1st Time at Hurd

It was a beautiful day so I headed down to Hurd State Park mid afternoon for a mountain bike ride.It was my first time here so obviously I relied on the Trailforks map quite a bit!

The River Trail has a fun wicked descent but the ascent was even worse--rocky and steep so this old man had to walk it :-(

It a nice park but not that much of a thrill for me. I'll be back but probably only occasionally.

Descent to the River

Once back up in the forest

Case Kicks Your Butt!

Today I wanted to ride a section of Case I hadn't really explored before (Splinter, Mr. Pickles trails, etc.)

 Trails I rode:

• Black Mamba (up)
• Cornholio 
• Cornholio Connector
• Splinter (heading northward)
• Mr Pickles
• Old Blue
• Cornholio Connector
• Gray/White Blaze
• Yellow/Red Blaze
• Cornholio
• Black Mambo (down and out)
  
  

I was on the Pivot pedal assist so every climb obviously was a lot easier but there are some wicked rocky sections that kicked my butt. Nothing really thwarted me until I got to Mr. Pickles. I missed the turn into it and found out it was impossible (for me) to ascend the steep rocky section from a stand still. After falling a few times and bloodying my finger, I had to walk about a 25 ft section until I could restart riding.  

Sections of the Gray/White Blaze trail were pretty rocky as well but I was able to plow through those without an issue. Of course, the final descent down Black Mambo to the parking lot was freakin' amazing!

First Time at West Hartford Rez

I rode a quickie at West Hartford Reservoir today - it was my first time there. I started from the parking lot on Albany Road and immediately hit "The Playground". That was a tough trail for this old man and I smashed my finger and scraped my leg when my handlebar caught a tree on a tight squeeze. The easy trails rode along the crests of flood prevention dikes. WeHeDuro had a wicked climb - it turns it is recommended to ride it in the opposite direction! Oh well... I will have to come back  -  I only only rode a  tiny section of the park.

My Short Loop

• The Playground
• Steven Sauter Rock 
• Steven Sauter Rock Loop
• Steven Sauter Rock 
• Talcott Reservoir Flood Control Dam
• WeHaDuro
• Newton Brainerd Road
• Parking Lot Connector

A Triple Header!

It was a beautiful day out today: sunny and not too hot (for a change). In the morning I rode

1 - Smith School

The Trailforks map is still a "Work in Progress"

Smith School Trails 

2- East of Keeney (EoK)

Then I rode some of Eok. Sadly there were a lot of blowdowns that we'll need to clear out...

3- Case Mountain

In the afternoon I rode Case Mountain, this time with the intention of checking out the trails that parallel Coop Road since I have never ridden those...

Trails I rode:

• Coop Road
• Warlock
• The Reflex (this is a tough trail!)
• Coop Road
• Warlock
• Coop Road
• Rope Swing 
  
• Coop Road

At Buckingham Reservoir

Big River never disappoints!

I rode a different section of the park today. The weather was really hot and there was "nary a breeze" but--as always--its magic in there...

Trails I rode:

• Teeter Totter
• Burnt Sawmill Road
• Burnt Sawmill IN
• Logs (great flow!)
• Sizzler (lotsa berms - it was like a mini Kitchel)
• Archie 
• Sizzler Extension

Woody Hill - 2025

I took a nice morning ride at Woody Hill today, This year I ventured further south and discovered a few relics from yesteryear.

These were the trails I rode:

• XC Up
• Fern Drive
• Driving Miss Hazy (fun)
• Fern Drive
• Wahaneeta Link
• Wahaneeta (some very tough rocky sections)
• White Black Dot
• White
• Wahaneeta Blue
• PBR (abandoned quarries!)
• Woody Hill Road
• Hansel & Gretel (fun)
• XC Down

Hard to see but this is an old foundation

 Quarry #1

Quarry #2

Old Cemetery

Back at Big River - Finally!

Back ages ago I rode Big River and fell in love with the trails. Last year I tried riding it but it was a disaster - there was 2-4 inches of water on every trail.  Ah... but today the weather was perfect (mid 70s) and it was dry and sunny.

Big River is magical--these photo;s barely capture how awesome riding here is! Out of all the places I've ridden, this is still one of my favorites.

Its a huge place. As you can see from the map, I only rode a small section of it. These were the trails I rode today:

• DNA (awesome!!)
• Lego
• Run In
• Run On
• Arrow
• Pump House (harder than I thought)
• Dead Shed 
• Tarbucket (some tricky rock sections)
• New London Turnpike
• Bottle Extension
• Bottle

A few highlights