost Bentley about half way up the hill. I stayed at the back while Jay set the pace at the front. (Jay has been a big help on these rides. He is able to easily ride away from the group, but instead he sets a fast pace that is a challenge for most of us, but not too fast that everyone gets dropped. He does most of the longer pulls when the group is tiring and then he goes back to pace any dropped rider back into the peleton.) At the top of the Warwick climb we waited for a couple of minutes, but when Bentley and Curt didn't arrive I assumed that they were together so we headed out to do the descent. We flew down the hill at 27 mph which is pretty fast considering that we had a really stiff headwind blowing up the ravine. I was getting a little tired myself and so I tacked onto the back of the group and tried to recover with the aide of a couple of "power Pez" pills. When we got to the bottom of the hill we crossed the highway and began the Wendell Depot climb. This is another long brute of a hill, with some steeper sections that will really sap your strength if you go too hard at the bottom. The climb has a couple of false flats followed by a sharp uphill pitch for a quarter mile or so, that will dull your enthusiasm for climbing. The group got pretty strung out on the way up to Wendell Center but Jay and I pulled the group together before the turn onto Montague Road. At this point the group got pretty well split up. Apparently Will got a slow leak in his rear tire and he stopped to pump it up. At this point we were flying down the hill at 45 mph and we had no idea that what was going on behind. Jay had dropped back on the steep climb and offered to help Will, but Will said that he would just pedal along a pump up as needed. When we got to the bottom of the hill we stopped to wait for Will and Jay. Jay came along and said that will would just find his way back on his own. The group then headed off to finish the ride. After a rather badly done crossing of RT. 63, I led the troops up the hill to Millers Falls Road. I pedaled along for a while and when I pulled off the front I was surprised to find that only Socks and Michelle were with me. I knew that the rest of the group would be OK and so I just kept on going. By the time we got to the center of town the rest of the riders had caught on and we all finished the ride together. This was one of the best late season rides we have had in quite a while. It is really nice to get a day in November where you can ride with short sleeves and shorts.
Sunday, 11/7: The West Hill Shop
Cyclocross Race. We had a great day for a race. Everyone came to Putney all
bundled up expecting to freeze, but quickly realized that it was a mistake
to have left the summer attire at home. I'm guessing it was already 60
degrees when the C race started at 10. There were 11 women in the C race and
the entire C field totaled 33 or so. We all started together which always
makes me nervous. I need to focus on the technical stuff and I get nervous
when I get to an obstacle with a large group. I'm getting better and less
anxious, but I'm still a little on edge when that happens. The other
challenge is keeping track of where the other women are. We all took off
from the start and quickly passed over the first set of barriers and into
the woods for some fun in the mud. The downhill wasn't too bad... it was
muddy, but not too bad.
The right side was fairly bumpy and nearly threw me off the bike during a
warm up lap so I stayed to the left in the race. After another mud section,
we headed out into the cornfield to a second set of barriers and then to the
road leading to the run up (which sucked if I may say so). I was in the lead
(barely) at the end of the first lap and then 8 seconds behind the new
leader for laps 2-4. I'd nearly close the gap each time at the bottom of the
run up but lose then lose it all. So, on the final
(5th) lap I could see that she was getting tired and I closed the gap in the
cornfield and even got a little rest on her wheel. She picked up a couple of
seconds again on the barriers but I was right there. I knew that the only
way I could win was to be in front of her on the run up. I was hoping that
she'd get stuck behind me and then at the top we could just sprint for the
win. On the road, I attacked and got to the run up a few seconds before she
did and my plan was working. She didn't try to go around me and we got to
the top and remounted. She did so more gracefully, but in the end, I took
the sprint by less than a wheel length. It was a good race right to the end.
I have to thank Nice Kate and Parrott for their cheers and telling me to
close down the gaps - it helped
me keep my head in the game. All in all a good day which only got better
with the Warwick-Wendell ride a few hours later. :)
Michelle
Tuesday 11/9:This morning I did
the standard Deerfield Ridge Ride, and finally remembered to bring the
folding saw. I topped the fallen black birch on the hill just up from the
gate that was partially blocking the trail and then removed the branches
from the big hemlock farther along. Next group ride we need to pull a new
fallen dead tree off the trail, it is just beyond the hemlock. I would have
worked on that too, but the neighbors hounds had woken up and I didn't
really want to find out what a load of buckshot felt like, so got the heck
out of there...
Was a good ride after that, my hands thawed out from the sawing and stayed
warm the rest of the ride. First snowy ride of the year. Was flurrying
lightly as I headed up Keets Rd, and the leaves on the trails were mostly
snow covered.
Harold
Tuesday 11/9: I was busy
at the shop today but with the frosting of snow still on the ground at 4:00
I knew that the ride tonight was going to be a chilly one. At 6:00 I was
joined by Jack, Mark Newton and Chris Williams for a ride to the Coke Plant.
It was 30 degrees when we left the shop for Gill Road and although we rode
at a steady clip, it was not a cold as I thought it would be. We rode over
to the RT. 2 crossing and then we crossed the stink hole to the trails.
There wasn't any ice on crossing and we continued on to the truck turnout.
