White Memorial, Litchfield CT - 10/14/08

I had originally planned on riding Nassahegan after work today. I ended up having to stay at work a bit longer than I had planned.. Since I was going solo I didn't really rush things and decided to hit up White Memorial in Litchfield. The main reason being that's on my home, I've also been wanting to get some GPS tracks of the trails there. I know the trails there pretty well as it's been sort of like my stomping grounds for the last few years as I got into the sport.

I ended up pulling into the lot a few minutes before 6, only 1.5 hours after I had originally intended on riding. :roll: I got suited up and attached my light to the bike, I would be needing it before too long this time of year. My plan was to take advantage of the mellow terrain and get in a fast paced ride covering as much ground as I could. I was somewhat successful, covering almost 9 miles in 1:15, with a moving average of around 7.4 MPH (if you believe topofusion). I wanted to go further, but my lower back on the right side was cramping up really bad and I had to stop several times to try and stretch it out. I decided not to push it too much and settle for what I had.

My headlight worked great for the second time. I also augmented it with a hiking head lamp worn under my helmet (thanks for the idea Rueler!). This worked ok, but I wished it was a bit brighter. It was a bit creepy at times to be riding in the woods alone in the dark, but overall it was fun. I definitely see myself utilizing the headlight to rack up some more RAW miles that I wouldn't otherwise be able to get this time of year.

Here's the track:
http://crankfire.com/trails/data.php?dataid=502

White Memorial is terribly convenient, isn't it? The kids, dog, and I walked earlier today some of what you rode tonight.

Glad the light is working out well!

bvibert said:

Here's the track:
http://crankfire.com/trails/data.php?dataid=502

Click to expand...

Thanks for the track! Looks like theres a good amount of trail out around Beaver Pond that I might have to check out this weekend!

WoodCore said:

Thanks for the track! Looks like theres a good amount of trail out around Beaver Pond that I might have to check out this weekend!

Click to expand...

No problem. Most of what you see around the beaver pond is just an out and back. There are a few more trails in that area, but they're all marked as no bikes allowed. The descent down to the beaver pond is probably one of the more fun sections of trail, that also means that there's a bit of a climb to get back up out of there. If you're looking for a longer ride you can take a right at the end of that track onto semi-maintained dirt roads going back towards pitch reservoir. The roads are mostly smoother than what's available in White Memorial, but there's a few washed out sections and some climbs that can be found. Just be aware that even though the dirt roads are technically closed people still drive on them all the time.