November 2006 Ride Report Page          
Here you will find the reports of our exploits for the month November 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; there you will find information about ride schedules and how the rides are run.

Thursday 11/30: Tonight's ride was a trip down to the Deerfield Ridge. It was an exceptionally warm evening (temps in the low 60's) and little wind. I arrived at the soccer field parking spot with a trio of cars following me. When we got to the Lewis Field Liam was getting his gear ready so I parked the van and quickly got ready to ride. Joining me and El Presidenté was Mike L., Jim Stevens, Gary Cole, Jam, Dos Green's, Racin J, Curt, and David Baker (AKA Cooper II). After getting dressed (most of the riders were in shorts and short sleeved jersey's) and double checking our gear, we headed out of the parking lot to climb the steep hill to the Schwab Pool parking lot. This was quite a chore but it got us warmed up for the next few trails, which are mostly uphill. Liam and I discussed the route earlier and we had decided to do all the climbing right off the bat and finish on a mostly downhill route. So, from the pool parking lot we headed out the dirt road to the Refrigerator Trail and began the second climb, This trail was a little harder to do mainly because there were so many riders bunched up together and if someone dabbed, the rest of the group behind had to stop. After we got up the trail to Pine Nook Road we re-grouped before heading up the hill to Red Rock. I rode mainly in the middle of the group (behind Curt and Harold) or towards the back with Mike, Jam and Gary, but I drifted to the front a couple of times and tried to keep up with Matthew, Liam and J. After we passed through the gate at the top of the singletrack trail, most of us headed up the service road. Harold and several others opted to ride up the ski slopes. I rode up the hill with Mike and Curt to the top of the climb where we met up with Harold & Co, as they came off the singletrack. The group then headed out to the Rock to await the arrival of the rest of the riders. After a brief rest and some photos, we headed for the downhill portion of the ride. We rode down the steep hill onto the Phillips/Friends Trail which dumps us out onto the DA X-C running course. I was following Jam for the first part of the hill, but after a few near misses where I nearly collided with her, I decided to give her a bit more space. After a brief track stand, a gap opened up and I along with Curt and Mike finished the descent. After we got onto the X-C trail we ended up catching Harold, Gary and Jam. I rode along the trail behind Harold until we got to the brook crossing. Harold had stopped to walk across the brook and I slowed down and ended up on the wrong side of the trail. With Curt right on my wheel I stopped to the left side of the trail and told Curt, Gary and Mike to go around me and to stay right. This put me at the back of the group for a short way. After the brook crossing there is a very steep climb and it was here that I passed several riders. When I got to the top of the hill I heard Mike holler up that Gary had a mechanical. I sent Curt and Jam along ahead while I waited for Gary and Mike. When Gary got up the hill he showed me his bike with the derailleur hanger ripped right off. I did not have a replacement hanger with me, so it was a walk out for Gary. After giving Gary directions, Mike and I headed down the hill to the mud hole. I decided to try to ride around rather than cross the plank bridge. Big mistake!! As I walked on the edge of the mud hole, I slipped on a slippery rock and stumbled into the woods. As I fell, I put my right arm out to catch a tree but only managed to whack my wrist on the ground. I got up and got back on the bike but my wrist was really sore. Mike and I proceeded to ride out to the end of the trail where we met up with the rest of the group. When Gary caught up to us, we gave him directions back to the parking lot and then we headed off to find the newly cut trail that Eric, Shea and Luke built. This trail was rough to say the least. The first part was not rideable for most of us. The rest of the trail was really nice, but I found the rocks to be very slippery and I hiked most of the rocky sections. I found the route to be really, really well done but too difficult for me to do at night. After I got to the end of the trail, I waited with the group for David to catch up. David said that he caught a stick in his rear derailleur and had to stop. After discussing the route with Liam it was decided that we would ride up the hill to Bruiser and then do Phillip's Trail down to the Refrigerator and then take the Pool Road out to Crystal Cave. I followed J and Liam down the hill and across yet another brook. on the next climb I fell off the pace of the leaders and rode up the hill with Curt. At the end of the trail I looked back and could see some lights coming up the hill so I was going to wait for everyone but Harold volunteered to stay behind. I headed up the hill with Curt and Mike while Harold waited for the last rider. When we got to the trailhead for Phillip's Trail, we waited for Harold to catch up. After a few minutes it was apparent that Harold wasn't coming along so I sent the crew on their way and I went back to see what happened to Harold. When I got to the intersection of the Over the River Trail I saw lights coming up the hill so I waited. Harold rode up and told me the David ripped his hanger off. When David got up the hill we sent him back to the parking lot on foot and we headed off to catch up with the group. Harold and I rode along (except for the time when I fell into the mud) down the hill to Pool Road where we got out in front of the pack. I rode down the hill trail with Jim and Matthew and made the turn onto the Crystal Cave Trail. I paused about half way down the trail to give directions to the riders as they passed me. After the last rider had passed me I jumped in line. I rode over to the steep climb up to the ridge and cut the corner to pass several riders. I motored up the hill and ended up riding behind Harold and Curt. When Harold slipped on the roots, Curt and I finished the trail together. After riding out across the plank bridge to Keats Road we all headed down the hill to the Mud Mile. It was really nice to be able to ride down this hill at speed and not freeze to death. Everyone commented on what a beautiful night it was. After we got to the Mud Mile the group got strung out and I rode at the front of the second pack on the way up the hill. I led the troops back to the parking lot where we waited for Jam to arrive. After a couple of minutes we sent Matthew back out to find her. It seems that Jam had just decided to take it easy on the return and enjoy the summer-like evening. This had to be one of the best rides that we have done in quite a while, excluding the mechanicals of course.