At this point I took up the rear of the group to do the ride out through the
swamp. The trails had lots of leaves on them which tended to hide the
branches and ruts beneath them. The recent wind storm also took down plenty
of large trees and limbs that blocked our path at several points. We removed
some of the bigger limbs and rode over some others on our way to Luke. I
managed to keep a steady pace all the way up Luke in spite of the deep leaf
cover and hidden sticks, but the other riders were not so fortunate and they
had to dismount on occasion. At the water tank we headed over to the power
lines on the new trail but were forced to retreat because of the logging
being done on that section of trail. We headed back to our old path and then
headed to the power lines. We rode down to Red Rock where we paused briefly
before we rode down the Chute. The Chute was literally filled with leaves
but I was able to ride down without any difficulty. This was not the case
when I went to ride up the Hill of Doom. I did pretty well until I got to
the roots that cross the path and I was forced to dismount when my rear tire
slid. Mark was the only one to make it to the top. At the top of the hill we
paused briefly while Jack tried to break the ice in his water bottle so that
he could get a drink. He was successful and we headed off to ride up to the
Secret Trail. I suggested that we try a different route and the riders
agreed. We rode past Jack's Pond to the Mud Road which we followed over to
the Ankle Breaker Trail. We rode up Ankle Breaker to Deer Run and then we
took the Streambed Trail up to the Crossover Trail. I had a lot of trouble
with the leaves and sticks on Streambed and Crossover and I was not able to
ride up cleanly. After the climb we headed down the Secret Trail and then up
Stinger. No one made it up stinger as the leaves were too slippery to get
any meaningful traction. When everyone got to the Ridge Trail we headed back
out on the Swamp Trail to the Lillian Street Trail. We then crossed back
over the highway and rode easily back to the shop. Although it was the
coldest night of the season we all were dressed properly and none of us were
particularly cold by the time we got back to the shop.
11/09Amish Good Mornings. On Tuesday morning in
14 degree (near record setting weather) lone Amish gunman, Harold "Hammerhead"
Green took to the hills of the Deerfield ridge and not only slogged through
Icy, mud bogs and leafy, slippery climbs in the dark, but stopped to do
trail work and cut back troublesome trees along the way. In so doing, Harold
has garnered for himself the Hardcore mantle, which presently among all those
who ride on this list, he alone can wear. Kudos,
Harold! I'm seriously grateful for Harold's truculence, over the last three
months my exuberance for Amish mountain biking has flagged and waned. Whereas,
Good Sir Harold has, like Jesse Jackson, kept hope alive-constantly putting
out the early morning invites and pushing through with the dark hour rides
while myself and Big Mac indulged our pillows. Truthfully, Amish riding would
have become a summer memory by now but for the perseverance of Hardcore
Hammerhead Harold Green-so
thanks for motivating our sad, sleepy butts in the morning, my man.
Thursday 11/11: This morning, it was a rather balmy, crisp and clear 36
degrees by 5:15am ride time. I met Harold at the Hillside St. Parking area at
Sugarloaf North in S. Deerfield (Big Mac, complaining of a sore throat and an
inability to swallow ducked out of the ride...I'm not sure what
he thought we had in store for him but let me assure you dear readers that it
didn't involve any swallowing...we're not that kind of club...yet.). Harold
and I began the leisurely ascent up hillside
road, up stage rd and up ridge rd to the entrance to the Pocumtuck. We pushed
along steadily across the very leafy trail to the mouth of the Clapp's pond
trail. The descent was leafy and surprisingly slippery. The snow of two nights
ago hadn't started melting until this morning creating a uniquely troublesome
surface for most of the ride: Top layer was loose, dense leaves, a middle
layer of frosty water, and a bottom layer of hidden, unforeseeable, very
slippery rocks, roots and maddening on the long ascents (Stairmaster, S. North
were extremely difficult and frustrating this morning...more on that in a
minute). And wow is everything wet! The stream at the bottom of C-pond trail
was flowing strong. Harold and I spent some time pulling stones off an old
rock wall and dropping them into the brook in order top make it barely
passable by foot...needs more rocks. Then, it was time for the big climb. It's
probably been over a month since I rode up Stairmaster...and it showed. I was
walking by the big hill-exhausted and defeated (dang).
Yeah it was wet and the aforementioned leaf-wet-rock-frost surface was tricky.
But honestly the problem was me-back in July I would have destroyed this hill,
but then I was riding it once or twice a week plus two to three other hard
rides a week. I've lost a bit of my mid season edge. Listen up kids 'cause
here's the truth: Riding a trainer (which I do religiously) and lifting
weights (also important to me) will keep you fit and strong (which is very
important)...BUT-there ain't no substitute for actual riding-nothing works
like the real thing. My problem is that I've pulled back on my rides and it
shows. And this is why I'm so grateful to Harold...the only way to get that
form back-and improve on it-is actual mountain biking, as much as possible
whenever possible-which for me means twice a week getting my sad lazy butt out
of bed and on the trail with my Amish brethren. Call Bob and buy some lights,
Get your bikes and gear ready for the second season, everybody-riding in the
winter- snow, cold, dark or otherwise-is the only way to stay sharp, get
better, and live happier!
Ok, back to my ride...Hammerhead and I rode back down the Pocumtuck and then,
for a switch rode across Hillside Road and up the water company road (not the
trail by where we parked)...this was steep as hell and once again I found
myself walking. Soon we were at the Sugarloaf North Lookout-beautiful morning
and a beautiful little valley..ah, I love it here. We Ripped down the
singletrack on the south side of the mountain and then back to the cars. I
never really felt strong on this ride,
but I still loved doing it. Greet the day, Rise and Shine. The Amish are back!
