Trail Report - 5/25/10 - Swansea Forest - MA

Went out for a night ride around 8 pm.  Weather was nice (69 degrees), although a bit humid since very warm temps were moving in for the next day.  Didn't experience anything freaky...only drawback is the amount of bugs you eat when riding at night (nearly 320 were tasted).  Surprisingly spotted a few birds of some sort (maybe only hallucinations).  Did almost the same loop as last group ride on Sunday...4.75 miles.

Tidbits: 6 years ago today, she said "yes"!  :)

Happy Trails,
OMMB

Trail Report - 5/23/10 - Swansea Town Forest - MA

Hey!

OMMB went riding with some kids.  Here's the VLOG highlights...

What's this?  A chip off the old block stuck to my shoulder?

CHOMP!

Honestly, I think there's a gnome in this picture!

- Trailhead: Swansea Library

- Riders: Greg, Patrick, Sara, Spencer, Teri, OMMB

- Distance: 5.25 miles

- Weather: great!

- Temp: 71

- Trail Conditions: dry with a touch of mud where expected ("you KNEW there was MUD down there!")

- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: Patrick with a YIKES off the side of the Smoke Monster Seesaw!  Sara with an assumed WHOOPS (we only saw the damage).

Notes: A real good time!  Got a slow start due to the junk tubes OMMB has laying around in the shed but all went well...and no one got LOST!

Tidbits: A first...Greg on his new bike (a sweet ride).  A last... final episode of LOST is tonight!!!  (sigh)   (do you think Kate would consider riding with us sometime? ...oh alright Sawyer can go too!)

Happy Trails,

OMMB

oh wait, there's more! by special request...

Trail Report - 5/17/10 - Swansea Town Forest - MA

- Trailhead: Da Library
- Riders: T, OMMB
- Distance: 4 miles
- Weather: Clear
- Temp: 65
- Trail Conditions: real nice, dry
- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: a clean ride on a dirty trail

Notes: Teri asked to take me for a ride...a bike ride.  It was a perfect day, so after work we did the typical loop in Swansea.  Trail conditions were real nice, Teri lead the way for most of the ride!

Tidbits: Hector's got a new kid to go with his 2 sons... it's a girl, born today!  Congrats to Hector Knievel and family!!!

Happy Trails,
OMMB

Trail Hike Report - 5/14/10 - Diamond Head (Le' ahi) Start Park - Honolulu, O'ahu, HI

- Trailhead: Park Main Entrance

- Hikers: Sadie, OMMB

- Distance: 1.6 miles

- Weather: partly cloudy then clear

- Temp: 85

- Trail Conditions: hardpack, some loose rock, rock ledge, cement steps

- Technical Level: easy enough for a caveman, not for an old lady

- Wildlife: some crazy girl running uphill with hand weights and balancing a bottle of water on her head...wild!

- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: thankfully none for us, but an old lady must have fallen and she couldn't get up

Notes:  We hiked the historic trail to the top of Diamond Head Crater.  "The 0.8 mile hike from trailhead to the summit is steep and strenuous, gaining 560 feet as it ascends from the crater floor."  The view from the top is well worth the hike!  Near the summit there is a 225 foot tunnel. On the way down we got to witness a Fire and Rescue helicopter land on a peak and drop off two EMTs.  Apparently an older woman experienced some issues while climbing up.  After the EMTs checked her out, she was able to walk down with their help where an ambulance was waiting.  It was great that she attempted the vigorous hike...I guess.

Tidbits: Read the warning signs at the trailhead. If you don't understand English, find someone to translate!

Didn't know the Jetsons frequented O'ahu (do they know the Obama's?)...

Best way to curb hunger after a hike is a shrimp lunch plate on the North Shore...

Happy Trails,

OMMB

Click on...

http://www.hawaiistateparks.org/parks/oahu/index.cfm?park_id=15

Trail Report - 5/4/10 - Swansea Forest - Swansea, MA

- Trailhead: Swansea Library

- Riders: OMMB

- Distance: 4.5 miles

- Weather: cool, humid

- Temp: 64

- Trail Conditions: slightly wet due the rain this afternoon

- Wildlife:  Heard LOTS of Spring Peepers, nothing seen or squished. Listen here...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Springpeepers.ogg

Notes: Had to wait for the rain storms to pass before heading out, so it was "lights on".   Something about riding in reduced daylight seems to make the trails more manageable.  It's a matter of just riding over the rough stuff without thinking about it... no time for your brain to tell you that danger approaches!

Tidbits: Investing in a good lighting system (head and bike mounted) is well worth being able to squeeze additional riding time out of a day.  If you don't have the money, find a nice wife to buy them as a gift for you!  ;)

Happy Trails,

OMMB

Trail Report - 5/2/10 - Freetown State Forest - Freetown, MA

- Trailhead: Main entrance to park, parking lot left

- Riders: Patrick, OMMB

- Distance: about 4 rocky miles

- Weather: perfect

- Temp: 77

- Trail Conditions: rocky, with some rocks, and some boulders, some bridges, some rocks, some roots but mostly rocks (get the idea?)

- Technical Level: Difficult, this trail is definitely not for beginners

- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: Strange sight...I came around a corner and witnessed Pat balancing on his front wheel, staring down at the ground.  That only lasted for a few milliseconds before a professional slam down!  What started out as a very slow developing endo, ended in a very rude straight down dismount.  One "Oh Sheet" for Patrick!

Notes: This ride was kick-ass (as in ass kicking, kicked ass, ass breaking, etc).  We looped the single track off Bent Rim Trail (now that's an appropriate trail name) which presented more rocks and boulders than a dry river bed!  This trail was very challenging (but isn't that the fun part of the sport?), we were pretty kicked in a very short time (1 mile of rocks = 23 miles of tar).  Kind of embarrassing since we only covered a very small part of the park.  I spent a lot of time here when growing up in the neighboring town of Dartmouth, but covering the miles of trails was a bit easier on a dirt bike!

Tidbits: If you want a more leisurely ride, stick to the double-track.  Nice pine forests and sandy conditions similar to those found on Cape Cod.  Don't miss "The Ledge".

Happy Trails,

OMMB