Tuesday 11-28 The Coke Plant-Poet's Seat Loops! Yep-I know they're calling it unseasonable weather--but tonight was cool and damp enough to feel quite seasonable in my book (late New England November is here at last). We we're heading for the Coke Plant--I hadn't ridden the Coke Plant in two years--when I first joined up with the Bikes-Unlimited Crew 5+ years anon, the Coke Plant was THE night ride destination---but after awhile I moved away from it as our riding regions and opportunities expanded and, frankly-it had fallen into such muddy// underused disrepair that derailleur's and brakes suffered miserably on each ride--so I just stopped visiting the place. However-this Fall-Bob and Curt and others-caught up in the trail revitalizing zeal so pervasive these days in Franklin county (Pat myself on the back) really rolled up their sleeves and revived this lagging local gem back to it's former days of night riding glory-in truth-I was quite eager to see how it rode. So, with a great deal of anticipation our group of 12 riders hit the streets and headed directly to the route 2 entrance of the Coke plant. Our power group consisted of Me (El Presidenté-non-stoned version), Racin' J, Hammerhead Harold Green, Mark (Sir Isaac) Newton, Steve Power (Activate!), Matt Ballard, Gary Cole, Curt, Fearless Leader-Warlord Bob, David Baker AKA Cooper II and Jim Stevens (on loan from Bicycle World).
So the ride-we Hit the route 2 cross-over without a hitch and most of us successfully slogged over and up the 'too-short' bridge in the muddy hole Stink Hole. I began eagerly to get a head of myself as I spun up the wide trail towards the coke plant parking lot with a few others--when I heard Bob crying out 'wrong-way!!'. At that point I reminded myself that I really suck at leading and don't know my way around all that well and resolved to follow only Mark Newton for the rest of the ride as Mark  #1. Is a good ride leader, #2. Knows his way around every place and #3. Is never lost! So we about faced (and somewhere in the re-directing lost the David) and made the slow-ish climb up to the Swamp trail. Side note-some time ago-on a ride at Wendell-Racin J chided me for using my granny gear on a climb---since that point, I've forsaken granny gear climbing altogether--which has done wonders for my riding--however (and this first became apparent during the Petersham ride)-it makes climbing in a larger group ride a real drag!!! I tend to rely more on ramped up momentum for climbing rather than roadie-esque smooth high speed spinning and unless I'm at the very front I tend to yo-yo up a climb as we're all moving at vastly different paces. Now at the back of this first climb I found my self trackstanding and wheel rubbing and resolved to get to the front. At the top of the climb we all caught up only to find that Hammerhead had his first (but not last flat) of the evening. As he and Bob fixed the tire, the rest of us muscled a fallen tree out of the trail. Once together, we all chased Mark Newton through the ups-downs-and quicksand like surfaces of the swamp--actually-in spite of some mud-it rode fantastic! I was recalling why we all used to love the Coke Plant so very much. At Five Points we all regrouped-except Bob and Harold-Harold it seemed was again flat (that's the sort of frustration that makes folks go tubeless!). Anyhow, after some discussion-we decide to climb to the water tower via the Secret Trail (yes!-sorry-it's just a better trail than Luke's-IMHO!!). After some poking around (as always, we first turned on that faux secret trail before hitting the right entrance---some things never change). Man-I love climbing (and descending) this trail-it's a fairly twisty single track that has four short, turning, anaerobic, gutsy climbing sections--each a little harder than the one preceding it-and I nailed them all!! At the water tower we re-grouped and headed out for the Red-Rock Classic-I jumped in the lead but turned up a now defunct trail and had to turn around finding myself last in the group! We all zipped merrily up then down red rock and punched up the last rocky climb to the top of the chute. Jason and Jim had a little sliding trouble on the slicks of red rock--they must have been using Kenda tires or something--I should lend them some Schwalbes! Again, after some deliberation-we dropped down the Chute---man, I never rode this with disc brakes before--and as I've said numerous times, v-brakes are dead to me! We all made this challenging feature without a hitch and I believe we all mastered the Hill of Doom as well. Next we dropped down the 'new Trail' Orchard Trail (a really wonderful turning downhill!). From there I think we rode 'the orchard' X-C Race Trail and then along a trail on the side of a road, and then up something to the base of the aptly named 'Double Death'--I hadn't attempted to ride this baby in many years and was eager to try again--however-after several attempts I failed to cleaned it-I was and am quite bummed about this). However-Mark Newton nailed both climbs and possibly Steve Power managed it as well (I'm not sure). At the top of DD we turned right and re-climbed the steeps of the secret trail where we encountered the Donner Party (Bob and Harold) ascending the nastiest climb in the park-the gravel road to the water tower. As time was getting late we all dropped down Luke (yee-ha) and the back over to Five Points and then out of the park-across RT. 2 and then-special treat-we rode Canada Hill (behind Stop&Shop) in reverse-I've never ridden this way-It's and awesome set of climbs and descents-really great stuff! Anyway-a few folks pushed a head at the start-forgetting the maxim "always follow mark Newton" and as I predicted they all eventually made wrong turns and fell to the back-while the wise-following Mark---made our way easily through this warren of trails. Anyway, back at the road most folks opted to return t the shop-while Me, Hammerhead and Matt Ballard-pushed on with a climb up to Poet's Seat and then Down the White Trail to the Ridge trails as our night cap. A fantastic finish to a great ride! Good stuff, everyone!

Liam

Tuesday 11/28: Tonight was another trip to the Coke Plant and I expected to get the usual 4 or 5 riders to show up for the trip. Instead we ended up with 12 people and after some last minute light and gear adjustments we were ready to roll. It was a little cooler tonight than it has been the last few rides but certainly warmer than normal for this time of year. I was wearing a thermal base layer and long sleeve jersey with a wind breaker over that. I was planning on taking the wind breaker off as soon as we got onto the trails. We left the shop and headed over to Gill Road with Mark Newton, Racin J and Liam at the front and myself squarely in the middle. As we rode down the pavement I realized that I was a little over dressed and wanted to take my jacket off but the group was moving at a pretty good clip so I just unzipped to vent the heat. The ride to the trails was a little shaky (read the above report) but we all managed to get to the Lillian Street Trails (except for David) without a problem. I rode sweep and was following Gary Cole when I came upon Harold on the side of the trail fixing a flat tire. I lent a hand and a tube to Harold and we quickly got the repair made. We rejoined the group as they headed off towards the Swamp Trail. I stayed at the back of the group as I need a lot of warm up time and hollered directions to Mark as they headed out of the muddy section. I rode up the hill after crossing the brook and eventually the entire group came together at the stone wall crossing point. I inserted myself into the middle of the group as we left to ride through the last section of the swamp before Five Points. I had barely clicked into my pedals when I heard Harold say "Oh No!". It seems that our newly repaired tire had gone flat again. I went over to Harold and took the wheel off his bike to begin the repair again. After getting the tire off the rim, I carefully inspected the tire for any thorns or sharp rocks that may have caused the second flat, but I found nothing that would have caused the tube to puncture. So, after getting the repair done again, Harold and I set out to find the rest of the group. I had a good idea of the route that they would take, so Harold and I plugged along (Harold actually rode while I plugged) up Luke to the Crossover Trail and then down the Chute. After both of us failed to make the Hill of Doom we headed out onto the road that the loggers made when they clear cut the lower part of the trails. We rode over to the Mud Road where we stopped to see if we could spot lights on the hill above us. We did not see any lights so we rode up the Streambed Trail to Deer Run which we followed out to the Water Tank Road. At the intersection we stopped to look for the group and at that point we could hear Liam talking. He, along with the rest of the crew were on the Secret Trail (Harold and I were at this point, not that far behind the group) and heading up to the water tank. We watched the lights as the riders pedaled up the hill (I love to see the line of lights going through the forest) before we rode off to join them at the top of the hill. When the group was back together we rode down Luke to Five Points where we turned onto the Red Dot Trail to ride out of the park. We rode down the hill to the Stink Hole and then we crossed the highway to Gill Road. After we rode the trails behind Stop&Shop, I was pretty done, so I joined the group that headed back to the shop. I had a good ride and it probably was a good thing that I stopped to help Harold, as that gave me some rest, which enabled me to ride fairly strongly the rest of the trip.