Thursday 11/11: It was a lot warmer today than yesterday which meant that I wore less clothes tonight than I did yesterday afternoon at 3:00. I got over to Montague where I was met by 7 riders who were getting their gear ready. I quickly got my bike out and soon we were on the way. Liam was the designated leader of the faster group while I was hanging with the more moderate riders. Although Liam was leading the ride I stayed near enough to keep him going on the route if he strayed. After we left the center of town we headed down to the Sawmill Meadow Trails with Curt and Liam in the lead. I started out in the middle of the bunch but I waited for Jamie after the plank bridge to make sure that he knew the way up the hill. Jamie is new to night riding so I kept the pace fairly mellow on the Telephone Pole Trail. When he and I got to the fire pit, MAC was already there having ridden up to the spot from his house. As Jamie and I pulled in the group was deciding what route to take. As the route choices were being explained, MAC said that the battery that I gave him to use was not working, so he would be lightless for the ride. This would be OK because we all have light powered lighting systems and they would be enough to light his way. Curt suggested that we take the Second First Left, so that's what we did. We rode at a steady pace out to the Banked Trails and then took the Water Tank Trail to the water tanks. I stayed near the back of the group on the way up to the water tank where we paused for a rest. From the water tank I led the group over to the yet un-named trail next to Willis Hill that claimed quite a few chains and derailleur's the last time we rode up it. I led the group up the hill and made it almost to the top, before slipping on a stick hidden underneath the leaves. Curt was the first to pass me on the way to the top and I followed him. He yelled in triumph as he crested the hill, a real accomplishment! At the top of the hill we rested before the group followed me down though the Pine Forest and onto a wicked little climb that leads through a swamp and then to the I-H Trail. We waited for a few moments before I then headed off to do the Kiabuckus. I lost my way as the trail has not been used in a while and the leaves obscured the trailhead. I quickly found my way and was heading for the descent when I heard "Bob is Fat" coming from behind. I turned around and saw the MAC had his bike upside down and was yanking on the chain. It seems that he got chain suck and his chain jammed into the frame. With the help of the bystanders he was able to free his chain and we all were soon on our way. I led the group down the trail which was littered with lots of blown down trees and branches. We had to dismount a couple of times before we arrived at the Middle Road. I followed the group down the hill to Red Rock Road. After passing Red Rock we then rode over to Brushy Way which led us to the Toilet Bowl trail. The rest of the ride was down the Telephone Pole Trail to the road and then back to the vehicles. We were planning on getting some dinner after the ride (to celebrate Curt's birthday). But when we arrived at Roberto's, they were closed. I did not want to go out to another restaurant as I was getting tired, so I went home and the rest of the group went to get Chinese food.
11/14
A Sunny, yet crisp Sunday afternoon-Chris Koh pulled up to my house around 1
pm and we loaded up and drove up to Goshen to try our hands and the
snow-covered singletrack of the DAR. There was a lot of talk about a new 2.5
mile trail recently constructed off of the long trail. Some of the NEMBA
leaders met earlier this morning to ride the DAR-thank goodness, if not for
their tire tracks in the snow, Chris and I would have never found our way
through. We parked the car right by
the lake (it's free this time of year) and suited up-we tentatively made our
way over to the Long Trail...it's been 9 months since I last rode on snow and
Ice-so I was feeling a little nervous, but soon my muscle memory kicked in and
I began to feel more sure-footed. Dang, but the DAR is a beautiful park, as we
began our loop around the lake, the Sun shone brilliantly of the clear water
and the crystal hues of the snow-covered woods complimented this beautifully.
Mature, deciduous hardwoods and a fair number of sizeable rocks here and there
all add up to make the DAR one of the most beautiful (and challenging) rides
in the region. The trail conditions, however, were, to say the
least, tough!. They had about 1.5-2 inches of wet mucky snow and the leaves-oh
the leaves, several inches deep and when mixed with wet snow created a very
fatiguing riding surface. Plus, my wheels, brake housings and pivot points
kept getting filled with a unique compound of wet leaves and sticky granular
snow...a phenomenon which I've since termed "Iceberg Lettuce" (clever, huh?).
As before mentioned, we followed the tracks left by earlier riders through the
snow off of the long trail onto the new trail-a very long, twisty and
challenging trail indeed! eventually, chris and I found ourselves back on the
long trail and then out to the snow covered road. From here we opted to drop
down the Black Bear trail and then up the NEMBA trail...a great loop with some
steady climbing made all the more demanding by the prodigious amount of
Iceberg Lettuce. By this point Chris had had enough and I was happy enough to
road it back to the car...especially since we both had time for a beer and a
burger at the Williamsburg Inn and Tavern. This was a great ride-challenging
in that was only winter riding can be-but great none the less. On the whole
this was one of my better rides in some time. My skills have been a little off
lately (probably a little burn out-I rode a lot this year)-but after a shaky
start, I was pretty much on top of my game. Yea! Congratulations to Michelle
on her topnotch performance at the Northampton Cross race!
