"Nope" - 12/28/10 - Swansea, MA

Okay, maybe I was just hoping to keep up the recent rate of rides per week.  Or maybe since I did so well in the snow last week, I could do it again.  Or maybe it was the feeling of being shut-in after so many good rides with the temperatures never reaching 30 degrees.  Whatever it was that made me think I could do a ride in 8 inches of snow on a 21 degree windy day...was wrong.  I couldn't peddle an inch.  I hiked further into the woods hoping the snow was not so deep, but nope.  I did manage to find tracks made by a quad.  It enabled me to ride for short distances by balancing within one of the tracks. One mile was enough.  I'd hate to resort to the gym, but after all, it is Winter and this is New England.  We don't get to ride trails all year long like my friends out West.  Hmmmm....I'm tempted to try riding the bike path, it seems to be flattened by walkers...I'm not ready to give in just yet.  Good riddens to the Blizzard of 2010! 

Happy New Year Trails,
OMMB

"Winter Wonderland" - 12/23/10 - Big River - RI

- Trailhead: exit 6 parking
- Riders: OMMB plus thirteen (ages 24 to 66)
- Miles: over 10
- Weather: light snow
- Temp: 31
- Trail Conditions: nice hardpack...slippery leaves on the uphills
- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: only witnessed a sweet slide out with a soft landing (luckily) into some pine needles by Al.

Notes: Bikeworks four grouped with others for a kick-ass ride through the Wintery woods of Big River.  Steady snow, but not too heavy, made for a nice Wintery scene.  Only a dusting on the trails, so the ride was the usual very fast paced.  The group we rode with offered hot cider, hot cocoa, chunks of ham, cheese, trail mix, dried fruits, and nuts in the parking lot after the ride.  EXCELLENT treat!!!

Tidbits: Both the 24 year old and the 66 year old rode in the lead pack...hope I can still ride that fast at 66 (or even 56)!!

Happy Holiday Trails,
OMMB

"Slip slidin' away..." - 12/21/10 - Massasoit State Park - Taunton, MA

HAPPY WINTER FIRST!!!

"...You know the nearer your destination, the more you're slip slidin' away"

- Trailhead: Parking lot

- Riders: Al, Bob, Matt, OMMB

- Miles: not sure...5 or so

- Weather: snowing
- Temp: 30
- Trail Conditions: 3-4 inches of Snow
- Technical Level: treacherous
- Wildlife: bunny footprints, deer footprints, doggy...oh wait a minute, more likely coyote footprints
- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: one slip here, another slide there, all over the place

Notes: A freaky snowstorm double-backed on Southeastern Mass dropping a foot of Snow on the Cape.  Only a dusting at home in Warren, so I ventured out to meet the gang figuring they wouldn't cancel plans.  Got in the parking lot at Massasoit to find 3 to 4 inches of Snow already on the ground!  It was light fluffy stuff so peddling through wasn't a problem...but damn slippery!  It's probably the ONLY time I'll ever hear Matt say... "Al, please take a route with no hills, this is tough!".  I honestly didn't find it too bad.  Slippery roots were the biggest problem, but with a little air out of the rear tire, I had a blast!  (although I did unwillingly clear a few small pines trees of their snow)...good times.

Tidbits: Kona likes the snow...who knew?

Happy Trails,
OMMB

 

Lucky we finished in time, "Snowpeople United Against Global Warming" were
holding a protest at the park!



"15 for 10" - 12/18/10 - Big River - RI

- Trailhead: Exit 7 Commuter Parking Lot

- Riders: 15 of -em 

- Miles: GPS says 9.5, Bob's ODO says 10.2, we'll call it 10

- Weather: clear

- Temp: 21 at the start, a balmy 29 at the end

- Trail Conditions: excellent, nice smooth hard single track, some rock gardens

- Technical Level: the usual fast paced, glad I was on the Kona 29

- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: Couple fellas went down in different spots. Some ice wipe outs, some hairpin turn between tree crashes, and one classic "oh sheet"...Greg on a single speed managed to hang up his front wheel on a rock wall crossing and balanced (more like, got stuck) with one foot down and the tail end of the bike in the air.  He balanced there for a good 30 seconds before someone helped him off his perch...wish I had the video camera!

