Sunday, December 26, 2010

Page Hill Update


As long as the snow is holding off we continue to scope things out at Page Hill to give us a head start for next season.  Myself, Jesse and Adam ventured out to Page Hill proper to see what we have to work with in that area.

We are looking for ways to link existing doubletrack in to new singletrack to maximize our mileage early as efficiently as possible.  We found a gorgeous open area marked in the image as waypoint 004 that we are calling the 'Amphitheater'.  It's a very interesting bowl type depression that seems like it would lend itself nicely to being a junction of sorts, where several trails could intersect and branch out.

We also found some great terrain just south of the junction that would lend itself nicely to building lots of quick and easy singletrack on a long gentle slope.  As well as a nice little pitch that would be great for making some turns of a more winter persuasion.

Long story short, it was a successful walk in the woods.  Looks like snow is coming in tonight but we will continue to do all we can to get things ready while we can.  Possibly look for a report soon on some ski touring in the area, lots of multi-use potential at Page Hill.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

What's Everyone Up To???

I've been wrenching in the shed.


The monster cross is dead and this new winter SS is just about ready to go.  Just needs brakes cabled and about 1-2 inches of snow on the trails.  I also still have my homemade stud's that I can throw on this ride.  Anyone else think we should get a monthly ride going on a frozen Hop-Ev?  Three rides, Jan/Feb/Mar, conditions permitting of course.  Any takers?

Stay tuned...

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

We're Still Working!

**UPDATE!!**

Due to what appears to be a questionable Sunday weather wise our impromptu trail day at Hopkinton-Everett will be this coming SATURDAY at 12PM.  Meet at the Elm Brook entrance at the parking lot outside the toll booth.

Also anyone planning on coming out who hasn't volunteered at the Hop-Ev site in the past will need to copy/paste the volunteer form located on our site, fill it out and bring it with you before you can start work.  Otherwise the lawyers will take you and us away... 

Copy/Paste these coordinates into Google Maps for location: 43.190148,-71.726264

Bring rakes, brush nippers, leaf blowers and shovels.  New trails have been roughed in this week by Tom Heck with his brush mower.  They just need raking and brush nipping.  We may be installing one section of new trail to connect the parking lot to the trails east of the park.

Sharon Nall will be leading the crew.

We are also looking for someone to donate some rope to tie down a bridge or two.

BYOT - (Bring your own thermos)

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Buttoning Up for the Season

CNH NEMBA met for our 'end of season' meeting yesterday.  We penciled some dates in for trail days next year, take a gander at the calendar to see when we'll be where.  We also approved a purchase of some handheld leaf blowers for our use next year getting trails ready in the Spring and maintaining them in the Fall.  The number of trails we maintain is growing fast and we need to use our time as efficiently as possible so we decided to upgrade our tech a bit.

The membership for our Central chapter had a great year this year.  Our numbers are as strong as ever but we would love to see more of you at meetings, rides, trail days, etc!  We will be continuing with our weekly rides next season and hopefully offering some beginner rides as well as a few ladies rides.

Next season will be an exciting time to get involved with Page Hill coming in to its own.  There will be lots of work to be done and new singletrack to be ridden.

But just because our meeting was 'end of season' doesn't mean there isn't still some riding to be done.  Get those last few chilly rides in while you can before the white stuff starts flying!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Page Hill

Drum roll please...

Thanks to a partnership with the Lakes Region Conservation Trust CNH NEMBA will be hard at work next season (and a bit already this season) laying the ground work for a new system of trails in central NH.  I don't think an official name has been decided on yet but the most prominent topographical feature on the site is Page Hill topping out at close to 1700ft.

We have spent the past two weekends walking the land making sure it was workable and plotting property boundaries based on surveys and tax maps provided by LRCT and the town of Hill, NH.

entrance and what will probably be the future parking lot


There are even some cabins on the property.  Their fate remains to be seen.  Rumors are LRCT is amenable to NEMBA having access but we will have to work out the details and see if it makes sense maintenance and liability wise.

not too shabby. Bunk house in one, Bike shop in the other?

The terrain is excellent.  Lots of great natural features and VERT!  Lots of ups and downs scattered throughout.  As well as the big summit up to Page Hill.  The site itself is fairly massive, quite a bit larger than Franklin Falls, probably almost twice as big?  Rough estimates put it at 500 acres or so.  