Sunday 11/14: It was a very nice day with lots of sunshine and not much wind. It was a little on the cool side with the hi temps in the upper thirties. I had scheduled a MTB ride for today and when I got to the shop at 12:45 I was met there by Terri and Howard who were waiting to follow me over to the start. Soon after I arrived, Lauren drove in to the parking lot and wondered if there was a ride. I told her that there indeed was a ride and she was welcome to join us. Only problem was that she only had her road bike so she decided to go out for a road ride by herself. Will Kraham drove in but he did not stop and I am really not sure what he was doing. Anyway, as I was getting my bike loaded into the van Steve Lanoue arrived and when all my gear was on board we all headed out for Montague. When I arrived at the common I was greeted by a gang of eager cyclists who posed for this photo. I put my gear on and got my bike ready and soon we were off to ride over to the meadow trail. We crossed the river and headed up the trail to where the large tree had fallen and several riders helped to clear a path around it. After the trail clearing we headed off to the Telephone Pole Trail. We re-grouped and some of us relieved, before we headed off to the Toilet Bowl Trail. The trails had some snow on them which actually made the traction better in some places. We stopped at a blown down tree on the Toilet Bowl Trail to move the log (which required most of us to accomplish) before heading out to the New Trail. I was in the lead and made it about half way up before having to stop when a rider ahead of me slipped on some roots. This trail requires a perfect line pick if you are going to make it all the way to the top riding your bike. I took some photos of the riders behind me as they approached and then headed up the hill. At the top of the climb we headed over to the I-H trail and then we took a connecting trail down to the Pine Forest Trail. I had to stop to adjust Terri's derailleur hanger after he got a large log jammed in between the derailleur and the frame. I quickly made the repair to the hanger and soon we were heading up the trail to the other end of the I-H Trail where the group was waiting. We took a short ride up the I-H to the Kiabuckus where we began some serious trail work. We huffed and hauled quite a bit of timber and branches off the trails as we slowly made our way along the path. We did all the work without the use of any power or cutting tools. When we were finished we had a nicely groomed trail that is completely cleared of obstacles. As you can see from the photo Jamie was instrumental in getting the job done. You can see that he kept a close eye on my work and kept praising the wonderful achievements of the group. After finishing the trail work we headed off to finish the ride. We rode over to the water tank and then down to the BPT where Jamie gave us a demonstration of the proper (or is it porper) way to expel nasal accumulations. After that informative demonstration we all headed over to the Banked Trails and from there we returned to the Telephone Pole Trail and finished the ride at the hard top road. We pedaled back to the vehicles and after loading the bikes we all headed for home. It was a long ride (3 hours) but we got a lot done. The work that we did today will make our night rides that much more enjoyable. The only trail that will need some work is the New Trail. This will require a leaf blower or some time with a rake, but when it is done, this will be a really nice route for the advanced riders.
Sunday 11/14: Cycle-Smart
International Cyclocross Race. Look Park.
Brrrr! It was chilly this morning. As I got dressed in my car, the temperature
read 27 degrees. I wore a medium weight jersey underneath my skin suit which
seems to have been a good choice. The knee warmers, skull cap, and wool socks
helped too :) The start was pretty crazy. We sort of lined up by number which
was based on order of registration. The C Men, B Women and B Masters all lined
up together. It was kinda scary. We all took off together down the paved
straight away to the first turn. The trail wound down to the lower part of the
course and we made our way around to a sand pit which was totally rideable and
then we all got to the first run up together which was a walk up for everyone
but the front few. The trail conditions were pretty decent - some of the
corners were a little slick with ice, but after watching the later races, I
think we were better off with the ice than with the resulting mud as the day
warmed up. The trail continued through the woods to a fun descent and then
eventually the second run up. After some windy trail, we came to the barriers
and then headed for the long paved straightaway to the finish. After the first
lap I really didn't know how I was doing in relation to the other women. I
could see a teammate ahead of me and eventually I saw a rider ahead of her. To
add to the confusion, I thought I was hallucinating when I heard Jingle Bell
Rock playing on the PA system. Turns out it wasn't a hallucination. They
played Christmas tunes for a few laps. Weird.
Anyway, on the third lap, I went by my teammate and by the 4th lap, I passed
another woman and could see one more ahead of me. I passed her on the final
lap, but she got around me at the barriers as I rode into the little fence and
knocked it over (whoops). I got right back on her wheel and just went as hard
as I could when we hit the pavement and I out sprinted her to take 2nd place.
I never saw the 1st place woman - she only had 30 seconds on us, but I just
never saw her. It was a good day of racing and it was the first time that I
had placed in the top 3 at a race with an actual podium. It was my first
podium experience. :)
-Michelle
Ride Report 11/16:
Rise-N-Shine, Good Amish morning to ya,
This morning we decided to hit the Greenfield ridge from Bob's shop. we headed
up the normal route behind the U-Haul parking lot, and up to the second climb
where I did some work repairing the climb last week and It is almost ridable
up, but I am still a little spooked by the dark considering the ledges are on
the right and just knowing that it has been un-ridable for the last 3-4 yrs,
anyway none of us made it yet it is much smother and I think anyone who tries
it in daylight will likely make it no problem. So Hammerhead and myself
continued on and up the blue trail and about half way to the tower my lights
died so I poked around in the dark until meeting H at the tower where we then
dropped down into the switchbacks onto the white trail where I hopped in front
of Harold so I could borrow his light Now after a couple minutes of doing so
(being tired I guess) some guy in front of me in dark clothing would not get
out of my way I go left He went left, I go right He went right. Just as I was
getting ready to say Liam get out of my way, I woke up and realized I was
getting p----d at my own shadow (Whadda Putz) Not Liam, I should have known,
(Liam would have been out of sight). So after crossing the road Harold passed
me and I poked around in the dark, which is easier than a light behind you
casting shadows until we made our way to the top where we dropped back down to
Bears den rd. and took our first left over to the power lines where we did
some trail work and then headed up to Joe's rock and discussed fixing this
problem w/a trail work day (Joe's rock) from there we hammered the remainder
of the ride down and out to the cars. Great ride.
