# Where to go?



## BackLoafRiver (Sep 14, 2015)

Next Sunday, a friend of mine wanted to get together to ride. He lives in Haverhill.

Our original thought was KT but, I was trying to find something a bit different.  He is still relatively new to the sport and I'd like to get him a place with nice flow and basically allow him a chance to develop skills all while having some fun. He rides approx 10 miles a shot but its mostly double track. He did ride KT with me once and managed 15 miles but he was cooked and the bonk factor was high.

Highland is a consideration. We could do the "Find your Ride" program. It's only an hour for him and 2.5 for me. I haven't heard about their XC stuff but it seems like a "best of both worlds". 

Bear Brook is an option BUT its pretty expansive and, when his legs go, they go. 

Other thoughts?


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## deadheadskier (Sep 14, 2015)

Fort Rock in Exeter, NH?

I don't ride.  I do run out there from time to time.  

http://www.nemba.org/trails/new-hampshire/fort-rock

Easy 30 minute drive home to Haverhill for your buddy if you kill him


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## BackLoafRiver (Sep 14, 2015)

Pretty decent suggestion, thanks! I also forgot about FOMBA which meets MOST of the criteria. Fort Rock doesn't ride as well for newbies but there's a ton of stuff in there.


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## buellski (Sep 14, 2015)

BackLoafRiver said:


> Other thoughts?



Franklin Falls Dam is great for any level rider. If you go, you have to try Mighty Chicken! I've heard more than one person call FFD "KT-lite" and I'd agree. There's a little bit of everything except long, sustained climbs.


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## dlague (Sep 14, 2015)

Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, NH


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## BackLoafRiver (Sep 15, 2015)

Thanks for the thoughts all. My buddy made the call and decided on Highland. Is anyone around Sunday?


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## Puck it (Sep 15, 2015)

BackLoafRiver said:


> Thanks for the thoughts all. My buddy made the call and decided on Highland. Is anyone around Sunday?


I might be interested. Downhill or trails?


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## BackLoafRiver (Sep 15, 2015)

Puck it said:


> I might be interested. Downhill or trails?




Im planning on both. Will start the morning in the "find your ride" program and go from there. Never having done the lift thing, Im pretty sure I am going to die.


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## buellski (Sep 15, 2015)

BackLoafRiver said:


> Im planning on both. Will start the morning in the "find your ride" program and go from there. Never having done the lift thing, Im pretty sure I am going to die.



*WARNING*: Lift served mountain biking may cause addiction.

You won't die unless it's from the permagrin. The "find your ride" program is a great way to try it out and may leave you trying to figure out how to get your next fix. At least, that's what happened to me 

Sunday you say...I might be in for that.


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## BackLoafRiver (Sep 17, 2015)

Sunday is confirmed. Weather is looking GORGEOUS.


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## bvibert (Sep 17, 2015)

BackLoafRiver said:


> Sunday is confirmed. Weather is looking GORGEOUS.



Enjoy, I'm jealous!


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## buellski (Sep 20, 2015)

BackLoafRiver said:


> Sunday is confirmed. Weather is looking GORGEOUS.



Have fun. Too busy to get over to Highland today. Going to hit Sunapee for a couple of hours this afternoon. Thinking I'm going to take a day off and go to Highland next Friday.


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## Puck it (Sep 20, 2015)

I can't make it either. Company for the Pats game outside on the patio.


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## BackLoafRiver (Sep 20, 2015)

No worries. 

Much fun was had at highland and Franklin falls. More details to follow...


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## BackLoafRiver (Sep 21, 2015)

Ok......so, here's the run down (For those who care):

Highland - the real deal. If someone I knew were brand new to mountain biking, I probably would NOT advise starting here.  Their "beginner" way down, Easy Rider, was not easy. By any means.  It's probably due to being late season, but the first 5 or 600 feet were sketchy.  Apparently this is a known issue as they are building an alternative route as we speak. I'm not articulate enough to fully explain the entire trail (nor do you care). I would think that May-ish, it rolls entirely differently. 

The "Find your ride" program was well worth it. The clinic was not overly helpful as it reiterated a lot of stuff that is mountain biking common sense (level pedals, attack position, etc) but I would take it again. Our coach was this ripping chick who was super nice and apparently parties pretty hard.  The demo bike they set us up with was fine. It handled everything we threw at it.