There is already a decent network of doubletrack and old cart paths that we can use to get things tied together early without much effort.  Initial plan is to work in some sort of 'boundary trail' to encompass the entire site that we can then build off shoots from.  That boundary trail is looking like it will probably be close to 7 miles long which is almost the entirety of FFD.  If we work this right and we go for a similar trail density to that of FFD we could be looking at 20+ miles of singletrack.

Our most recent recon mission: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/56725893

We were a bit off on the actual property lines in a few spots due to a wrong turn or us running out of time for the day, the actual plot looks a bit more like this:



*UPDATE* I ditched my crappy approximation and am now sharing Jesse's much better approximation (it still looks kinda like Texas though)  Borders in blue and some existing double track in Orange.  Take a second and analyze that topo information.  Barely a flat spot on the whole site.  Makes for a whole lot of fun and or pain.  Not sure about you but that's the way I like it...

So if it is not apparent already this has been part teaser and part a call to arms.  The more help we get the faster we get 20 new miles of trails to ride.  Seems like a no brainer to me.  We'll see you in the Spring?

Friday, October 22, 2010

One is the lonliest....

Maybe it was the heavy rain and hail earlier in the afternoon...
Maybe it was the fact that I forgot to send out the group email until the day of the ride...
Maybe it was because it was 40 degrees out...
Maybe I just have no friends and chronic halitosis...

Probably a combination of all of these, but I was the only one to show for last nights ride.  Since I was there, I decided to ride anyway and I have to say it was a bit spooky.  I have always had a very active imagination and there are times when it really doesn't do me any good.  Like being in the woods alone on a cold October night with a full moon with intermittent mini snow squalls.  I tend to get skittish when I find myself in those circumstances and last night was no exception. 


I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy myself because after all, I was riding my bicycle, and that should be enough.  Also, I decided to test out my double light setup (bars and helmet) which was enough to sear the retinas of even the most determined sasquatch that was stalking me.  I even managed to snap a photo of one who tried to sneak up on me while I was riding the new section of mighty chicken.

Next week will probably be our last regularly scheduled ride of the season and we'll be at Bear Brook and I really hope I am not alone there because it's much scarier at night than Franklin Falls.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Taste Of the Trail Event

This event takes place tomorrow night Thursday the 21st, it is a fundraiser for a trail from Tilton to Franklin. A lot of us use that trail very often. Fundraising is to build a bridge over the river to fix a gap in the trail toward Route 140.  If you are free, this looks like a great event and a great way to advocate for more and better facilities to get from point A to point B via bicycle in Central NH.  
Taste of the Trail Event
 
Benefit for Winnipesaukee river Trail

Enjoy food from 13 area restaurants, a silent auction and a live auction. We are excited to bring together the people from three communities, Tilton, Northfield and Franklin, to celebrate this multipurpose, recreational trail and to raise money for its continued maintenance.

Buy tickets ($20) at Tilton, Northfield & Franklin Town/City Halls, Franklin Savings Bank (Tilton, Franklin), Grevior's Furniture, Pauli's Bakery & Restaurant. No tickets sold at the door.

It will be an exciting evening! Invite your friends and family.


Winnipesaukee River Trail Association Only 1 day to purchase tickets for Taste of the Trails/Auction, Thurs, Oct 21, 5-8 PM, Riverfront Place, Tilton. Auction list getting longer daily: Bib #1 for Winni Trail 5K, Rowell septic tank pumping, handcrafted wooden toys, 2 Lake Region Snowmobile Club memberships & sweatshirts, handcrafted cutting board, handcrafted necklace & bracelet ... almost 60 items for silent & live auction!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Winnipesaukee-River-Trail-Association/270360568652

Speaking of Ahern

CNH NEMBA is hosting a trail day at Ahern State park this Sunday the 24th.  Sign in will be 8:30-9:00am at the Ahern parking lot on Right Way Path (Old State Prison Rd.) off Rt. 106 just north of Laconia.

Click Here for location on Google Maps

Coming in from Laconia to the south you'll take a left on Right Way Path and then another left on the access road to Ahern (there is a sign for the park).