Tuesday 11/16: It was a clear and crisp evening when a group of riders arrived for the trip to the Coke Plant. Joining me tonight was Curt, Michelle, Mark Newton, Jack, Mike S., Steve and Snakeboy. We left the shop and headed down to Gill Road where we cut over RT. 2 to the trails. I led the group past the truck turnout and onto the trails. We headed across the plank bridge to the Five Points Trail which was pretty dry although there were lots of leaves and sticks on the path. When we got to Five Points we decided to ride up to the Secret Trail via a the Crosscut Trail. We usually do this route from the other direction but we wanted to do a different ride. The trail is somewhat more gradual than the Ridge/Luke route and so most of the riders had no trouble riding up the hill. There were a couple of sections that were hard for some of the riders but for the most part it was a good choice. At the water tank Snakeboy took the lead and he promptly went riding off on a dead end trail. I then took the group off on the porper trail which led us out to the power lines and eventually to Red Rock where we re-grouped. I followed Mark and Snakeboy down the Chute and over to the Hill of Doom. (I had spent a few hours over here yesterday and got the trail cleared of leaves and sticks. I also got a good start on fixing the bottom of the hill by clearing away some of the ruts that were left over from the logging operation.) We got to the bottom of the hill which was now clear of debris and rode straight up the hill without difficulty. After the Hill of Doom we rode past Jack's Pond to the Streambed Trail. I managed to make it all the way to the top and then about half way up the Crossover Trail before I ran out of gas. I walked my bike to the top and then rode over to the top of Luke to await the rest of the riders. Michelle and Curt had spent several hours here today clearing the trail and Curt was given the honor of being one of the first to ride down the hill. I followed Curt and Mark down the nicely groomed trail and we really ripped it. It is often too bad that a trail like this can't go on for miles! (Of course, if it did, then we would have to ride miles up the hill!!) After everyone got to the top of the Ridge Trail we then followed Snakeboy down the hill to the Swamp Trail. As usual, Snakeboy missed the turn and I had to holler over to him as he headed down another trail. I took the lead down the Swamp Trail and then over to the Cellar Hole Trail. I stopped at the curve in the trail to see if I could find the connector trail to the other side, but alas I could not so I jumped back onto my bike and followed the group out to the Lillian Street Trails. We finished up the ride by riding back over to the RT. 2 crossover and then back to the shop. It was a nice ride on a fairly mild (50 degree) night.
Tuesday 11/16: Mountain biking season is in full swing. Though I've been on the road bike a few times when the weather has allowed, most of my riding now is on trails and at night. We've got a good core group of 'the regulars' showing up for the rides. Now we have to work on building up a base of new riders (mostly so I have an alternative group to ride with when I tire of trying to keep up with El Presidenté and his homeboys).
The rides have been rotating mostly among the trails at the Plains, the Coke Plant and the Deerfield Ridge. We've also been trying to do some trail maintenance before the snow flies. Last Sunday, we combined a ride at the Plains with a work detail cleaning up Kiabuckus. On Tuesday Michelle and I spent some time cleaning 'Luke' at the Coke plant, while Bob spent some time the day before cleaning the approach to the 'Hill of Doom'. An hour after we finished the work, we enjoyed a great ride there and were able to really rip down the newly raked Luke. There is still work to be done there, specifically cleaning up the Chute and finishing the top of Luke. Bob would also like to do more work on the H.o.D.
I was rewarded for my work by topping both the Hill of Doom AND Streambed without stopping or dabbing. :) Trail Karma is a good thing.
Thursday 11/18: We headed for the Deerfield Ridge. It was an abnormally warm night for this time of the year and probably the last time we can expect to be able to ride at night without full Winter gear until next Spring. I wasn't going to tell anybody, but I was feeling a bit lethargic as we started the ride. I was hoping that after I had a chance to get my body moving, it would wake up. I struggled just a bit up the paved climb to the beginning of Mud Mile, then had a chance to start to warm up before we hit the bottom of the Crystal Cave climb. I was thinking it was going to be a 'walker' for me tonight, but I surprised myself and made it up over the first few initial steep sections. With nothing to lose, I gave the final section everything I had, kept to the extreme right of the trail, and rolled over the top. My first 'clean' ride of this hill.
After a short regrouping stop at the top we continued on. The group was a bit too tight at the bottom of the next real climb, which resulted in some traffic jams when riders in front would have to stop but wouldn't have enough time to get out of the way of the riders behind.
Harold recently did a good job cleaning up one section of trail on one of his morning rides, but the universe had to be balanced, so just beyond where he had cleared some branches to make the trail rideable, another tree had fallen. This one was smaller though, so a minute of work was all that was needed to drag it out of the way.
Not very much later my bike was feeling a bit odd, but I tried to convince myself that everything was OK. After 20' more, I had to face facts. My bike wasn't handling like it should. Bob very very fat.
Bob was the rider directly behind me, so moments after I stopped he had the wheel off and was working on the tire while I dug out my spare tube and CO2. I'm glad I had backed away to let Bob do the hard work, since my tire was putting up a real fight. It even attacked Bob by throwing a tire lever into his face, but he shrugged off the injury and renewed his attempts to pry the tire off the wheel. It finally gave up. Minutes later, I was on the road again.
The rest of the ride went well. The brush piles blocking the trail after the summit have been getting smaller every time we used the trail and tonight were almost small enough to ride over or around.
As we were dropping down the last long descent toward the power lines, I saw Snakeboy's bike tumble just a short distance in front of me. I think this is what made my try to steer out of the rut that was the main 'line' down this trail. The trail was completely masked with leaves though. Something lurking beneath the leaves jumped out, grabbed my bike and threw it to the side of the trail. Before I knew it, I was laying on the side of the trail with sore ribs and road rash from knee to ankle on my right leg and blood starting to trickle from several spots. I couldn't feel any pain right away, but it certainly LOOKED like it was going to hurt an hour or so after the ride.
We ended up back at the parking lot after a brisk road ride. The night was still warm and my leg was just starting to sting as I changed and drove off. Later on, my things got more fun as the leg and large bruise developing on my ribcage kept me up for most of the night despite large doses of Ibuprofen.