Tuesday 11/21: It was a rather chilly night tonight as compared to last week. The temps were in the middle thirties and there were no clouds or wind to speak of. We had a small group of riders who assembled at the parking spot at Eaglebrook School. Joining me was Matt Ballard, Mike Levin, Steve Power, Curt, Jam, and Cindy (I am not sure of her last name or the spelling of her first). When I got my gear out I discovered that my L&M light had a broken HID bulb and was not working. so I used the Topeak Moonbeam helmet light, solo. Since Curt and  I were the only riders that knew the area, and Cindy was a new rider, we decided to do two routes. I rode with Cindy and Jam while Curt took the boys on a longer route. After we got onto the trails, Curt, Mike, Matt and Steve were quickly out of sight. Jam rode ahead of Cindy and I followed Cindy. As we got to the Mud Mile, Cindy fell off the pace of Jam and soon Cindy and I were riding slowly down the trail. This was Cindy's first outing on real trails and she took it easy on the rough terrain. I have to say that she did extremely well for a new rider. She managed to ride 90% of the trail and negotiated the rather nasty ravine with great skill. When Cindy and I got to the bottom of the Mud Mile, Jam was just riding across the field. I thought that it would be better for us if we rode up the Sandy Trail instead of trying the Crystal Caves Trail. We rode up the Sandy Trail to the Pool Road and made a left turn. The Pool Road is basically a river this time of year and we rode gingerly down the rocky, watery trail to where Curt & Co. were waiting for us at the end of the Crystal Caves Trail. At this point I took the lead and headed for the turn onto the Over the River and Through the Woods Trail. Everyone misses this turn, either by taking the dead end road just before the turn or they are going so fast down the hill that they miss seeing the turn and end up down on River Road. I rode on ahead of the group and stopped at the turn to shine my light on the path. After Curt had passed my spot I heard him say that the trail was flooded and we needed to walk around the pond. I yelled over to him that all he needed to do was ride straight down the middle and he would be OK. Well, as soon as the last rider passed me, I headed onto the trail where I found the group wandering through the woods trying to get around the water. As the group watched, I rode straight down the middle of the pond and in so doing, I scarcely got my rims wet. Everyone had a good chuckle at that (which sets them up for the time when I send them into a watery abyss, Ha-Ha!!) and soon we were on our way up the hill. I rode with Jam and Cindy and we plodded our way up the hill. Cindy was doing a great job of keeping up, but she seemed to run out of energy on the hills. I just figured that she was new and wasn't up to climbing these long hills. As we crossed the last brook on this hill, Cindy had to stop. I was right behind her and in the middle of the brook. I put my foot down into the water and it was mid calf deep. It was really cold water but amazingly enough, my boots did not leak and my feet were dry when I got to the other side of the brook. After crossing the brook, Cindy and I continued up the hill to Bruiser, where Jam was waiting for us. After giving Cindy a GU, we headed up the hill to Pine Nook Road where we came upon Curt. He had ridden back to us to tell us that he and the rest of the crew were down at the gate to the DA ski area. I told Curt that we were going to ride up the hill to Red Rock on the service road and that he should take the boys onto the DA XC trails. I told him that we would meet up with him at the top of the hill. Curt then took off and Cindy, Jam and I rode over to the service road to begin the climb. Cindy was certainly a very strong rider and she rode steadily up the hill behind Jam. But as we got onto the steeper slopes, she slowed down and seemed to be struggling. I rode up behind her and gave her the "Hand of Bob" push. As I was pushing her I noticed that it was pretty tough going. I only pushed he a short ways on the steeper part of the hill before she had to stop. I had her get off her bike and walk a bit and I dismounted and started to push her bike up the hill. Well, I will tell you that doing that was no mean feat. It seems that Cindy's rear brake was dragging on the disc rotor and I was struggling just to push it up the hill. When Cindy and I got to the top of the ski lift hill Jam was waiting on the side of the road. I stopped and adjusted Cindy's brake and after she caught her breath, we all continued on. Cindy did very well on the next few climbs and she had no troubles riding up the hill. We all stayed together on the way up the hill to the rock. When we got to the rock I half expected to see Curt and his bunch, but they were not there. We waited a few minutes at the rock and then we headed down the hill as it was getting pretty late in the evening. We rode about half way down the hill when we came upon Curt and his crew coming up the road. It seems that they missed a turn and ended up on a dead end trail so they turned around and headed our way on the dirt roads. At this point we were about 45 minutes from finishing the route if we continued up the hill and that was going to be too late to be finishing. So we all headed down the hill on the Blue Dot Trail to the Refrigerator Trail. Jam and Matt missed a turn and took a longer route but they eventually caught up with us and the group rode back to the parking spot together. Although it wasn't the most fluid rides we have ever done, everyone seemed to enjoy the trip.

Sunday, November 19, 2006: There was a good group of riders out to ride today, it was kind of chilly, and the thermometer said it was about 45 but the sun was not out and it felt chillier than that!  In my group was Bob Shepherd, Karen Moore, and Deb Kolpa and me (Karen Dowd).  We headed out with Maryellen’s group to Deerfield Street, where her group decided to wait for Bad Bob to catch up, he had gone back home to get his water bottle and said he would catch up.  The four of us headed down 5&10 to Old Deerfield through Mill Village and then out to South Deerfield.   It has been quite awhile since I have done this route.  Deb and Karen M were afraid they wouldn’t be able to keep up with us and had decided that if they couldn’t they would just wait for Maryellen’s group but I decided that this would be a NO DROP ride, so they had to ride with Bob and I.   We went through South Deerfield and across 116 to River Road, took the right onto Christian Lane and came out by the Whatley Ballet.   I thought we were going to turn right and head back on 5&10 but Bob had other ideas and we went across 5&10 and up the hill, there was a little groaning within the group but everyone went up the hill and said the hill wasn’t as bad as it looked.  We headed through Whatley and I don’t know all the roads but we ended up back at Mill Village.  It was a nice ride without too much traffic and once we got going we warmed up nicely. We pretty much stuck together for the whole trip, Bob and I sprinted ahead a few times but then we would soft pedal until everyone caught up. I had to do my Old Deerfield sprint and got up to 28.7, awesome. We then rode down 5& 10 back to the shop.  Deb said she felt bad slowing us down but I told her this was a nice leisurely Sunday ride and she wasn’t slowing any of us down!!  It is nice to just ride…it is NOVEMBER!