The plan is simply to rake and /or leaf blow the existing trails. We expect to finish before lunch.  Please bring rakes or leaf blowers and brush nippers to cut the occasional branch.  We may corduroy a few chronic wet spots to stop the mud from getting churned up next Spring.
Bring your bike if you feel like riding after.  We can lead for anyone who is new to the trails.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Darkness at Ahern

I've ridden Ahern enough to know that you should plan on bringing your technical game along for the ride. Throw in a dark October night and a bunch of fast riders and you know it's on...
8 of us left Chainline Cycles somewhere around 6 and by the time we got into Ahern proper, we had about 15 minutes before we needed lights. There was however, one rider who won't be named (he's from foreign land best known for Benny Hill reruns and afternoon tea) who claimed that there was no need for lights and ironically found that his light actually didn't work when he was forced to admit that it was indeed dark. Lucky for him, someone lent him a camping headlamp and he was able to soldier on. Pretty amazing feat considering that you really can't have too much light to ride Ahern and we certainly weren't waiting up for him.
Given the nature of Ahern in the dark we had all the typical minor crashes and mishaps including a broken chain, but all in all everyone made it out unscathed. If your looking for lots of tight, technical, twisty New England singletrack Ahern is a good place to start. My GPS has finally given up the ghost so I have no actual course from last night, but I was told we did 12 miles total. Below is a my artistic rendering of where we seemed to ride last night. I think it is pretty accurate except the actual circles we rode were probably a bit tighter.

Realistic simulation of actual ride
 
Next week we'll be riding Framklin Falls to try out the new extension on Mighty Chicken.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Mighty Chicken under the Lights!

Ever wonder what a Mighty Chicken looks like under the cover of darkness?  Wonder no longer!  Here are some great prolonged exposure shots taken by Andrew Jenness on a recent ride at FFD.



Be sure to get out and ride the Chicken again soon, some of the crew was hard at work last weekend adding a new extension to the bottom.  I can't personally speak to how awesome it is yet, but from the chatter I hear it is a fine piece of work (as always).

Get out and ride!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

CNH NEMBA in 'Around Concord'

CNH NEMBA got some great exposure in the Fall Edition of Around Concord (Vol. 3 Num 4)

Go here to check out a digital edition viewable online: http://aroundconcordnh.com/

(just click the cover on the right hand side of the page)

We show up starting on page 27.

Great little publication, do yourself a favor and bookmark that page if you are interested in Central NH happenings.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Thursday Ride @ FFD (with teaser)




Great turnout last night.  I think there were 15 riders?  We broke into two groups and got to riding bikes.  Things were going great for about a mile or two and then everyone realized that it was REALLY HOT.  Head throbbing hot.  We tried some new strategies for modulating the ride pace to pretty good effect and we even got a chance to check out some of Grant and crew's work from a few weekends ago.

For those familiar with the layout of FFD you might notice a little offshoot towards the North end of the area on our GPS track.  I wouldn't rush to go check it out quite yet, currently it goes a whole lot of nowhere and still needs some work but you can sleep easy knowing that CNH NEMBA is working hard to try and expand the riding in Central NH.

If we can fully execute this particular plan we have, Franklin Falls could be quite the major destination...but we have a lot of work ahead of us. *Cough*join nemba and help out*Cough*

While I'm on the subject of NEMBA working hard and teasing about future greatness, CNH NEMBA has been approached by another local conservation group interested in working with us to create even more trails on a nice little chunk of land.  We are still in the initial stages of getting the ball rolling, but next season could be VERY interesting. *Cough*join nemba and get in on the ground floor of a new trail system in central nh!*Cough*

Friday, August 20, 2010

Elm Brook

I am happy to report that last night's ride went off without a hitch. We had 5 riders show up and no one got hurt, stung, lost, or otherwise incapacitated to any degree. My only regret is that we didn't ferry the boards out to the 'bridge to nowhere' that Sharon so nicely cut and stacked up for us.

Tufkat and a bunch of the trails over by Sharps Farm are bedding down nicely and it is clear that the trails are getting more bike usage than I have seen in the past. Every time I ride there I like it more and see the potential for a really great bike area.

Come check it out.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Friday, August 13, 2010

How in the heck

The consistently warm, sunny weather this summer has be great, but it is leaving me looking forward to a slippery bike ride in the rain. I just don't want to give up those bike handling skills for slimy rocks that we all worked for last year.

