long, hard, slow ride

[narlus]

after seeing The Big Rock Show (http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151720), drinking a half dozen beers, having no dinner, getting 4.5 hr sleep, then waking up, having two cups of coffee, no breakfast, and driving to unnamed location for some classic rock-infested riding w/ noted hammerheads Couching Tiger, PK and Alexis, i knew i was in trouble.

3 hours later, ~12 miles down, i was toast. there is very little in the way of extended climbs on these trails, but the ups that exist are the ones which send you into anaerobic conditions pretty easily. rough, steep, and very unforgiving to poor line choices. even the flat spots are nothing where you can crank away; i'd wager there are more wheelbase or under boulders on these trails than most anywhere i can think of, and i've ridden around a lot of new england trails.

the day was a bit cooler than it has been, and i was glad to be wearing tights and a long-sleeved jersey; certainly a far cry from the nice riding weather i've enjoyed on the last few rides. but in the first 10 minutes or so, after a huge in-the-red climbing effort had my HRM screaming to me that i'd just about hit my max (yeah, i've got the geek tool on, sue me), suddenly cool weather wasn't on my mind.

we gradually wended our way through some new stuff, old stuff, slow, stuff and fast stuff - the only constant was the familiar grey rocks, flecked occasionally w/ greenish lichen.

at one point we came across the only riders we'd see all day, a strange amalgam of freeride (fullface helmet, big travel transition w/ 66 as a fork) and old school (singlespeed 29" w/ rigid fork, but running 2.6" kendas w/ DH tubes). the rest of the day, the woods were our own. here's some shots of the proceedings:

PK on a small rock face:
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/5923/IMG_6015.jpg

alexis, on a 29"
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/7214/IMG_6016.jpg

couching tiger and his ever-reliable bullit, in a pretty neat wooded section:
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/2239/IMG_6026.jpg

PK on the up:
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/8357/IMG_6012.jpg

me, same place:
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/8545/IMG_6013.jpg

couch:
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/3219/IMG_6017.jpg

and again:
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/2209/IMG_6014.jpg

up over the roots and rocks:
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/8459/IMG_6023.jpg

[I Are Baboon]

From what I hear, there is nothing slow about Couch and PK. Looks like a good time though!

[splat]

From what I hear, there is nothing slow about Couch and PK. Looks like a good time though! Nor AA !!

[narlus]

Nor AA !!

he was on fire! did some very impressive climbs. splat, you gotta get up here for a tour someday. good trails, and tons of them.

[CouchingTiger]

Good deal! That was an excellent ride. Some of the best trails around and an excellent tour guide. Thanks Narlus!

-Couch

[pk]

Hey Narlus,

Glad you didn't post all the pics of me falling down, biffing out, cutting my leg and generally riding like a spaz! What a nice guy you are.... almost as nice the trails you brought us on! Definitely the best MTB ride of the season.

Unfortunately, any health benefit of the ride was throroughly blown out of the water by ingesting massive quantities of fried clams at Woodmans -- real lard, baby! Couch's stomach is still burbling, I'm sure!

pk

[CouchingTiger]

Yea, my stomach was (literally) a mess all evening and into yesterday AM. That place is the devil!

-Couch

[SkaredShtles]

Nice RR narlus! :thumb:

Mmmmmmm............ fried clams........ :drool:

[johnbryanpeters]

Nice.

[narlus]

more photos, courtesy of PK:

couch, on the rock face roller (doesn't look too steep, eh?):
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/957/P4220008.jpg
a couple of other angles:
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/7064/P4220010.jpg
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/4756/P4220009.jpg

me:
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/1839/P4210007.jpg

couch and AA:
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/4608/P4220017.jpg

couch (we took a few @ this nice little glen):
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/9265/P4220016.jpg

[MMcG]

Nice photos.

Those three guys are wicked fast.

cool to see photos of Alexis on his Waltworks

I didn't ride with him a few years ago at Bear Brook (NEMBA Roast and Ride), but he did his full loop and then some before our group of intermediate riders finished ours. And he did it all on an IF single speed so I knew he was fast as hell.

Where are those trails? They look nice.

[pixelninja]

Nice photos! Looks like a fun area.

[SkaredShtles]

<snip>
couch, on the rock face roller (doesn't look too steep, eh?):
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/957/P4220008.jpg
a couple of other angles:
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/7064/P4220010.jpg
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/4756/P4220009.jpg

Those don't look that steep. :think: ;)

[narlus]

it's not, really, but that transition from rock to dirt can swallow a small travel fork pretty easily...we didn't get any shots of AA roping the calf. ;)

[SkaredShtles]

it's not, really, but that transition from rock to dirt can swallow a small travel fork pretty easily...we didn't get any shots of AA roping the calf. ;)
Camera is slightly tilted. I call foul. :D

They do seem to be pretty far forward in those pics. My seat would be around my throat on that rock.

[dfinn]

Can you at least spill the beans about what state these are in?

[narlus]

Camera is slightly tilted. I call foul. :D

They do seem to be pretty far forward in those pics. My seat would be around my throat on that rock.

that's the myth...most of the times you don't need to way way behind the saddle, or else you'll risk looping out when you get to the transition. unless it's really steep. :)

dfinn, these were taken in the 5th quadrant of the Zoskia galaxy. :cool:

[hooples3]

cool ride!!... big step ups are awesome

[SkaredShtles]

that's the myth...most of the times you don't need to way way behind the saddle, or else you'll risk looping out when you get to the transition. unless it's really steep. :)
I don't know what you mean by "looping out" but I'd rather do that than endo any day of the week. :D

[Skookum]

Camera is slightly tilted. I call foul. :D

aha he thought he'd catch us asleep at the wheel like when he has us click the link to all the obscure music nobody's ever heard of.:p

All jokes aside looks like some good ole fushuned rocky goodness you east coasters have in abundance. And whatever camera tricks you have in your bag you can never make it look as steep or gnarl as it looks from behind the handlebars right before you ride it.:)

[stephanie]

Where in MA do you ride? I used to live in South Hadley (western MA), and seeing the woods actually makes me want some interesting singletrack to ride...made me remember how different SoCal is (seems as though I've forgotten my roots) :o:

[splat]

whatever camera tricks you have in your bag you can never make it look as steep or gnarl as it looks from behind the handlebars right before you ride it.:)
Truer words have never been spoken

[mud'n'sweat]

I was a little worried this thread might not be safe to open at work based on the title. ;)

Luckily I took the risk. If I'm stuck at work and can't ride, pic's will have to do. Damn fine pic's they are too. :cool: