Ten Rides in Ten Days!

OK, so maybe I'm not so good at this blogging stuff.....been over a month since my last post! Can't complain. Been busy at work. The ecomony in NH seems to be holding up nicely.

But let's get to the important stuff....the riding.

John and I took at trip down to the mountains of NC and, by stopping to ride on the way down and back, managed 10 rides in 10 days. We found some epic rides on some epic trails. Here are the highlights....

Allegrippis Trails in Raystown Lake PA. Holly and I went here and John and I covered more ground. This place is wonderful swoopy singletrack, but kicks your ass before you know it....and you're about 5 miles from the car!

Dupont Forest, outside Asheville, NC. This place has some great climbs on "eastern slickrock" and some fast, fun downhills as reward!

Bent Creek, Pisgah National Forest, NC. We had a fellow from a local bike shop map out the route for us.....and damn it was good! After 45 minutes and 2000 feet of elevation gain, we had a 2.2 mile (hand cramping, thigh burning, contiuous) downhill! And then after another climb, we descended again for about 40 more minutes!

Tsali Trail. Classic, but still fun. I rode these trails back in 1989 and they haven't changed much. Still a lot of fun!

White Clay Creek Park, Newark, DE. Again, a place I've been to twice before, but always worth a return trip. The trails were dry and fast. John and I were able to ride out further and explore some new trails....along with the stunt park area....the bridge complex with the unknown teeter/totter was the only thing that threw John for a loop! (I rode around the tough stuff!)

So with all that riding, I'd have to say I'm in pretty good shape! This weekend we are supposed to go to Killington for some downhill fun (Did I let you know I'm expecting? ..... a Force Carbon Pro from GT?) Hope it's here in time for the weekend!

Next race is Fort Rock on August 2nd. We've ridden there a lot this year, so I'm hoping to know at least some of the lines....or at least know where I am on the course!

Pennsylvania Dutch

"In all thing in nature, there is something of the marvelous." Aristotle

And yes it was marvelous......

Last week, my friend Holly Carson and I headed off to a little town called Wrightsville, PA to spend a week mt biking. Wrightsville is outside of York and is in a beautiful part of PA. The local mountain biking group (York Area Mt Bike Assoc.) was helpful in directing us to riding areas. The local ride coordinator, Jeremy Haag, was able to hook me up to a Monday evening group ride on the first day there.....but I get ahead of myself....

We stopped in CT before heading to PA and rode with some old friends(and John and Carl) I met on a trip to Utah. They took us to a place called Middlesex in Middletown (confusing...) to ride the first day. It was slick and tricky riding that day. Holly managed to hang herself from the China Wall....the bike lodged between two rocks being the only thing that prevented her from falling all the way off the wall! Dave Wells managed to save her....and the bike....and the derailleur....and the trip was not cut short....unless of course you take into account the fall the next day at Trout Brook that resulted in what we thought was a broken hand. But alas, just a sprain....and the riding continued!

We rented a cabin for the week in Wrightsville. AND.....the best and most helpful bike shop was located a mere 5 miles down the road! We were in the shop so often that they gave me the locals discount on a pair of gloves. I wish I could import those guys up to NH!

Monday we rode at The Lakes, just South of York. We didn't hit a lot of the singletrack, but what we found was awesome! On Monday night I rode with the locals at Rocky Ridge....some nice techy singletrack and some climbing (out of the gut....referred to by locals). Holly and I rode there again on Tuesday, but I was unable to retrace the ride from the night before.....and we definately had a long (wrong way) climb back out.

On Wednesday we drove 2 1/2 hours to Raystown Lake. IMBA has built 30+miles of sweet singletrack. Someone described it as 30 miles of a pump track, and I'd have to agree! This place is a must ride for everyone. Don't worry about suspension....you don't need it! Speaking of places to ride.....check out White Clay Creek Park in Delaware (where we went of Friday). This place is a multi-day epic ride. We have still only ridden about 1/2 of it and we've been there twice!

On the way home on Saturday, Holly dropped me off at Huntington (in CT) to ride with John and our CT buddies. Again, slick, but fun! Broken derailleur and endo in the first mile of trail....but it was better after that. I think the rocks were a little scary after all those days of riding rootless, rockless trails in PA and DE!

Sunday dawned cloudy after a night of rain, but that didn't stop John and I from driving to NY to attend the Blue Mt Fat Tire Festival. The sun come out in the late morning. We again rode with the folks from CT. We were able to get two rides in before we called it a day. Blue Mt is a great place to ride.....and I'd encourage all to attend the festival!

And now it's back to the local trails.....

The Countdown That Almost Stopped!