Sunday 11/19: After we got rained out on Thursday night I did not get to ride again until today. We have had some really nice days but unfortunately I was not able to get out and ride. Today was a chilly overcast day with temps in the lower 40's but there wasn't any wind to speak of. When I got over to the shop Karen Dowd was in the parking lot so I was thinking that maybe I would be doing a ride with her and MaryEllen. I went into the shop to get ready but as I was getting MaryEllen's bike down I noticed that she had a flat tire. I set about repairing it and as I did, several riders arrived. When 1:00 arrived we had two groups of riders. In MaryEllen's group there was Karen's Dowd and Moore, Deb Kolpa, Bad Bob, and Bob Shepherd; while in my group was Stan Kolpa, Steve Power, Mike Levin, and Michelle. When I finally got myself ready I went out to the parking lot and asked "What's the plan Stan?" and Stan said "Weatherhead Hollow". So that was it. I gave the route plan to the group and we headed out of the parking lot. We rode up the French King Highway to Adams Road. I was leading and when we got to the hill on Adams Road I pulled off and let Mike and Michelle lead up the hill. After we crested the hill I was getting warm so I unzipped my jacket for the ride down the other side. We rode the rest of the way out to RT. 10 in a nice paceline and after making the right turn we headed for RT 142, The group was making good time as we left Bernardston center and after we crested the small hill near Crumpkin Fox golf I took over the lead. I kept the pace up to 23 mph for the rest of the way to 142 and after I made the turn I pulled off. I rode at the back of the group until we started down the hill past the Lane gravel bank. I went coasting past Steve and took the lead for a short while before pulling off again. We continued north into Vermont where Michelle ended up on the front. I was at the back of the group talking with Steve when I noticed that Michelle had gone past the turn for Pond Road. At first I wanted to get everyone to turn around but by the time I got to the front we had gone quite a ways, so we just kept going. We stayed on 142 for the rest of the way to Tyler Hill. At the suggestion of Steve we decided to ride up to Franklin Road and take a right. After we began the climb on Tyler Hill, Steve took off and got a big gap over me and I had a gap on the rest of the group. At the top of the hill Mike caught up to me and then we all rode up to Steve. When we got to the hill on Franklin Road, Mike challenged Steve to a sprint to the top of the hill. Needless to say Steve was gone before Mike got the "I was just kidding" out of his mouth. I chuckled as I pedaled up to the top of the hill. At the top of the hill I gave the group a big gap because I wanted to get a good run at 55 mph on the descent. I got my speed up on the way down the hill and got to 49.7 mph before the bottom of the hill. Well, no record, but still a good speed! After we got to the bottom of the hill we made the right turn onto RT. 5 and headed for Guilford. We made the turn onto Guilford Center Road and headed up the hill. When we got to Zuppie's house I heard "Bob is Fat" call from behind me. Stan thought that he got a flat but when we stopped to check it out, his tire seemed fine so we continued on. We made the left turn onto Weatherhead Hollow Road and started the run for home. Stan got dropped on the first hill and we slowed up to wait for him. After Stan got back on we rode on over the next few hills but Stan was getting dropped on most of them. As we started up the hill to the Ice Pond, Mike was in the front and I was on his wheel. We kept a nice tempo on the gradual uphill climb. As we got about half way up the hill, Steve came along side of us to tell us that Stan was way back. At this point we all slowed the pace and waited for Stan to catch up. Steve made a roadside pit stop and before he was done, Stan came along. The four of us continued on at a slow pace and soon we were riding up the hill towards Leyden Center. Steve caught up with us just before the top of the hill and we all headed for the nice downhill run. Well we did not get too far before Stan's rear tire started to go flat. We tried to just pump it up to get him back home but it blew when I put the pressure up. I made the change and we all got going again. It was a pretty chilly start and we all took it slowly at first. Stan got off the back again and we waited for him to make his wardrobe adjustments before we picked the speed up. We pedaled down the hill from Leyden (I only hit 40 mph on this one) and soon we were motoring back to the shop. In the end we had a 18.9 mph average for the 41 miles. Not too shabby for a cool late Fall ride.

Tuesday 11/14: It has really been a very rainy couple of weeks and with all the rain comes the inevitable loss of riding areas. After yesterdays deluge I decided to forgo the Coke Plant and the ridges in Greenfield and Deerfield due to the slickness and the large number of trails that are now rivers. That left me with the Montague Plains which is where we rode. I arrived at the common and got my gear ready at 6:25. It was a very warm 60 degree night with almost no wind and cloudy skies, very unusual for this time of the year. Joining me for the ride tonight was Steve P., Mark N., Jam and Parrott. We left the common and headed for the trails via the hardtop road. We rode up the Telephone Pole Trail to the Firepit where we re-grouped before heading out to the power lines. Parrott and Jam led the way and we ended up riding out to the cross course via the banked trails. There were lots of puddles and small ponds along the way, but we were able to avoid most of them. After a quick lap around the cross course (which is in great shape, thanks to Parrott) we headed back onto the Plains. We rode down the trail past the Ramblers clubhouse/bar and soon we were into Waterworld. I was leading when we came across a pond that stretched across the entire trail and extended for 50 or so yards. Due to the heavy vegetation on the sides of the trail there was no way to ride around this, so I just rode through it. The pond was very deep on the edges and in the middle but I found a track a short distance from the shoreline that was only 10 inches deep and I rode on that track. I was wet but since it was so warm the wetness was not a problem. After getting through the water sections we continued on the trail to Plains Road (which was really a river) which we crossed and continued on to the Ice Flow Trail. As we climbed the hill on this trail I was surprised that there was not much water coming down the hill. I rode up the hill behind Steve and Mark with Jam behind me. I slowed my pace a little when I got to the top so that Jam could follow my lights. Jam was a fair distance behind me but I stopped a couple of times so that she could see me, before I headed off. I caught up with the guys at the field where we all waited for Jam to catch back on. At this point Jam asked me to follow her up the hill so she could get the benefit of my lights on the hill. She also made a disparaging remark about the ride last week when I biffed it on the brook crossing, causing her to stop. Saying that she was going to clean this section, she relegated me to sweep and then headed off just ahead of me. Jam rode down the trail to the brook and then just as she got to the other side, she slid out on the roots and stopped. I was coming at full steam right behind her and had to slam on the binders to avoid hitting her. So much for "cleaning the brook" Jam!! Anyway, I followed the dear girl the rest of the way up the hill to where our three companions were waiting for us. Jam and Mark led the way down the M-F trail and the missed the turn into the swamp. I hollered to them and they quickly returned and headed into the swamp. Oddly enough, the swamp was not as wet as I would have expected and I was able to ride through it without getting too much wetter than I already was. After we got out onto Willis Hill Road, we took the left hand trail (as viewed from the top of the hill) and started down. I was following Jam and Stever was behind me as we neared the bottom of the hill. I misjudged the trail and ended up in a large rut on the left side of the trail. I tried to ride it out but my rear tire slid out and I did a nice summersault over the handlebars. Steve was impressed and I was un-injured and I was soon back on my bike headed for the bottom of the hill. After riding to the Water Tank Trail we turned right to begin our trip back to the common. The Water Tank trail was pretty wet but we were able to ride around most of it on out way over to the Plains Road. Once on the Plains Road we encountered vast sections of water. I tried to bump Parrott into some of the larger puddles but in the end I only succeeded in causing myself to take a dive into a large waterhole. After I got back on the bike I set off to catch up with the group. I finally caught up with them at the brook crossing. After that point we were basically riding in the river that is Plains Road after a rainfall. Most of the group stayed to the sides of the trail to avoid the water, but I just rode straight down the middle and actually that is the fastest and best route. When we got to the power lines we headed over to the Toilet Bowl Trail and then we took the Banked Trails back to the Telephone Pole Trail. When we got back to the center of town, everyone was wet and muddy so we quickly loaded our bikes into our cars and headed for home. Although it was pretty wet and muddy, I had a great time.

Sunday 11/12: With the heavy rain forecast for today we had decided to cancel the ride and just do the NEMBA meeting. MaryEllen, Eddie and I arrived at Wendell Forest at 9:20 for the NEMBA meeting and we were met there by Liam, Mark Courtemanche, Harold  and Matthew Green. We went into the ranger station where the meeting was to take place. We were joined by about 15 others and we held the meeting for the next hour or so. We elected Liam as president of the Pioneer Valley chapter of NEMBA and Hammerhead as our Board of Directors member. Matthew was elected secretary and George was selected as treasurer. As the meeting ended I noticed the everyone but me had brought their bikes and they were planning on doing a ride. It still had not started to rain when I left the meeting to head home. On the way home I decided to check the weather and maybe come back and ride. When I got home at 11:30 the radar said that the rain was a couple of hours away so I quickly got my gear and headed back to Wendell. When I got back to the ranger station I was met there by 6 riders looking for the ride leaders. I donned my leaders hat and told the group that I would lead them on the trails. Joining me was Ian Martin, Jason Schweld, John Bentley, Steve Ferrari, Jim Camp and Bill Gabriel. We left the parking lot and took the road down to the Maple Leaf Trail (I had hoped to catch the back of Liam's group there.) and started down the trail. The trail was a little damp but I found that the conditions were not too slippery. I rode most of the trail, getting off at the rocky uphill section near the end of the first section of this trail. Jason had to stop to fix the chain on his single speed bike about half way down the trial so we all waited out on Wickett Pond Road for him. When he got out to the road we headed back onto the Maple Leaf Trail to head over to the Nipmuck Trail. My group made good time on the way over to Nipmuck where we re-grouped again before we headed down onto the trail. I rode in the back of the group for the first part of the trail, but when we got to the left turn to start down the hill to Baker Road, I took over the lead. I rode at the front all the way to the bottom of the hill where I stopped to await the rest of the group. After everyone had arrived, Ian discovered that he had a flat tire. I went into mechanic mode and quickly changed the flat and soon we were on our way up the hill. At the top of the climb on Baker Road we stopped briefly before setting off to do the last trail section. When everyone was ready to go we headed out and just we did it started to rain. We paused briefly for the riders to don their rain capes before riding onward. It was raining pretty good by the time we got to Moose Trax Trail and the going was a little sloppy in places. I rode near the front of the group as we made our way up the hill to the Lookout Trail. I led the boys down the hill, stopping at the places that I thought would be dangerous to ride in the rain. We all made it out to Jerusalem Road without mishap and from there we took the fire roads over to the Pine Tree Trail. We rode the Pine Tree Trail down to the Pond Trail which was pretty muddy in the steady rain. At the end of the Pond Trail we headed up the tar road to the ranger station. Although we did not know each other for the most part (I knew Bill and Jason and Ian were friends as were Steve and Jim) we ended the ride as friends. It is what makes this such a nice time, meeting people and enjoying the outdoors!

Friday 11/10: Kathy Returns!! Yep, Kathy Jaques is back on her bike after the fall she took in August. I wanted to join her on her first ride but was unable to get out of the shop. Kathy did a 17 mile ride down to Deerfield and she had a great time. It is so nice to see her (and Patrick) back riding again.

Thursday 11/9: After the gully-washer of a rainstorm that we got yesterday our ride tonight could only be described as Waterworld! More on this later. Today was an unseasonably warm day for early November. We had bright, sunny skies and temperatures in the middle 70's and that coupled with no wind to speak of made it seem more like June. I left the shop with Curt in the van and Jam, Gary and David Baker following in two cars. When we got to Montague we were met there by Parrott, Chris W., and Mike Levin. We got going pretty quickly and made our way over to the Telephone Pole Trail. At the top of the hill we waited for everyone to arrive before we got underway. We headed over to the Second First Left via Old Northfield Road and although there were many very large puddles on the trail we managed to get around them for the most part. Jam and Parrott were riding sweep while Chris and I led the way with my "nighttime is daytime" headlight system. The group set a pretty fast pace (according to Jam) as we pedaled down the Banked Trail to the Red Rock Road. We stopped briefly at Red Rock Road to re-group before we headed off to the Plains Road. Most of the way over to Plains Road was spent weaving around large puddles on the trail. At the intersection of Plains Road, Curt took over the lead and we continued on our serpentine path around the even larger puddles on Plains Road and the Water Tank Trail. When we got to Willis Hill Road we decided to take that trail to the top and ride around the swamp. Curt took my camera and headed up the hill to position himself to take some pictures of us riding up the hill. After Curt got half way up the hill, the rest of us followed him up the right side trail. I rode behind Chris and David for the first part of the climb, but I passed David just before I got up to were Curt was taking the photos. (Unfortunately, the battery in the camera gave out before he could get very many shots.) I set a steady pace up the hill and was about three quarters of the way up the hill before Parrott came blowing by me. He caught up with Chris and they got to the top just ahead of me. At the top of the hill, the three of us waited for the rest of the crew to arrive before setting off to ride over to the M-F trail. After everyone arrived and caught their breaths, I followed Chris and David down the hill to the swamp. David decided to find his own path through the swamp and he was soon swallowed in a very deep mud hole. I followed Chris on our usual path through the swamp. We stayed on the left side and weaved around the trees and mud holes. The four wheelers had been in this area recently and they have ruined the trails with churned up mud and some deep ruts, which are now filled with water. Parrott was trying to knock me off the bike "by accident" as we rode through the swamp. I kept either just ahead of him or just far enough to the side that he did not get to bump me into a puddle. As we neared the end of the swamp, Parrott knew his chances were diminishing, so he mad a mad dash to get ahead of me. Unfortunately for Parrott, he was watching me and not the trail. I was riding hard to get ahead of him and as I neared the end of the trail I heard this enormous splash and some very naughty words. As you may have guessed, Parrott rode straight into a very large and deep puddle and he got soaked from head to toe. Chris was very amused by this as was the rest of the group who were waiting at the end of the trail for Bee Boy to arrive. (Maybe I will call him Brrrr Boy from now on.) Anyway after everyone arrived, we headed up the M-F Trail. Chris led and I followed him up the hill. The last time we rode here I followed riders who were not familiar with this hill and I ended up walking part of it, so I followed Chris's line and was able to ride up the hill with no trouble. At the top of the hill we re-grouped before setting out to ride down the Pine Forest Trail. I rode in the middle of the pack as we made our way down the hill. I was not too smooth on the brook crossing and I probably held up a few riders when I dabbed. I got myself back into a rhythm on the rest of the trail and I rode much smoother on the last part of the trail. We waited at the bottom of the hill for Jam and Parrott who were chatting about god knows what on the way down. At the bottom of the hill we headed over to ride up Red Rock. I dabbed on the first steep pitch on Red Rock, but otherwise I made it up cleanly and rode down the other side with Chris. At the Brook Trail I had Chris and Parrott take the lead and I followed with Mike and Gary. I told Chris and Parrott to turn left at the next trail, but they sailed right on by the turn. I hollered to them and made the turn with Curt, Mike, Jam and Gary. We rode over to the Snowshoe Trail and then continued onto the Banked Trails where we were joined by Chris, David and Parrott. From there we headed back to the Telephone Pole Trail where Parrott and Chris peeled off to head for home. The rest of us rode back to the common via the hardtop road. It was a very wet but fun ride and everyone had a good time.

