Does this exist - My wife is ready to kill me

[knucklebuste]

Ok, read the reviews on mtbr.com about these trails out in Granby/Holychoke range. Twister, Roller Coaster, Serpent and whatnow. I did not hit any of those three but I did make it out there and rode for 3 hours or so. I don't know what trails I was on. I figured it would be a great place for my wife; windy singletrack, hardpacked dirt, smooth, tight, roller coastery, minimal roots, ruts and rocks.
Well the above mentioned terrain does not exist. Well at least on these trails and once again, I came out the liar. She had a miserable time. The trails were like riding in a riverbed, rocks and all. So I basically broke down and told her this. "Look, there is no smooth, windy, rollercoastery, rutless, rockless, hardpacked, rootless, tight singletrack in Massachusetts, it sucks, it all sucks"
Now I just told her this so she would understand that this is the East Coast and it is hardcore. I don't have a problem with it and I've had the best MTB year ever (in my first year or so of MTB) ::)
She's ready to give up riding altogether. I myself had fun, well almost ::) , however, I'm going back to Granby again, alone sometime.
So my question to everyone is this. Is there such a place such as I have described in Massachusetts. Is the trail of tears like this? I'm just tired of telling her "Jen, this place will be good, nice and smoothe" only to come out the :-X LIAR :-X again and again.
I'm not looking for a rail trail. Just some smooth singletrack I can take her on that she can ride. She's not very good at this at all and is not improving hardly at all. What to do?
Knuck

Hey Knuck i think ur in luck here. The Dracut Loweel state forest is just the way u descirbe there are soem roots and rocks but they are kept to a minimal so check it out.

[boingboing]

No Roots and rocks????? In New England??? Hmmmmm. Every time I take my hardtail there I leave with a huge Back ache. As far as knowing what trail you were on there is a good chance you may never. I spend 1 or 2 hours riding in there every day that its not pouring rain and know the names of about 3 trails. However the riding is pretty technical all over there. There are only 2 trails that I can think of that arent too bad. But driving all the way there to hit that is kinda useless. In this area the only place I can think of that is smooth is Robinson State park in Agawam. The trails are pretty wide so you can (wife can) go around the rocks that are there. John

[Mr_Cheeze]

Knuck, Otis Air Force Base in Bourne. Largely smooth with rolling, hilly terrain. Great for beginners, but enough challenging stuff to satisfy the more advanced. There are even several manmade structures for you crazy freeriders. And the best thing about it... it's the best place to go after a previous week's precipitation. The trails dry very fast. It is where my friends and I go nearly exclusively during the winter.

One recommendation though: go with someone who knows the area, because it is pretty easy to get lost in there.

[AA]

Knuck,

Cheese is right, Otis is the place. Down the cape you can also check out Trail of tears, Yarmouth conservation and Orleans Conservation/Nickerson S.P. Other than the Cape I have found the rest of NE to be rooty & rocky. I have only been to Kingdom trails once but I seem to remember some smooth singletrack (however there is rocky, rooty stuff as well & LOTS of climbing).

[Jisch]

Hey Knuck...

I'm not sure how important the singletrack part is, but I have found Bigelow Hollow in Union, Connecticut to be perfect for my wife. There is some puddles (easy to walk around) and a few sketchy downhills, but if you follow the right route, its relatively easy riding. Its also very scenic. There are plenty of maps at the trail head and I can give you a good idea of how to do the right route. There is some wicked nasty stuff out there, but its easy to avoid. My wife is pretty fit, but has no skillz.

If I remember correctly you're in Worcester? Bigelow is maybe a half hour from there.

Check out these pics:
http://forums13.consumerreview.com/crforum?14@146.5hAQaVCuS67.7@.efd3673

(cut and paste the URL)

John

[nhiker]

Knuck add the Duxbury Town forrest (Duxbury Ma) to your list. The Duxbury Trail network is running on a Glacieral formation called Kettle drums or Drumlands, this is basically a bunch of rolling short hills of sandy soil which has grown over with forrest. Very nice and good work out.
You can go pretty much as fast as you like. And the scenery out this way is very wourthwhile also, Cranberry bogs and such.
Hiker

[knucklebuste]

Thanks for all the help guys. Where is Duxbury? Is that SE Mass, Dartmouth area or am I way off?
Knuck

[nhiker]

Thanks for all the help guys. Where is Duxbury? Is that SE Mass, Dartmouth area or am I way off?
Knuck

Right next to Plymouth...I can email you directions if you like.
Hiker

[Slider]

I'd go with Otis first, but the drive from central MA is kinda long. For something closer to you, try Franklin Town Forest - lots of bermed, reasonably flat trails, and not many rock fields. It's maybe a half hour from Worcester.

This may be the best choice for something reasonably close: a lap around Lake Winthrop, in Holliston. Nice scenery, some steep climbs, but they're all short and hikeable, and lots of moderately challenging single track.

