92 F

Had to take the day off.  When the tough chore was completed, I road the local compressed woodlands of the city.  Total of Two main loops and 4 inner loops around sailors.  92 degrees.  I have not rode in that type of heat in a while.  I started off slow, but still sprinted up some of the hills and kept pedaling hard.

Adams Farm Walpole

Great ride this AM with SC at Adams Farm.   Temps were in the mid twenties F.  Almost no wind with about an inch powdery snow on the ground.

These trails are fast and smooth.  A few slips around turns, nothing to be worried about.

The silence of winter riding has an overwhelming beauty.  It gives you a floating feeling and a happy feeling of isolation from everything. As you ride you can hear the desolate, gentle, lonely winter breeze.

Winter Riding

Today my bro SC and I rode Wompy.  Start time was 7 AM with the temps in low 30s F with high winds.

It was an awesome scenic blast though a winter land.  No ice and the ground was frozen hard, and there was still snow to look at along in the forest.

Incomplete list of winter riding tips:

• Dress Warm Wear many layers.  Good socks and shoes, cover hands and ears, any skin exposed will be at risk of frost bite.
• Ride with a buddy or in a group.  Always a risk to ride alone anytime of year, but especially risking in winter.
• Leave enough time to complete your ride before sunset. Keeping in mind personal and mechanical failures can cause delays.
• Try to find out what the trail conditions are like and prepare for these conditions.

Happy trails!

Winter Riding Blue Hills x2

For that last two weeks my buddy SC and I rode to the blue hills and rode some good stuff.  Got new Lake Winter Riding Boots too.  17 Miles.  Enjoyed the packed crunchy trails, with patches of ice.
Trails were a mix of some ice spots, crunchy ice, and flowy flow water over leaves.

Blue Hills Ride

Hi There!  Early this morning, my buddy SC and I rode the 4 or so miles from the neighborhood here to the Blue Hills.  At the Blue Hills SC showed off some great trails.  Thanks SC!

Temps were from 32 to 34 F.   Sunny.  Frosty mud.  With a light wind.  Minus winter boots, I think I have most of my winter riding  gear all set.

SC reported these ride stats:  We did 15.75 miles in about 90 minutes of pedalling time.


Happy Trails!

JT

upgrade

I had been thinking about upgrading the stump jumper. This Halloween my wife asked me if I wanted to go to the bike barn. I said sure!  just to look!   Well I ended up getting a 29er Stump Jumper hard tail.
My wife bought it for me. I am a lucky guy!

I was concerned about going to a 29 from a 26. I thought I would feel top heavy.  At the bike barn Kevin took time to explain to me how that's not true. He said I'ts more stable. And it will ride though more stuff than a 26 can. How he explained things was much more detailed and elegant.  

I tried it out in the parking lot, and I wanted the bike that day.  We went home with our new ride.

I took it out on some local trails, and this ride is awesome! I feel I'm riding faster with ease, and I have more balance. Plus I don't feel like I'm inside a bike anymore, it's quite a natural fit.

Thanks to my wonderful wife for such an awesome gift!  Staying fit by mountain biking pays great dividends to all.

And where does that go, that goes this way!

Ride of the Brownshirts SC and myself this AM!  About 20 miles in 2 hours.  Weather was fine, with fog and some drizzle.  We rode into the Blue Hills from Quincy and did sections of the multi-use trails and the adjoining single track.



  As always a fun ride and a great work out.

I have not been posting but I've been riding

I figured I would stop posting every mountain bike ride.  Especially the local after work rides.  For the last few weeks I've been getting in 2 to 3 local rides per week.  I have to keep it in mind to stay in this pattern of more than one ride  per week.  I'm noticing my skills and strength improving for each extra ride.

Happy Trails!

local

Ah yesterday SC and I rode local.  Did about 10 miles in an hour or so.  I've learned to enjoy the local trails.  It's great to meet up with a good buddy and  just ride out from the house for a good workout.  My legs are still feeling the burn today.

It's okay for me to repeat a loop in the same ride.  The 2nd or 3rd time around I can improve and try to pick a different line.

Ride local Fun ride

Today I guided a fun tour around Quincy.  WX was hot and humid.  Still a fun ride.  C and S joined me from  work.  Trying to get them to buy actual mountain bikes.  We rode around the trails near my house, then rode N. on Quincy Shore Drive and then into some trails, along the edges of Squnatum.

It's fun showing off great trails.

me so thorny!

JB and I rode 15 miles today.  Great ride. I felt strong the whole ride for a change.  We checked out the local Quincy trails, then road to Eaton's Pond trails in Braintree.  Lots of thorns.  But no flats.  The thorns cut me up a bit on my arms. Enough so that my wife in an alarming tone said:  "what happened to you!"

