Hi All,

At our December get together last night some interest was expressed for doing another ride tomorrow. The weather forecast includes a high of 45, calm winds and lots of sunshine. That's pretty good conditions for a December day. Below you'll find my 2009 write up on the Cotton Valley Rail Trail in Wolfeboro.

The rail trail is crushed, packed stone and almost 7 miles long. In all we’ll peddle about 15 pretty easy miles on this loop route. From the trailhead at the restored train depot on Railroad Avenue, the crushed stone Russell C. Chase Bridge Falls Path leads to the rail trail proper. After the falls, the trail goes by a beaver pond with great views and bird watching and it also passes through some interesting tornado damage from 2008. Causeways that lead across Crescent Lake, then along Lake Wentworth are another stunning feature on this trail. At times you're surrounded by water on either side, and the views are nothing short of spectacular. And in a unique rail trail twist, sections of the trail actually run between the old rails, which are still in place and visible, though you cannot see the ties.

It ends at the intersection of Cotton Valley Road. Here we’ll go left (west) and return on Cotton Valley Road which becomes College Road. Both roads have gently rolling hills with the exception of one steep, but short hill on the way back. To get back to the rail trail and avoid the busy routes into Wolfeboro we’ll take a left on Westwood Drive to Tennis Court Lane which leads back to the rail trail and the center of Wolfeboro.

After the ride we can explore the shops and points of interest in Wolfeboro, one of the original resort towns on Lake Winnipesauke.

The Wolfeboro trailhead is at the restored train depot on Railroad Avenue, just west of the Route 109 and Route 28 intersection. Parking is available at the depot. Take route 16 south to route 28 (just before Ocean State Job Lot) in Ossipee. Go west about 9 miles on route 28 to Wolfeboro center. Then take a right on route 109 to Railroad Ave.

Please be ready to start the ride at 11:00am.

So you're invited to join in the fun!

Joan

North Fryeburg Ramble

With snow still on the ground it looks like we'll have to ride on roads that were plowed after last Wednesday's storm. So how about meeting at the North Fryeburg fire station at 10:00am? We'll decide on a route then.

Still Wanna Ride?

Tomorrow's forecast is in the gray zone for bike worthy conditions. Many of the core group will be away for the holiday. So if there are fellow nut cases who still want to ride send me an email and let me know. If I hear from a few of you by this afternoon we'll put something together based on our combined interests. One way or another I'll post something more definitive tonight.

There has been no groundswell of enthusiasm for a ride tomorrow. So let's look forward to better weather next week.

Tour de North Conway

Let's meet at the Scenic Overlook in North Conway. We'll ride through the fields near the Saco on dirt roads, trails and a bit of route 16 to downtown North Conway. Then we'll explore Whitaker Woods before taking a trail along the scenic railroad tracks back to our starting point.

Right now the NWS is forecasting a 30% chance of rain tomorrow so if the weather turns against us we'll never be very far from our cars. Check back Tuesday morning to make sure the ride is still on.

Meet at 10am. See you there.

Bog Dam Loop

Tomorrow looks like a fabulous day for a ride! And here's another new route to explore! The Bog Dam Ride is a pretty 17 - 18 mile dirt road loop in the WMNF section of Berlin. On Friday the road surface was very smooth and dry too.

Initially the road wends its way along the upper Ammonoosuc and then it rises through the woods with occasional views of the surrounding mountains. The first six miles ascend to the highest point of the ride and while its not quite all downhill from there the hard work is mostly done.

For those of you who haven't ridden with us for a while this is the ride for you. The surface is really smooth and tomorrow is going to be perfect for riding. The leaves are down and we'll be getting plenty of sunshine. For more info on the ride check out Marty Basch's "White Mountain Ride Guide" 2nd edition p83.

If you'd like to carpool meet at The Old Jackson Town Hall at 9:25am We'll start the ride at 10:30an.

Directions - Go north on route 16 to Berlin. Just after the road becomes one way in downtown Berlin go left on route 110. Follow 110 for about 7+ miles to York Pond Road on the left hand side. Go 1.5 miles on York Pond Road to the point where FR 15 forks to the left. Take FR 15 and park up on the right in a large dirt parking lot.

Harmon Notch Loop

Here’s a brand new ride! And it’s a notch ride. What? A fat tire notch ride you say? Yes indeedy! This is a really pretty ride through a notch that most of us have never heard of. Harmon Notch is located between Peary Mountain and Frost Mountain. The best part is that it’s only a 175’ elevation gain and most of the climb is on a good section of dirt road. What a cheap date!

The starting point for this ride is at The Maine Information Center on route 302 in Fryeburg. We’ll head south on Haleytown Road which has been recently repaved and there’s not enough O’s in smooth to do it justice. Then it’s left on Farnsworth, which is a dirt road, and after a mile or so we’ll hop onto a jeep track that crosses the Little Saco and then heads back to Haleytown.

At Hampshire Road we’ll go left and head in the direction of a dirt road called Harmon Notch Road. After the last house this road gets narrower and towards the notch area there is a half mile section that could benefit from better drainage and fewer rocks. Don’t let this “spook” you it’s no harder than other rides we’ve done. And for some of us it will provide an excellent opportunity to walk our bikes. We’ll come out on a different section of Farnsworth Road and head west. Then we’ll head north on Porter Road (dirt) and take the newly constructed Mountain Division Rail Trail in Fryeburg back to our starting point.

Wear bright clothes, it is hunting season. I didn’t see any hunters in this area when I was scouting this ride, but it’s best to be bright this time of year. In all we should cover about 16 – 17 miles. Dress warmly. Expect mud and perhaps a bit of left over snow.

Carpooling – Meet at the scenic overlook in North Conway at 10:20am.

We’ll start the ride at 11am from the Maine info center. Don’t forget to bring a lunch.

Tour de Gorham

Here’s another fun ride for you this Tuesday. This perennial favorite is about a 14 mile circumnavigation of Gorham on mostly dirt roads and trails with a bit of paved road thrown in too. The starting point is at the route 2 parking lot for the Presidential Rail Trail.

We’ll start out on the gravel Gorham Emergency Road which is closed to motorized vehicles except in (you guessed it) emergencies when Route 2 through the center of town is impassable. At the airport we’ll get onto the pipeline trail which will take us by the south side of the airport thus avoiding the roads of downtown Gorham. After about a mile we’ll cross route 16 and take a residential road to a foot bridge across the Peabody River and get back on the pipeline trail. Here there will be a short but very steep hill to walk up with the bikes. And then it's a pretty much of a straight shot on the pipeline trail back to Route 2 and North Road. There is the option to leave the pipeline trail at various points and take Route 2 if the group prefers a smoother paved surface for this segment of the Tour de Gorham.

As we cross over the Androscoggin River we can view the progress to the repairs on the Shelburne Dam which was seriously damaged by Hurricane Irene. Next we’ll follow Hogan Road west for about 5 miles on the virtually untraveled north side of the Androscoggin River where there will be awesome views of the river and several power dams. Then we’ll take a left onto the Presidential Rail Trail which will take us back to our cars. Most of this ride will be on pretty flat and smooth trails and roads. The exception is the pipeline trail which has rolling hills and several excellent opportunities to walk the bikes.

Directions: Go north on Route 16 to Gorham. When route 16 meets route 2 at the T intersection turn left. Go through Gorham on Routes 16 and 2 until Route 2 diverges to the left at the traffic light . You'll see the trail head parking lot on the right about .8 miles after you turned left on Route 2.

For those of you who want to carpool meet at The Old Town Hall in Jackson, across the road from the post office at 9:20.

Let's start the ride at 10:00am.