[knucklebuste]

Ok, where do I find details on Otis, directions and whatnot? Is that where the Trail of Tears is? Am I gonna die if I go there? ::)
Franklin.........hmm.............
good call man, I've been there all Summer (all 2 weeks of it) and I have to say that there have been a lot of improvements in there. I was impressed and went about 15 times and sort of forgot about it. Sucks when it's muddy though and the frign dirt bikes rip it to sheite constantly. However Franklin is not bad, but still kinda rough for my wife.
I'm trying to get her confidence up and I snapped at her on Saturday :-X and it wasn't pretty.
However it discourages me to no end when I see her get off her bike to go over a 3" log going across the trail. I've told her time and time again about lifting up on the bars and pedalling over the obstacle, but she just doesn't get any better.
I don't want to give up on her as she's the only one that will ride with me. All my lazy bastard friends prefer to wither away to nothing watching football, drinking beer and eating pizza. Oh well, thanks for all the input fellas and if someone could give me some info on Otis, Trail of Tears and whatnot, it would be appreciated. I looked on here already AA for info (before ya snap at me ;D) but there's nothing about Cape Cod. Thanks, Kevin

[AA]

trail of tears.........

http://www.bikerag.com/images/MAPS/ma-trail_of_tears_map.htm

otis.........

http://www.bikerag.com/images/MAPS/ma-otis_map.htm

[Slider]

There's always Bikerag: http://www.bikerag.com/images/MAPS/ma-otis_map.htm

Otis is near T of T, but they aren't the same place. Dying is a possibility if you ride anything more than 30lbs! There is some climbing to be done, but it can be avoided if you know the place.

No driving directions on Bikerag, for some reason. So do this: 495 south, turns into Rt25, over the Bourne Bridge, second right off rotary onto Rt 28, take the exit for Route 151, take a right at the bottom of the ramp, then about 1/8 mile to the dirt lot on the right, opposite the animal hospital. Trial head is on the opposite side of the road, just before the on-ramp back up to Rt28. On the BikeRag map, you're at the lower left hand side.

The noise from Route 28 is usually audible and it will help orient you. Heading toward it will take you west, and you can always drop out to the highway for a straight pedal back to your car. The Hare and Hounds trail, that parallels the highway, is a good starting point, and you can reach most everything from it. My favorites are the newer trails over near Mt. Otis.

You don't need a fully here, just the nerve to no-brake the downhills, so the following climb isn't as nasty. You might want to sort out things a bit before taking your wife. Some of the climbs are tough, especially from a dead stop. For pure fun, though, Otis is hard to beat.

Franklin - yeah, dry is better!

[EVIL BOTA]

Hey Knuck,

Mines falls in Nashua is flat and fast.Its not very big ,but you could get an hour to hour 1/2 of good riding in. Take rt3 north to exit 6 left at the lights. From there take left @ second set of lights which should take you behind the mall. Go to end of the street you will be in a parking lot. get on ur bikes and ride. You can't get lost there.

[nhiker]

Hey Knuck,

Mines falls in Nashua is flat and fast.Its not very big ,but you could get an hour to hour 1/2 of good riding in. Take rt3 north to exit 6 left at the lights. From there take left @ second set of lights which should take you behind the mall. Go to end of the street you will be in a parking lot. get on ur bikes and ride. You can't get lost there.

Yeah Knuck, OB and I live right next too Mines Falls, we would be glad to do a ride there or yudicky right down the street from that some time. Minesfalls is very tame but a nice confidence booster for a begginer.

[cgrimble]

Have you thought about giving a mountain tandem bike a whirl. I ride Ok on my own bike but can tackle tougher stuff when I'm not responsible for steering and can leave it up to my husband!!!

Claire

[knucklebuste]

Tandem? :-X

[ddoggett]

Ok, I can relate to this. Copped an ear full on the weekend when my wife did just like I've been telling her and pulled up on the bars over a root - problem was she was climbing at the time and looped straight over the back.

Best place so far - Trail of Tears (I think, it was that one). This is the only place she has really liked all summer. We went in on the intermediate ride from a NEMBA day - http://www.mtbadventureseries.org/mtbadventure/CapeCodMBAS.html

and she did 10miles and enjoyed it, vs about 2-3 normally over rocks and roots.

Thinking about going down this weekend if your interested but maybe we can pick up a local guide?

[BEAUster]

maybe this should go on www.rageaholics.com

[nhiker]

Ok, I can relate to this. Copped an ear full on the weekend when my wife did just like I've been telling her and pulled up on the bars over a root - problem was she was climbing at the time and looped straight over the back.


:o Oh **** ! You had too know you were dead when she got up. It was obviously your fault! ::)

Kevin,

Does Jen ever ask you to go on a ride? If so then where does she suggest you go? Perhaps her interest in biking has more to do with being together then it does with riding.

The tandem (bike built for two) is a good suggestion as long as both participants are willing. Otherwise your just dragging someone along on one bike instead of two. I have seen this relationship fail on the trail and it is'nt pretty.

