Trail Report - 3/18/10 - Weetamoo Woods - Tiverton, RI

- Trailhead: End of Lafayette Rd (North side of WW) - Riders: OMMB
- Distance: 5 miles
- Weather: perfect
- Temp: 68
- Trail Conditions: I'm surprised there aren't any Water Buffalo native to New England
- Technical Level: intermediate to expert (some trails are very rocky)
- Wildlife: just a friendly retriever, likes to chase bikes

Notes: Awesome day for an "almost" Spring ride!

Happy Trails,
OMMB

Trail Report - 3/17/10 - Swansea Town Forest - Swansea, MA

- Trailhead: parking lot behind the Swansea Public Library
- Riders: OMMB
- Distance: 4 miles
- Weather: NICE!!
- Temp: 58
- Trail Conditions: muddy and wet where they was never mud and water before!
- Technical Level: intermediate
- Wildlife: a hawk

Notes: With all the rain and flooding the area has had, the mud holes were so deep they would startle a water buffalo! The mucky conditions throughout the otherwise normal single-track made for tough going. Even the bridges over small streams were washed out. I attempted to stay on higher ground so investigated some trails over the many rock outcroppings...turned out to be fun stuff.

Tidbits: Greg the Italian boy is really mostly Irish... who knew?

Happy Trails,
OMMB

Trail Report - 3/10/10 - Swansea Town Forest - Swansea, MA

- Trailhead:  parking lot behind the Swansea Public Library
- Riders: OMMB
- Distance: 5 miles
- Weather: clear and chilly (the day warmed up later...I think this pseudo-Spring is ending)
- Temp: 35
- Trail Conditions: good
- Technical Level: intermediate
- Climbs: 15%
- Wildlife: hawk or pheasant or something flying fast
- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: 1 whoops off a log bridge and into the cold mud (good news... 1) I got up, 2) didn't land in the stream)

Notes: Pushed out an early morning ride in an another attempt to get the strength built up this week...yes now I'm sore,  ...but feeling much better on the bike each day.  Still not ready to ride with Bikeworks just yet (nor with those Left Coast animals).

Tidbits:  Trailhead behind the library is better than (meaning there are no rivers to cross) behind Colt Jr High.

Happy Trails,
OMMB

PS-Sunday Morning Group Rides will be coming very soon..........

Trail Report - 3/8/10 - Swansea Town Forest - Swansea, MA

- Trailhead: Case Jr. High  - Riders: T, Mark, OMMB
- Distance: 4.5 miles
- Weather: clear, windy
- Temp: 60
- Trail Conditions: some mud, not too bad
- Technical Level: beginner/intermediate
- Climbs: 15%
- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: n/a

Notes: We couldn't resist taking advantage of this psuedo-Spring (60 degrees in March? It's still Winter!!)

Tidbits:  The Bikeworks crew has built a pretty large seesaw here, bigger than the one at Big River (remember Hector Kneivel?).  Did NOT try it this time...MAYBE next time (can you say "baby"???)

Happy Trails,
OMMB

Trail Report - 3/6/10 - Swansea Town Forest - Swansea, MA

- Trailhead:  Case Jr High - Riders: T, OMMB
- Distance: 4 miles
- Weather: clear
- Temp: 50+
- Trail Conditions: typical New England Spring conditions...water, mud, mud, and mud
- Technical Level: beginner/intermediate
- Climbs: 10%
- Wildlife: 2 Trail hounds (Jack Russell Terriers)...no worries, they liked us
- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets:  clean ride (aside from the muddied bikes and legs!)

Notes: the forecast for 3 consecutive days of 50 degree temps drove us to celebrate an early Spring (even if short lived)... so yard work, mtb ride, and a G&T sunset by the fire had us looking forward to many more days like this!!

Tidbits: I need thorn proof tire/tubes!!!

