# Pennwood 4/25 and 4/26



## jarrodski (Apr 27, 2009)

two good rides this past weekend.  Got out with a riding buddy who i havent seen all winter, which is always nice.  

day 1.  got up early.  After drinking half a gallon of coffee and eating some eggs i decided i should get some moderate work done before the 9am ride.  for me, this works good when i go early.  I tend to be pretty damn sluggish for the first few hours while maxwell house works its magic.  Even still, the first few hills weren't going very well for me.  

Let me back up... Saturday's ride, 9am - i left from the wintonbury entrance heading north towards tarrifille on the "out and back" blue trail to the chiminy.  pretty nice out side, i'd say 65, not a cloud in the sky and about 1 cubic yard of gnats above our heads at any giving time.   I had the dog, and met up with bart.  Good stuff.  So, first few hills, not so good, but there are a couple sections where you can turn it up a bit while on the way out to the chiminy, and that provided enough adreniline to make the rest of teh short ride really enjoyable.  I felt really on through a couple rocky areas, which is alwys fun when you can nail the line right.  
this ride was pretty un eventful aside from just being enjoyable.

day 2...

Day 2 we got going at 10am, leaving from the 185 side of things.  We rode up a trail i usualy go down... but it worked out ok.  It's that one that goes right along the cliffs.  Its a doozy of an up... i dont have a granny gear... but there are some really rewarding aspects of the trail.  Sure, making climbs... blah blah blah... but the flat and down sections of the ascent are twisty, rolly and rocky.  I like it this way.  Once summiting to the look out area, we were able to let em roll for... i guess its a 1/4 mile, maybe longer.  But good, narrow and turny trail which dumps you, more or less at that swampy excuse for a pond.  Then the big pedal up the road to the next stupid hard climp and onto the next look out rock.  IT's at this point we're heading north towards the wintonbury entrance, out on the blue trail.  Real Tech.  I like it alot, but if you join, just be prepared to actually pay attention on your bike.  It's hairy in spots.  But who doesn't like hair.  So, there's a couple jumps, a cliff, and some techy rock gardens of goodness.  all with tight trees and turns.  the whole place is turns rocks and rollers.  except for the follow up for this great section of trail at hour 1...a long as road type water stream bed of doom you have to climb up back to the sorry excuse for a pond... with one detour of an exception, this part sucks.  it's all excersize, no fun... even when you get to the pond and head south on the blue trail, there's more climbing.  I'm not ashamed to admit this... i walked most of it.  f-that.  I'm not wasting the rest of the ride so i can say i climbed mount stupid.  

the rest of the ride is indeed good stuff.  you get right back into the twistys and rockys, right back to the car for a frosty grown up soda...

that's it.,   my pennwood weekend.  

nepaug all this week... 4:30


----------



## Greg (Apr 27, 2009)

Sounds like a really cool place. Pretty techy. Also sounds like it would bring the MTB gaper out in me, which is not hard to do.. :lol:


----------



## MR. evil (Apr 27, 2009)

So when are we riding here?


----------



## bvibert (Apr 27, 2009)

Sounds like some interesting terrain out there.  I'll definitely have to give it a shot sometime this year.

Skiing is official over for me, so it's time to start focusing on MTB.


----------



## jarrodski (Apr 27, 2009)

every saturday and sunday is what i shoot for.


----------



## Greg (Apr 27, 2009)

ishovelsnow said:


> every saturday and sunday is what i shoot for.



Get your ass up early on a few Sundays and join us for some early morning rides at Nass.


----------



## bvibert (Apr 27, 2009)

Greg said:


> Get your ass up early on a few Sundays and join us for some early morning rides at Nass.



x2


----------



## jarrodski (Apr 28, 2009)

how early morning?


----------



## Greg (Apr 28, 2009)

ishovelsnow said:


> how early morning?



We usually start at 7 am. Done by 10 usually so you have the rest of the day...


----------



## jarrodski (Apr 28, 2009)

whoo... that'd mean up at 5 something i think... isn't that near glasontbury?


----------



## bvibert (Apr 28, 2009)

Nassahegan is in Burlington.  This is where we usually park:

http://www.crankfire.com/trails/waypoint.php?wpid=9

No where near Glastonbury.


----------



## Grassi21 (Apr 28, 2009)

bvibert said:


> Nassahegan is in Burlington.  This is where we usually park:
> 
> http://www.crankfire.com/trails/waypoint.php?wpid=9
> 
> No where near Glastonbury.



unless you are steve-o and you loose your way in the woods and get a lift from some cougars.  roar.


----------



## sLoPeS (Apr 28, 2009)

great TR.  that is indeed some techy riding in there.  actually, starting at wintonbury heading south to the pinnacle and back is my favorite hike in the area.


----------

