Getting Fat at the Blow Hole

It's been a long time since I last rode the Blow Hole and for those of you who don't know what I am talking about there was a legend about this place going back a few centuries that sailors used to say when the blew through here it would speed up their journey.  There could be some truth to that given that there is a high banked gully formed by streams that spill out to the Connecticut River and I bet if the wind was coming from the west it would channel through it and create a wind channel to push out over the river.  Nowadays, I doubt that could happen with all the trees.

Today, the Blow Hole is called River Highlands State Park and it's a diamond in the rough of urbanization. In the early days the park was ravaged by motos and atv's but since its official re-designation as a State Park, it has been transformed into a little known mountain biking paradise. It's not what I would call a Riding Destination like Rockland or Case Mountain, but if you are local to the area and just looking for a quick ride with plenty of well maintained single track then this is your ticket.

I got lei'd at F2G2

Having missed last year's Fall Foliage Gravel Grinder due to breaking my ankle I wasn't going to miss this year's event. In fact, as soon as I heard that it was on again I was the first one to sign up! Even the weather wasn't going to be a deterrent, and that wasn't looking so good when I checked the forecast earlier in the week. 

Photo Cred: William Mansfield

Leaving Will's place near Chatham, Saturday morning it was raining. It rained the whole time we drove to Becket and it was raining when we mounted our bikes and started climbing Fred Snow Road.  Will and I left about 45 minutes before the official start and it was raining. We were joined buy a guy from New Haven by the name of Dwight. What I noticed about Dwight's bike was that he was carrying 4 water bottles! Apparently, he was training for the Dirty Kanza and he planned to drink all of those bottles during this ride.

Roubaix to Brew: Norbrook Farm Brewery

Do you what the best part of starting a ride from a brewery is? 

The end of the ride!

I have been waiting all summer for the Norbrook Farm Brewery to open. Last spring, I was updating my Roubaix to Brew map and adding more Connecticut Breweries to it when I saw Norbrook Farms come up in the results. Finally a brewery in the Northwestern part of Connecticut that is just south of some of the best dirt road riding around. Now that the brewery is open, it was time to plan a ride. While it was a little chilly in the morning you could not have asked for a more beautiful day to ride.