After Eatons we road to Faxon Park, and checked out some of the trails there.  Lost s of thorns there to.  Faxon might me a good place to check out in the winter.

It was a fine day for a ride. I reflected on our ride as I watched my bike dry off.  Looking at the worn tread, and thinking of all fun rides of the past.

The wx was fine for a ride.  Cloudy, and some drizzle.


Happy Trails!

Ride Local

Today Steve and I hit the local stuff.  12 miles.  WX was great.  We road the trails around the Marshes and then we hit some trails in Houghs Neck.  I never new there was that much riding in the Neck.  We rode the Dike Trail and some stuff in an area called the Crusher.  This was an old Granite type of processing place.

This was a fun ride, and made me think that Quincy has more to offer for trail riding.

Wompy Ride

This evening Steve and I rode Wompy.  Aprox 11 miles.  The wx was hot at first but cooled off before sunset.

After riding the Blue Hills so much, we were in great shape for Wompy.  This was an awesome ride and at a good pace.

Blue Hills Fun Ride

I had a chance to lead a fun ride in the Blue Hills today.  Got to show off some neat trails to a few of my friends that are new to mountain biking.  We all had a great time, and they want to go riding again!

The wx was hot humid, cloudy temps in the 80s.

We toured the intermediate Loop (White Triangle).  With a quick detour to introduce the newbies to single track.  We then crossed Hillside Ave and took a quick ride up to the summit of one of the low alt. hills.

Brownshirt Loop Quincy Blue Hills

Steve lead another terrific ride today.  The wx was hot, sunny, with a light breeze.  Temps in the 80s 90s.  We rode almost 23 miles with 2 hours 15 minutes of pedal time.

We had to stop for a rest, because I started to feel sick from the heat.  After that break I was fine.

Happy Trails!

Blue Hills 18 miles or so

Today Steve lead Team Brown Shirt on another great ride.  The WX. was great, slight overcast, cool to warm temps with a light breeze.  We started in Quincy at 7AM rode some local stuff here, then road to the Blue Hills Via Furnace Brook Parkway.  We road about 10.5 miles in the woods. We got back to Quincy at 9AM for some coffee.  Thanks Steve!

The Blue Hills has lots to offer for biking, hiking, etc.  You may want to check it out.

brown shirt ride 16 miles

Thanks to Steve for a great ride today!  We rode some Quincy Trails, and then road Furnace Brook Road to the Blue Hills.  In the Blue Hills we rode some very nice stuff.

About a 2 hour ride, temps med to hot, sunny.

Now time to cook up some pasta!

Eaton's Bond Braintree MA

A few weeks ago, I helped out the New England Mountain Biking Association (NEMBA) with a trail maintenance day at Eaton's Pond in Braintree MA.  Today I checked out these trails on the bike.  I rode to Eaton's from the house here.  About 4.3 miles away.  Today the WX was great.  Sunny, temps in the 70s F. low winds.  

The trails are new, and more are being built.  This space will have a nice trail system when the work is completed.

I did take a break and had a nice chat with Nick KC1MA.  He was on a way to a club meeting. This was via the Boston K1RJZ 900 MHz repeater in Boston MA.  I always try to bring some type of ham radio with me on these rides.

The whole ride was about 2 hours, that's including the QSO with KC1MA, and a detour to walk over the Fore River Bridge.

I all ready cleaned off the bike, so it's all set for the next ride.

Thanks to NEBMA  and the Town of Braintree for creating these trails!

Check out NEMBA

Blue Hills

Great ride today in the Blue Hills.  WX was Sunny and temps 40s to the 50s F.
Rode for about 1.5 hours.

Rode to Summit like last ride.  The decent down Great Blue was the same as well.  I mixed it up a bit with some loops and other trails on the way out.

Great Blue Hill Ride in the Blue Hills Massachusetts

7:20 am start WX 50s, sunny and mild.  About an hour and 20 minute ride.

From HQ Up Wolcolt Path to 1085 to the Summit Road.  Then decent the Coon Holow Path left at 1082, back to the Summit Road, back to 1000 Border Path.  The Border Path in this direction is a fun decent.  Ride with Caution, there a other trail users, and there are many erosion bars that could flip you over.  Then left on to Chestnut Run Path, Right on to 1191, bend right 1183, left at 1166.  Here my back tire was very low on air.  I pumped in more air and road the Eustis Trail back to Wolcolt Path.  Via 1140, 1121, and 1122.  I had to stop on Wolcolt to put more air in the back tire again.

Today was a great ride.  I may have done more exploring but I did not want spend the time to replace the rear tube.  I will do that at home this weekend.

Not flat yet.

Blue Hills WX Obs.