Notes: Joined a Bikeworks group who I think may have merged with a NEMBA group for an early morning ride.  Jim, assumed to be from NEMBA, lead the 15 person group on an excellent long single track.  The trails were in REALLY good shape (no motorcycles eating them up in this very cold late Fall weather).  Overall, a pretty challenging ride, felt more like 15 miles!

Tidbits:  Have you ever wondered what all my recent Big River tracks look like on one map?  Yeah, me too....see below (click-on to enlarge).

Happy Trails,
OMMB

"Yoohoo" - 12/16/10 - Swansea Village Forest

Went for a ride before dark today (travel comp time...very nice).  Sunny, not too cold, 29 degrees.  Did a few loops in Swansea for a couple of hours on the Kona Kahuna 29.  Getting real comfortable on that bike, but still would prefer rear suspension.  Mid ride I heard someone calling... "yoohoo, yoohoo, over here, hey, yoohoo...did you lose some glasses?"   ummmm....yes I did, a week ago, they jumped out of my pocket on a Thursday night ride.  I thanked the lady and her little dog too.  Her dog's name was "Lucky" and he likes to bite on your socks.  Must have a bike sock fetish.  I told her to keep the Jack Russell close by...coyotes have a small dog fetish.  Wouldn't be so lucky for Lucky.

Happy Trails,
OMMB

"Two Legged Dog Slow" - 12/14/10 - Swansea Forest, MA

Another early morning frosty ride today.  Did over 8 miles with Al, Bob, and Matt.  Temps started at 29 degrees but actually dropped as time went on.  Throw in a few snowflakes and frozen fingers were had. Left my damn ski gloves in the truck thinking it wouldn't be that cold (spoiled after 2 days of 50 degree temps)...wrong again Batman.   Anyway, had a good ride...well most of us did.  Felt like I was riding a kid's bike trying to keep up with them today.  For some reason I was as slow as a two legged dog (because I know a three legged dog would have been faster).  The pros are convinced that I ride much faster on the 29er.  I knew I felt a little faster on it, but apparently the difference is very noticeable by others.  I was asked to bring the Kona next time...a not so subtle hint (waaaaa).  :)

Happy Trails,
OMMB

"Breakfast Club" - twelve/eleven/ten - Massasoit State Park - Taunton, MA

- Trailhead: Parking Lot
- Riders: OMMB plus 7
- Miles: 10.2
- Weather: sunny, calm
- Temp: a balmy 25
- Trail Conditions: frozen sand and gravel helped keep traction going up / some sketchy downhills
- Technical Level: fast 

Notes: Tracked a good ride with the Bikeworks Beasts this morning.  Damn those guys kill me...7:30am start, fast and furious from the get go, and all the hills they can squeeze into a ride.  Suffering aside, a good time was had.  Managed to track most of route but had to add the leg that was missing...see thin yellow line from top to right on the map ("click on" to enlarge).   Most of the group were riding high end carbon 29er bikes, so I thought that would be a good excuse for me not keeping up on the Kona 29er.  That was until I found that a 5 foot 6 dude was riding a metal 26er, and tearing it up as good as the rest of them...drats.

Tidbits: The lakes all had a thin layer of ice all the way across.  Heat wave tomorrow...up to 50 degrees.