Sunday 11-21: It was a cloudy, sort of dreary, day with rain and mist in morning giving way to just a cloudy afternoon. I went over to the shop at 1:45 to load my bike and Jack's bike into the van. Jack just got a new car and he hasn't had a chance to get the hitch installed on the back, so I will be transporting his bike for him until he can get that done. I arrived at the usual parking spot at a little after 2:00 to find Walter, Gary, Michelle, Curt, Lauren and Jack waiting for me. After we all got our gear together we decided to split into two groups. Today is Lauren's first trail ride and I thought it best that she not do the meadow part of the ride. Instead, she and I would head over to the Telephone Pole Trail via the hardtop road while the rest of the riders would take the meadow route. We left the common and soon Lauren and I were onto the trails. I gave Lauren a couple of pointers on riding in soft sand or dirt and she rode right up the hill without any difficulty. At the top of the hill we stopped to wait for the rest of the group to arrive. After a couple of minutes the group re-joined us at the firepit. We decided to take the Toilet Bowl Trail out to the power lines as this route would give everyone a chance to warm up before getting to the hill. Jack took the lead with Curt, while I followed Lauren down the trail. Lauren did very well on the smooth trails but had to adjust to the bumpy sections with the bermed turns and this caused her to drop off the back of the group. Lauren is a quick learner and she was able to adapt to riding on the rough trails fast enough that we almost caught the group before the power lines. The group was waiting for us when we got to the power lines and a brief discussion we decided to head over to the new trail. The plan was for Lauren and I to ride up Red Rock while the rest of the crew took the more difficult trip up the new trail. I coached Lauren up the hill. She had to stop on the first pitch but she was able to ride the rest of the way to the turn onto Swamp Road. Lauren and I rode over to Sock Hill and while we waited for the riders to join us I showed her how to ride over a log. She made three successful rides over the log, but on the fourth try she fell hard on the log and that was it for log hopping today. Lauren had just gotten up from her fall when the group arrived. She said that she was fine and she got back on her bike and rode off with Michelle. I rode over to Willis Hill Road with the group where we took a left to go over to the water tank. We all rode down the hill from the water tank to the bottom of Willis Hill Road. At this point Jack took the lead and we followed him along the trails until he led us to a dead end in the middle of the plains. At this point I took the lead with the group following me out to the BPT Trail where Jack took over again. I followed the riders back to the Banked Trail and then out to the Telephone Pole Trail. We rode at a steady pace down the hill to the black top road where we took a left to head back to the cars. It was a nice ride on a nice fall afternoon.
Tuesday 11/23: Tonight I had planned two rides. I was going to ride with the beginners and Liam was going to ride with the faster group. Well as it turns out Liam did not show up so I had Mark Newton and Curt stand in for him (yes it takes two to replace El Presidenté). Also joining Mark, Curt and me for the ride tonight was Steve Power, Peter T., Jack, Walters, Michelle, Harold and Matthew Green, Chris W., and Tom. The group split up with Steve, Peter and myself heading for Gill Road while the rest of the riders went on the trails behind Stop&Shop. The plan was for my group to meet up with the main pack on the climb up the Secret Trail. My group rode over to the RT. 2 and we soon found our way onto the trails. This is Steve's first night ride and one of his first "real" mountain bike ride. I rode along behind Steve and Peter until we got to the truck turnout. At this point I took the lead and headed the riders over to the Brook Trail. We crossed the plank bridge and rode over to Five Points. Steve had never been on these trails so I kept the pace pretty mellow. At Five Points we took a small trail up to the Secret Trail. I had Steve and Peter ride ahead of me and I let them set the pace up the hill. At the Secret Trail I rode behind Steve and Peter followed me to the top of the hill. We waited for a couple of minutes for the rest of the riders to come along but when the did not we continued on. We rode over to the power lines and down to Red Rock where we waited. We waited a good ten minutes and still no one was coming down the trail so we decided to go down the Chute. The trail had just been cleaned by Michelle and Craig and it was in perfect condition. This was the first time down the hill for Steve and he decided to follow me. He did very well and soon we were at the bottom waiting for Peter. We stopped for only a couple of seconds before we saw a light coming towards us. It wasn't Peter. It was Walters and the rest of the other group. We stayed put and waited for them to pass before heading over to the Hill of Doom behind Peter (who had followed them down the hill). I rode up the hill and the group was waiting at the top. At this point Curt and Mark wanted to ride up the Streambed to the Cross-over Trail. After that they wanted to ride down Luke to enjoy the handiwork that Curt and Michelle had done cleaning that route. At this point Peter was getting tired so I asked Steve if he thought that he could keep up with Curt's group and he said that he could, so he headed off with them. I rode with Peter up the Streambed to Deer Run which we followed all the way over to the Ridge Trail. We were cleaning up Stinger when Curt and his crew came along. I then took the lead and headed the riders down the hill to the Cellar Hole Trail where I managed to get stuck in the mud. I quickly got back on the trail and led the group out to the Lillian Street Trails. I stopped to make sure that everyone made the turn but somehow a group of four riders got separated and it wasn't until we got to Gill Road that I realized they were missing. I waited for a few minutes before heading back to the shop. I thought that maybe the riders had gone the other way and headed back to the shop. As it turns out they were waiting at a different point and after a while they just rode back to the shop. All in all it was a great ride and everyone had a good time.