The sky stayed dark and cloudy throughout the ride, but the rain never came. We were forced to ride all evening with excellent traction. Somehow we still managed to have fun and even had a couple over-the-bars events.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Group of 1 is my new thing



Well not sure if it was the midday T-storms or people being burnt out on Franklin Falls or maybe I just have a massive case of BO but my group ride was a solo affair yet again this week.

Rain cleared out in time and FFD drains like no other so the trails were actually in pretty good shape.  I guess being solo was just as well because I was actually testing out a new configuration on my 'monster cross' bike I am refining to ride at the NH100.  I have been experimenting for a bit this season and my latest iteration has it built up as a 96er or 69er (Whats the industry standard here? Carver went with 96, Trek with 69...)

The fork I had on there had some extra clearance and I thought a 29er wheel might fit in there...low and behold it does and surprisingly it affects the ride quality very little and softens out the ride nicely.  I still need to get a bit more acquainted with it but I will more than likely be riding this at the NH100 as a 96/69er or as I like to call it the Franken Mullet

Friday, July 30, 2010

Sweet Buttery Singletrack

I don't think I can remember a summer with such incredible weather.  So good in fact that I don't need to clean my bike anymore because it seems as if there isn't a drop of water on any trails in the area.  No mud, no muck, no mosquitos even.  It doesn't get much better.

Last night we found ourselves at Bear Brook for our weekly ride and as I said above, conditions couldn't get much better.  Parking at the Catamount toll and paying my $4 for the 3rd time in the past week(reminder to buy season pass next year), I managed to get in a quick 5 mile spin before the rest of the group arrived.  Once everyone was there we rode the usual suspects out for a 13 mile clockwise loop around the park.  One Mile Trail to Catamount to Bear Brook out to Hiker Biker lot.  From there we picked up Salt Lick extension to Hemlock and kept left until we came out on the fireroad that parallels the campground road.   Hemlock is one of those perfect trails that I hope will never change.  There is the perfect mix of climbing, screaming downhills, and sweet buttery goodness that is hard to match.  Nothing really technical, but the trail pretty much defines buff singletrack.  

Next up we took the fireroad back up to Pitch Pine and up Broken Boulder.  Broken Boulder is one of those trails that has been there forever (I started riding there way back in '91) and I don't think I have ever seen it as dry as it is this year.  Not one of the 3 or 4 stream crossings had a drop of water and the usual spots that are perennially muddy were bone dry. 

By the time we got up to the end of Broken Boulder (Podunk Rd. side), the light was starting to fade so we opted to skip I-Trail and do Chipmunk. At the end of Chipmunk we went up Spruce Pond Road and then over to Bear Hill trail (the lower section that parallels Podunk Rd.).  

We finished up by heading down Little Bear and back over Bear Brook trail with little light left.  Pretty much a storybook ride.  No mechanicals other than a dropped chain, no medivac, and most importantly, I didn't lose Scott (I'm pretty sure he tried to escape a few times but he wasn't wily enough).  My only regret is that this is the time of year that New Hampshire starts its steady march into darkness.  I think I might have to start leaving work at noon so I can get more rides like this in before the season hits the fan.

Monday, July 26, 2010

What a year for riding!

Anyone else noticed this season has been amazing for riding?  A bit on the warm side, but all the bugs got fried and its bone dry.  Get out there and enjoy it!  A friend of mine got a pretty cool picture of me riding a little roller in Ahern State Park in Laconia this past weekend so I thought I would share it here.


See you on the trails!

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Claymore Challenge

I got a chance to stop by the Claymore Challenge at Highland Mountain Bike Park this afternoon and thought I would share some pics and a vid I took on my phone.

Very cool scene and a HUGE turnout.  Great to see.  If you haven't checked out Highland yet, you need to.



Took this vid with my phone so it's not awesome, but you get the idea.  Really cool features and these guys were going pretty huge.

Here's that turnout I was talking about.  Full lot and all the way down the road

Slopestyle Course

The final hit "Freebird"

 

Friday, July 16, 2010

I did this group ride Han Style.

Solo.

No one felt like exploring a new locale with me and thats fine.  It added to the mystique and now I am the sole purveyor of these trails within cnh nemba.  Not sure what that really means but I'm gonna go with it.



