# 05/09/2009: Metecomet trail, Suffield CT to Westfield Ma



## MR. evil (May 9, 2009)

Got out for a solo ride this afternoon. Was the first real test of my new GPS app for my iPhone. The app worked great! It only cost me 3 bucks, and saved me from having to by a GPS just for my bike.

Here is the GPS track, I will write more later
http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=201987


----------



## MR. evil (May 9, 2009)

I just discovered something very cool. Under the left hand corner of the GPS map in the link there is another link that allows you to view the GPS track in GoogleEarth. Its pretty F'g cool. 

Love the iPhone


----------



## bvibert (May 9, 2009)

Looks like a pretty cool ride.  Glad the new app worked out well.  You should have uploaded the track to Crankfire though, I don't think they have any tracks of that area.  They allow you to download a Google Earth .kml file as well.


----------



## MR. evil (May 9, 2009)

bvibert said:


> Looks like a pretty cool ride.  Glad the new app worked out well.  You should have uploaded the track to Crankfire though, I don't think they have any tracks of that area.  They allow you to download a Google Earth .kml file as well.



The ride was kind of a mess. About half way through I got lost and ended up having to ride the road 2 or 3 miles to get back to where I needed to be. The iPhone App uploads directly yo that website with one click from my phone. I could upload them to Crankfire but that would take extra work and I am too lazy. That site will also keep track of all my rides so I can track total mileage for the season.


----------



## bvibert (May 9, 2009)

MR. evil said:


> The ride was kind of a mess. About half way through I got lost and ended up having to ride the road 2 or 3 miles to get back to where I needed to be. The iPhone App uploads directly yo that website with one click from my phone. I could upload them to Crankfire but that would take extra work and I am too lazy. That site will also keep track of all my rides so I can track total mileage for the season.



Cool, gotcha.  Sounds pretty easy!


----------



## o3jeff (May 9, 2009)

I know where you live now:lol:


----------



## MR. evil (May 10, 2009)

o3jeff said:


> I know where you live now:lol:



Not quite......You know what neighborhood I live in. I deleted that last several way points before I uploaded the track:grin:


----------



## MR. evil (May 10, 2009)

Got out yesterday afternoon for a spur of the moment ride, Randi was going to hang out with a friend and I asked her to drop me off somewhere so I could ride the Metacomet trail, or my ‘backyard’ trail as I call it and do some exploring. Up until yesterday I had only ever ridden this trail from my house to the CT line on what I call section #1 & #2 of the trail. My usual ride is on section #1 from my house to Rt57 and then back. A couple of times I have crossed Rt57 and ridden the trail to the CT state line and then back home. Talking with my local trail guru, I learned where section #3 of the trail ends, so I decided to start my ride from the end of section #3 in Suffield CT and ride back home. 

This new section of trail was pretty nice, very rocky / technical double track in spots and some nice technical single track. Seeing how I was riding alone and the rocky trails were slick I choose to take it easy, but there were some nice DH sections that could be a lot of fun next time. The trail was blazed very well and I followed it for several miles until it ended in a large field that is someone’s back yard with a large no trespassing sign. Talking with my local trail guru last night it turns out the trail used to run through this field and hooked directly up to section #2 of the trail on the CT line by crossing the road. The new property owner doesn’t want anyone crossing their property anymore. So know I had to back track and I was on the look out for a trail to the west that would take me out to the road I was riding parallel to. I eventually found one that had recently been ridden by some horses and followed the hoof prints and ended up on the road. From there I road about ½ mile on the road over the CT line to the next section of trail.

Section #2 of the trail that goes from the CT line to Rt57 has seen better days. Since I rode it last years it has taken a beating from ATV’s that are not supposed to ride it. Somewhere along the way the white blazes I was following stopped and a set of blue blazes started so I followed them. Very quickly I realized I was lost but kept following the blue blazes. I ended up in a residential area and asked a guy mowing his lawn where I was. Turned out I was in Agawam and way off course. From there I had to ride several miles on the road to get back to the spot where the trail intersected Rt57. If you look at the GPS track you can see where I kind of take a hard right about mid way, I should have gone straight.

It was hot, muggy and I was really tired at this point and now had to ride that last section of trail which is by far the most technical. It also has quite a bit of climbing. Even though I was really tired I managed to clean 2 climbs that I have never made before heading in that direction. The new bike has really made me a much better climber. I rode this section pretty slow and played around on some rock features here and there. Finally made it back to the house, had a couple of fudgsicles and pretty much passed out.


----------



## GrilledSteezeSandwich (May 10, 2009)

wow..a two state ride..one of these days I'm riding over to Jersey..


----------



## RootDKJ (May 11, 2009)

GrilledSteezeSandwich said:


> wow..a two state ride..one of these days I'm riding over to Jersey..


see you on the other side...


----------



## GrilledSteezeSandwich (May 11, 2009)

RootDKJ said:


> see you on the other side...



ahahaha


----------