Happy Trails,
OMMB

Post-Ride Vander-Blog - 2/26/10 - Chesebro, CA

- Ride length: 16+ miles Time: ~3 hours

- Technical Difficultly: Moderate

- Oh Sheets: Pretty much just Hector

- Climbing: Pleasant w/ exception of hell-hill

- Temp: 70's

- Track: See Ron's google link below

- Rating: A- (it was an A until Hector got us lost)

Tim V's Notes:

So I made the decision to join the "left-coast crew" (Scott, Hector, Ron, Juan) for a "Friday Cheezwhiz ride". As usual, Hector masterminded the ride and all I had to do was show up at Cheseboro @ 1100. Did I mention that Hector planned the ride. "Plan" is an interesting term because as it turns out there was a fair bit of this ride he'd actually not ridden. More on that later. Did I mention that Hector neglected to give a clear indication of ride distance. He mumbled something about 9 or 10 miles and I'm thinking ..."10 times 1.5 = at least 15 miles...and I've got 1 bar and 1.5 liters of water". So we started the ride @ 1120 or so. The 1st four miles are a leisurely uphill non-technical ride with the exception of the "staircase". Staircase is a classic 50 foot or so section that requires one to pick a line and then hope you've got your mojo going. Apparently none of us had that particular form of "mojo" as none of us made it...though Ron and I came pretty close. Juan just skipped that mojo altogether. After another 1/2 mile or so we came to an intersection where some really nice downhill singletrack started. I made the mistake of talking to some downhill dressed guys while Hector and the boys took off. "Downhill boys" made some false claims of excessive poison oak...so I donned my uber-sexy arm warmers. This downhill had some rain induced technical sections (nicely rutted) and here is where I ran into Juan picking his way carefully downhill sans the bike. I eventually caught up to Hector and proceeded to "tailgate" him down another technical section. Does everyone know that Hector has some mild form of vertigo? Well, I forgot...and then suddenly remembered as Hector lost control and dislodged a large rock (perhaps boulder is a better term) onto my path. Hector managed to not crash and I chose a new line...so it all ended well. At this point Hector tells me..."oh yeah, this is where we turned back last time". In other words, we're now on an adventure vice a ride. Sweet! Fortunately, we've got "new school" with us. That would be Ron and his ultra functional iPhone. We ride on for another mile and then come to our first real uphill...and this turns out to be a "hell-hill" of sorts before mellowing out. At this point Hector doesn't exactly know where we are...only that we've gone about 9 miles. At this point, I'm thinking another liter of water in my camelback would have been a wise choice. We then proceeded to ride on an up and down fireroad...a fireroad that was supposed to end at the top of each visible section...but somehow extended and extended. But then, just as Ron said, we ended up back at the intersection of the downhill single-track...and had a nice 4 mile or so fast ride back to the car. All in all, a really great ride. Juan has post-ride beer drinking (I mean carbo-loading) photos.

Hector's "clarification":

A clarification, we were never lost. After Tim's "hell-hill", Ron and I tried to alter the planned ride to make it easy for those complaining of the hills and extra miles. However, we ended completing the planned ride.

Google Earth File <http://www.garafa.com/GPSKit/tracks/2390c9bcc8697028e6d9bc88c39c51ca6a681d1e_22.kml>

Google Maps Link <http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://www.garafa.com/GPSKit/tracks/2390c9bcc8697028e6d9bc88c39c51ca6a681d1e_22.kml>

GPX File <http://www.garafa.com/GPSKit/tracks/2390c9bcc8697028e6d9bc88c39c51ca6a681d1e_22.gpx>

Trail Report - 2/21/10 - Case Jr High - Swansea, MA

- Place: Swansea town forest
- Riders: OMMB
- Distance: 4 miles
- Weather: Clear & windy
- Temp: 36
- Trail Conditions: Some snow, ice, and mud
- Technical Level: intermediate
- Climbs: 10% of ride
- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: none...took it real easy

Notes: First trail ride this year. Yesterday's sunny and warm temps (high of 50) at the Extreme Beer Festival in Boston prompted OMMB to hit the trails today. Damn I'm out of shape! Need to build the lungs and leg power all over again...joy.

