Big Day of Riding

Sunday morning was shaping up to be a fine day for riding. I drove to Hamden to assist Eric with the CT NEMBA Trail Ambassador Training (follow the link for more pictures) that was scheduled. Great group of guys showed up from all over the state. Finally got to meet Nathan, who recently moved to the area and is into mountain biking as well. He has a cool photography blog called Amble On. I had been meaning to back to Naugatuck State Forest but last year the Upper Gussy Trail took up so much of my time, that I barely got to ride many other fun spots around the state.

The map above compares Sunday's ride (in green) with the ride (red track) I did two years ago at a CT NEMBA board meeting. Ironically, I have only ridden the Qball at Naugatuck and the first time was rigid. The Trail Ambassador ride was full of mechanicals, including one of my own. My rear tire started losing air 3/4s of the way through the ride and since I was running a wee bit late, I just put more air in it at every rest break along the way and was able to get back to the parking lot. Great ride, and I can't wait to go back again and explore more of the trails. Excellent place to ride single speed.


Quattro Trail Ambasciatore from Mark on Vimeo.

When I got home, I switched bikes (and jerseys), repacked the car with all the kids riding gear and headed over to the Monroe Rail Trail. We parked on Pepper Street, just down from the intersection with Route 25, so I could get a longer ride.

The kids and I rode down to the playground at Wolfe Park and the kids played for awhile and had snack. Then we got back on (and in) our bikes (and trailer) and headed back towards the car. Along the way, we stopped and took a few pictures of everyone with our matching jerseys. These are my three junior Trail Ambassadors.

We rode past the car, down to the town line (with Newtown), then turned around and rode back to the car. Total distance ridden was nearly 8 miles, and Katie did it all by herself!