Happy Trails,
OMMB

"UFO-a-thon" - 12/9/10 - Swansea Village Forest

Okay I said it was cold Tuesday morning, right?  Weeeeeell....it really wasn't that cold, because tonight's ride was REALLY cold!  Temp was around 22 when we met at 6:15. Seven night riders flying through the woods...I'm sure if anyone saw us, the Swansea Police would have received calls reporting UFO sightings!  Biggest problem most of us had was cold hands.  Didn't warm up until 3/4 of the way through the ride...that's when the blood flow returned to our fingers, firing the pain signals. Yowch. It was a surprisingly clean ride with no major crashes (not by OMMB anyway).  Out of the 7 riders I did see at least 4 hit the ground in various places.  Matt lead a great ride, I'm guessing we did 8 to 10 miles.

Tidbits: This was Bob's birthday ride...but he couldn't make it.  We rode in his honor anyway.  Another tidbit...when you eat dinner before you ride, the raccoons, skunks, and opossums reap the benefits of your mid-ride chirp (yes it happened, wasn't me!).

Happy Trails,
OMMB

"Crunch Crunch" - 12/7/10 - Swansea, MA

It was sooo cold this Tuesday morning when I went riding.  How cold was it?  It was 28 degrees cold.  No really, how cold was it?   It was so cold that the trail was crunchy, frozen crunchy!  Although I did not run into any other riders (hmmm, wonder why), I had a good time tooling around on Gold Member and getting the spare Kona seat adjusted just right.  Spare Kona seat?  Where would I have found that?  Ohhhh...Patrick knows...hahaha!!!   After crunching around for over an hour, it was time to try "the hill".  I felt I had a good chance to conquer it on this bike.  Well I did!  Stood up, pounded in granny, and the wheels held grip long enough to allow me to climb it. 

Happy Trails,
OMMB

"Blog for blogging sake" - 12/5/10 - Swansea, MA

This blog post is for the sake of posting a web log (blog) post for a ride on Sunday (yesterday).  Yesterday, Sunday, I went for a ride at Swansea Village Forest where I rode in the very cold thirty something degree weather for about 4 or 5 miles.  Along the way I met up with Tim and John, out for their usual leisurely Sunday morning ride.  We chatted for a bit.  John rode down the backside of Wildcat Rock, impressive. It's a 59 foot drop.  But he has trouble with the seesaw, not so impressive.  We decided that we would meet up some Sunday morning and add weights to the high end of the seesaw. That should make the seesaw come down faster, versus balancing up in the middle of nowhere waiting for gravity to haul you back down.  I would bring the window weights, John would bring some large tie wraps. 

That concludes this web log (blog) post.

Happy Trails,
OMMB

oh wait... tidbit... Reba turned 72 today ...okay, blog post done.

"Good golly what a Gridley" - 12/2/10 - Gridley Trail - Ojai, CA

- Trailhead: Gridley Road

- Riders: HectO, OMMB

- Miles: 12.4

- Weather: clear, cool breeze

- Temp: 60-ish (I think)

- Trail Conditions: 60% hardpack, 40% loose granular

- Technical Level: "don't look down"

- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: none (good thing, one mistake and your toast) 

Notes: Hector was hell bent on getting me all the way up Gridley Trail, so this was the day.  Note that I failed miserably on the last try...well before I started blogging these reports.  It had been extremely hot and dry.  I ran out of water and tanked half way up (if that) trying to stay remotely close to Hector.  This ride resulted in much more success...although still a mega-climb for a RI rider.  6.2 miles of constant up.  The weather was much cooler and I think the bike helped a bit too, I was able to keep it mostly in the middle gear up front.  Hector pulled away about 3/4 of the way, but I made a good effort not to make him wait too long.  The view was great and with Hector's encouragement, I made it to the top of Gridley Trail.  We snapped a couple of pictures, adjusted the bikes for downhill, and off we went.  And damn what a downhill ride it was!  After hours of riding uphill, it took less than 30 minutes to get down, stopping a few times to rest the arms and hands.  But don't fret, we saved enough arm strength for chips and beer at the trailhead.

Tidbits: back to the "don't look down" comment...sheer cliffs in some places tempt you to look over the edge...don't!  (the fact that Hector kept yelling that didn't help matters...made me want to look every time he said it!  ...anyway, it's all good!)