I have ridden my ice bike here in years past but had never ridden these trails 'in season'.  Quite a bit more rocky and technical than I had anticipated.  But fully rideable.  Not a huge network of trails but if you combine both of these local areas and do everything on offer you could probably get about 8-9mi or so.

These are both areas maintained by the Squam Lakes Association, Chamberlain Reynolds Memorial Forest and Belknap Woods.  Maps can be found here.

I didn't quite ride everything, ran out of water and it was a bit too hot and humid to get lost without water.  It's ok though, I'll be back.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Heat Wave, Schmeat Wave

Heat be damned we're gonna ride!



Luckily the heat wasn't quite as bad last night as it has been the past few days.  And we had a good sized group to keep things moving.  We even had a visitor up vacationing from the SE Mass Chapter looking to check out our local stash.  And let me tell you Steve knows how to cap off a ride!  That 6 of Long Trail really hit the spot, come on up any time Steve!

Lets see highlights:

My chain finally gave up the ghost after the torque fest from last weekend, unfortunately for me it gave up right when I was trying to power up a small rise.  It broke, I went shooting forward and knee'd my stem with vigor.  Luckily I carry a chain tool now and just happened to have a few links in my camelbak so we were back on trail without much issue.  Except for a throbbing knee.

We did Mighty Chicken twice, visitors always seem to want to hit that one as many times as possible for some reason....

and I was finally able to clean SBT from the top all the way around to Heritage with no dabbing.  First time for me since we built it.  Although I think I benefited greatly from Ben showing me a line that I hadn't considered to date towards the bottom.

Next week we are checking out a new spot for our weekly rides, Chamberlain Reynolds Memorial Forest in Holderness, NH.  I ride my ice bike there a lot but haven't ridden there much during the season.  Not a huge trail network but I hear there is some techy stuff in there.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Mast Yard Concord

With the weather being so hot lately I have been trying to get rides in before work to beat the heat.  I did some Oak Hill climbing yesterday afternoon and my legs were feeling it today so I decided to swing over to Mast Yard in West Concord since it is close to work and more importantly - flat.   I have ridden here before but it consists mostly of deer fly infested fireroads and only one singletrack trail to my knowledge (~1 mile), but I heard that they put in a new snowmobile bridge this year and wanted to see what was on the other side. 

I'm glad I did, because there is a bunch of fun, really fast, buff singletrack once you get over the bridge.  There are a bunch of nice sandy beach areas for taking a dip when things are too hot and there were a bunch of side trails that I didn't take so I suspect there is more.  It certainly warrants another trip when I have more time to explore.  All told, I did just over 10 miles with a 50/50 mix of singletrack to fireroad. If you are looking for a non-technical really fast trail system for some tempo training rides or if your a beginner then this would be a great place to go.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Tour de Laconia



CNH NEMBA and Chainline Cycles joined forces again Thursday for a loop around Laconia on what I would call 'private stock' trails.  I wouldn't recommend trying to follow this track on your own, unless you want to get lost.  This one required professional navigation skills.

Most of this was new to me and I enjoyed just about all of it, except for maybe the grassy climbing on my SS.  I put my poor machine under so much torque last night several bolts loosened up on me and I think just about everything on the bike is now creaking and moaning.  And I think my brakes have just about had it after this ride as well.  I miscalculated my line / speed / brake equation a few times heading into fast corners, luckily never with any big consequences.  All in a nights work.

At least now I can say I've ridden Trail 'X' and I got my first inadvertent night riding in as well which is always fun.  The last mile or two was pretty dark in the woods.

See everyone next week at FFD!

Friday, June 25, 2010

Thursday Night Ride

Seems that now that we are scheduling the rides further in advance we are gaining traction on the Thursday night rides.  Thanks to Mike G. for pushing us to be more proactive on the scheduling.

Anyway, great ride last night.  We did a combo partial quarry ride then over to the hospital trails for the usual technical fun. All told we had 8 show up (some a little later than others) and 4 were newcomers.  Hugh amazed us all with his fearless downhilling and techy skill set and even demonstrated for everyone how one should Not go over a log pile.   Jim managed to not run into me despite his best efforts and has now officially graduated from 'Shy Dove' riding style to the elite 'Somewhat Concerned Crow' style.  He has come a long way since his introduction to the sport just 2 years ago, and if he ever decides to go singlespeed everyone better watch out.  We also had our youngest rider of the year who is reportedly 15 years old. 