Tuesday 11/7: It was a fairly warm evening tonight with temps in the 50's and no wind to speak of. We mostly wore leg warmers and long sleeved jersey's, but we could have gotten away with summer attire if we wanted to. I was pretty tired when the riders started to arrive at the shop for tonight's ride. I had a feeling that this was not going to be one of my finer efforts. Joining me for the trip was Cooper, Gary Cole, Mark Newton, Steve Power, and Liam. Liam was a little late and most of us headed out to do the first climb before he got ready. This allowed us to warm-up at a reasonable pace. I followed the boys onto the Chimney Trail and I actually made it up most of the hill. only briefly dabbing for Cooper at the bottom of the first pitch. After getting past Cooper, I slowly rode the rest of the way up the hill. At the top of the hill I waited for Cooper and he followed me out to the road, avoiding the steepest part of the climb. Cooper and I rode onto the Blue Dot Trail where we met up with the rest of the riders who were coming onto this trail from the Chimney Trail. We all headed on the Blue Dot Trail towards Poet's Seat. I followed Gary for most of the way and Cooper was behind me. As I climbed the last pitch towards the tower, Liam came along from behind me and he rode up the rocks to the tower while Cooper and I took the trail. After we got to the tower, I told the boys that Liam was waiting for us at the Yellow Dot Trail, and we rode down to join him. Liam then took over as leader and I rode the sweep. We took the Yellow Dot Trail down to the White Dot Trail where we turned left and headed for the Red Dot Trail. I was not having one of my technically better rides tonight and I had a hard time keeping my rhythm over the rocks and fallen trees. I stayed at the back of the group so that the others would be able to make it over the obstacles. Cooper was having a hard time keeping pace on the hills so I stayed with him for the most part. After we rode down the Red Dot Trail we began the steep climb up to the park entrance. I made a rather feeble attempt at the climb and then walked the short way to where the trail flattened out a bit. I rode the rest of the way up the hill to the parking lot where I hopped off and walked over the rocks that lead to the trailhead. From Poets Seat we rode over to Temple Woods where we continued on the Blue Dot Trail. I did much better here than on the earlier trails but still I was not riding over stuff that I usually make with no difficulty. I followed Gary over to the turn where we waited for Cooper to arrive. When everyone was ready we headed down the hill to another of the connector trails (Yellow Dot). I followed Gary and Cooper down the hill and was very nearly at the bottom when I came upon Cooper, laying in the leaves next to his bike and Gary stopped next to him. When I got over to them I thought I was going to be doing another Berner rescue. (Jam, where are you?) But as it turns out it was just a broken chain that caused Cooper to crash lightly. I stopped and quickly figured out that I could get him going, so I sent Gary on ahead to tell the rest of the guys to keep going and we would catch up. I made the repair and then we got going down the hill to Bears Den Road. Cooper and I waited for a few minutes before Liam came along with the rest of the crew in tow. We rode back down Bears Den Road to begin the long climb up to the Red Dot Trail. At this point I was feeling a little stronger and I actually made it all the way up to the Red Dot Trail. I then followed Gary as we headed back towards Poet's Seat. As we got onto the last climb, Gary hit a rock under the leaves and came suddenly to a stop, with his package making a somewhat vigorous contact with the top tube of his bike. Gary told me to continue on in a soprano voice worthy of the Vienna Boys Choir. I traveled on and rode over to the parking lot where Mark, Steve and Liam were waiting. I told them of Gary's woe and when he and Cooper finally arrived we got on our way again. We decided to take the Red Dot Trail for our return trip and I followed Steve down the hill. Steve bit it at the turn at the bottom of the steep descent but he landed in the leaves and was quickly up and on the bike. We rode only a few yards further before we came upon Mark, who had crashed heavily on the rocks. Mark was up and clearing the trail of the hidden log that launched him from his bike. After getting the trail cleared we spotted Mark's seat bag on the trail ahead of us. It had broken in the crash so I had Mark put it into my back pack. (This only caused my pack to go from 18 to 22 lbs in total weight!) After we got under way again we headed down the trail to the intersection with the Blue Dot Trail. Mark and Gary were just ahead of me and Cooper was way back, so I sent Mark and Gary along and I waited for Cooper. When Cooper arrived we headed down the trail to the French King Highway and then returned to the shop. Although I did not have one of my better rides tonight, it still was a good time. 

Sunday 11/5: I had a very nice ride today; it was such a beautiful day.  When we get this kind of weather there is always the question of what to wear, Bob you were correct, as always, the short-sleeve shirt with my cycle jacket was just right for me!!  Oh and thank you for the use of your water bottle!  There were 4 in Bob's group and me, Bob Shepherd and Karen Moore in my group.  Bad Bob showed up but wouldn't ride with us, said he would slow us down; he rode with MaryEllen.  Bob I always enjoy riding with you!!  We followed Bob’s group to River Road, Bob S and I were keeping up with them until Bob S got a flat and Bob's group went on, yup they left us.  I assisted Bob S in changing the tire; as in I told him what to do, and while we were changing the tire Karen Moore caught back up to us.  After the tire change we continued on to Sunderland.  We stopped at the bridge and we decided to take River road to Depot Street in Hatfield.  We came back via 5&10 to Mill Village then back out to 5&10 and back to the shop. We did 33.5 miles.  It was so nice to ride again.

Sunday 11/5: I had a ride for 1:00 scheduled at the shop. We had seven riders show up and we headed out in two groups for our rides. It was 50 degrees out with bright sunshine and a moderate wind from the southwest. I was wearing my NRM jacket and a base layer on top with shorts and "cold out" bib tights on bottom. I also had my winter boots on as well. I was pretty comfortable yesterday with a similar outfit but I wore the jacket because of the wind. MaryEllen and Bad Bob went out on their own ride while the rest of us headed south. MaryEllen was riding on her new bike, "Blue", for it's maiden voyage. In my group we had Dougie, Wilber, Steve Power, Bob Shepherd, Karen's Dowd and Moore. We took the Deerfield Street route to River Road and the group was all together over the first climb. After we descended down the hill we lost Karen Moore off the back. She stayed off the back for a little while but soon was out of sight. We continued on down the hill past the cemetery where Bob Shepherd got a flat tire. I was near the front and did not hear about it until Steve came along to tell me what happened. We decided to continue on as Bob and the two Karen's were not going to do our whole ride anyway. The four of us rode south on River Road over the next two hills and when we got to the bottom of the hill at Pine Nook, we got a taste of what was ahead. We rode into a fairly brisk headwind and we worked pretty hard to keep a 19 mph pace. Everyone took fairly long pulls on the front and it was a pretty challenging trip down to Hatfield. As we rode into town I took over the lead in Hatfield center and rode at the front all the way out to RT. 5&10 where Wilber took over. From there it was pretty much a pace line rip up 5&10 north with each of us doing a pull at the front. We had a tail to crosswind so we did not get as much of a benefit from the wind as we had hoped for. We pushed the pace up to 23 mph at times but we were slowed down to 18 mph in the gusty crosswinds. After getting across the bridge that is under construction in Whatley, we motored back to Greenfield on 5&10. After getting back onto Deerfield Street we slowed the pace a bit and did our cool down back to the shop. We ended the 39 mile ride with a 20.2 average. It was a good ride although I felt a little sluggish at times.

Saturday 11/4: I was pretty busy at the shop this morning and hadn't noticed that some riders had showed up for the 1:00 road ride. The pace started to slow down soon after lunchtime so I was tempted to go out for a ride. There were two riders for the beginner ride, Bad Bob and Victor Shinsky as well as Curt for the intermediate ride. I decided to go out with Curt so that he could get a good ride in. We left the shop and headed down to River Road via the usual Deerfield Street route. It was a fairly brisk day with the temperature at 41 degrees when we rode past the bank in Greenfield. There was plenty of sunshine and not much wind so we made good time heading down River Road to the Sunderland Bridge. We crossed 116 and rode down to Christian Lane which we took over to the Whatley Ballet. After turning right we rode back to Greenfield on RT. 5&10. When we got back to town we took the Hope Street route back to the shop. We ended the ride with a 19.5 mph average for the 31 miles.

Thursday 11/2: It was raining hard this morning when I got up and the rain continued for most of the morning. By the early afternoon, the sun came out and it was actually a very nice day. I had planned a ride in Wendell for 6:00 so I was glad that the rain had stopped and the sun might have dried the trails somewhat. The sun set at 4:45 today and after that the temps started dropping. By the time I left the shop to head over to Wendell it was 38 degrees out. This is hardly artic conditions, but it is lots colder than yesterday. When I arrived at the parking lot at WSF there were 8 riders waiting to get started. Joining me was Jam, Ed, Mike L., Cooper, Gary C., Racin' J., Matt and Hammerhead Green, and Brett Ahlstrom. After everyone was ready we left the parking lot and headed over to the Carlton Dirth Trail. Cooper was his usual self, cutting in and out of the line of riders, and riding on and off the trails at times. This lasted for about a half mile or so, because shortly after we climbed the first hill on the fairly wide trail, Cooper got a stick in his rear derailleur and snapped it right off. Cooper was done and he turned around to head back to the van. The rest of us continued onward. We stopped briefly to re-group at Brook Road before heading onto the Ruggles Pond Trail. Now I am not an expert at this particular trail and for the most part I have walked it more than rode it, but tonight I found it to be particularly difficult. I was riding near the back (OK, I was the last in line) and my tires were sliding out on the pine needles and roots. I had my tire pressure up a bit higher than usual so that contributed to the traction issues, but mainly I was just being cautious. After walking across the bridge at the bottom of the first hill, I was making my way along the trail behind Gary and several other riders who were also walking. As I was hiking around a rock, I tripped and fell to the side of the trail. I hit my wrist on a rock and man, did that hurt. It wasn't the speed or the height of the fall, but rather it was just how I landed. I walked a short distance out of the first rock garden and got back on my bike. I found that I could ride OK on the flatter sections of the trail but I had difficulty pulling up on the bars. I ended up walking for most of the way out to the Pine Forest Trail, where I re-mounted and rode up the hill to where J and Hammerhead were waiting. When I got there, J told me that Matt and Brett had headed off to do the route. I asked if they wanted to go with them to show them the way. J said that Matt knew the route and would be OK. (more on this later) After the rest of the group arrived, I jumped into the middle of the pack and headed off to the Maple Leaf Trail. I followed Jam and Gary on this trail and although there were a couple of spots where we had to dismount, Jam did a great job of riding lead on this trail. (She credits the coaching she got from El Presidenté for her skill improvements.) The group stayed pretty much together all the way out to the Nipmuck trailhead where we stopped to discuss the route. It was here that J mentioned that he did not see any tire tracks on the trail and he correctly surmised that Jr. and Brett had missed a turn at some point and were now out riding the trails in some random fashion. Our group was on course and we all headed off to ride down the Nipmuck. I started out at the back of the group but as we climbed up the hill I ended up passing some of the riders on the way up the slick, serpentine path. When I got to a flatter section of this climb, Gary and Jam were way ahead of me. When I looked back I could see Ed and Mike coming up the hill. I decided to wait for them. I ended up riding the rest of the way up the hill with Mike. Ed had ridden on ahead of us and he along with the rest of the group were waiting at the left turn near the top of the hill.  After Mike and I arrived the group headed out to ride down the rest of the Nipmuck. I rode with Ed and Mike for a little ways before Ed got a gap on us. Jam who was riding really strongly was powering up the hill and pulling away from Mike and I. We had Jan and Ed in sight for most of the way down the hill, but near the end we got slowed down on the tricky turns near the bottom of the descent. Mike and I ended up riding down to Baker Road where we made the left turn to begin the climb. Soon after making the turn, Mike and I caught up with the rest of the group, who were waiting for us. We headed off to ride up the hill to Hannah. As we rode up the hill, I passed everyone except for J, who was pulling away from me on the steeper climbs. As we neared the last steep pitch I could see some headlights coming down the hill. It was Brett and Matt. They turned around and rode back to the top of the hill with J. I came along next and heard Matt and Brett say that they had taken a left on Ruggles Pond Trail instead of the right turn that we took. They then wandered about on the Hannah and various other trails until finally arriving at Baker Road. To be continued.
Wendell, Part Deux (Dos, Two, II): After encountering Matt and Brett half way up Baker Road we crossed the brook and hit the first steep climb.  Harold had an acute case of Lance and began blasting up the not so smooth right hand side of the trail.  Even though I offered to let him in on the left, he persevered and hammered right up the climb.  Unfortunately, his chicken tortellini dinner revisited him as we crested and prepared to tackle the last steep section before the Hannah junction. I arrived just in time to see Harold deposit the "trail chum" and I continued on with a hearty "Well done!" offered to Harold as I passed him.   Matt and Brett scooted ahead of me and without much of a pause at the top the fourth rider of the pack reached the summit (claiming the final polka dot jersey points) and it was Bob!  Damn!  Everyone else caught up pretty soon, although I wonder if Jan was able to successfully climb Baker Rd. in the middle ring, as was her challenge.
            We banged down to Damon Camp, took a right and headed over to the new trail, tentatively called Moose Trax.  This trail is breaking in pretty well, and despite being a little sloppy, is just an awesome alternate route to the once obligatory fire road transitions between trails.  Harold had slammed a finger while tackling some of the terrain but wasn’t all that worse for wear so we all headed down the M&M to Jerusalem Road, staying on the Lookout Trail when the M&M headed off to the right.  The rocks were a little slick so some of the off camber stuff was a bit sketchy but the consensus is that this direction is the way to go on this trail as some of the tough digs are much more rideable going downhill.
            Matt, Brett and I had the jump on the pack as we hit Jerusalem.  We took a right at the gate and headed home.  As the pavement loomed nearer, Brett jumped Matt like there was a town line coming.  I was content to watch the duel fade into the darkness and made my way back to the parking lot.  As Matt, Brett and I unwound, lo and behold Bob shot out of the darkness like a bullet at the top of the hill. (Granted, it wasn’t like a bullet shot from a gun, but maybe one thrown by a little leaguer, but nonetheless…)  Not sure where all this climbing is coming from, but clearly the gauntlet has been thrown down on the climbs and if Grasshopper ever shows up for another ride, he’s got his work cut out for him. All in all, riding Wendell in the sloppy, slickness of the semi-full moon was once again, a good time. Many thanks to J for finishing this report for me!!