Happy Trails,

OMMB

  

"City Lights" - 12/1/10 - Sycamore Canyon - Point Mugu, CA

- Trailhead: Sycamore Campground

- Riders: Rofo, OMMB
- Miles: 13
- Weather: crystal clear night
- Temp: cool for CA
- Trail Conditions: nice hardpack
- Wildlife: reports of Bobcats last week, nothing this week.  Some wacky night birds were flying in our lights at dusk, looked like small hawks

Notes: Met up with Ron about 5:00 and we rode the usual Sycamore route...up Backbone and down Guadalasca.  Not so "usual" at night!  The ride up was the best I've had, in part due to the recently "groomed" single track now packed to manageable condition.  I actually only stopped once on the ride up to the first overlook...typically I have to stop a dozen times on this trail!  The overlook was phenomenal, stars everywhere.  Two other riders showed up and everyone shut the lights off to take in the night sky view.  Once we got to the final overlook before the Guadalasca trailhead, Ron snapped some shots of the city lights below.  Stars and city lights everywhere, the clearest night Ron had seen here.  Just awesome!  Only downers were...Hector could not make the ride, Tim's afraid of the dark, and Scott was on a plane coming home from turkey gulping.

The downhill run was a bit freaky.  You have to have your lights just right in order to see what's ahead on the single track in time to react...crazy fun!  Once we got to the bottom of the canyon, it got DAMN cold.  It was actually warmer on the summit. 

After the ride, Ron provided the usual ever so generous fixings of trail mix, choco chip cookies, and New Belgium Brewing Company's Fat Tire Amber Ale!!  I'm convinced that this could be my new favorite micro brew.   Later on we met up with Hector for some more carb loading at BJ's Brewhouse...good times!

Happy Trails,
OMMB



(Did not track full distance, but captured all that was ridden)



"WTF" - 11/28/10 - Swansea, MA

- Riders: T, OMMB
- Weather: clear
- Temp: very chilly 40 degrees

What do you do on a day that ended a week of house cat issues like, one with chewed feet requiring surgery, one that had a seizure believed to be caused by an enlarged heart, and one that just died out of nowhere?  Well...go for a ride I guess.  It was nice for Teri to relieve some stress by riding a few miles of trail.  Even though it was quite chilly, we had a good little ride.  And still can't make that damn hill!

Happy Trails,
OMMB

"Saturday Morning Brain Fog" - 11/27/10 - Swansea, MA

- Trailhead: library
- Riders: Bob, Matt, Jack, Greg, Denny, OMMB
- Miles: 8.5
- Weather: clear, breezy
- Temp: 32-36

Notes: I got over to the bike shop around 8am and sat there.  Bob's truck was there so I figured he was getting ready.  5 or more minutes went by, so I knocked on the door...nothin. Sat for a few more minutes.  Peered through the store front windows, nobody there. hmmmmm.  Then, DUH, it hit me...I must have just missed them and they were already at the library.  Yep.  I managed to meet up with the group, missed only about a 1/2 mile of trail. Warmed up real nice and had a great ride. 

Happy Trails,
OMMB

"Matt's Playground" - 11/23/10 - Swansea, MA

Rode the Kona with the Bikeworks gang this morning.  Along for the ride were Bob, Matt, Al, and Dan.  Damn the weather was crazy nice for November...60+ degrees.  Quite a dew formed overnight, due to the warm temps.  Made for a slippery ride, but I was actually able to almost keep up with them!  Got to be the bike.  Matt and I broke off and he showed me some new trails he cleared...log hops, rock climbs, zig zags...real fun stuff. 

Tidbits:
- Somebody Turned 29 (again) yesTerday! 
- Bikeworks is going to start carrying Kona bikes...nice!

