Summer Days and Summer Rides

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear." Ambrose Redmoon

But sometimes that judgement is wrong, and getting up that big rock face, or riding down that big roller, was better to be feared than ridden!

Lots of good riding since the last post! Went to Mt Holyoke in Amherst, MA for the first time. The trails were dry and very well built. We rode the more technical section off of Batchler Street that at times had me off the bike. Met the CT folks there and Dave Plain was our ride leader.....great job showing us around despite the mosquitoes!

This week I took a few days off and rode at Bradbury Mt in Pownell, MA and went to Backcountry Excursions in Parsonsfield, MA. Cliff has been leading rides out of this place for 15+years and has built some fabulous singletrack! He has an agreement with the timber company that owns 9,000 acres of land abutting his. This is where he has free rein to build the trails. To help preserve the trails, Cliff only leads rides.....there is no self-service riding here like there is at Kingdom Trails or Millstone in VT. But this is exactly what keeps these trails in excellent condition! Well worth the trip.....you can find him on the web....

The Southern NH chapter of NEMBA is gearing up to host NEMBAfest this year. Last Wednesday I met with Philip Keyes, the executive director of NEMBA and Greg Preville, the park manager at Bear Brook State Park, to go over the details of using the pavilion. This is going to be an excellent location to stage NEMBAfest! We're going to have vendors, demo bikes and BBQ....who could ask for more.....oh yeah, and some great trails to ride. Check it out at www.nemba.org. After the meeting, Philip, Holly Carson (friend extraordinaire......OK I'm still trying to win her friendship back after having given her fire away to the guy at the next campsite during Great Glen) and I went for a great ride. After some dry weather the trails are looking good!

There will be a ride this Sunday (August 30th) at 8 AM at Bear Brook (meet at Hayes Field). After the ride we will have a cookout and meeting to discuss NEMBAfest and also get dates for our fall trail days. Hope to see everyone there!

12 Hours of Great Glen

"Never be afraid to try something new. Remember amateurs built the arc. Professionals built the Titanic."

And I did try something new. John and I did the 2 person 12 hour race at Great Glen. A couple of year ago I was on a 4 person 24 hour team. Have to admit that the 12 hour was harder. With both John and I doing sub 50 minute laps, there was just not enough time to rest.....but just enough time to let the muscles set up into concrete! I also found it hard to eat. I do admire those solo riders......

The race was great! Couldn't have asked for a more beautiful weekend! The course was full of wildflowers and blueberries. The views to Mt Washington from sections of the course were breath-taking! Because of all the wet weather this summer, the race officials shortened the course and did LOTS of work on the wet areas (thanks for trying guys). But, alas, after so many riders cross a mud bog, it's bound to get bigger and deeper. The "plunge" at the end of the course posed its own hazard. There was absolutely NO braking on this one. I found that I had to come to a complete stop at the top of it and then just point and shoot the bike down it. Of course on the last two laps the deep rut at the bottom posed its OWN problem! I managed to ride it every time.....impressive given that on my forth lap I was sure I was going down. But something or someone (my guardian angle?) kept that bike upright! I vowed that I was going to walk it on the next lap.....but.....it can't be that hard to ride, can it?!?

My first lap was exciting. After the 1/4 mile run at the start, I had made my way closer to the front of the pack' but there were still points in the first 2 miles that had backups with riders. After the second mile, I could feel my headset loosen. Note to self....do NOT put your fork back on yourself without knowing which way the cups are placed in the headtube! Yes....the top one was upside down! This made the first lap exciting being that I really didn't know if the fork could fall off. But I did finish and immediately made my way to the Red Jersey Cycling Tent for some neutral support. I took the fork off myself and had the guy show me how to put it back together correctly (otherwise they said I could leave it there and they would get to it in a 1/2 hour....not a choice with John already well into his lap!). After that, the bike worked flawlessly! I'm always amazed that the bike continues to shift with all the mud on it!

John and I finished first in the 2 person co-ed teams. After 6 laps I was cooked, so John took a break and went back out at 11 to finish just after midnight (30 seconds after to be exact!). We finished with 12 laps.....if we were really tough....we could have had 14 laps. But hell, we are there to have fun!

Making the Most of Cancelled Races....

Well, it was bound to happen, but the Fort Rock race was post-poned until the end of September because of all this rain. Those that oversee the conservation land that the trails are on actually cancelled the race on Wednesday. And it was a good idea.....over 2" of rain fell on Friday!

But the silver lining is that John and I hooked up with Harold Green, another GT dirt guy, and his son, Matt for a ride at Deerfield Ridge. It was a GT bike fest! I was on my Force, John was on his Marathon Team (aka Matilda), Harold and his son were both on the Zascars. So at 26.5 pounds, I had the heavy bike! Matt, being the conniving soul that he is, managed to have me ride my bike up the big climb, so he could ride it down! Although he did carry my bike up the very steep hike-a-bike section...so I can't complain about that!

Because I was looking for a bit of an epic, John and I then went to Wendall State Forest for another ride on our way home. It was my first time there, and with a little coaching from Harold, we found some great trails! Fun, seemingly endless singletrack (ok, maybe I was tired) that had enough climbing and technical features to keep it all fun! This is definitely a place I'm going to go back to.....hopefully with Harold as our ride leader!

This weekend is the 12 hours of Great Glen. John and I are doing a 2 person team. I'm looking forward to the race, although I'm currently without Marty.....front fork is getting worked on.....just hoping to have him up and running for the race!