2021 NE - Flatten That Berm

[anotherVTskibum]

Bought a new-to-me Motobecane Hal CF last week, which is the first legit mountain bike I've had since my Proflex (6x6, can't recall exactly). Had to buy a shock pump to set the suspension up, got out tonight...and damn. I got one ride in last week with it set up for the previous owner and was impressed, but with a bit more stiffness, damn.

I also found the rear shock lockout in the process, which is a plus; now I can ski in walk mode (or vice versa) all year.

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[carlh]

Going to be at highland friday if anyone wants to ride. blue sentinel and will likely be wearing my orange back protector pack.

[jhyatt]

KT was beautiful today but very hot. 91 degrees! First post ride ice cream of the season.
MRV tomorrow.

[jackstraw]

Rocky.


The amount of sagging dead tree branches was unprecedented last night. It became so annoying! We stopped 40+ times and rode past many trying to grab and break on the fly. Wtf? These are established trails we've been riding for years. Every year there are always a handful in the spring, but this was next level. I don't know if the lack of water contributes to more dead sagging? I can see live sagging, but dead may be affected also? I don't know, but shit! We need a trail clean up day on old established stuff.

[AyoBeng]

Lovely day to ride.



Saw the sights.



Made some questionable decisions.



Lots of calories along the way.





First century in the bag!

[MaineSkiAddict1]

Exploring the last bit of Gorham I hadn’t ridden. Most of the trail work has been focused on this side with two trails being “opened” yesterday (one of which still isn’t on the map)

For Portland mags, it’s a different ride than any of the other three areas in town. Blends some of the coolest stuff from USM and Tannery. No real elevation but, that’s Gorham.

This is the newest trail. Ridden best from the top (near the entrance to 1783), it finishes with a toilet bowl section.



From there, cross over to another new trail (not on Trailforks yet) which takes you to Brickyard.



1783 from south to north is mint.

[Bushwacka]

Lovely day to ride.



Saw the sights.



Made some questionable decisions.



Lots of calories along the way.





First century in the bag!

Is that first picture North Branches Trail in worcester?

[AyoBeng]

Is that first picture North Branches Trail in worcester?

Yes, I live in Middlesex and was up early so the lot was empty. I’ve heard it gets really crowded with swimmers later in the day. I rode past the Moss Glen lot later in the route but it was already mobbed by then so I rode by.


ETA: route wouldn’t post yesterday.

[jackstraw]

Exploring the last bit of Gorham I hadn’t ridden. Most of the trail work has been focused on this side with two trails being “opened” yesterday (one of which still isn’t on the map)

For Portland mags, it’s a different ride than any of the other three areas in town. Blends some of the coolest stuff from USM and Tannery. No real elevation but, that’s Gorham.

This is the newest trail. Ridden best from the top (near the entrance to 1783), it finishes with a toilet bowl section.



From there, cross over to another new trail (not on Trailforks yet) which takes you to Brickyard.



1783 from south to north is mint.

Well that looks fun!!

Got out yesterday before the heat.

Plank ride has two lines. The rock drops run out isn't complete yet.

[Bushwacka]

Yes, I live in Middlesex and was up early so the lot was empty. I’ve heard it gets really crowded with swimmers later in the day. I rode past the Moss Glen lot later in the route but it was already mobbed by then so I rode by.


ETA: route wouldn’t post yesterday.

Must have just missed ya. It was too hot to ride with my dog yesterday so I took her there and went RC rock crawling.



that is a hell of ride man.

[jhyatt]

Yes, I live in Middlesex and was up early so the lot was empty. I’ve heard it gets really crowded with swimmers later in the day. I rode past the Moss Glen lot later in the route but it was already mobbed by then so I rode by.


ETA: route wouldn’t post yesterday.

Solid ride.
Just wrapped up a week of NE riding and once again blown away by the quantity and quality of trails. Dry but not dusty. Bugs not too bad.
A few days in the Franconia area and I keep finding new trails. Spooked a mama bear and cubs very close and she growled at me and I almost crapped my pants. Press Play!
A midweek day at KT and I saw one other rider. And I saw The Alchemist truck delivering to the tiki bar. I wonder if the quebecoise will be back this summer.
A few days in the MRV riding old and new trails.
Wrapped it up with my son's first NEHSCA race where I ate donuts fed the mosquitoes as a course marshall. There are some fast kids out there so look out old man!

[buttahflake]

S’mores donut looks amazing. I was in Franconia on Saturday, the heat/ humidity was next level for mid May. Fat Lip was a death march. Did you ride No Liability when you were there? Fun stuff.

[VTskibum]

This is the newest trail. Ridden best from the top (near the entrance to 1783), it finishes with a toilet bowl section.

Trying to figure out the layout here, where does that log 'bridge' go? Is that not complete, even if so still not sure I see it, unless it makes a 90* skinny turn to connect to the near wood downramp?