Happy Trails,
OMMB

"Rattle me once, rattle me twice" - 11/21/10 - Swansea, MA

Adjusted Teri's Kona 29 to my liking and took it for a ride.  After a few tweaks it was feeling pretty comfortable. The bike rolls really fast...so quick, that because of the hardtail, the result is huevos revueltos.  Not something I'm accustomed to!   Gave it a run up the stupid hill I haven't mastered.  I haven't mastered the stupid hill. 

Tidbits: Coyotes the size of German Shepards eating pets in South Swansea... if they get to the size of Germans, I'm going to strap my Swedish fishing knife to my Camelback (again)!!

Happy Trails,
OMMB

"Hit the wood!" - 11/18/10 - Massasoit State Park - East Taunton, MA

- Riders: Matt, Al, Jeremy, Eric, OMMB

- Miles: 9.4 grueling miles

- Weather: mild, some moonlight

- Temp: 50 and dropping

- Trail Conditions: plenty of steep climbs (see the spikes on the map), some rooty and sandy parts
- Technical Level: uuuuhhh...I held up everyone else, nuf said
- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets:  well yeah, there was this mud hole....

Notes:  Night ride!  Damn these guys are fast...even at night!  If you see the Race Across The Sky 2010 movie, watch for the guy that says "fuuuuuuuuuuuck".  Well that's how I feel riding with this group..."fuuuuuuuuuuck".  I'm holding them up but they have assured me that it's not a problem, they don't mind stopping to chit-chat (while WAITING for me!).   I took a few wrong turns in the dark but could pick up the trail by looking for their lights.  Al was gentleman enough to stop and wait for me at a few intersections.  He was even good enough to yell "hit the wood!" over a mud crossing.  Well by the time my mind registered what Al was referring to, my front wheel was already half buried in mud and due to the fast rate of riding, I was sailing off into the lovely mud hole.  hmmm...that was fun.  I missed the wood.

Tidbits: Just like the last time I rode here, lots of hike-a-bike.  But I have to remember, any ride is a good ride!

Happy Trails,
OMMB

"Better chance on a lawn tractor" - 11/16/10 - Swansea, MA

- Riders: Bob, Matt, OMMB
- Miles: 7-ish
- Weather: light rain
- Temp: 55
- Trail Conditions: a bit slick
- Wildlife: just a friendly little Jack Russell...decided she didn't like Matt's socks and nipped at him, pulling his sock down...little bee-atch.
- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: Matt said he was having a bad day (some minor whoops) and I had a couple of slide outs.  Blame it on the wet conditions.

Notes:  Never fails...when I ride with these guys I feel like a slug.  If I were on a lawn mower, I think I'd have better luck keeping up with them.  Matt provided moral support by stating, "you'll get faster by riding with faster riders". I hope that means I'll still be allowed to join them...so they can rest while I catch up!

Tidbits:  Night ride at Massasoit on Thursdays...6:30. 

Happy Trails,
OMMB

"Uno, dos, tres, quatro" - 11/14/10 - Big River, RI

Four days of riding in a row...Life's Good!  Especially considering that around this time last year...I was still walking with trekking poles...Walk Report 11/7/09.

- Trailhead: Burnt Sawmill Rd
- Riders: T, OMMB

- Miles: 8.5

- Weather: just a little chilly at the start, but turned out perfect
- Temp: upper 50's
- Trail Conditions: nice singletrack, not overused
- Wildlife: two horses, four dogs

- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: totally clean for both of us...wow!

Notes: T was inspired to ride BR today...and there was no way I would disincline to acquiesce to her request.  I wanted to attempt a retrace of yesterday's ride, since the GPS had been out of juice. We rode a nice steady pace and had a great time.  It really was a great day to ride. Even though we heard some gun shots, we didn't see any hunters.  This didn't deter quite a few people from being in the woods today.  Hikers, horses, runners, and bikers.  This place seems to be getting VERY popular (all of a sudden).  Yet the singletrack we rode was very secluded. We successfully retraced most of yesterday's ride, but I could not remember the whole route...bailed to New London Turnpike on the south end (trying again would not be a bad thing!) We added our own variation of the segment back to the trailhead.

