Benching - North of Howe

Today the weather was great so I finished the benching on the ascent/descent section on the back loop

 There's still more to be done (benching along the top ridge, clean up the alternative way, etc.) but all in all it will be an awesome ride!

Buckingham Reservoir Trail

I took an easy early morning bike ride around Buckingham Reservoir. Needless to say - the weather and light on the landscape was beautiful!

I took it easy for starters and rode the carriage road all the way to the power line turn.

I checked out the Reservoir - from the north end looking south...

I walked this!

On the west side...

Looking north at the dam...

Crossing back to get back to the carriage road was a little tricky!

It's an awesome spot and I'll be back - there's lots more trails all around!

NIke Missile Site

I was curious about the former Nike Missile Site some biker friends told me about so I rode in to check it out. It was a long, tough rock strewn climb to get there. 

At this spot I dismounted and gingerly walked my bike over the rocks!

Once I emerged from the woods, it was an easy and fast bomb down the hill underneath the huge power lines...

Yes that's Hartford...

Closeup shows the Hartford Skyline

At the Site

Once I got to the site - it was hardly worth the long and arduous trek to get here... Nevertheless, it was cool to see and it brought back a chilling reminder of how life was really on the brink during the Cold War.

Aerial view

I finally bombed down this abandoned road and decided to high tail it out of there by going all the way to the bottom once back on the power line gravel and ...

ride back up Line Road.