Friday 11/26: I got a call from Curt in the middle of the afternoon and he wanted to do a ride since we missed last night due to rain. I agreed and he along with Al Mason met me at the shop and then we all drove over to Montague for a ride on the plains. We took the usual route through the meadow and then up the Telephone Pole Trail. Curt was in the lead and we rode straight out to the Second First Left where we opted to take the left out to the Banked Trail. We stopped for me to take a couple of photos on the power lines before heading off to ride to the water tank. We kept a pretty brisk pace on the ride out to the water tank. When we got to the new bridge that Mark C made we found that Hammerhead Harold had made a ramp onto one side and put rocks in the big hole on the other side so that we now can ride over the bridge. Thanks, guys! After the climb up to the water tank we headed across the field to the single track trail. After getting back into the woods we rode over to Willis Hill Road and from there took the trail through the swamp. I was leading because Curt wasn't sure where the turn to the Kiabuckus Trail was and we were almost to the turn when Al broke his chain. Curt and I quickly got to work and soon we had Al back on his bike. From the swamp we headed over to the Kiabuckus Trail which we were able to ride up thanks to the trail cleaning efforts of the group on the last ride. At the top of the hill we turned right onto the I-H Trail and rode over to the Pine Forest Trail. I followed Al and Curt down the hill past the snowmobile sieve and onto the Ice Flow Trail. Curt missed the turn onto the Ice Flow Trail so I ended up leading down the hill to the turn onto Sand Pit Trail. After we turned onto the Sand Pit Trail we headed over to Red Rock. I rode up and over first and waited at the bottom of the hill for the other two. As he rode over the rocks on the way down the hill, Al lost the air pressure in his shock so we paused to re-inflate it. After that I led down the hill to Plains Road where Curt and I did a little bicycle ballet around some very large puddles. I managed to sprint past Curt at one narrow section and gain a little ground on him. Curt then re-passed me and headed down the road to Brushy Way. Trouble was, he did not know where the turn was and I waited for him to pass it before yelling "left turn". I turned with Al right behind me and I had a good chuckle all the way to the turn onto the Toilet Bowl Trail. At this point I let up just enough for Curt to pass and then I fell in behind them. We rode down to the Banked Trail where Curt led to the left turn (which I prompted him for) to the short trail that takes us back over to the Telephone Pole Trail. We ended the ride with a mellow ride down the hard top back to the cars. It was a good ride for me, that is for sure.
Tuesday 11/30: It was a mild day
today so Matt Putnam and I decided to go out for a road ride. We left the shop
and rode down to River Road where we pedaled into a somewhat brisk wind for
most of the ride to the Sunderland Bridge. I kept pace with Matt although I
struggled at times to keep the pace. We rode across the bridge into Sunderland
and took a left onto RT. 47 where we got a brief respite from the wind. Matt
and I took turns pacing each other up to Falls Road where we were again hit
with a brisk wind. We kept a steady 20 mph pace for the ride to Ferry Road
where we made a right and headed up the hill to Turners Falls Road. We took
Turners Falls Road all the way to the fire house. At the stop sign we rode
straight to the Third Street hill. At this point I took the lead down the hill
to downtown. After crossing the river back to Greenfield, Matt took the lead
up Esleeck Hill and I hung on and made it to the top, glued to his wheel. It
was a nice ride and I was glad to have the opportunity to get out. Tuesday, 11/30:
Coke Plant It was a bit warmer tonight than it was for our Friday
ride so I didn't bundle up as much, though I still layered up with Winter
tights and my Lake Winter boots. This was a bit much, and I ended up being
overly warm on most of the climbs. Just unzipping the jacket wasn't enough
to shed some of the extra heat. It sure is difficult to 'guess' right
about how many layers to wear this time of year! We had two groups going out tonight. Mark Newton, Harold,
Matthew and I went on some slightly longer and more difficult trails while
Bob coached Steve, Mike and Lauren through a more basic ride. The four of
us left a few minutes earlier with plans to meet Bob and crew somewhere on
the trails. We hit the ridge behind Stop and Shop on the way, where I
managed to plant my knee on a rock hard enough that I was wondering as I
got off the ground if it was still going to work. I didn't want to stand
around and let it stiffen up, so rolled on spinning easily for the next
100 yards until I was sure there was no permanent damage. By this time,
the rest of the group was well out of site, but I caught them when we hit
the pavement after leaving the trails. In no time, we had hopped over Rte 2 and made our way past
the plant and onto the trails. The first swampy area has extended to twice
its normal size with the recent rains. I don't think any of us managed to
ride it this time. After the short loop that brought us past the cellar
hole (looks more like a tombstone to me...) we had the 2nd muddy section.
What was until recently a short patch of mud is now a long section of deep
soupy mud bog. Even the short climb afterward is slick and sticky, with
half my power going to spinning the back wheel instead of moving me
forward. I think it may be time to leave this trail alone for a few weeks
so it can recover. We reached five-points and headed for the Secret trail.