[CantDog]

Beautiful weekend of mountain biking in MA, but buttah is spot on about the humidity. I was dying Saturday and Sunday.

First real mtb rides after injuring my shoulder a month or so ago. Nice loop at Hale on Saturday and checked out Pearl Hill for the first time yesterday. Really cool area that felt very remote. Will definitely be back for more.

[jhyatt]

S’mores donut looks amazing. I was in Franconia on Saturday, the heat/ humidity was next level for mid May. Fat Lip was a death march. Did you ride No Liability when you were there? Fun stuff.

I've ridden No Liability many times. Good stuff above that, too. It all connects up.

[MaineSkiAddict1]

Trying to figure out the layout here, where does that log 'bridge' go? Is that not complete, even if so still not sure I see it, unless it makes a 90* skinny turn to connect to the near wood downramp?

Yeah, sorry the perspective sucks.

You ride over the bridge in the foreground and the trail wraps to the right (off camera). You essentially ride over the log in the distance to a “toilet bowl” that wraps you back under the log. My description probably made it more confusing. Nailed it.

[VTskibum]

Yeah, sorry the perspective sucks.

You ride over the bridge in the foreground and the trail wraps to the right (off camera). You essentially ride over the log in the distance to a “toilet bowl” that wraps you back under the log. My description probably made it more confusing. Nailed it.

Think I get it, so you go under the elevated log out of that berm. Looks fun, just seems like a lot of work to elevate that tree/log just to ride under it.

[jackstraw]

Ride under the log? It's definitely difficult to see what's going on here, but it still looks fun.

[PhishingME]

Beautiful weekend of mountain biking in MA, but buttah is spot on about the humidity. I was dying Saturday and Sunday.

First real mtb rides after injuring my shoulder a month or so ago. Nice loop at Hale on Saturday and checked out Pearl Hill for the first time yesterday. Really cool area that felt very remote. Will definitely be back for more.

How was Pearl Hill riding? May head there this weekend.

[Laps]

Dawn patrol at Cochran’s this am. Going to be a sticky day.



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[HankScorpio]

I'm not usually one to solicit stuff on the internet but there's a petition going around to stop the logging operations in Barre (Vermont) Town Forest where Millstone trails are located.

https://www.change.org/p/barre-town-...me&utm_term=cs

Last winter, the town decided to "responsibly" log areas of the forest and ended up destroying a good chunk of the mountain bike trails. Thanks to many hours of volunteer work this past spring, most of the trails were cleared but the forest was trashed to say the least. There is also much more work to be done to finish clearing the remainder of the trails that were destroyed. Locals are very vocal about the destruction and are trying to stop the plans for more logging this coming winter.

This is public land that was destroyed for about $32,000 worth of lumber and residents are angry. Any support is appreciated.

[jackstraw]

^that's a tough one. It is a renewable resource and 32k is not a lot of money, but to a town, it can be quite a bit with budget issues.

We had a logging operation go down on some of our trails and it was a mess, but we were actually able to make new and even better trails because it opened up some windows for varied terrain. And now the forest is coming back strong. That is one thing the EC has going for it vs the high alpine western clearcuts. Stuff just grows like mad back here.

[HankScorpio]

^that's a tough one. It is a renewable resource and 32k is not a lot of money, but to a town, it can be quite a bit with budget issues.

We had a logging operation go down on some of our trails and it was a mess, but we were actually able to make new and even better trails because it opened up some windows for varied terrain. And now the forest is coming back strong. That is one thing the EC has going for it vs the high alpine western clearcuts. Stuff just grows like mad back here.

Good point about reworking the trails - the local trail chapter did a commendable job of doing this when they cleaned up in the spring. With the lack of trees, the sight lines through the woods are better and it opened up more space for some cool lines.

Regardless, the points of contention are that the town assured that the logging would have "minimal impact on the environment" and now the clean up is being done by volunteers - not town employees or the logging company. Town budgets are tight but selling out widely used public land for the price of a used pick up truck is also quite shitty.

[jackstraw]

Sounds so typical of towns. No accountability.

We have a small parcel next to a school that was full of large pines. A boy scout had made a nature trail thru it years ago. We had a storm and a branch fell on an abutting house, so our local school maintenance guy whose family has been involved in local politics since the dawn of time decides to clear cut the entire wooded area. Then he proceeds to run a large diameter black pvc water line and throw down seed. The black temp water line is still out there along with green water hose pieces. It's like a dump. We just opened up a new trail for the local kids bike program and couldn't believe the shit left behind. Such tools, but again, so typical.

[VTskibum]

So short sighted and they must be missing a 0 in that 32,000 right? I'd be furious and out for blood at town council meetings after that if that happened at my little town park or local state park.

Have heard great things about Millstone trails from all the way down here in PA. Now I'm potentially going to skip out on riding there if trails are ruined and all my associated recreation dollars (not trails specifically) but restaurants, brewery, lodging, etc all going to go with it to towns that get it. KTA, Waterbury, Stowe, Randolph etc