"Never hope more than you work." Rita Mae Brown

This past Sunday, the second race in the EFTA race series, the Bear Brook Blast-Off, took place.....but it almost didn't happen. At 4:30 on Friday afternoon, after all the arrowing (in the rain), was completed, Kelly, the race director, got a call from the State Trails Bureau saying that they were pulling her special use permit because of the wet trail conditions. This created a temporary crisis to say the least, but it was resolved without incident. BUT....I commend the Trails Bureau for taking action! Bear Brook State Park is becoming more popular and is in danger of being loved to death. I literally ran into Jen Codispotti from the trails bureau in the park this morning while I was finishing up the arrow removal. I explained my concerns over the situation and in the future we will have 2 distinct courses....one if it's wet and one if it's dry. This is a tenuous situation for mountain bikers.....if we can't respect the trails....they are going to kick us off of the state land....

And that would be unfortunate. The Blast-Off had over 300 riders and benefited a good cause....Medical Missions for Children. It seemed that everyone enjoyed the course (I was having my doubts about the length during my second lap) and the rain held off until John and I went back out to remove some arrows. And riders were respectful of the trails. We only had to remove about a dozen Gu wrappers from the trail and I'll continue to believe they just fell out of the back of the rider's jersey. (The same cannot be said for the blown tube I found on the Little Bear Trail! At least that rider left it near an arrow to help me find it!)

The GT tent was full, as Peter DeSantis, Harold Green, and I were sharing the same tent. We had lots of visitors, helped by the fact that we had some extra chairs, Peter brought some watermelon, and the results were delayed because of protests.

As for my personal performance.....I definitely cashed in on my "home course advantage" card! Not wanting to go out too quickly at the start, I found myself caged in on the first piece of singletrack, but managed to pull myself into what I thought was the front of the pack. So wasn't I surprised when I caught a glimpse of a woman in front of me. She was MUCH stronger than me on the open trails, but I was able to reel her in on the singletrack. We were joking afterwards that I wasn't unable to sneak up on her because my bike had this awful annoying squeak the entire race! She'd pull ahead on the flats only to be summonsed again by the squeak.....something akin to a horror movie scene! I was pleased with my time (2:20) and my finish (first over-all....even beat the elite women!) But then again.....it was my course.....

Only one expert rider was able to break the 2 hour mark....and just barely....1:59. I guess the course was a little more challenging than last year? But then I didn't race the course last year.

I'm already starting to think about the course for next year. Those that know me realize that for me variety is the spice of life.....so look for changes in next year's course.

Holly and I are off to CT and PA for a week of mountain biking next week. I've been in e-mail contact with Jeremy from SAMBA and he's offered to send us to the sweet singletrack in PA and even possibly lead us on a few rides. I'm meeting up with some old friends from a bike trip in UT to ride this weekend in CT. Hope the weather holds and we can sample the best PA has to offer!

Chasing the Coyote

The day dawned dry and sunny in NH, but as we made our way to the race in Fairlee, VT, just over the border, the clouds started to thicken and the rain started to really come down before the Cat 2/Sport riders moved off the starting line. The Coyote Hill Classis is just that....a classic. Some big climbs with some killer fun singletrack downhill....and mud! There is something different about the mud in Vermont, something that makes it pack down in your tires and makes running in it something of a comedy show (yes, I was off the bike, a lot). But I still love that course!

By the time the Cat 1/Expert riders started the sun was out again, but the course was now ridden over with a slick coating of mud. We did 3 laps (about 5-6 miles each), allowing plenty of opportunity to "master" that tricky section. The GT Marathon Pro "Marty" excelled at this race! I used all the travel and was thankful for the Kenda Karma tires...they rolled and gripped with the best of them....and no pinch flats despite running low pressures. And the shifting was flawless despite all the mud caked in the derailleur and the cogs!

This race was one where everyone just rode their own race. At the beginning of the downhill on the first lap I moved into the first place position in my age group (second overall) and never saw another woman again on the course. I finished in 2 hours and 8 minutes, a mere minute slower than first place overall. I'm pleased with the race I rode, glad that both myself and the bike withstood the less than ideal conditions!

Next Sunday is the Bear Brook Blast Off, the second of the EFTA races. The course is in great shape after having put in some corduroy in some of the wet spots this past Saturday. John, Dave Maz, Dawn and I will be out arrowing on Friday. The course was a little longer than anticipated....14 miles for the novice and 25 miles for the sport and expert. I think we'll still be seeing sub 2 hour times though.....Hope to see you there!