Tidbits: The hidden loop of single track is T-approved (reminded her of Bradbury)! 

Happy Trails,

OMMB





What the!  You're kidding right...?






...nope!

 

"Hello, here is your ass" - 11/13/10 - Big River - RI

- Trailhead: Burnt Sawmill Rd
- Riders: OMMB, Matt, Alan, Greg, Steve, Alfredo
- Miles: 12-ish
- Weather: frickin cold
- Temp: began at 31, ended at 60
- Trail Conditions: real nice single track, some puddles
- Technical Level: gad dang fast
- Wildlife: ten hunters, one dead deer
- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: Alfredo had a rough day.  Bent derailleur and a wipe out on a wooden bridge.  Landed in the thankfully very shallow stream after trying to cross an icy bridge (Caution, Bridges Freeze First).

Notes:  So I decided to join the Bikeworks crew for a Saturday morning ride.  That's "morning" to these guys... as in 7am morning.  After tossing and turning all night, anxious not to miss the ride, I made it to the shop on time (but with no chance to eat or drink anything substantial).  Well....got my ass handed to me.  Right from the start I was off their pace.  Is the difference the fact that they were riding $3500 to $5000 dollar 29ers, or just plain lack of conditioning on my part?  Most likely a bit of both.  I'll know better next time when I modify Teri's Kona 29 to suit me for a ride with them.  And the ride?  Awesome.  You would think after 10 plus years of riding Big River, I'd be familiar with all of the trails....nope.  I tailed them on some of the coolest single track I've seen.  I did notice that the entrance to these trails was sort of "hidden".  Matt says there's a few "hidden trails" at Big River...I'm guessing it's an attempt to keep the dirt bikes away.

Tidbits: Bob and Matt jumped in on the Leadville Trail 100 lottery again for next year...wish them luck!  And see the damn movie when released on DVD/Blu Ray....you'll enjoy it.

Happy Trails,
OMMB

"Can I have your autograph" - 11/12/10 - Swansea, MA

Another day off from work, so I went for an early (early for this Rebello) morning ride.  At the trailhead, I ran into Bob, Matt, Jack, and another Bikeworks dude just returning from their version of an "early" ride.  I greeted Bob and Matt with a "hello movie stars!", and they said "you saw it!".  Yes we did.  At the encore opening of Race Across The Sky 2010 about the Leadville Trail 100 race, we spotted Bob and Matt on the big screen. Out of the 1500+ people in the race, they actually both got interviewed. Pretty exciting.  Anyway...had a good ride, a bit warmer than yesterday but still quite chilly.  3.25 miles, 0 for 4 on the "hill"...damn.

Tidbits: Bob and Matt spent a few hours blowing leaves off the trails later in the day...looking forward to checking out their work.

Happy Trails,
OMMB

"Good Day Sunshine" - 11/11/10 - Village Park - Swansea, MA

Today was one of those days that make you wonder why every day can't be like one of these days.  We slept late, we brewed some coffee, we went for a ride, had a beer with lunch, took care of some work around the house, took a nap, made nachos for dinner, and settled down for TV on the couch.  If the need to work wasn't in the way, every day could be like today.  But remember...today is Veteran's Day.  Without our Veterans, none of us could possibly have days like this.  Thank a vet, today and every day...

Happy Trails,
OMMB

"Just one pinch is enough" - 11/06/10 - Village Park - Swansea, MA

Just got back from a quick ride out in the coolness... 50 degrees but felt much colder with a wintry feeling in the air.  And damn, it's getting dark real early, had the lights on from the start.  Clocks fall back an hour tonight so it's gonna get worse!  Plan was to ride the time trial loop in 30 minutes, but a blow out on the rear tire thwarted that attempt.  Not sure what happened, but it was bad enough to kill a Slime tube (must have pinched a rock or something).  Veered off the loop to attempt the hill I failed on last ride, still failed.  Not sure what it is about this hill.  Got about 3 miles in.