Tidbits: Extreme beers are those brewed with a 7% and higher alcohol content. There were 100 different beers at the event...you get the picture! Sadie, Greg, Patrick, Robin, Teri, and OMMB have already decided to go again next year.

Happy Trails,
OMMB

Ski Report - 2/19/10 - Mount Sunapee - Newbury, NH

- Ski/Riders: Alexa (board), Teri (skis), OMMB (skis)
- Weather: Windy, Sunny in the morning, Cloudy afternoon
- Temp: 36 (wind chill in the 20's)
- Trail Conditions: Packed powder, good coverage
- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: several cool wipe outs by Alexa; one whoops by OMMB

Notes: Last minute decision to head up to Sunapee on Friday turned out to be lots of fun. ATK was glad to be part of the "ski gang" this week and did great. Got some cool shots of Alexa doing some backside 360's. Despite the holiday week, we got LOTS of runs in. Only OMMB mishap was attempting an off trail climb up an embankment without enough speed...whoops, backwards and sit down onto the slope.

Tidbits: Sunapee has an awesome new terrain park with 46 elements...snowboarder's dream!

Happy Trails,
OMMB

Ski Report - 2/18/10 - Yawgoo Valley Ski Area - RI

- Skiers: Ruby and Piper
- Weather: Partly Sunny
- Temp: 46
- Trail Conditions: Packed powder

Notes: Ruby and Piper's first day of skiing! They took lessons and did a fantastic job...Grandad took lots of video to prove it!

Tidbits: Patrick and Robin saw that sending the kids to private lessons their first time out is well worth it. Yawgoo (RI's only surviving ski area) is a great place to start.

Happy Trails,
OMMB

Ski Report - 2/17/10 - Wachusett Mtn - Princeton, MA

- Ski/Riders: Alexa (board), Sadie (board), OMMB (skis)
- Weather: Mostly cloudy
- Temp: 36
- Trail Conditions: Packed powder, excellent coverage
- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: none

Notes: Sadie, who thought she would be lagging behind us, blew us away! Even though she hadn't snowboarded in a few years, she rode like a pro. She's great at the whole toe/heal thing, and gave some pointers to Alexa who was catching on by the end of the day.

Tidbits: Get there early on holiday weeks...you can get a full day's ski/riding in before the crowds hit at noon.

Happy Trails,
OMMB

Ski Report - 2/7/10 - Wachusett Mtn - Princeton, MA

- Ski/Riders: Alexa (board), OMMB (skis)
- Weather: Clear and cold
- Temp: 19
- Trail Conditions: Packed powder, excellent coverage
- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets: none

Notes: First day out on Alexa's new board and OMMB's new hips. All new equipment worked very well (better than expected)!! We did stay on beginner and intermediate slopes to avoid any crashes, since I'm not too sure how that would feel at this point (can you say "baby"?). Alexa picked up where she left off last season and continues to attempt the sweet jumps she likes so much!! Unfortunately due to back issues, ATK had to lodge ski during this trip...she'll be ready next time!

Tidbits: Although this was a weekend, lift lines were tolerable. The lodge was another story...

Happy Trails,
OMMB

Trail Report - 1/27/10 - East Bay Bikepath - RI

DAMN... I forgot how uncomfortable bike seats are!!!  

YES...I suited up in full Winter garb and busted into Stage 6 today!   All worked well on this easy ride.  

- Place:  Warren/Bristol, RI

- Riders: OMMB

- Distance: 5 miles

- Weather: clear

- Temp: 42

- Trail Conditions: black tar (all the snow and ice finally melted)

- Technical Level: age 5

- Hills: nope

- Whoops, Yikes, and Oh Sheets:  not likely (good thing)

- Notes:  Felt surprisingly good...lung rot and all

Tidbits:  Happy New Year!  After a couple more easy rides, I'll be ready for the Swansea trails...

Happy Trails,
OMMB

Trail Report - 11/11/09 - Santa Monica Mountains - CA

Nice long 18.4 mile ride...