The learning curve seems pretty steep compared to somewhere like Burke. For instance, Easy Roller was their easiest natural trail. Their easiest man-made feature trail, Meadow's End, was fun as hell but had some challenge and is equally listed as a green. Lots of loose rock and sand, some gullies, and rollable drops.  From there, the intermediate stuff gets rad but tough.  Cat's Paw is FULL of super sweet berms and drops with B-lines that are fairly well marked. The ride-arounds were fine and flowed super well. My buddy took a WICKED fall toward the end. (hit a jump wrong, weighted forward, ate dirt) I thought I caught it on camera but my go pro angle was dorked up. Too bad. It wasn't funny at the time but each time I replay it in my head, I laugh.

Was it worth it? Yes. Am I chomping at the bit to go again? No. Will I go back? Yes.  Buellski was right and it was a damned good time.

I brought my XC bike with me and hit Franklin Falls later in the afternoon. Small local place with some sweet trail building. No tech to speak of but Mighty Chicken, their "Sidewinder-esque" trail was awesome.  No real climbing to speak of but the trails have super flow and real nice character. When I go back to Highland, I will most definitely bring my other bike and ride Franklin again. An hour and a half of riding covered most everything there. It would be awesome to have ridden stuff in both directions just to see how it worked out. I'll put up some pics tonight.


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## buellski (Sep 21, 2015)

BackLoafRiver said:


> Their "beginner" way down, Easy Rider, was not easy. By any means.  It's probably due to being late season, but the first 5 or 600 feet were sketchy.  Apparently this is a known issue as they are building an alternative route as we speak. I'm not articulate enough to fully explain the entire trail (nor do you care). I would think that May-ish, it rolls entirely differently.



I would agree that Easy Rider is a tough "beginner" trail, even early season when the trails are in good shape. The trails take a beating and can get pretty rough over the course of the season. The braking bumps, on Cat's Paw in particular, can get pretty ferocious this time of year. I think a lot of it has to do with the number of riders. I have no idea how many riders they get a season, but I have to believe they get more than most bike parks due to their ease of access from the Boston area.

Did you get to take any runs in Central Park? It's one of their training areas and is really fun. More so when they have the shuttle running. My son likes it so much he makes us hike it a few times if the shuttle's not running. The new trail is supposed to be one, long, Central Park-like run off the top of the mountain.



BackLoafRiver said:


> I brought my XC bike with me and hit Franklin Falls later in the afternoon. Mighty Chicken trail was awesome.



Cool! Mighty Chicken is a hoot! Glad you had a good time.


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## BackLoafRiver (Sep 21, 2015)

buellski said:


> The braking bumps, on Cat's Paw in particular, can get pretty ferocious this time of year.



They were pretty bad.  Surprisingly, they weren't so awful on Happy Hour. The two waterfalls however....



buellski said:


> Did you get to take any runs in Central Park? It's one of their training areas and is really fun. More so when they have the shuttle running. My son likes it so much he makes us hike it a few times if the shuttle's not running. The new trail is supposed to be one, long, Central Park-like run off the top of the mountain.



We didn't. The shuttle wasn't running. (not that it mattered) I probably needed to spend some more time with someone who knew what was going on. (more of a guided tour so to speak...or a local  )


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## buellski (Sep 21, 2015)

BackLoafRiver said:


> The two waterfalls however....



are:

A) Fun
B) Steep
C) A little scary
D) All of the above


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## BackLoafRiver (Sep 21, 2015)

B and a lot of C. 

I sallied out and walked them. I didnt trust myself. I was proud, however, of the one steep a$$ chute...I did make that.


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## Hado226 (Sep 22, 2015)

If you want a great first time DH experience, the best in the east is Thunder Mountain at Berkshire East. The beginner trail is a perfect learning trail, slow for experienced riders, but long and a perfect training ground for those getting a first taste of gravity riding. For the rest, there is a great mix of machine built and natural surface trails, for intermediates to exprrts, we're close to 15 miles now, still building...

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## buellski (Sep 23, 2015)

Hado226 said:


> we're close to 15 miles now, still building...



I've got to get down there. It's a bit of a haul for me, but I need to make time to do it.


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## BackLoafRiver (Sep 23, 2015)

If there is decent XC stuff nearby, it would be worth the trip for sure. It's slightly longer to Thunder than to Burke (which, at almost 4 hours is my day trip limit) but I'm curious to see whats happening over there.


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## bvibert (Sep 23, 2015)

BackLoafRiver said:


> If there is decent XC stuff nearby, it would be worth the trip for sure. It's slightly longer to Thunder than to Burke (which, at almost 4 hours is my day trip limit) but I'm curious to see whats happening over there.



I believe the local NEMBA chapter has a trail network right around the park.  I'm not sure how much there is, but I get the impression that it's well done.


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## Hado226 (Sep 23, 2015)

Somewhere around 30 miles of single track XC trails in addition to the park. Map is on Charlemont Trails Facebook page.

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