This is where we merged with some of the the riders in Bob's group. Mike
and Steve fell in with us, while Lauren continued on with Bob. We reached
Red Rock just about the same time that she and Bob joined us, having taken
a different route. After a short regroup all but Bob and Lauren headed
down the chute. The chute is still clean from the raking it got recently,
so we all made it down easily before heading for the Hill of Doom. I'd
been sucking on the hills tonight and wasn't expecting to make the climb,
but huffed and puffed enough to force enough oxygen into my blood and
managed to roll over the top without difficulty. I think I'm finally
learning the best line to take on this hill, so now it is just a matter of
having the energy to keep moving forward. We met Bob and Lauren again at Jack's pond, which was
swollen to lake size. The rutted road heading toward Streambed was also
soaked, with water filling the tire ruts to the brim. Straying from a line
down the center of the road would result in a quick bath and very wet
shoes. Streambed was wet as well, with water running down the
left of the trail and leaves hiding patches of slick mud underneath. Soon
we had all ridden or walked our way to the top. To my surpirse, given the
way I had been feeling earlier, I made this climb as well. We stopped for another regroup at the top of Luke where I
noticed my bar lights were dead. I must have not plugged them into the
charger correctly, since they have never NOT made it through an entire
ride before. Luke was still a great ride, though there was running water
in the top 1/3 of the trail and leaves had started filling in the bottom
50 yards again. We all popped up over the two short climbs at the end to
meet Bob and Lauren at the top of Stinger. We waited a few minutes for Mike to join us and saw his
light coming once then nothing. I finally rode back to the bottom of Luke
just in time to see his light vanish over the horizon to the West. He had
started coming the right way then had second thoughts and had doubled back
to head off into the wilderness. We got him back into the group after
which Bob took us all back to five points while I fell in behind Lauren to
ride sweep. Bob and Lauren left us to head straight out while the rest of
us turned to exit via the swamp trail. I fell in behind Mike and we let
the rest of the riders vanish ahead of us. We made our way past the
tombstone just as the others passed it in the other direction. Mike slipped on the sharp turn at the outer limit of this
trail and I had to slow a bit to get past him. As I pushed on the pedal to
accelerate, I heard a snap and suddenly had no resistance. This was not a
good sign! Sure enough, I looked down to find my chain lying on the
ground. I had the tools to repair it myself, but also knew that the rest
of the riders would probably be stopped for a regroup a few hundred yards
down the trail wondering what was up. I decided to roll out to them
(mostly downhill) for the repair. I managed to stay on the bike and kick
myself along or coast for most of the distance until we got to the final
swampy area and short climb beyond it which I hiked. Bob took over the repair and, using the repair link I had
bought just hours before, got me going again. In no time we were back at
Rte 2 then the short road ride back to the shop. Besides this being the
wettest I think I've ever seen the Coke plant trails, I think we all had a
great ride.
After I got back to the shop I had some work to do so I
headed home to get some phone calls made. I got back to the shop in time to
get ready for the MTB ride at 6:00. It was still pretty mild for this time of
year when the riders arrived. The temperature was 40 degrees and there was not
any wind to speak of. Along for tonight's ride was Lauren, Steve Power, Mark
N., Curt, Mike S., Harold and Matthew Green. Curt led the faster riders while
I rode with the beginners. My group headed over to Gill Road and crossed the
highway to the trails. This was Lauren's first time out on these trails and
she was a little nervous about it. The Coke Plant trails are not too difficult
in general although they have some technical sections that require the riders
to pay attention to the trail. Mike and Steve led the way over to the truck
turnout with myself and Lauren right behind them. We headed over to the Brook
Trail and I rode across the plank bridge while some of the riders decided to
walk across to the trails. Lauren was a little intimidated by the logs and
roots on the trail and I tried to encourage her to keep looking up the trail
and not at the objects as this caused her to stop and dismount. Steve and Mike
seemed to be gaining confidence as they rode along the trails and soon they
were at Five Points waiting for Lauren and I. We headed up the Ridge Trail to
the Secret Trail with Steve and Mike leading the way. When we got to the
Secret Trail, Steve and Mike followed Curt's group while Lauren and I followed
them. Lauren did very well on the Secret Trail although she still was
intimidated by a couple of the logs that lay across the trail and dismounted
to cross over them. After getting near the top I had Lauren try to follow me
and she did pretty well. I got to the top of the hill and waited for Lauren to
catch up. At this point I decided to have Lauren do the Crossover Trail rather
than the power lines as this would give her a chance to ride a mellow trail.
When Lauren and I got to Red Rock we joined a few of the others who just
arrived and we waited for the rest of the group to arrive. Everyone except for
Lauren and I decided to do the Chute. I led Lauren down the road to Jack's
pond where we met up with the rest of the group who had just come off the top
of the Hill of Doom. As we rode down the road I mentioned to Lauren that it
was fortuitous that we were doing this at night, because if was during the
daylight hours, she might not have given it a try. The trail is not dangerous
at all, but for a new rider, it looks pretty scary. As we rode down the hill I
had Lauren ride behind me and she just followed my line. Because she did not
look around she was able to focus on the trail ahead which allowed her to ride
down the hill without any trouble. We arrived at Jack's Pond just as the other
riders came along so we just followed them over to the Streambed Trail. The
brook was running pretty full as we headed up the hill. We were able to stay
on the dry side of the trail for the most part. About half way up I had Lauren
take a left onto Deer Run which we followed over to Stinger. Lauren did very
well on a somewhat challenging trail. She managed to ride over several logs
and through a very large puddle of water without any problem. We arrived at
Stinger and I was able to ride only about half way up before slipping on the
wet leaves. Lauren and I took a couple of minutes to clear the trail of leaves
and then I rode down to the bottom of the hill to do it again. At this point
the group was waiting at the top so I rode up the hill to the Ridge Trail.
When all the riders had arrived I led the group down to the Cellar Hole Trail
where everyone except for Lauren and I took a right. Lauren and I took the
same trail we came in on, back to the Lillian Street Trails, and she was able
to ride the whole thing without getting off for the logs on the trail. We
re-joined the group at the turn onto Lillian Street Trail but Curt and Mike
were missing. It seems that Curt had broken his chain and he was hiking his
bike up to us. I made a quick repair to Curt's chain and all of us rode back
to the RT. 2 crossing. At Gill Road we re-grouped for the ride back to the
shop. It was a good ride and everyone seemed to enjoy the good weather.