Did I mention that Hector lies? Well, he seduced us all with tales of magical singletrack in the Santa Monica mountains along an approximate 12 mile loop. So we all (usual West Coast crew of Juan, Scott, Ron, Hector, Tim) made plans for our gov't sponsored holiday. We all met up around 0915 at a small strip of road Hector referred to as a "parking lot". I was very impressed to see Juan sporting a cycling jersey. Apparently he's done wearing cotton hoody's (more likely he's tired of me giving him grief). We started riding up this really nice singletrack with a very comfortable grade - read EASY CLIMBING. After 2.8 miles we reached a fire road where the grade takes a significant turn for the worse. Fortunately the road goes both up and down and the view west over the Pacific ocean is nothing short of magnificent. After 1.5 miles we reached a paved road which led to another singletrack known as "circle X". This singletrack proved to also be very pleasant with both ups and downs and great views. The only thing is - it felt quite long...and when we finally descended to the parking lot...it turns out we'd done 9.2 miles. So...the key is that Hector doesn't mean to mislead you...you just have to understand "Hector math". When he says a ride is X miles...you simply have to multiply X by 1.5 to get at the real ride length. We headed back after snarfing down our usual energy stuff. Much to my consternation, the brakes on my bike started acting up and I noticed "oh sweet, my pads are completely gone". More on that later. So we rode back and there was one exceeding tough hill on the fire road. You know the kind...where your heart feels like its going to boom-boom-boom right out of your chest. After that it was all gravy. I waited up at the start of the last bit of singletrack until Hector arrived..and then we waited. Apparently Scott had a flat. I ultimately had to go...so off I went. The next 2.8 miles are awesome winding singletrack w/ banked turns. It would have been perfect except my brakes decided that they either wouldn't work -or- simply just locked up. I got to the bottom and took off thereby missing the post-ride Dos Equis festival. Its unfortunate because an hour later I started having those post ride "feed-me" jitters.

Temp - Cool
Conditions - Hazy
Trail - Pleasantly difficult but lengthy Oh Sheets - See brake issue above

** Peace bro...we miss having you on the rides **

Tim V. (aka "The King")

Walk Report - 11/7/09 - Salem, MA

Well, I think it's safe to say I've reached Stage 5...

...can get around on two feet without too much of a wobble.   For longer distances, I've been using trekking poles to maintain an even keel.  Did quite of bit of walking around Salem, MA with Sadie, Greg, and Teri on the Witch "trail" yesterday and only a little soreness today.  Next stage....get on the freakin bike! (hopefully sometime today)

Tidbits: 

1) Those looney's in 1692 killed 20 people fearing they were witches!  Huh?  Did they not think a witch should be able to escape before hanging and pressing??

2) At the Witch Museum we learned... Fear (2 sick girls) + Catalyst (Dr. could not explain sickness) = Scapegoat (20 accused of witchcraft)

3) The Azorean Restaurant in Gloucester... awesome!