We had so much fun that when we got back to the parking area a few hours later we found a 3 additional latecomers and took them on a last loop up to the top of Winant and back down again.  Hope to see everyone next week up in Laconia. 

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

July Ride Schedule

The locations for the Thursday night rides are now set for the month of July. See the events calendar for details.

Note that the July rides are scattered around the state so start times are 6pm to give more travel time.


Friday, June 18, 2010

Thursday Ride in Plymouth



It was back to the Kevin and Matt show for yesterday's ride.  We planned on a small local loop within Fox Park then a ride through town to Gyro and done. 

Unfortunately the small loop I had planned in Fox Park, that used to be my go to back when I was in school at PSU has been completely abandoned.  A shadow still remains and I was able to stay on track (usually) from memory but it's easy to see it hasn't seen love in a long time.  It was always meticulously maintained by locals in years past with even some substantial man made features that are now succumbing to the elements.



But in true to form 'circle of life' style Gyro is in great shape and looks to have been on the receiving end of lots of hard work lately.  Trails are the buffest I've seen them and there are some new features built and others expanded.  Almost makes me want to buy a dirt jumper for some lunch break laps...

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Diehards

We had a massive group ride of 3 tonight in the rain at Franklin Falls.  Chris still reigns supreme as the 'perfect attendance' king; He has yet to miss a group ride this year.  We may have to think up some sort of end of season award for whoever has done the most group rides, but at this rate there is no touching him.

Anyway, wet and rainy tonight but we did the usual loop plus Salmon Brook Trail (SBT) for a total of just under 7 miles.  A bit greasy in spots, but the trails are in really good shape.  Amazingly, the crazy sloped section with the bridging on SBT was in great shape.  We scoped out possible reroutes for the third switchback to increase the radius and make it a better turn, but we'll have to go back on a nicer day when we can spend some time thinking it through.

See y'all next week.  I think Kevin will be hosting up in Plymouth, so we'll post some directions in the upcoming events section in the next few days.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Tuesday EMS Ride

Ben from EMS Concord as well as some of our brothers and sisters in arms from the Southern NH chapter drove up to Franklin for their Tuesday ride this week.

Great group and great riding.  I for one really needed a nice conversation paced ride to get my legs back in order.

We didn't ride SBT but we did just sneak in at the bottom so that a few people could take a look at the completed third bridge.  And I must say, nice work guys!  I don't want to name names in fear of missing someone but you know who you are.  A truly elegant solution to the problem at hand and if you ask me it looks like its going to stand the test of time.

Of course I forgot to take pics, but all in good time.

Be on the lookout for some more rides popping up in our calendar, we are looking to cross promote a bit with the EMS ride and Southern NH.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

HB191 Passes!

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/bill_status.aspx?lsr=307&sy=2010&txtsessionyear=2010&txtbillnumber=HB191

 This is a very important issue for cyclists. Access to trails is often disallowed because a landowner is afraid of being sued as a result of an injury. Thank you representative Gene Chandler for sponsoring this bill and Rob Adair from White Mountain NEMBA for being the bill's champion.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Thursdays with Chris

I am proposing a name change to our Thursday Group Ride. Chris' streak continues...

We had a lighter headcount yesterday with just me and Chris showing up for a jaunt at FFD. We did the usual with some variations on direction. I will post up the ride data soon.



Also finally got out to SBT to take a look at Mike's handy work with the new bridges spanning the wet spots, they look great! and ride just fine. They were even a tad wet from yesterday afternoon's T-Storms and I didn't have any issues with sliding out. I think the chainsaw scouring should be enough, no chicken wire needed.

I still have yet to ride the bottom section of SBT 100% clean. There are some tricky spots especially for a SS, but it will be a nice change of pace for FFD to have a spot that takes a whole season to conquer.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Safe Routes to School

CONCORD, N.H. - The Central New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission will host the State's first-ever Safe Routes to School conference.

The conference is June 11, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.at the Concord Holiday Inn, 172 North Main Street, Concord.  Registration is free to everyone and is open until June 9 by clicking here, or emailing ncoates@cnhrpc.org or calling 603-226-6020.  There will be free refreshments for all registrants, but lunch is on your own.