Wednesday 11/1: It was another beautiful day today. We had warm temps in the 60's, under sunny skies and with light winds it was great day for a ride. Karen Dowd stopped at the shop to do a road ride while Jam and I went down to Eaglebrook to do a MTB ride with the students at school there. My plan was to take the boys to the Coke Plant for a ride but when Bart said that he couldn't get a bus we ended up riding on the Pocumtuck Ridge. We left the school a little after 3:00 and headed for the Mud Mile. I had the boys take the right turn onto the uphill climb to Sandy Road. At that point the some of the boys wanted to do the Crystal Cave Trail so we headed off to do that loop. Bart stayed behind to wait for some of the kids who hadn't arrived yet and he was to lead them on a different route over to the bottom of Crystal Cave Trail. After leaving Bart I followed the boys and Jam down to the hardtop road that leads to the trailhead. I was the first onto the trail after leaving the hardtop road and I found the leaf covered path to be somewhat slippery. I was riding ahead so that I could take some photos of the boys on the hill and I got most of the way up before spinning out on a hidden root. I stopped and waited for the riders to pass me and I took some photos as the group headed up the hill. At the top of the climb I again rode past the group and took some more shots before heading down to Pool Road where the group was waiting. I had the group take Over the River Trail up to Bruiser where we regrouped again. At this point it was getting later in the day and had suggested that we take a ride up to the Rock and then ride the ridge to the power line descent. Mr. Lakey did not think that we could make it so I suggested that we take a ride on the DA. XC running trails. Mr. Lakey agreed and we set off on the Blue Dot Trail. We re-grouped at the intersection of the service road where we discussed the route again. Alex Berner wanted to do the DA Cliffs Trail but I thought that riding the regular trails would be better for everyone. Well after a couple of minutes Berner prevailed and the boys headed off to the trailhead. I do not like this trail because it has too much climbing and descending that, for most riders, has to be done carrying the bike rather than riding it. Well anyway, I was game and I rode over to the cliff and hiked my bike to the top. At the top of the hill the boys made several attempts at riding a rocky section of this trail. Mr. Lakey crashed on his attempt while most of the rest of us just simply spun out on the hill. Alex Berner actually rode up the entire hill on his second try, to the cheers of all the riders, as he crested the climb. At the top of the hill Alex led the group on the very tough descent down the other side. This is a rather technical section and I was riding behind Alex Smith and Satchel as we headed down behind Berner and Billy. As we neared a pretty tough drop, Alex and Satchel stopped and walked down. I also walked down that section. As I got to the bottom, Mr. Lakey came by and he rode cleanly down the drop and headed off down the trail. I hopped on my bike and rode down the hill and was just getting to the last really steep, technical section when I heard a lot of commotion up ahead. I could hear Alex Smith and Billy yelling for help, saying that Berner crashed. I quickly dismounted and ran down the hill to where Mr. Lakey was administering to Berner. Poor old Alex had crashed heavily onto the rocks and gashed his leg open just below the knee. Mr. Lakey was using his shirt to staunch the blood flow and I ran over to look at the wound. Alex had a very deep laceration and at that point I knew that he needed medical help right away. I hollered up to Jam, who was making her way down the hill and she rushed down to give first aid to Berner (in addition to being a Greenfield firefighter, she is also an EMT). After Jam got things under control, she had me call for the ambulance on her cell phone. The rest of the boys were getting a little out of hand and since there was no point in keeping them there asking all kinds of questions, I took them as well as Jam's bike the rest of the way down the hill. Mr. Landenberger was waiting in the parking lot of the gym with some of the boys who took a shorter route. Unaware of the troubles up on the hill, Mr. Landenberger asked where the rest of the group was. I told him what happened and then I drove him up the hill to where the rescue people were going to bring Berner out to the ambulance. Mr. Landenberger went up the hill to the site of the crash and I waited at the ambulance until the rescue personnel got Berner loaded onto the stretcher.  After that I headed back to the shop to finish my day's work. Up until the crash we had a really nice ride. Alex will be fine after getting stitched up and I am sure he will be back on the bike before winter.