Off to the pub for some grub, and music by Patrick....

Happy Trails,
OMMB

P.B.S. - A couple of bike films to check out...


Life Cycles OFFICIAL Trailer from Life Cycles on Vimeo.



Race Across The Sky 2010 from Citizen Pictures on Vimeo.

Road report - Solvang Prelude - 11/6/10 - Santa Ynez Valley, CA

Ride: Solvang Prelude (Metric Century)

Riders: Hector, Ron, Sara, and Carlos
Length: 63 miles
Elevation gain: 3000+ ft
Duration: 3hrs 45 Min
Temp: 60s, overcast, summy at the end
Humidity: low
Rating: A+

For the last many years, the last regional road cycling event for the season is being the Solvang Prelude (for the organizers of this event it's the first ride of the next season - "Prelude", go figure!). Usually 2-3 thousand riders do the pilgrimage to Solvang, a small quiet Danish town 120 miles north of LA.

It's a beautiful hilly ride thru the Wine Country of Santa Ynez Valley (hard to enjoy in years past when riding at 20+ mph in a paceline or trying to concentrate on the climbs). This year for the first time, the event started in the nearby town of Buellton. This resulted in the removal of the longest climb of the event usually right at the end of the ride. Well, I paced myself during the event to leave something for the last climb that never came - may be next year.

The day started overcast, dark, and damp in some sections but it never rain; fortunately, the sun came out for the last 10+ miles. The downside this year was the lack of sag support (lucky for us we didn't need it) and the first sag stop was 33 miles into the ride, the lines to the porta-potty were longer than the ride - almost.

Like last year, Ron and I wore the Channel Island Bicycle Club colors. Three major improvements from years before, we started slow vice going hard and finishing wipe out, so we actually got to enjoy the view, and the last and most important, we had the company of two new Club members, Sara and Carlos "the poet" (additing beauty to the group...I'm talking about Sara, sorry Carlos...). Missing in action was Dave "the diesel" Simpson.

After the ride, we followed tradition and crashed into the Firestone brewery for brewskies and sliders. Also, we enjoyed the company of two civilians, Sara's parents that came for moral support and for some wine and brewskies as well.

Looking forward to do it again next year!!!

Note: Beware of weirdos everwhere. While in the first rest stop, a big fat bikerider approached Sara and told her that she had a smutch (Hector meant "smudge") in her back. She looked for it then she look at me, I looked but we couldn't find it. Then "the Creep" finally after insisting that it was a smutch (again..."smudge") somewhere in her, point down between her butt. Sara didn't know what to said (thanks for noticing or thanks for looking at my butt) so she and I got into our bikes and left. We stopped few yards to recover from the "creepy" memoment, then we resume with the ride. The smutch (three times a charm... "smudge") was eventually found.

Hector

"Triple C" - 11/2/10 - Village Park - Swansea, MA

- Miles: 5 or more

- Weather: clear, crispy, cool 

- Temp: 45, felt like 35

Notes: Blasted out into the chilly air today and added an outer loop to the normal route.  Good ride, only bog down was when my legs flamed out on a real steep section near the end of the ride.  Next time I'll muscle up this section!!

Tidbits: Hey Alexa turns 16 tomorrow... ZOINKS!

 

Happy Trails,
OMMB

"While out riding your bicycle..." - 10/31/10 - Village Park - Swansea, MA

Happy Halloween from the Scooby Doo gang!

"...take a moment to think how lucky you are to be riding your bicycle" - Bikeworks

  

It was a beautiful Fall morning on Halloween.  So we went for a ride.  3.5 miles of great scenery and great fun...

I don't doubt my father could fix this!

Tidbits:  Today, we also got to meet Cleopatra AND Cinderella...

...and their little dog too!

