NH's First Lady Dr. Susan Lynch is the keynote speaker and she will speak about her work to combat childhood obesity and how communities can work together to get children and families more active.  In addition to speaking across the state about ways to prevent childhood obesity, Dr. Lynch serves as the spokesperson for the physical activity program "Walk NH," which is designed to challenge NH families to have fun getting in shape.

The conference aims to bring statewide transportation, school, health and community leaders together to share their knowledge and experiences in Safe Routes to School with anyone interested in improving mobility and health in their community.

The goal is to bring public awareness to and help attendees learn how to improve health in children, help their communities become more pedestrian and bicycle friendly and begin to improve air quality in their communities. Experts will also teach attendees how to start, manage and complete infrastructure projects through the Safe Routes to School program.

This conference is made possible by a Safe Routes to School grant from the NH Department of Transportation.

For more information, please visit PATH NH

Friday, May 28, 2010

The Pinnacle Delivers!

We had Adam, Andy, Chris, Hugh and Jesse show up for the 5/27 ride.

The first 30 minutes was a fun, winding climb to the top of the Pinnacle full of bridges, roots and rocks via Lower Loop, Trapper, Roots, Tower Circle, Summer St., and Whip N Spur . We took a few seconds to check out the view, then were driven off by the mosquitoes.

Next there was a quick, ripping descent down an unnamed connector to Pine Link. Next, we picked our way along at constant elevation over the rock armoring and outcroppings to the base of Salem's Lot.

The next 30 minutes were spent climbing Coit via the Avery trail (unmapped trail up the SE side of Coit). The climb features off-camber rock outcropping, some rolling benchcut and plenty of Hey-OH. The only way I can do this climb is in the middle ring with legs & lungs burning. It is just to technical for sit-n-spin in the granny. Adam's 32-22 SS gearing is justified by this climb.

More mosquitoes at the top of Coit kept us from stopping for very long, so we continued to Coit Summit (Coit North) Trail for the descent. We would spend the better part of the next hour descending.

About half way down the Coit North trail we took a left onto Coit Bypass (also unmapped). That brought us back around to the midpoint of the Avery trail, where we could enjoy the fun off-camber rock in again in the down hill direction.

We got back onto Salem's Lot, where I completely blew it on the berms. I think I ride them worse every time. Maybe I need a pump track at my house. I'm pretty sure my wife was getting bored with the standard lawn and garden stuff anyway.

We rode out Salem's lot across some more killer rock armoring, then crossed summer street onto another unmapped connector to get to Grenville's Eastside. Eastside may be my favorite trail in the state. It is about a mile of flowy but rocky, rolling bench cut, sweeping berms, quick chicanes, and general MTB goodness. The Hey-OH factor was well off the charts... until Hugh pinch flatted. While Hugh fixed his tire the rest of the group continued to the "Play Ground" where we goofed off for a few minutes before riding the second half of Eastside.

We needed a quick break from all the rippin' downhill, so we did a quick climb up Barton Woods to finish descending by Big Rock, Ledge, Foliage, Ridge, Lower Loop, Trapper, South Boundary, and Forest.

After the ride we destroyed some pizza and beer. Driving home, I was really struggling to stay awake at the wheel while the ride-pizza-beer coma was setting in, but I made it.

Climbing, flowy descents, slow picky technical sections, rock roll-offs... The Pinnacle Delivers!

Friday, May 21, 2010

NEMBA ride at Ahern 5/20

Jesse was jonesin' for the data. So here it is...



Good group, nice pace. Trails were nice and dry and a few of the trouble spots have gotten armored since the last time I was there. It's nice having local riders who know how to get things done isn't it?

5/27 Ride at the Pinnacle?

We are considering the Pinnacle in Newport, NH for the 5/27 ride.

Does this location work for anyone? I can assure you that this place is worth the drive!

We'll do a about 1200ft of climbing so you'll wanna bring your legs & lungs, but we'll keep a moderate pace.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Concord Hospital Trails

Hey Matt don't worry you didn't miss much last night.  We got lost a bunch and the bugs were really bad.  We basically had no fun at all.  You probably shouldn't even really read any more of this post it was so bad.