Blogging is Better

Here I sit, doing anything but make that phone call.....even writing on my blog is better than having to talk to John O'Conner, the contact person at Merrimack Valley Trail Riders. You see....each year the MVTR holds the NH Classic Charity Motocross Ride to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and each year about 500 motorcycles use trails in Bear Brook and Pawtuckaway State Parks in NH. I've been able to keep the motorcycles off the hiking trails for 2 of the past 3 years. Last year I just let them ride.....and did they hear about it. There was a big outcry from the mt. biking community about the destruction of the trails. Unfortunately, it seems as though that cry fell upon deaf ears. They are planning on using the same trails this year! I'm all for the ride, don't get me wrong. I just feel strongly that they need to stay on the snowmobile trails, trails reinforced to withstand motorized traffic, and stay off the hiking trails. And so here I sit, pondering the call, working on my blog.

On the other fronts, training and preparing the course for the Bear Brook Blast-Off is going well. The course is set and is going to be really fun for the race! Novice will do one lap, sport and expert 2 laps, the elite 3 laps. The course is at least 85% single track! If it doesn't rain, it has the possibility of being the best race of the season.

This weekend I"m planning on racing and helping out at the Coyote Hill Race. Tom Matherson and his wife Gabby run Coyote Hill Camps in Fairlee, VT. They are wonderful folk and have an absolutely wonderful program at the camp. It's been a few years since I've ridden there....looking forward to the downhill!

Day Off

Finally....rain allows 1 day off the bike! Been riding and training hard this week, along with lots of trail work getting ready for the EFTA race in Bear Brook on May 31st. I'm in charge of putting the course together and as such I'm a bit anal about the condition of the course. I've always loved a course that's fun, challenging, but rideable...and that's what I hope to create for the Bear Brook Blast Off. We had a great showing of support at the trail maintenance day on Saturday. We had over 20 people thanks to the members of the NH Quarter Horse Association. We cleared off a large portion of the trails, and everything could go "as is" for the race, but I'm picky! I hope to ride the course with the race promoter, Kelly VonRuden, tomorrow to iron out a few details. You can keep yourself posted by visiting www.bearbrookblastoff.com for details. Hope to see lots of you at the race!

As for the local riding....new trails behind the hospital in Concord. A great section of downhill with beautifully constructed bermed turns! A few technical spots, one of which threw me over the handlebars.....AGAIN! I"m beginning to think "Marty" is throwing me off for fun, much like a horse....but alas....I'm sure it's just the rider!

The Yips

"Another one bites the dust. And another one down, and another one down..."

Ever had one of those rides where it doesn't matter how wide the bridge is, you ARE going to fall off of it? I've had two such rides.... No worries though, "Marty" is fine. He landed in the water once, while I made it to the stream bank, but nothing serious. The bridge, on a lesser used trail in Horse Hill Preserve, was sketchy at best, but.....

My second fall, at Yudicky in Nashua, was off of a narrow ramp going over a large tree. The ramp I rode up was much wider than the one going off the other side. Rode up, saw the downside ramp, grabbed brakes, and rode off the side and fell into the bushes. The bushes sustained crushing injuries....

So now I have the yips.....you know....when everything suddenly looks scary to ride on the bike, even the stuff you've done a million times! And then it's yips squared when it happens two days in a row....

But I'd have to say, I've had some great rides this week. The trails in the area are drying up nicely, and lots of trail gnomes have been out cleaning them up. (THANK YOU!)

Harold Parker in Andover, MA is great. On Wednesday we rode on the Jenkins Road side....more technical and rocky. "Marty" was great until the near dark flat (I"m still dealing with the thorn issue in the rear tire....) On Saturday went to Tucker Brook in Milford. Most of the trails had been cleared although we found a section that suffered immensely from the ice storm. Milford was one of those towns without power for almost 2 weeks this winter, so it's no wonder the trails need work. But Tucker Brook is a must ride. A lot more trail there than it appears on the map. If you look closely in spots (when you get to places that a trail should be....)you'll likely find one! My first ride there last summer did cause me to ride some trails the WRONG way.....trails that were definitely built to ride downhill! On Sunday we rode at Grater Woods in Merrimack. Tom Vallincourt has built some sweet trails in this area.....the milliped, the salamader, and now the eft trail. All sweet, twisty singletrack with some challenge thrown in here and there. Probably about 4 miles of trail total, and if you go out and back, it makes for a good ride. I've never seen a map of this area though..... On Monday John and I rode at Yudicky (as mentioned above). Another GREAT place to ride. About 1 1/2 hours of riding if you do all the trails. Again, a lot of nice twisty singletrack with a few more challenging trails with some stunts on the other side of the road. I first explored this area using Peter DeSantis' book "Get Out and Ride". It a good place to start....