Happy Trails (soon!),

OMMB

Trail Report West - 10/29/09 - Sycamore Canyon - Port Hueneme, CA

Steve O - Bomber Ride.
The West Coast boys had another epic mountain bike ride yesterday. We had the full crew of Ron, Hector, Scott, Juan and Tim. It seems inconceivable, but, this was a ride I've never done within Sycamore Canyon. Anyway we all arrived at 1600 in Sycamore. The summer crowds are long gone and its the perfect time to do some trail poaching. We started at 1615 in cool breezy conditions and took the fire road to Boney Mountain Trail. Juan apparently hasn't gotten the memo that "cotton kills". He was wearing some sort of jumbo cotton hoody. Did I mention this trail is off-limits...and we're bad, bad, bad, bad for riding it. But, the trail is good, good, good. Very narrow singletrack and pleasantly rideable. In other words, bikers haven't tweakered it up. It might be perfect except for the ridiculous gradient that starts after a few hundred meters. Did I mention this climb is hard? Think "Hell Hill" but longer and more technical. We all struggled a bit on the climb, well at least Scott, Juan and I did. It seems Ron is turning into Iron Man material and Hector just is very aerodynamic with those roadie legs of his. The reward of this climb is amazing views from about 1300 ft of the Pacific Ocean, Serrano Canyon and the Oxnard Plain. Attached photo is taken near the top. The other reward is the descent. Think 18 inch wide singletrack with a rolling descent into a canyon. You can really bomb this. Something I started to do until Hector started screaming at me about a "pipe"? Pipe? Bro - I gave that up a long time ago. Well, said pipe ends up being an exposed (open) drain pipe that sits directly next to the trail at a pretty deep gully. Hit this too fast and you will have a problematic encounter with the pipe! Its one of the few technical features on this part of the trail. Ultimately you hit the bottom of Serrano Canyon and basically ride that out back to the main trail. It actually quite dark and overgrown in the canyon and filled with poison oak. There are a couple walking sections through the drainage...but otherwise pretty good. Great trail and Scott had Dos Equis on ice for us at the end. Sweetness. Look forward to doing this trail with you...
Length: ~11 miles
Elevation gain: ~1200 ft
Yikes: Pipe (see above), Poison Oak, Juan in cotton
Temp: 65 degrees
Tim

Pumpkin Report - 10/26/09

RI's Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular...
Here's a small sample of some of the Jack-O-Lanterns at the display at Roger William's Park Zoo.  Highly recommend this incredible show...

...YEP, those are PUMPKIN CARVINGS!!!!

Wobble Report - 10/26/09

Follow up with the surgeon today... x-rays look good (see for yourself) and OMMB is cleared (and encouraged) to walk or go hiking with trekking poles (versus crutches) and biking if able.  Wait, what...YES BIKING!  So I'm planning to do some extended walks this week and if all goes well I'll be on a road bike this weekend! 

Still at Stage 4 (wobble walk without crutches) but Stage 5 is nearly in sight!

Marathon Report - 10/18/09 - Newport, RI

SHE DID IT!!!  Anna completed her first full marathon today!  And she did it in the worst of conditions...during a Nor'Easter with 35-40 knot winds, freezing cold rain, and sleet. 

Many CONGRATS to our favorite Swede! 

Wave Report - 10/15/09 - CA

From the CA surfer boy...

1) Bacteria levels = high (yeah Tim, need to explain this one)
2) Waves = Overhead (due to storm)
3) Conditions = Unruly
4) Crowd Factor = Low (due to 1-3 above)
5) Onlookers = High (due to 1-3 above)
6) Wave count = 3 (with 2 exceptionally large and unruly rides)
7) Wipeouts on takeoff = 2 (longboard w/little rocker unable to deal w/pitching takeoff)*

* operator error a contributing factor...

Tim V.



(nice butt Tim, I see you've been workin out)






...thanks Tim, that was a fun ride, I didn't even get wet - next time please translate to East Coast lingo ;)

And Tim's translation...

1) The bacteria levels are always high right after it rains b/c the rain washes "sheet" down the normally dry riverbeds into the ocean.

2) "unruly" refers to wind chop...something I'm sure he's (ommb) seen a lot of in his lobstering days.

3) "rocker" refers to how flat the board is. more rocker = less flat. Typically longboard have less rocker than small boards. Less rocker is good for paddling, catching slower waves and not so good for pitching fast waves, steep faces, late takeoffs, etc...as those tend to submerge the nose. Once that happens you're done.

...nice!

Waddle Report - 10/15/09 (One Month Since Surgury)

A BLESSED EVENT!  I got news today that I no longer have to take the blood thinner and blood tests are not needed!  What does that mean?   ...I can now once again drink sweet nectars of the Gods!  yep...beer, wine, cava, g&t's, & martini's can now be consumed at will!!

Regarding my vertical status...I'm able to walk for short distances without the crutches. Not really a "walk" but more of a penguin-like "waddle". Great fun.  Tomorrow I begin the outpatient PT.

Tidbit:  AFG is running her first marathon on Sunday.  We'll be there in Newport cheering her on (with umbrellas of course)!!  GO SWEDE-E!!!!

Happy Trails are in the distance,

OMMB