No really stop reading now and browse elsewhere, this post could be hazardous to your recovery.




Ok now that Matt is gone, the ride was awesome! I am finally starting to get a mental picture of the layout of this system and I am starting to recognize trail intersections when I hit them and I guessed correct directions a few times so I think I am well on my way to having this place figured out. And I am pretty pumped about that because I am really starting to like the sustained technical riding here.

To date I hadn't really been able to link up a loop that flowed well. But with the collective help of Scott, Hugh, Adam, Jesse and Chris we got a great 6.6 miles with all kinds of great techy bits without the standard get lost for 10 minutes and bushwhack a bit that I'm used to there

Another great ride, stay tuned for updates about next weeks ride location!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Group Rides have begun!

For those that missed it our group ride season got off to a great start last night at Franklin Falls.  Great temps and a perfect breeze that kept all the bugs at bay.  Many of us got our first stab at the Salmon Brook Trail as well.  Still needs a bit of work but in my opinion it is a success and a nice addition to the trails at FFD.

Just a note: Please be mindful of the wet spots on Salmon Brook until we have a chance to armor them, we don't want to do too much damage.


All in all a great ride, a few of us are still working out the winter kinks though.  Matt got bit by the Pine Snake and I pulled a flying Dutchman on Moose Gulley.  We even had a broken derailleur hanger but luckily a spare was at hand and between a few multitools we were able to get it installed.  Should be a great season.  Next week we are off to Concord! check the Upcoming Events for details and directions soon.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

The SBT (Salmon Brook Trail)

Another highly successful trail building day at Franklin Falls Dam!

We had a great showing this morning and we are glad we did because today's plan was not for the weak of heart.  A lot of manpower was needed to execute what we had in mind and everyone came through beautifully.  Lots of bench cutting, armoring, heaving and ho'ing.  But with our crew of 25+ we were able to completely rough in a new trail in about 4-5 hours.

The SBT starts off Rusty Bucket and makes its way down to Salmon Brook via several switchbacks.  It then loops back and eventually intersects with the Heritage trail down on the north end of FFD by Lost Wall, etc.  We were able to incorporate some interesting features and even some rocks for once (we know, rocks at FFD?! who'd have thought??)

There is still some work to be done, a few moist spots need some additional armoring and we will continue to refine the bench cutting and switchbacks as they ride in and we figure out the optimum lines but for the most part it was a highly successful day, one of the biggest undertakings at FFD to date.  But enough talk, to the pics!

Special thanks to Peter from SNH for bringing the trailer and tools

Ready for war

A switchback is born...

many hands make light work

we weren't kidding about the benching, there really was a lot of it

masters at work

this is where is started getting really serious

be sure to thank these guys while riding across this slope

slowly but surely

progress is made

right around now I started to realize what we had pulled off in a day

then I realized how hungry I was

A few of the crew snuck off early but this is just about everyone, including the pooch and a delicious burger in the foreground (I took a photography class once)

Thanks again to everyone for coming out, we would have never accomplished this without you!  We will probably be trying to schedule a few impromptu work days to continue armoring and addressing some of the other finishing touches for the SBT so keep your eyes peeled here for updates.  Also be on the lookout for our Thursday night group rides which will be starting this week.  First night will be right here at FFD.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Trail Day Sunday May 2nd!

If using Google Maps for directions use Federal Dam Access Road.  I am fairly certain the street sign still says Granite Dr. but according to the Google Hive Mind it is Federal Dam Access Rd.  And whatever Google says goes...

Be a part of building a brand new trail!  Take it from us there is nothing quite like riding a trail that was created with a little bit of your own elbow grease.  We will meet at 8am and work until about Noon or 1pm and then we will have a cookout afterwards and possibly a ride, time permitting.

Hope to see you there!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Welcome to the new home of CNH NEMBA!

We've undergone a bit of a facelift, but we are hoping you will like the new design and hopefully this new site will be a bit easier for us to update and maintain.

We will be slowly adding additional content, but for starters we will have a News section for bigger local happenings, Trail Maps of local ride spots (Franklin Falls is up for now and we are working on getting better maps created for some of our other locations), A calendar for Upcoming Events, Contact information for chapter officers, as well as the blog posts which we will use for ride and trail day reports and other random thoughts and updates.

Enjoy the new site and see you on the trails!