So, does this mean Anne-Margaret is not coming?

I had to drive to Newton, MA on Friday to pick up my daughter from a friend's house so I asked a friend who lives in the area if he wanted to meet in Milford and do some mountain biking at Vietnam.  Joe posted the ride on Facebook and a few others in the area said they would join us. Also, John Goeller, whom I have met in the past on various Route 66 mountain bike races was also there. He happens to live less than a mile away from the trails and knows them like the back of his hand.

The guys on the real fat bikes tore off and we were playing catch up, mainly because, as I discovered a 3 inch wide tire doesn't have the same float as a 4.6 or 5 inch wide tire. Also, I started out with too much pressure in my tires and had to stop a few times to let it out. John, Joe, and I broke off from them because Joe and I, on our 3 inch wide tires were still having a hell of a time, even with the tires adjusted. Since the trails weren't broken in really well it was a Napoleon's Death March three quarters of the ride. 

Fat Amy's White Christmas

As luck would have it we woke up to a white Christmas.  After the presents and everyone was ensconced in their electronic distractions I headed out to Upper Paugussett State Forest to take advantage of the perfect conditions for riding in the snow.  We got around 3 inches of snow and it was light and fluffy but still grippy.

I am an Uphill Junkie

While I enjoy just about all the different forms of skiing, skinning up a mountain is one of the most gratifying experiences in the world, to me.  After breaking my ankle almost 3 months ago I was a little uncertain about what the first time out would feel like, so I took it step by step (pardon the pun). Saturday, I decided to do one uphill adventure at Windham and then meet Robin at Mohawk on Sunday for more fun.

Fat Amy's walk of shame

There was about an inch of snow when I headed out Thursday morning. There was a school delay so I didn't have to worry about not taking my boys to school. The snow made everything serene and peaceful. The snow that was left over from the weekend had melted somewhat due to the rain but refroze due to the cold snap and with the new snow on top made it crunchy as I rode up the Brodie Road to the four corners.

This where the Mulikin meets the Unmarked and Unsanctioned Trail. Riding with my ViewRanger app on, I decided to ride down DSP so I could get a track of it.  I am still trying to figure out how to create a map using the app, similar to the Trail Forks map but it seems Trail Forks only works if you are connected to a network service.

Mountain Biking during hunting season at Upper Paugussett State Forest

Due to Winter Storm Benji bearing down on Southern New England last Saturday I suggested to my son that we skip his first day of his ski race team training and I would take him skiing at Jiminy Peak on Sunday instead.  He was more that enthusiastic about that since the first day they weren't going to spend all day skiing and he really just loves to ski.  That mean that I was free to ride!

I did some chores in the morning while waiting for the snow to accumulate, no sense taking the big girl out to play with just a dusting, and by the time there was around an inch of snow on the ground I headed out.  Realizing that it was Saturday and on the tail end of dear season I made sure to get all oranged up because Upper Paugussett is an active hunting forest.

Do not leaf blow the trails at Upper Paugussett or any other trails else for that matter!

I saw this post on Strava today and I really wish people would take a moment and try to understand the impact they are having by leaf blowing the trails:

Actually, you are not awesome, in fact you are doing more harm than good!

It's really detrimental to the trails when this happens.  Leaves shed water and keep the treadway from soaking in all that extra moisture.  Trails at Upper Paugussett were so good you could ride them after a really good rain storm but now that they are uncovered people really need to let them dry out, now.  Not that many riders actually do that any more or seem to care.

If you don't believe me then checkout a few of these threads on MTBR:

The real price of leaf blowing

Leaves, moisture control & tread durability

Here is an excellent video on why we do not remove leaves from our trails.

Yes,  leaves make it more challenging to walk, run or ride but by leaving the leaves on the trail makes them more sustainable in the long run.

Fat Amy was Jones-n for H

Yet another biking conundrum ... how to dress for cold weather mountain biking.  The last time I rode Fat Amy was early September and it was still summer.  I lucked out this afternoon and picked the right combination of gear and was neither too hot nor too cold.

About a month into my recovery I got the girl ready to ride thinking that I could at least ride some rail trails. I went back to my original flat pedals and I put on a Jeff Jones H-Bar.  These bars remind me of my old FuBars. What's so special about these bars and any kind of swept back bars?  It's a more natural way you would hold your arms, thus reducing the stress on your wrists. 

Back to Work!

My brace came off Monday and the Orthopedist gave me the go ahead to start riding outdoors again however that presented a new hurdle because haven't the spent the last two months adjusting to the increasing cold temperatures as winter slowly rolls in.  For my first ride, however, by some stroke of luck, I got it right.