Happy Halloween Trails,

T and OMMB

"Nonstop cholesterol drop" - 10/28/10 - Village Park - Swansea, MA

- Miles: 4
- Weather: nice, but humid for October (my hiney was sveaty)
- Temp: 67
- Trail Conditions: even more leaves

Notes: This ride resulted in one of the very rare occasions where I did not stop, crash, or even put a foot down!  Of course this 4 mile version of the trial loop avoids the infamous slanted root trail, where I usually stop, crash, or put my foot down.  Rode the course in 32 minutes.  I could get hooked on doing this everyday, after all it meets the Dr. Z criteria for lowering cholesterol by exercising vigorously for 30 minutes per day...uh... I mean... per week (sorry Mark).

Tidbits: my uber-talented son is in NYC recording with Pat McGee...nice!

Happy Trails,
OMMB

"Two organ donors and a microphone" - 10/26/10 - Village Park - Swansea, MA

"two organ donors and a microphone"

Unusually warm day for October...70 degrees and summer like.  So no better way to spend my telework lunch break than to ride a quick 39 minute 4 mile loop in Swansea.  Trail conditions were real nice considering the leaf cover, only a couple of hitchhiker sticks.  Ran into a helmet-less couple playing around on the mega-seesaw.  I just missed seeing the boy donor "attempting" to clear the seesaw.  We chatted for a bit, I suggested some places to ride as requested. 

Tidbits: wear a helmet, they don't protect your whole head, just most of it.

Virgin Records, 20 best album covers ever...

Happy Trails,
OMMB

Trail Report West - 10/23/10 - Gridley - Ojai, CA

Trail: Gridley
Length: 12.4 miles
Elevation: 3000+ ft
Duration: Ascent 1 hrs 45 mins (new record), descent 30 mins
Temp: 60s (low 50s at the top)
Humidity: 100%
Rating: A

After a rainy week, Ron and I decided to do Gridley (more than once Gridley has done us). Surprisingly, it was tacky but not muddy and few rock slides. However, the recent rains washed away the top layer of dirt so the terrain was rockier that usual including many big exposed and loose rocks. This made navigation through the rock gardens more interesting. We ascended at a record steady speed with few stops. The top was foggy and cool so we stopped for only a few minutes before heading back down. The descent was fast (due to the "tackynest") and furious (due to the exposed/loose rocks) - riding through the rock gardens felt like being strapped to a hydraulic hammer hitting concrete, the vibrations were so intense that I was waiting for the bike to break apart any minute (or my bones, whatever came first). Ironically, we stopped more times going down than up so we could relax the hands, arms, legs, neck, back, . . . all the extremities. Back at the car, we have our usual 65's and chips.

No question, Gridley is the queen of trails!!!

Hector

"Don't you call me jingles" - 10/24/10 - Village Park - Swansea, MA

- Riders: T, OMMB
- Miles: 4



Staying out of a hunter's aim takes some creativity...



...they may just shoot at us for lack of fashion sense!

Notes: Same route as yesterday, in reverse direction.  Nice ride, met up with a couple retrievers that we have seen before...nice pooches. Makes us want a trail dog (until we think of the poopy yard).  The trail seemed more manageable today, sticks and leaves are getting tossed aside clearing the way.  There's an old tree down across a trail on the east side of the loop, but it was easy to navigate around.  Nature's way of saying "I'm tired of you people wearing out this trail, go around!".

Tidbits: 

1. First ride with the hunter/coywolve deterrent alert (basically a huge jingle bell).  We mounted it on T's handlebar and all I could hear was Santa somewhere behind me the whole ride!  Seriously though, it worked well.  Good way to keep fellow riders in ear shot for group rides.  Has a nifty magnetic silencer...three bucks on Pricepoint.

2. SO, our favorite musician asked us to close the Admirals Pub with him last night.  And since we were heading back from a (dry) party in Maine, having a drink or two was a necessity.  Said musician expressed some interest in riding with us this morning.  Come to find out, this is what the musician was doing while we were out in the cold dealing with lung rot....

Happy Trails,

OMMB