TR ::16 days of MTB in the northeast

[BigJay]

See a lot of posts about mountain biking in the Northeast... So here's a TR from our East Coast road trip for our summer vacation. Here's the run-down of our trip.

On day 1 we were in the eastern township of Quebec for "FestivAllezY". A friend of ours has a big land in the township with 2 little singletrack, a bike park with a bunch of stunts and a newly built 3-way tabletop.

The best feature was the 2 different custom brews and our very own custom beer glass:

Jerome is the Quebec trail advocacy group's president. He's also an IMBA Provincial Rep (and newly appointed IMBA Canada worker). And he's also known for drinking a bit too much when beer and biking is involved... You can check out the IMBA On the trail Blog from the trail care crew's last visit to see that fresh brew is always involved with mountain biking here also! That's why he had is own personnal keg on the side!

There were rides organized on both days... but we had to hit to road... so we stayed there for only one night...

We drove down to western MA, driving through Vermont and made our way to the DAR State Forest. We stayed there for 3 nights and rode 3 different places: DAR SF, Earl's trail and Bachelor ST. 3 great rides: Bachelor St. is awsome! Can't believe it's all on state land!

We then went through CT straight to New York to ride Blue Mountain Reservation in Peekskill, NY. Great riding there also. Really technical but most of it it flowy and you really understand why it's among the favorite destination for new yorkers!

Went to NYC the following day. I haven't been there in almost 10 years. Things have changed! Lots of bike lanes all over the downtown area. We were stoked about the riding right in town:

 

[BigJay]

After a 2 day stay in NYC, we had to go back to a more quiet area... so off to Rhode Island to ride the Arcadia Wildlife Management Area. Great trail network with lots of singletrack in between. Not very technical... No big challenges... but loads of fun

A night was just enough at the very loud campground invaded by city kids... So we took off in direction of Cape Cod. We settled at the very nice Shawmee Crowell State Park

The place was so nice that we stayed there for 5 nights. We were switching between riding and just enjoying the beach. Tons of traffic on the cape but food is good and riding is awsome. We visited Boston for the first time. Too bad i didn't know that a friend of mine from Colorado was moving to Boston on the same day we were there!

We visited Boston for the first time. Too bad i didn't know that a friend of mine from Colorado was moving to Boston on the same day we were there!

We finished things off on the cape by a evening on the beach before heading towards New Hampshire

 

[BigJay]

Before heading out of MA, we had to check out what Vietnam had to offer. We were not disapointed! The riding there is amazing and the stunts are very challenging... I couldn't go all out because i didn't bring any pads along... and still had 4 more days of vacation ahead of me... But the local i was following was really going at it!

After an exciting day, we got out of the woods onto pavement before getting to the car... And of course, this happened:

So we got to Bear Brook State Park after a short 2-hour drive. We were really disapointed with the condition of the park. Bathrooms looked like they haven't been cleaned in months... Campsites had no trees between them... only a log to separate you from your neighbourgh.... We missed our little campsite in Sandwhich MA!

The trails however did not dissapoint! Nice bench cut contour trails mixed in with old XC-skiing trails. A great mix! Not much climbing... southern NH was flatter then expected!

After almost 2 full weeks on the road we were pretty tired... And rain and t-storms were forecasted for our last night... So we found a 50$ motel for our last night... We slacked off too and grabbed a pizza and a bottle of wine and watch TV for the evening! lol! What a way to enjoy nature! lol!

We kept the best for last: FOMBA was 20min away from our Motel! This place as a strong backbone made from ancient roads, fire roads and old dirt roads... In between there is about 10 singletrack trails all built by volounteers. The land was also bought by the local NEMBA group in order to preserve it as a strong recreationnal pole in the area.

There was a huge 20-ft roller that was pretty nice. After checking it out on top for 5-10min. my girlfriend finally went for it... just to run back up and do it again! Go girl!

And of course, you meet all sorts of user on a popular recreationnal area:

Apparently he was never seen on singletrack... but is there quiet often!

In all, we were on the road for 16 days. Rode 13 different riding areas. Visited 7 states and 2 major cities. Drank a lot of good beer (but sometime went for the familiar No.9!), had a bunch of good wine bottles and hate great food at the campground including: amazing filet mignon steaks, fresh scallops and fresh salmon. Hmmmmmmm!

We're already dreaming about the next trip!
(it will more likely involve snow then dirt!)

 

[MR. evil]

Sweet Vacation you had there.

I think you posted on MTBR asking for trail recomendations in W. Mass. If that was you I was the one the recomended Earl's and Bachelor Street. B-Street is just F'g awsome! By far my favorite riding spot. You could ride B-street and Earls for a whole week and not see it all.

 

[Trekchick]

Now, That is some stoke!!!!

 

[bvibert]

Nice looking trip! The only thing that would have made it better would have been if you stopped in CT for some goodness instead of just passing through...

 

[severine]

What an awesome vacation and a great way to experience the northeast!!!! Thanks for sharing it with us!

I love this picture!

 

[BigJay]

Nice looking trip! The only thing that would have made it better would have been if you stopped in CT for some goodness instead of just passing through...

I originally planned on riding at either Snake MT or Grayville or another state park just across from the border of mass...

but on that morning, it was really coming down... so we decided to skip CT... too bad... I had maps and GPS info for the 3 trails... and even found a local to guide us up at snake and/or Grayville... but the weather won that one! When we got to Peekskill, the sun was out... and everything was dry...

Ah well... we'll come back to CT eventually!

 

[bvibert]

You got plenty of good riding in, I wouldn't worry about missing CT. If you do come back down this way in the future let us know, maybe some of us can hook up for a ride.

 

[snoseek]

Wow, that's a pretty sweet summer vacation. The bear brook/fomba trail pics bring me back.

 

[Greg]

Great pics. Thanks for sharing. Looks like you guys had a great trip. Nicely done. I rode Trail of Tears this summer, but didn't come across that stunt you guys found.

 

[Marc]

Lodgepole pines give me vertigo.

 

[cbcbd]

Sweet report! You guys hit some good stuff and saw lots of cool places... good on ya!

 

[BigJay]

Thanks for the good vibe everyone!

That trip involved lots of planning... even tough we didn't know where we were going for each day, i still needed a "master plan"... So i carried a one-inch binder with about 20-25 different riding destination in the northeast all complete with official maps (if available), google earth maps and all the GPS data on the old computer.

Good thing we had the adapter to use the computer in the car... none of our campgrounds had electricity... and going out just to fill the GPS with data would have been a real hassle!

In all, only our 3 first nights were booked before leaving home... everything else we juste went with the flow... We left Cape Cod as soon as it started to rain... we got to vietnam and it was sunny... drove through rain on the way to bear brook... and got nice sun for the rest of the day 20min before getting there...

So we were pretty lucky with the weather!

So yeah, we did sample a lot of riding areas... and being in the car for 2 weeks with all our gear is a good preparation if we ever decide to join the IMBA Subaru Trail Care Crew! We've been thinking about it for the past 2 years... but leaving everything behind for 2 full years is a struggle... now that we both have good jobs and all... but riding and building is a passion... so... still debating... completely different subject!

Thanks again to everyone that helped put this trip togheter!
:-D

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Nice pictures...Serious Stoke!!!