Another Ride Yikes!!!

How about one last ride? It will be a sunny December 1st and one for the record books! There are three rail trails in northern New Hampshire that we have not explored and they are in the same area. So why not do them all at once!!!

There is the 9.4 mile Warren Recreational Trail, which runs from Warren to Haverhill. Then we can take Bushwood Road to North Haverhill for 7.6 miles and hop on the 4.3 mile Blackmount spur line to Woodsville. The last section is the southern end of the Ammonoosuc Rail Trail for a 9.1 mile ride from Woodsville to Lisbon.

We’ll have to bundle up as the noontime forecasted temperature is 32 degrees. This will give us all the more reason to keep moving to stay warm and we do have over 30 miles to cover, assuming we spot some cars. Otherwise the out and back ride will be over 60 miles.

If we elect the out and back ride we will have the mother of all “walkable” hills for more than a mile on Bushwood Road. But heck this will only warm us up as the sun is setting. Did I mention that you should bring bike lights? If you don’t have one of these you can just duct tape a flashlight to your helmet!

The trail head is in the center of Warren where there is a missile which is standing upright and seemingly ready to launch. Meet you at the missile for blast off!

Questions? Comments? Click on the word "comments" just below this line.

YIKES! Another ride?

Tuesday November 24, 2009
Is this our last ride of 2009? Maybe, so let’s do it up in style. Let’s bop on down to tony Wolfeboro for a ride on the Cotton Valley Rail Trail. After the ride we can explore the shops and points of interest in Wolfeboro, one of the original resort towns on Lake Winnipesauke.

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.

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.

Check this blog again on Tuesday morning if the weather forecast deteriorates.

Fat Tire Cruiser Party Sunday December 13 - Details to Follow

Bob's Great Hill Loop

Ready for some back country roads in Tamworth? Well Bob has found a great 13-14 mile ride for us on mostly dirt roads in the back woods and farmland of northwestern Tamworth. This route is straight, curvy, flat, rolling, woodsy and open. Sounds like it has it all eh? The hills, for the most part are gentle, although there may be a couple that are "walkable". The fields surrounding the farms and summer "cottages" will give us magnificent views of the nearby scenery and mountains.

Going clockwise out of Tamworth center we'll ride on Cleveland Road to Brown Hill Road to Pease Hill Road to Great Hill Road to Hemenway Road, to 113A to Old Mail Road and back to our starting point on 113A. Don't be too concerned about the name Hill in most of these streets, it's not as serious as it sounds. Really.

We'll start the ride from lovely Tamworth center which is just west of the intersection of 113 and 113A. There is public parking behind the Town Offices building which is on the right. Please be ready to ride at 10:am.

Right now the weather forecast sounds great. But check back here on Monday night if it deteriorates. Also I haven't included a carpooling spot as we don't seem to need one on most days. See you there.

DEER HILL LOOP

November 10, 2009
The weather forecast looks good for another ride. And Hurricane Mountain Road is still open. So let’s explore a new area in North Chatham NH. With all the summer traffic gone, we’ll have this beautiful spot almost all to ourselves, even route 113. When I was scouting there last week it was so tranquil and the views were magnificent especially on the section around Shell Pond.

We’ll loop around Deer Hill on route 113, Stone House Road, Shell Pond Trail, a bit of Shell Pond Loop Trail and Deer Hill Road. Most of the loop will be on dirt roads or trails. There will be one trail segment that is more walk able than ride able especially where we will link up to Deer Hill Road from the Shell Pond area. This 8 mile loop is pretty flat and easy to ride. And at the end of the ride we may choose to do some more exploring or ride up to The Basin which is about 2.5 - 3 miles from our starting point.

We’ll start the ride at the Forest Service parking lot (fee area) which is about .2mi north of the AMC Cold River Camp entrances on the right side of route 113. Meet for car pooling at the Scenic Vista parking lot in North Conway, at 9:30. We should be ready to start the ride at about 10:00am.

Moat Mountain Romp

Tuesday November 3, 2009

Let's combine the forest roads with the single track in the Moat Mountain trail system, which is behind the Cedar Creek development. This is a wonderful area to ride in. There are red pine woods, beaver ponds with scenic views, hemlock glades and woodland streams. We'll have the opportunity to cruise Forest Roads 379 and 379A as well as Woods Road. There's plenty of single track to ride too including the Electric Loop and 100 Acre Woods. The roads are wide and flat and easy to ride. The single track requires a bit more skill. On these mostly flat and fun trails there will be the occasional rooty spot, dips and quick ascents, twists and turns and perhaps wet spots.

Parking in this area is severely limited, so let's meet in North Conway at 9:30 am in the parking lot behind the Eastern Slopes Inn. The entrance to this lot is off River Road on the left, just past the railroad trestle, if you are driving from route 16. We'll double up on cars and head on over to Cedar Creek from there.