I know my post has nothing to do with the question you asked. I just dont see your dilema being resolved by changing location. Next time Jen asks to go on a ride, go where she wants to go and have the best time just being outside together.

bill


p.s. for you and ddoggett, women riders have less upper body strength, reduced mass and lower center of gravity. Pulling up on the bars is an inefficent method for lifing the front wheel and often fails. Practice using a hard pedal kick on the good foot. Use flat pedals or dont clip in for this exercise. The idea is to push the bike forward,out from under yourself while holding on to the handlebars. Move your butt off the back of the seat and find a gear that makes the move easy. After a while she will get used to the feeling of the front wheel unweighting and the body position is better for clearing obsticals then the hovering over the bars yanking up with all your strength method i see too many girls using.
Pedal, pedal, pedal,


bill

[knucklebuste]

Well, thats one of the problems Bill. I usually say "Let's go here" instead of asking her where to go. I'm all about exploration and new_places. She's all about RAIL_TRAILS, which I find (YAWN) boring. I've been doing the rail trails with her and keeping my mouth shut. Flat 495 type riding that the wonderful MDC has provided is better than nothing at all. What gets to me about rail trails is this. Why can't they have some single track loops off the rail trails for riders that suffer from falling asleep riding flat 128 style dirt road riding. Anyhow, we went Sunday to the West Boyleston Rail Trail and I actually had a little fun. It's fun to go slow and flat sometimes, also at night it's ok for a little exercize. Plus I figured out that the Rail Trail that goes from W.B. to Holden is about 15 miles end to end, which is about 30 miles total. Not a bad little after work pitch black ride. However I know that I might be too hard on her sometimes. I see women athletes sometimes and think if they can do it, so can Jen. I don't know if that is the case. Maybee I'm just too hard on here. After all, not everyone can be perfect like me right? ;D
Kevin

[Tim]

My wife is a trooper -- we did a 4 hour death march at Pedrosfest with no whining from her, only a little from the kids. But -- she just doesn't like it. Contrary to most of us posting here, she just doesn't think that falling down occasionally and getting bloody is fun, she doesn't like mud, she doesn't like bugs, she doesn't like wrenching.

When I ask her to ride, she mostly answers "You push out a couple of kids and THEN tell me how you like riding over rocks and roots." Kinda hard to argue that one.

Tim

[grayghostss]

Knuck,
I don't know where you're travelling from, but Wompatuck has everything from paved paths to viscious, rooty singletrack. It's all intertwined too. So if you need to kick back into yawn mode, you can convert pretty quickly. Good spot for the kids too. I'm putting together a hardtail for my wife. She's all-set with the rock gardens and such. I'll have some casual-ride days with her and some death ride days with the boys. She mostly just loves to be outside-together-and that's cool. :)

[Mr Magoo]

That's Batchelor Street Trails in Granby. Easy to find. They're on Bachelor St

[knucklebuste]

How are those trails out there? I diddn't get to see much. I went on some beaver dam trail for about a mile. It was a complete washout so I turned around and hit the other trail, the one on the right of the parking lot that kind of circles around the base of a mountain and saw a couple of signs that said K2 ????. I couldn't believe how wet it was out there. The trails seem more like riverbeds than trails. Everybody raves about the place so I'm sure there is some good riding in there. I'm going to have to get up at 5am and go next time (by myself) and see what the story is on that place. Whats the easiest way to get there? I took 90W to 91N to 202N, Left on Amherst St. and right on Batchelor. Is that the easies route? Came home via RT9 and that seemed way too long. Knuck

[nhiker]

My wife is a trooper -- we did a 4 hour death march at Pedrosfest with no whining from her, only a little from the kids. But -- she just doesn't like it. Contrary to most of us posting here, she just doesn't think that falling down occasionally and getting bloody is fun, she doesn't like mud, she doesn't like bugs, she doesn't like wrenching.

When I ask her to ride, she mostly answers "You push out a couple of kids and THEN tell me how you like riding over rocks and roots." Kinda hard to argue that one.

Tim


I can respect your wifes opinion on this one Tim, but it is an individual thing as I see many wives and mothers who love mountainbiking with all its rough surprises. My Wife and mother of my two daughters loves this sport if anything more maybe than even I. No matter what the weather, She is up for it. She rides in the dark the cold the winter the heat and the bugs. She has taken some marvelous spills and puts some spectacular bruises on her body. She will definetley keep up with most guys. If anything I have to rain her in a little, because she don't do her own wrenching. I am the family bike mechanic ::)! I guess it is just a matter of personal preference....but probably not so much gender.
On the other hand she would like to ride with more woman, she says all guy bikers tend to be smelly at the end of a ride ??? and all we want to talk about is beer and bike parts. ;) I think this is wrong we allso like to talk about sports too! ;D

[agkidrive2]

Knuck,

I live 2.5 miles from the holyoke range and the bachelor st. entrance. there are a bunch of easy trails out there, you just gotta know where to look. email ebarnes@mtholyoke.edu for a good map. I you wanted to ride before major snowfall accumulates, email me at nerdwitdabike@netscape.net